“And then I blew him,” Luna announces proudly, as though that little aside with marshmallow hadn’t just happened.
“You—” Kailey—who’s not surprised by much, considering that she’s married to Smitty—stops. Blinks. “You—” Another blink. “And he just…”
Luna shrugs. “My man’s pretty chill.”
Faye and I glance at each other.
She’s not wrong.
“What’s with the marshmallow thing?” I ask.
“It’s Bri’s”—she tugs at Bri’s arm, and Bri drops her hands to her lap—“and my safe word.”
Bri nods. “A very necessary safe word. Especially since pregnancy means that Luna’s already almost non-existent filter is even further depleted.”
Luna scowls. “Rude.”
“What?” Bri shrugs. “It’s true.”
“That’s not?—”
They keep bickering, and I turn to Kailey. “Want to explain for the hockey noob why this is a practice but also, somehow, not a practice?”
Her lips twitch. “The guys take turns renting the ice to get some practice in—sometimes it’s with a specific coach to work on shooting or tipping or skating. Sometimes it’s just to hang out with some friends and try things they wouldn’t normally have time to experiment with during a true practice. Today”—she nods out at the ice—“they have a skating specialist watching them. She’ll highlight some things for them to improve.”
“Hmm,” Faye says quietly. “That’s interesting.”
Kailey glances over, asks dryly, “Hockey hunk falling for the skating coach?”
“Oh yeah,” Faye whispers, pulling out her phone and starting to make some notes.
Kailey and I exchange a smile, and then I turn my focus out onto the ice, even as a blip of jealousy slides through me.
“Her name is Rosalie Bardot,” Kailey murmurs. “I like her a lot. Super smart. Super talented and an effective coach. She and I met when I was setting up the stats program for the Cougars.”
Kailey works with lots of professional sports teams to streamline their stats tracking.
It’s a kickass job.
Then again, she’s a kickass woman who’s super smart and super talented too. “I feel like I’ve heard of the Cougars. Are they based out of Clairmont?”
She nods. “Yeah. Just for the last few seasons. They moved out of Georgia looking for a city with a stronger fan base and somehow landed in Clairmont. But that aside, they’re really putting a lot of work into player development, so while it may take a few years for the team to have strong playoff contention, right now, they’re doing all the things they should.”
“That’s good,” I whisper. But honestly? I’m barely listening.
Because the woman—Rosalie—is smiling up at Leo.
My stomach twists.
I can’t wait to see you again.
I grind my teeth together and shove down the jealousy.
This is his job. And all the guys are smiling and laughing and having a good time. And…I exhale silently. It wouldn’t matter if it was more than his job, anyway.
Because he’s not mine.
That stings, but it helps me focus, helps me see what I missed before.
