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Two days later,I walk inside my dad’s house with Adalyn at my side. She’s a ball of excitement, all wide-eyed and bushy-tailed as she looks around as if this is the first time she’s ever been here. In reality, the entire Hutton family has been here a million times, but tonight is undoubtedly different.
This time, Addie is herewithme. As my wife.
She stole my breath when I picked her up and found her wearing a ruffled, mid-thigh-length white dress. The sight of her in a white dress with those muscled, tan legs of hers on display short-circuited my brain. Even twenty minutes later, I’m still trying to reboot myself.
Scarlett is the first one to greet us, and despite the rough exterior she shows to those she doesn’t know well, she pulls me in for a tight hug.
“I missed you,” she says.
“Missed you too, SP.”
After separating, Scar brushes me off for Adalyn. “And hello to you, Mrs. White.”
A jolt of unexpected satisfaction brushes over me. Addie flushes, panicked eyes darting to mine for the briefest second.
“It’s still Hutton, actually. You’ll have to talk to Cooper about that one. I don’t think changing my name would be a great idea since we won’t be staying married,” she rambles, more flustered than I think I’ve ever seen her.
Scarlett just stares at her, grinning. “I’m just teasing, sweetheart. Come in and shake it off.”
“Right. I knew that.”
I tuck Addie beneath my arm before Scarlett can scoop her up. “Dad’s finally tainted you with his terrible teasing habits, SP.”
“I’ve done no such thing. She’s always been this way beneath all that cool exterior,” Dad interjects, winking at his wife. Smile lines appear when he looks at Addie and me. “If it isn’t my favourite couple. Here at last.”
I roll my eyes. “We haven’t even been back a full week yet. And you saw us the other day.”
“It’s not a crime for a father to want to see his son often.” He palms his chest, frowning dramatically.
“The older I get, the easier it is to realize why you and my mom are such good friends,” Addie adds.
I let my fingers tangle in her hair as we stand there. Touching her has become far too addicting.
“The greats have to stick together, Adalyn,” he replies.
I snort a laugh. “Not sure that’s what she meant.”
Dad scowls at me. “It’s what I’m pretending she said. Come in and eat before the food gets cold. Your mom is running a bit late, but she said not to wait.”
As he starts to herd us toward the dining room, I ask, “Where is she? And Amelia?”
“Your sister is in her room pouting because I told her she couldn’t go out with her friends tonight, and your mom just got caught up.”
The smell of all the different foods wafting from the dining room makes my stomach growl. Once the spread on the table comes into view, I nearly moan. It looks like they were planning on feeding a small army, which means we’ll be going home with a million leftovers.
“This looks amazing,” Addie says.
I pull a chair away from the table and wait for her to sit before pushing it in. The smile she tosses me over her shoulder is a goddamn gift.
Taking the seat beside her, I sit and glance around the table. “Dad’s taken to cooking the past couple of months. I think he’s preparing for the retirement he refuses to have.”
Dad pours Scarlett a glass of wine before doing the same for himself. “I can’t leave WIT in the hands of just anyone. Unless you suddenly want it, I have to work until I find someone else worthy of our legacy.” He starts placing serving utensils in the bowls of food. “I’m also still young. There’s no rush.”
“There will be depending on how long it takes you to deem someone worthy.”
Besides his children and wife, the White Ice Training centre is my dad’s everything. He started the hockey facility back before I was brought to live with him and over the past thirty years has turned it into the new White family legacy. I’ve always understood his want to leave it in good hands when the time comes for him to retire, but it’s turning out to be a lot harder to do that than any of us thought. He never pressured me into taking over for him, and I don’t think I’ve ever told him how much I appreciated that.
I just want him to relax after all this time. He’s worked harder than anyone I know, and he deserves to just . . . slow down. To travel and spend more time with his family and whatever else his heart desires.
