Page 11 of Two for Holding
“What about you, Cap?”Breezy asked in a tone so jovial it must have been forced.“When are you going to bring someone to one of these things?Isn’t East’s wife getting sick of having to make the WAG jackets?”
“Oh, Camille does those?”Tom frowned.He thought Camille had better taste.Last year, the WAGs had shown up to the playoffs in matching camo-print jackets with their partners’ numbers in rhinestones.
Breezy’s eyebrows shot up to his hairline, a feat only possible due to his curly hair covering half his face.“Bro.”
“What?”
Jax chose the perfect moment to reappear with a hand on Tom’s shoulder and a light beer shoved into one of Tom’s.
Not for the first time, Tom wondered if anyone enjoyed light beer or if they accepted it as a necessary evil in order to somewhat stick to the meal plan while not sacrificing every small joy in life.
“Thanks,” he said to Jax.
“No problem.And who is this lovely lady?”Jax smiled widely at Vanessa.The corners of his eyes crinkled, somehow making them appear more blue.He had dimples.It wasn’t fair.
Vanessa clearly agreed because she giggled, a noise no adult woman had ever made in Tom’s presence.
Unfortunately, nothing could distract Breezy from his new mission.Completely ignoring his girlfriend and how she appeared more than ready to jump ship straight to the next hockey player, he said, “Jax!You’re just the guy.We gotta hook the Crow here up.”
“Please don’t,” Tom said weakly.
“It’s, like, the social contract,” Breezy barreled on.“We follow your lead on the ice, so the WAGs need to follow your girl’s lead off it.”
Tom blinked.He had never thought his chronic lack of a date to team events was an issue, largely because he’d avoided planning and taking part in team events for a very long time.“I don’t think that’s what a social contract is.”
“Also seems kind of sexist,” Jax mused.“What if Cap had a girl but she had a real job or something?Not everyone has time to watch eighty-two hockey games a year.”
Weak with relief, Tom nodded.“Right.I could meet a nurse or something.She could be working shifts.I don’t think she’d want to design WAG jackets in her spare time.”
Vanessa’s eyes narrowed.“Are you saying I don’t have a real job?”
“Uhhh…” Tom looked frantically to Breezy for help, but he appeared similarly panicked.
Jax, unperturbed, asked her, “What is it you do again?”
“I’m an interior designer.You can follow me on Insta and see all the spaces I’ve curated.Oh, and I do parties too.Like, it’s so hard to coordinate florists and caterers and glassware, you would notbelieve.”
Jax nodded.“Okay, so you have a real job.But I bet you get to set your own hours, and you’re not hurting for money either.”
“I guess.”
He nodded, clearly satisfied he had won.
Vanessa tossed her hair over her shoulder.“I’m getting another drink.”She stalked off and immediately starting whispering with another beige-clad WAG.
“Thanks for that,” Breezy groaned.
“What?”Jax took a long draw of his beer.“You gotta admit she’s not exactly working a nine-to-five.”
“Do you know anything about the WAG ecosystem?”
Tom squinted.First “social contract,” now “ecosystem.”This was not what he had expected from Breezy.
Jax grinned, sleazy and wolfish.“Can’t say I’ve ever had anyone stick around for long enough to become part of the pack.”
“You gotta show some respect.Half of these women quit school to follow an NHL player across the continent, no clue when he’s gonna get traded or where he’s gonna end up.As soon as she commits to him, she commits to staying home and raising the kids because he’s traveling half the year.”
“She also commits to however many millions he’s earning and the army of cleaning staff and nannies he can buy her.”
