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“Okay.”
“Hey, dinner’s ready!” a female voice calls down the stairs.
It’s not Tess’s voice, so it must be her sister Cam. Zane and I head up and I’m relieved to see Tess clearing stuff off the small kitchen table when we get there.
“Hey, how are you?”
“Fine,” she says tightly.
Fuck. She’s still pissed. Hannah’s over at the stove and I approach her.
“Hannah, I’m really sorry I didn’t make it to your performance.”
“It’s okay. I know you can’t help it that your teammate got sick. Is he doing better now?”
“Yeah, he’s getting a little bit better every day. They think he’s fighting some sort of infection.”
Cam passes me a plate. “From what I saw on the news, it sounds like he was in really bad shape. It’s good that you guys stopped when you did.”
“Yeah, it was looking bad there for a little while.”
One of Cam’s twins looks over at me as he puts a hot dog into a bun. “Have you ever punched anyone in the nads?”
“Tate,” Cam scolds.
“What? Hockey players get into fights where they punch each other.”
Tess walks over. “Let’s not discuss nads at dinner, okay?”
“After dinner?”
I ruffle his hair, not letting on how amusing I find him. “I’ve been in all kinds of fights.”
“During games,” Tess says emphatically.
I arch a brow at her, an unspoken moment passing between us. I’ve been in other fights, too, but I get her not wanting me to encourage her nephews to fight.
“Are you going to make a plate?” she asks me.
“I’m just waiting for you guys.”
She waves a hand. “No, go ahead.”
I shake my head. “No, you guys go first.”
She puts a hot dog on her plate and then scoops some tots onto it with a spatula. Once everyone has made a plate, the kids and Cam crowd around the tiny kitchen table, Tess standing.
I stand next to her. “Thanks for dinner.”
“It’s just hot dogs and tots. We’re not very fancy in this house.”
“I love hot dogs and tots.”
Things are awkward as fuck between us. I can feel how pissed off she is at me, but I don’t want to say anything with everyone else in earshot.
I want to make up for not making it to Hannah’s performance and show Tess I’m not the asshole she thinks I am. An idea pops into my head and I immediately put it out there.
“Hey, have you guys ever been to a hockey game?”
