Page 83 of Ruled Out

It’s at that point I notice the girls, now with drinks in hand, retreat out of the kitchen, Mia following as Felicity takes Aster from Jon. I throw a quick smile at Mia as she glances over her shoulder at me on the way out of the room.

“Yep,” Jon replies, taking another sip of his beer. “Once live, the second and third time with Jack. He wanted to watch the best player to ever grace the ice.” He shrugs a casual shoulder at me. “I told him he already retired.”

Zach chuckles from where he’s setting out plates and napkins.

“How’s he doing?” I ask Jon.

For what I thought was a straightforward question, my former captain suddenly appears uncomfortable as he looks down and shifts his weight from one leg to the other, and silence falls across our group.

Jensen looks over at me, raising his brows in question.

I shrug in response.

“What’s the score, buddy?” Jensen finally breaks the silence.

Jon sets his bottle down and drums his fingers lightly on the counter in thought.

“Things are going … well for him. There’s a bunch of NDAs in force right now, but my former agent, now his, has just entered into negotiations with a couple of teams.”

Jensen’s eyes bug out. “An opportunity in the AHL? Maybe I shouldn’t be surprised. He was impressive when we came to watch.”

Jon clears his throat. “Yeah. Maybe for a season. I’m confident after that, he’ll be offered pro terms if he keeps his game up.”

“Holy fu—” I stop myself at the last second, glancing up at June and Will.

Jon’s lips tip up, pride written all over him. “Kid’s awesome. Not only has he been killing it in the NCAA, but his grades havebeen insane too. He’s always found studies to be difficult, but everything is going his way, and he deserves it all. He’ll likely graduate near the top of his class. Felicity is so damn proud.”

“So, why do I get the feeling there’s another part to this story?” Jensen asks, addressing the elephant in the room.

Running his tongue across his bottom lip, Jon scratches at the back of his neck. “Well, that’s where the NDAs come in. I can’t say any more than that right now.”

“Do you know any more?” Jensen turns to Zach, the twins now playing with his hair.

“Nope,” Zach answers, eyeing Jon. “Won’t tell me a damn thing.”

“Well, whatever it is,” I say, screwing the cap onto my soda bottle, “sounds awesome.”

Jon nods. “Speaking of awesome …” He tips his head over his shoulder. “Felicity filled me in on the details. At first, I thought you were insane to go after Graham Jenkins’s daughter—not just once, but twice. But now that I’ve met her, I get it.”

“She’s pretty amazing,” I reply, already missing her.

“She’s definitely out of his league.” Jensen chuckles. “Only took him four years to get his sh—izzle together.”

I throw him a death glare. “Says the guy whose girl wouldn’t even look at him for the first eighteen months.”

He smirks and steps forward, casting his eyes up to June and Will. “And now, I have the bling and the babies.”

Jon’s eyes grow wide as he turns to Zach. “Bling. That reminds me. We need to talk about?—”

“No.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

MIA

“Oh my God, so she tried to go behind your back and steal the client from underneath you?” Felicity scoffs as all the girls surround Aster on his play mat, where he’s busying himself with a sensory book after dinner.

Kate nods once, her silky blonde hair falling around her shoulders as she pulls it down from a messy bun. “Yep, no word of it is a lie. Mrs. Garcia called me directly, saying she couldn’t make our appointment on Friday since a personal issue had come up. I was like, ‘There is no meeting scheduled for this Friday.’ At first, I assumed it was a mix-up with reception, but when she explained she’d made the appointment directly with Nina Higgins, my blood ran cold. SheknewI had every intention of taking back my entire client book when I returned from maternity leave, but she still went ahead and tried her luck anyway.”