Page 48 of In Your Wildest Dreams
“No. I’m good,” I say as his little brother runs a circle around us and then darts off in the same direction he came. “Does your family come to a lot of games?”
“No, not really. Once a season they come here, and they make it to all the games we play in Boston. That’s where they all live.”
“Tonight is the one game of the season they all came here?” I ask, finally realizing that his entire family is here and he’s not even playing. I guess I assumed they came often, or maybe I was too distracted by Ash to think anything.
“Yeah. Perfect timing to get hurt, huh? I didn’t know until about a few hours before the game that I was for sure not going to be out there. They’d all already made plans to come in for the weekend.” He shrugs. “I guess at least this way I get to spend more time with them.”
“I’m sorry. I can’t imagine how much you wish you were out there.”
“You have no idea. I’m ready to trade my left arm for a robot arm.”
Laughter slips from my mouth and Ash’s smile gets bigger. “What about you? How’s everything going for real?”
“Good,” I answer with the same canned response I gave him the last time he asked.
He looks at me like he’s waiting for more, so I add, “Nothing new to report. School, work, home, repeat.”
“Stillbusythen?”
“Yeah. Still busy.”
He chuckles softly. “All right. I can take a hint.”
“You can?” I ask, in mock surprise.
“Smart ass.” He bumps his good shoulder against mine.
His mom passes by us and waves. She’s tall, striking like her son, with the same dark blue eyes. She’s dressed in a pantsuit with heels that I’m not sure I could walk in. She is the picture of a power boss.
“What do your parents do?” I ask him.
“My mom owns a storage solutions company.” He glances over in the direction of his mom. “She started designing shelving and storage for sporting goods and athletic equipment when I was in high school. Our garage was first, then she did a few family friends’ closets and spaces, and now she does it for companies and organizations. And she runs a non-profit for youth athletic programs.”
“Wow. Your mom is way cooler than you.”
“Oh, definitely. I’m not even offended, though I know that was the intent.”
We both smile and my stomach dips. God, what is it about him? Bantering with him feels like foreplay.
Everly and Grace move back past us with their cotton candy to the front of the box when the teams are back from intermission. There’s a large TV up here where you can see the game as it’s televised.
“Seriously, though, your family seems great. And your mom really does seem awesome. I have a feeling her shoe collection is impressive.”
“Yeah, it’s a trip. Most of my childhood, she stayed home with me and my sisters. I have this vision of her in jeans and my dad’s baggy T-shirts. She’s the one who’d go outside with us and throw the ball or put on pads and a mask and let me shoot pucks at her.”
“That sounds dangerous.” I still stand by my statement; his mom is way cool.
He laughs quietly, grinning all boyish and filled with mischief. “She only did that once.”
I’m enthralled listening to him talk and seeing the way he smiles like he’s picturing it in his mind.
“What about your dad?”
“He’s an engineer. Or was. When they got divorced, he decided to go back to school to teach high school history.”
“It’s really nice that they’re both here. Are you all still close?”
“I guess so.” Ash shrugs and finally glances down at the ice as the game is about to restart. “He got remarried quickly, so it was weird at first. But then when Harper and Hunter came along, things seemed to be okay. Different, obviously, but I think it forced us all to get over it faster or something.”
