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“Was I supposed to say no?” he demanded. “She’s just four.”
Keegan was laughing so hard he was holding his stomach and there was a faint smile playing on Drew’s lips. Everyone seemed to be focused on something on the floor and when I looked down, I almost laughed too. Lars’s toenails were painted a bright, fire engine red. And it was absolutely ridiculous. Except Annalise had talked about nothing but her “date” with Thor for two days. She’d been happier than I’d seen her since her birthday, her eyes shining every time she picked up her hockey playing teddy bear that Lars had bought her at Build-A-Bear Workshop. I’d offered to pay him for what he’d spent, but he’d refused money from me, saying it was his pleasure to spend time with Annalise.
Apparently, despite the constant need to hold his hand, she didn’t annoy him.
“You absolutely could have said no,” I said out loud, almost daring anyone to contradict me. “But you didn’t and you’re a fucking rock star of an honorary uncle.” I clapped him on the shoulder. “Thank you for being so good to Ben’s daughter.”
“She is my friend.”
“You look like a fucking pansy-ass!” Keegan was still laughing, and Drew smacked him on the back of the head.
“Shut the fuck up. If my daughter asked me to paint my toenails, I wouldn’t even hesitate.”
“Yeah, well, not me. That’s what her mom will be for.”
“I like it.” Lars shrugged and turned to pull on his jeans. At six foot six, and shoulders as wide as most doorways, no one would ever confuse him for a pansy, not even figuratively, and though I couldn’t know for certain since he was a pretty private guy, my gut told me he had no issues with his masculinity.
“So do I,” I told him. “And yeah, if she asked me to, I’d do it too.”
“I bet it was an epic date,” Nash said to Lars. “How much did you drop at that bear place?”
Lars didn’t even turn around. “Two hundred fifty-seven dollars and thirty-eight cents.”
I grimaced, wishing I could pay him back, but even if he’d take it, I’d never offer here in front of the guys. And they were all gaping at him.
“For a teddy bear?” Nash demanded, wide-eyed with surprise.
“You customize them,” Drew said. “And you can buy accessories, like hats and stuff.”
“I’m never having kids,” Van said, shaking his head.
“And definitely not girls,” Keegan muttered.
“I’m pretty sure you don’t have much of a choice,” Drew laughed.
“Isn’t it true that if you do it doggy style, it’s always a boy?”
“I think that’s an old wives’ tale,” Drew said, “but I don’t know for sure. Nina and I didn’t care if we had boys or girls.”
Luckily, conversation turned from Lars’s toenails to sex positions and other things that had nothing to do with what was going on with the team. Though Lars either wasn’t aware or simply didn’t care when the guys picked on him, it bothered me. It was one of many things I wanted to find a way to address if I was captain next year. And now that was a big fucking if.
My phone rang when I was driving home from practice and I was surprised to see “Dad” on the screen. I only heard from my parents a few times a year, usually around the holidays, my birthday, or if they were somewhere close to where I was playing and they wanted to see me. Otherwise, I usually kept up with what they were doing and where they were via social media.
“Hey, Dad.” I accepted the call through the hands-free Bluetooth speaker in the car.
“How’s it going, son?”
“It’s been a rough few months, as you can imagine.”
“Are you still playing surrogate dad to Ben’s kids?”
“Well, yeah. I’m not playing, though. He left custody of them to me.”
“I thought he left custody to you and that friend of Lauren’s, and the two of you needed to decide who would get final custody?”
“I’m not letting them go, Dad. They’re part of me now. I don’t know how else to explain it.”
“Ben was your best friend. He would understand that you need to move on with your own life. How are you going to meet someone and have a family of your own with his brats tying you down?”
“They’re not brats and they’re not tying me down.”
“What woman is going to want to marry you when she finds out you come with two kids that you’re going to need her to take care of because you’re always gone with hockey?”
“I don’t know, Dad, but lots of people marry someone who already has kids from previous relationships.”
“They’re not even yours.”
“Dad, come on, knock it off. I love Annalise and Benny. And they need me.”
“Let Lauren’s friend have them. Women are more cut out for that kind of thing anyway.”
