Page 87 of Offside and Off-Limits
“Here you go, honey,” a man says as he passes Marianne a bowl of fries, and I do a double take when I recognize him.
“Martin?” I question, my gaze bouncing between the two bickering support group members.
“Hey, Clara. What are you doing here?” he replies, his shoulders hunching, as if trying to duck under my scrutiny.
“They’ve come to watch the game, of course,” Marianne replies as her cheeks color.
“So, you two…?” I flick my index finger between them, and Marianne lifts her chin.
“You young people with your hockey players don’t have a monopoly on love, you know,” she replies, her lips quirking as she turns her gaze on Martin.
He slips a hand into hers and smiles back at her.
“I always wondered about you two. I’m very happy for you both,” I say.
“Mommy, let’s go!” Benny says, tugging on my sleeve.
“Enjoy the game. Go Ice Breakers!” I say as we move away.
“Go Ice Breakers!” they call back.
We find our row right by the plexiglass, just one of the perks of dating a player. I greet Keira and Dan as we shimmy past them.
“Looking good, you guys,” Keira says as I settle in beside her.
“I thought we wore my number as a family,” Dan says with a mock serious look.
“That was before she fell in love with the team’s new star winger,” Keira explains to her husband.
All I do is smile at them, blissful in the knowledge that I’m wearing the right man’s number, theonlyman’s number.
44.
Officially, it’s a new number for him, representing his fresh start, both on this team and in life.
Privately, he shared with me that he chose 44 because it’s a pair of two equal numbers, representing him and me.
It’ll come as no surprise that I dissolved into tears with that particular gesture.
But right now, the feeling is less “emotional sobbing because my boyfriend did something incredibly romantic for me,” and more “Go Ice Breakers!!” for their first game of the season, right here at the arena in Maple Falls.
We have an official videographer capturing all the footage for our socials, so I’ve got the evening off to be with my family, supporting the team I both love and work for—and the man I still can’t believe is mine.
“What’s Cade saying the team’s chances are tonight?” Dan asks me, raising his voice over the excited crowd. “The Great Lake Vikings are a solid team.”
“Word says it’ll be a tough start to the season for the guys, but the Ice Breakers might just have the advantage,” I reply.
“Is that wishful thinking because your new boyfriend is on the team?” Keira teases with a nudge and a smirk.
“No, it’s faith in the team,” I insist before I cave, oh so quickly. “And because my new boyfriend’s on the team.”
She grins at me. “I knew it.”
A gray head turns to look up at me, and I recognize Mary-Ellen McCluskey. She’s sitting with her husband, Murray, both of them in Ice Breaker colors. “Oh, hello there, Clara, kids. Your sister told me you were coming tonight, and I’m so happy to see you.”
“It’s lovely to see you, too, Mrs. McCluskey,” I reply.
“I’m so glad you’re here. I’ve been dying to tell you what I heard about your dreadful ex-husband yesterday,” she begins, and I know she’s about to launch into her story, whether I want to hear it or not. She rises to her feet and indicates for me to lean closer to her, presumably so the kids don’t hear. Dwayne may be a catfishing jerk with questionable morals, but he’s still their dad. I want to protect them from anything that could damage their relationship with him.
