Page 35

I haven’t been keeping them a secret, but I don’t want to overwhelm Matteo in any way. I do want him to meet his uncle, though. I want him to meet all of my family, blood or not.

“We’ll make it happen.” I nod again and glance around the room, taking in the sight of my guys.

Caleb holds up a paper in front of my face. “Will you do the honors tonight?”

It’s the line up list. I take it in my hands and slowly rise to my feet. A smile tugs at the corners of my lips as I meet his gaze. “I’d love to.” I look around the room as everyone begins to quiet down. “All right, boys. Tonight is an important night and I know you all are going to go out there and fucking fight your asses off for thatW.”

The guys erupt in hoots and hollers.

“Here we go,” I start, pausing to clear my throat. “We’ve got Ro between the pipes.” They all clap, the sound echoing throughout the room. “We’ve got Cale.”Clap.“We’ve got Nashy.”Clap.“We’ve got Matthews.”Clap.

I continue through the entire line up, everyone clapping in between the names until we get to the very end. The room breaks out into more commotion, the guys all hopping off the benches as they get their helmets and gloves on.

I hang out for a moment, moving to the side of the room, standing by the door as I watch them all. Coach Landry steps up beside me and watches with me. “They needed that from you tonight.” His voice is low. “They’ve been playing their asses off but you know how that is when you’re missing a vital part of the team.”

Hearing him say it hits me in the chest like a ton of bricks, except it’s not a negative. Pride blooms inside me. He can be a tough coach at times but every now and then, he approaches issues from a tough love stance. He doesn’t hand out empty or meaningless compliments. You only hear those things from Coach Landry when he means it.

“Thanks, Coach."

“How are you doing? How is the wrist healing?”

The cast is heavy around my arm. “It’s healing well. It’s not easy having to sit back and watch everyone, but I’m doing well, all things considered.”

“I get that,” he says, nodding in understanding. Coach played professionally until he was in his late twenties. A knee injury made it difficult for him to continue to play so he retired and began coaching instead. “Well, we look forward to you getting back into the game, Ford.”

“I’m looking forward to that as well.”

Coach leaves me standing by the door alone as I watch my teammates all lining up. The music sounds from out in the arena and the energy buzzes in the air around us. It’s electric and everyone feels it.

“Here are your Aston Archers!” The announcer's voice echoes throughout the stadium and the guys all start heading down the tunnel to the ice. I hang back, wishing I was following them.

My footsteps are heavy when I force myself to turn around and head in the opposite direction. I find the elevator down at the other end of the hall and I step onto it, catching glimpses of the guys as they skate past the end of the tunnel.

As I walk through the suite, moving past everyone, I see the top of her head. She’s in one of the seats in the front row. Andi leans over toward Matteo as he says something to her, pointing out at the ice below.

We have a suite that the wives and family members use, but during the playoffs, it’s just the wives and kids in it.

“I like her,” Nova, Lincoln’s fiancée says as she steps up beside me. I look over to her and find her watching Andi with a soft smile on her face. “She seems really nice.”

“She is,” I say softly, turning my direction back to Andi and Matteo. My eyes roam over the side of Andi’s face, memorizing her features. “I’m still getting to know her, but that’s been my assessment so far.”

Nova laughs quietly. “You like her, don’t you?” She pauses. Her soft smile has morphed into a sheepish grin. “I mean, clearly you liked her when you first met her or else you guys wouldn’t have a kid.” She laughs again, shaking her head.

“Well, yeah,” I choke out, covering up my fumble with a laugh. “She’s attractive and nice. There’s nothing not to like.” I roll my lips between my teeth. “We’re just trying to figure out how to co-parent, I guess.”

“Right, right.” She bites back a grin. “So, you wouldn’t want anything more with her than co-parenting.”

“Relationships aren’t really my thing,” I tell Nova in a hushed voice so those around us don’t overhear. I would be lying if I said the scenario hadn’t crossed my mind. In a perfect world, Andi and I together would make so much sense. The three of us, living that family life together.

However, this isn’t a perfect world.

“Things can always change.” She gives me a small shrug as she taps her hand against my shoulder. “Just keep an open mind, kid. You might surprise yourself.”

My eyebrows pull together. “Surprise myself with what?”

She shrugs again, holding her hands up in an innocent gesture. “You think you know what you want now, but you might decide you want something different.” She inches closer, her voice dropping lower. “I promise you, relationships aren’t as bad as you think they are.”

A laugh escapes me, loud enough that Andi slowly turns around in her seat, her eyes searching for me. Nova retreats, moving back to where her daughter Posey is sitting, and I’m left under Andi’s gaze.