“Myno talking about hockeyrule is more at fault than any feelings he has about you. I mean, not that he’s a fan, but it’s more that he literally has nothing else to talk about.”
“I feel like we could talk a little bit about hockey. In a general sense.”
“Only if you want the general sense of hot turkey gravy in your lap.”
He chuckled and kissed her forehead. “You’re pretty cute for a jinx.”
“Stop that.”
When both the Marauders and the Harriers went out in the first round of the play-offs, stunned sports fans decided it had to be Kristen’s fault. She’d jinxed them somehow by hooking up with her brother’s rival. That had been fun. Luckily, a series of bad calls decided the second round, and hockey fandom forgot about her as they united in turning on the refs.
So far this season, both teams were first place in their divisions, and the romance between Cross Lecroix and Erik Burke’s sister was old news, so she was hopeful that episode wouldn’t flare up again in the spring.
It was going to be a long time before Will let it go, though. He still thought it was hilarious, and she was going to have to update her will to add a clause forbidding him from adding it to her headstone.
Her father and brother were already at the table they’d reserved, and both of the Burke men stood when the host led Will and Kristen over. She hugged them each and then smiled when Will shook their hands without incident. The first time Lamont and Will had been introduced, her dad had tried to have one of those knuckle-crushing contests, and it was the last time he tried it with Will.
“So, theHometown Hoserposted a video clip of you at last week’s game,” Erik said once they’d ordered a bottle of white wine and waters all around. The restaurant only offered turkey dinners on Thanksgiving, so they didn’t have to order the food. “Joel had to point out you weren’t wearing any team gear.”
Kristen laughed, even though her brother had broken the no-hockey-talk rule within a minute of them sitting down. “It was the first time I gave in to watching you two play each other in person. It was harder than I thought it would be.”
“Luckily, your brother never lets up on keeping his shoot-out skills sharp,” Lamont said.
Will and Erik exchanged a look that wasn’t quite a mutual rolling of the eyes, and then Will said easily, “You win some, you lose some.”
Lamont snorted, and Kristen felt the last of the anxiety she’d felt about this dinner fade away. Her dad was always going to take a shot on his son’s behalf if he got the chance, but Will and Erik were okay. The years of professional animosity would always be there, but they were learning to leave it on the ice where it belonged. And for Kristen’s sake, neither of them took Lamont’s bait.
Despite the tentative peace, an awkward silence fell over the table until Lamont took a healthy swallow of wine and then cleared his throat. “So, Cross—uh, Will—Erik tells me you and your dad went on a fishing trip during the off-season. Have you done any deep-sea fishing when you’re in Boston?”
“I’ve done a couple of excursions out of Baltimore, but never in Boston.”
“Erik and I have talked about doing one next summer. You’re welcome to join in if you want.”
Will looked startled for a second, but he recovered quickly. “Sounds good. I’d be up for that.”
As the servers set turkey dinners in front of them, Kristen leaned close to Will. “You should probably wear a life jacket.”
He chuckled and squeezed her leg under the table before smothering everything on his plate in turkey gravy.
There was more hockey talk as they ate, but Kristen found she didn’t mind. The men kept it civil, and she didn’t feel thatnopereflex in her gut that she used to. She even enjoyed going to the games, getting to know the wives and girlfriends of Will’s teammates, and she’d even gone to a few of Erik’s games. She divided her time between Boston and Baltimore since she could do most of her job remotely, but there were meetings and a few functions she needed to be in Boston for. The airport time could be a pain the ass, but they were making it work for the near future.
They hadn’t told anybody yet, but Will had decided he’d play out the two years left in his contract and then hang up his skates so they could start a family. She was holding on to her apartment in Boston, but they had plenty of time to figure out where they wanted to go after Baltimore, and how they’d split their time between the US and Canada.
“Have you guys picked a date for the wedding yet?” Erik asked in a way that made it clear he was having a hard time coming up with conversation that wasn’t about hockey.
“I was thinking we could squeeze it in during the All-Star break,” she said, and then she laughed when all three men stopped eating to stare at her in horror. “I’m kidding. Next summer, at a resort near where Will’s parents live.”
Between her friends and Will’s friends and teammates, they were pretty much renting the place out for a long weekend, but she knew it meant a lot to him to get married in Ontario.
“I never thought when I walked my daughter down the aisle and gave her away that I’d be giving her to Cross Lecroix,” Lamont said, and Will’s hand was on her leg again, gently squeezing. But her dad smiled and gave a quick disbelieving shake of his head before he went back to eating.
Later, after they’d consumed as much turkey and pie as they could eat and said goodbye to the Burke men, Will took her hand in his for the walk to her car.
“That went better than I expected,” he said.
“He’s trying,” Kristen admitted. “I probably shouldn’t tell him the accent colors at the wedding will be the Marauders colors.”
He squeezed her hand. “How are you feeling about him walking you down the aisle?”
