Page 77 of Goaltender Interference

In unison, Viv and Connor groaned. Oops, maybe Jesse shouldn’t have said that. Oh well, it was too late to take it back now.

“Really?” Maura’s teary eyes lit up. “Like what?”

“It’s a surprise.” Jesse booped her nose. “Now go on. The sooner we leave, the sooner we’ll get home.”

“Okay!” Cheered, she ran back over to her mother. “Jesse’s gonna buy me apresent.”

“I heard,” Viv said drily, taking her hand. “That was very generous of him. Did you say thank you?”

“No. I don’t have it yet,” she countered as they walked out the door.

Jesse stifled a laugh. He always liked how honest kids were. Well, except when they might get in trouble. Then all bets were off. They were certainlyunfilteredthough.

“Bye, Daddy! Bye, Jesse!” Evie waved goodbye to Connor and Jesse, settled her backpack on her shoulders, then marched out to join her mother and sister on the sidewalk.

Connor shut the door behind them. “You do know now you’ll have to get her a present every time we go on a trip, right?”

“Yeah,” Jesse admitted. “But it was totally worth it to see her smile.”

“Pushover,” Connor muttered, shaking his head. “You’re gonna have to buy Evie something too. And Nolan will pretend like he doesn’t care, but he’ll totally sulk about it if he gets left out.”

“I figured. But hey, what’s the point of all this money if I can’t spend it on your kids?” Jesse shrugged.

“You do know we’re not dating, right?” Connor said, raising an eyebrow.

Jesse rolled his eyes. “I used to buy Macky’s kids shit all the time and I wasn’t even fucking him and Elena.Chill. I just like being fun Uncle Jesse.”

“Ahh, bribery. Works every time.”

“Fuck you. Your kids love me evenwithoutbribery.” Jesse glanced at his phone. “Uh, hey, don’t we need to get going though?”

“Shit! Yes.” Connor reached for his shoes. “Sorry.”

Jesse shrugged. Everyone expectedhimto be late. Connor was the one who arrived unnaturally early to everything.

Connor was quiet as they got in his SUV and headed to the airport. Jesse wasn’t surprised. He couldn’t imagine how hard itwas to leave the kids at home every time the team took a road trip.

They were nearly to the airport when Connor cleared his throat. “So, I think we should lay down a few ground rules for while we’re on the road.”

“Okay?” Jesse said, confused. “Like what? Are you giving me a curfew or something?”

“No. I don’t mean that. Just, uh, about sex.”

“Okayyy. What about it?”

“I think we should, uh, skip it until we’re back home.”

“You’re shitting me. No sex on the road?”

Connor sighed noisily. “It’s not like Iwantthat either, Jesse. But I’ve been thinking about it. The hotel is too fucking risky! Guys are in and out of rooms all of the time.”

Jesse eyeballed him. “That sounds more like an argument for my side. No one will notice.”

“They’ll notice it if they overhear us!”

Jesse shrugged. “So gag me.”

Connor sputtered. “Don’t think I haven’t thought about it. And I’m not talking about in bed.”

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