Page 75 of Coast to Coast

Callie practically jumped with excitement. “I would love to show you around my city.”

After discussing it a bit further, I realized that Alex and Mariana had also hired Monica to be their personal assistant. I was positive that whatever they needed her for was nowhere near as demanding as my little family was with her time.

I caught Callie’s eyes, and she met my gaze quizzically. When she joined me at the counter, she asked, “What’s up?”

“Did you tell Monica?”

“Not yet.”

I swallowed back a moment of hurt that Callie hadn’t shared what we had with her best friend.

“I called her while she was in the middle of an event. The time change has been getting in the way of us being able to talk. I didn’t want to text her; I wanted to hear her reaction and not just get her practiced written response.”

So, she wasn’t looking to hide it from her, even if the reveal might put Monica in between two of her clients with her best friend smack dab in the middle.

Alex watched us both carefully. I figured I’d get more than an earful during warm-ups later. Last year, he’d been more than a teammate; he’d been like a big brother as I navigated fatherhood and tried to balance it with my career. More than one game, he’d pulled me aside and forced me to get my shit together. Itturns out that when I was off balance, I hit harder, and instead of playing good defense, I ended up in the penalty box too often. When he sent Mariana over after a particularly rough game, I knew I’d fucked up. No one wanted Mariana to be disappointed in them.

Mom had been hyping Crew and the kids up to go to the game, and I had to admit, Crew’s excitement to watch me play was better than any other fan base cheering me on. After breakfast, Alex left to get dressed, and I excused myself to shower and change.

Callie’s head flipped around when I left my room, and she slowly appraised me in my suit. It was tradition for players to arrive and leave the rink in a suit on game day.

She crossed the room, leaving the breakfast dishes only to stand before me, her hands ready to touch but frozen.

“You like me in a suit?” I asked with a smirk, trying to cover up the emotions her reaction stirred in me with my signature cockiness.

“You could say that,” she answered.

“Am I interrupting something?” My mother asked with a chuckle.

Callie turned red and began to sputter her response.

“It’s okay. Must be the first time you’re seeing him dressed up?”

Callie nodded, still mute.

“I gotta go,” I said, kissing her before calling Crew to say goodbye to him. “See you all in a little bit.”

I rode in with Alex, both of us careful to avoid the microphones shoved in our faces on the way into the rink. I hated how most of the questions I was asked related to my relationship with Sam Drummond and had begun my most recent interview with a warning that I’d walk out if they asked me anything about him. That probably wouldn’t work this year.Somehow, Sam was ending the regular season with better stats than last year, and last year, he’d thrown a perfect game. I guess happiness did great things for us athletes.

And it was something I had a taste of these last few weeks. Before Crew, I would have been fulfilled traveling, playing hockey, and maybe even fucking around a bit with a puck bunny or two. Since then? The stakes were higher, and I had difficulty flipping the switch when he returned to his mother’s house. And yeah, getting involved with his nanny, a woman paid to be with him, meant more lonely nights than I was cut out for.

“You good, man?” Alex asked, noting my quietness.

“Yeah, sorry. I just realized that the rollercoaster ride will be in motion after tonight. Callie and Crew are headed back to Boston tomorrow. I won’t see my son until Vancouver, and Callie will be with him.”

“Does she need to go back with him?”

“She’s his nanny, so yeah.”

“But do Kelsey and Sam put her to work while she’s there? I met them, they’re hands-on, and I can’t imagine them needing a nanny.”

“So, what? Do we out ourselves and potentially threaten her job and everything we planned to get through the hockey season? I wouldn’t have started anything with Callie if I wasn’t positive that we had the potential to do something real, but at the same time, I don’t want to force this to become something it’s not meant to be.”

“Ah, so we get to deal with your moping, right?”

“I don’t mope,” I protested.

“Dude, on the ice, you’re fucking vicious. But once you get back to that hotel room alone, you turn into fucking Eeyore. No one wanted to be around you last year.”

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