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“Louisa, don’t be funny,” he chastises, and I swallow, the anxiety of all this making me want to flee. “Are you involved with him?”
“I am,” I say proudly, holding his gaze. “He’s very important to me, and I wanted to tell you so that we don’t find ourselves with another Dimitri Titov situation.”
Peepaw exhales heavily and then inhales until his lungs are full before letting out another hard exhale. Almost as if he’s taking cleansing breaths.
I watch him, and my stomach twists. “We won’t have another Dimitri Titov situation, will we?”
“You girls are going to give me a heart attack, aren’t you?”
His eyes are accusatory, and I can’t help but smile. “I mean, you put five girls who grew up in a cult in the vicinity of hockey players. What did you think would happen?”
“Nothing!” he booms. “They should be scared to touch you guys.”
I grimace. “They are when they find out that we’re yours.”
“So, you bait them, get them hooked, and then tell them about me?” he asks, his face the picture of annoyance.
I hold up my hands since I guess I did do that. “Unintentionally.”
“Like it would matter,” he mutters. “You girls are something. Of course these boys come sniffing. I should have moved y’all to Canada.”
“There are hockey players there too.”
He gives me a dark look. “I’d have moved you to the part where they aren’t.”
I don’t point out that I don’t think that place exists. Instead, I say, “I really like Ciaran, Peepaw. A lot.”
He taps his fingers against his desk. “Is it serious?”
“It is,” I confirm, and when he looks at me, I can see the concern in his green eyes. “I may have rushed into this—my feelings came very fast. But I feel that after everything that happened, I’m owed happiness. Ciaran is my happiness.”
The tapping stops and he presses his lips together, but his chest still rises and falls very quickly. “So, you’re in love with him?”
I feel my face burn with a blush. “I am.” We stare at each other, and when a tear slides down his cheek, the breath is knocked out of me. “Peepaw?”
He wipes it away quickly, waving me off. “Oh, my Louisa, I don’t think you realize how scared and worried I’ve been about you. After everything your mom subjected you to, after how you protected your sisters, and that sham of a marriage… Darling, I feared you’d never be able to love.” My heart stops dead in my chest as he holds my gaze. “I prayed and hoped that someone would find you and make you feel all those things your grandma did for me. What your momma should have had.”
When my own tear leaks free, I wipe it away and then another as I hold his gaze.
“I wish it weren’t one of my boys because I don’t want people thinking you’re getting him ahead—and Ciaran will make the big leagues. But it is what it is, and I can promise you we won’t have ourselves another Titov situation.”
Ciaran will make the big leagues.
That statement makes my chest hurt, but I mask it with a grin. “Thank you.”
“Anything for you, darling.” He stands up, and I do the same, meeting him for a tight hug. As he kisses my temple, I wish I weren’t thinking about Ciaran going into the NHL, but I am.
Ciaran will make the big leagues.
And what will that mean for us?
CHAPTER 38
Ciaran
I look around the locker room, my teammates all seated and getting ready for the game in their own ways. For me, I meditated, I cried, and then I threw up. Good times all around. Each of us is dressed, and the only thing missing are our helmets. Mine is in my hands, and with my fingers in the ear holes, I spin it around to release some of my nerves. I try to focus on the new orange carpet or the curtains, but it’s not working. I’m ready. I want to hit the ice.
I want to see Louisa’s face when I score.
