“Fair enough.” I shut the door behind them. “Everyone’s downstairs.”
Rowyn’s eyes light up. “Maria’s here, right?” I nod. “Good,” she says. “I’ve been wanting to talk to her. She’s just so busy all the time.”
A quiet ripple of unease moves through my chest. Because I know exactly what she wants to talk to Maria about. And I should be happy about it. But I’m not. Not even a little. God, I’m such a juvenile.
We all head down the stairs together, the noise of the games room enveloping as we descend. I grab a couple of beers for the guys and pour wine for the women—juice for Rowyn and the kids—setting the glasses on the small table beside the sofa.
The kids scatter everywhere—Lucas and Josh clacking pool balls around with zero strategy, Grant trying to reach the pinball buttons, Stella darting between them like she’s running the whole operation. The machine lights flash and the sharp ding ding ding of the pinball mixes with bursts of laughter.
The guys and I take over the pool table, and for a while I just stand there, cue in hand, soaking it all in. The noise. The laughter. The warmth of the room.
For the briefest moment, I let myself think about Ben. About how he would have loved this—kids running around, friends filling the house, the easy chaos of it all. The thought settles in my chest for half a second. Then, naturally, the conversation between Tanner and Ash drifts toward hockey, and I fall into it automatically. Trade rumors. The last road trip. A brutal hit someone took last week. Normal stuff.
The women are stretched out on the sofa beside us, and that’s when I notice Rowyn leaning heavily into Maria, an excitement about her as she reaches for her phone. No doubt to show her a picture of Mr. Right. My stomach tightens. I want to stop it. I want to do…something. Which is absolutely ridiculous. Maria should date. She should find a nice guy.
A guy who isn’t gone half the year. A guy who doesn’t live on the road. A guy who won’t end up disappointing her boys.
A guy who won’t fail them.
So why do I suddenly hate everything about her dating someone else? Maybe if I keep telling myself it’s a good thing, I’ll eventually believe it.
Or not.
“Dude, wake up.” Ash waves his hand in front of my face. “Where’d you go there? It’s your turn.”
“Right.”
I step up to the table, but before I take the shot the conversation beside me catches my attention.
“Yeah, I was telling Tuck about him.”
The sound of my name pulls my focus. “Telling me about what?”
“About Declan Hayes,” Rowyn explains casually. “The writer friend I’d like to introduce Maria to.”
“Yeah,” I say evenly. “I remember.” I line up what should be an easy shot and miss it by a mile.
Tanner slowly lifts his head, eyeing me like I just forgot how the game works. He makes a soft tsking sound. “You’re off your game tonight.”
“Tired,” I mutter. “New kitten. Guests overnight.”
None of that makes any sense, and judging by Ash’s raised eyebrow, he knows it.
“Did you say Declan Hayes?” Lucas asks from the pinball machine. Rowyn nods. “I met him,” Lucas says excitedly. “He came to our school to give a talk. He was awesome.”
Lovely.
Lucas thinks he’s awesome.
That’s a good thing, Tuck.
Right.
“So anyway,” Rowyn continues, her fingers racing over her phone. “Here’s his picture.”
I try to act uninterested as I step back and chalk my cue, but my gaze keeps drifting toward Maria, watching for her reaction.
“Ohmigod, he’s so cute,” Maeve blurts out.
