Page 31 of Actions and Reactions (All It Takes #5)

From what I could glean during dinner, she’s not even a little full of herself. I mean, you can see she knows her worth from how she stands, but she doesn’t seem arrogant.

What I saw that gave me peace of mind, though, was the way she looked at Dad. She clearly respects him on top of liking him, enough that he made her blush a few times, and she laughed at every joke he made—which just goes to show that no one’s perfect.

We eke out a win during overtime then go out to eat, and a few of my teammates tag along.

Milkman has done his best to stay glued to me since I told the team about not being in a great place, and so he comes, obviously, and though most of my friends are fans of my father, they’re all chomping at the bit to hang out with Alaina Newman.

Corey comes along for the ride and ends up chatting with Benny and Bates about comic books all night.

I, on the other hand, spend more than an hour with an impressed Ally. She recaps most of the game back to me, but I actually love it. She seems in awe of us, and really lets her fangirl out with Jules.

They also talk about the game, and then about Sterling—who she says she’s met a few times and loves—and as I watch them I think about Michael.

I’ve never had a conversation like this one with him, and sure, he’s more reserved than Ally, but he’s tried over the years to start conversations like this and I haven’t been great at reciprocating.

Considering Michael also leads an interesting life, and has an impressive job and list of accomplishments, there really shouldn’t be any reason for me to have kept my distance from him, except...

When I met him, I only knew him as the guy who was responsible for my Mom moving across the country.

Sure, I was already in the NHL, in Portland, but LA was so close by I got to see my family pretty regularly. But then she and Lex moved to New York, and I guess I did blame him for that.

And that’s not fair. I mean, Mom’s the one who decided to move to New York, he didn’t make her do anything, and I wasn’t mad at her then, nor am I mad at her now.

So I promise myself right then and there that I’m going to put more effort into having a good relationship with Michael.

And I make good on that promise the next day when I walk into the hotel room I’m sharing with Milkman in Phoenix.

I FaceTime Mom and she answers right away.

“Honey, you played so well last night!” she cheers.

“You didn’t stay up to watch, did you?” I ask, already knowing the answer.

“No, but we saw the replay this morning, and they even showed your interview after.”

Yeah, that was awful. It made me miss Silas for yet another reason.

“I think you did well in that too.” Michael’s voice comes from next to Mom and she turns the phone toward him.

I smile at him, showing him how glad I am to see him. It’s good that I don’t have to ask to talk to him specifically, that would make this whole thing awkward, so it’s completely genuine.

“Thanks. They caught me off guard, honestly.” Because they asked about Dad and Ally, and I didn’t know what to do.

“Saying you’re happy to have your family supporting you was the perfect non-answer,” Michael confirms and nods sagely.

“Oh, God, I can’t wait any more,” Mom shouts and flips the camera back to her. “What did you think of Ally? And Lex? What is your Dad like with her? He’s so cute, isn’t he? All bashful and in loooove.”

I snort at her swooning, and just at the corner of my screen I can see Michael smiling at her exactly like Ally was smiling at Dad.

“I think it’s safe to say both Lex and I liked her.

She obviously makes Dad happy—she’s even learning all about hockey—and that’s all we’ve ever wanted for you two, so we’re happy too.

” I see those words hit Mom hard so I point a warning finger at her face.

“Don’t,” I warn. “Hold the tears in, Mom.”

“I can’t!” she cries, and then all I see is movement.

“Talk to him while I cry,” she tells Michael and then his face is right there.

Just like me, he’s shaking his head, but with a smile on his face.

I can’t hold the crying against her because I bet she’s been praying to hear something like this from me for damn near years, which shames me a bit, but we’ll all get over it.

She’s also not that much of a crier normally, so I know it’ll pass soon.

“You’re the perfect guy to ask,” I say, trying to keep my tone casual. “What does the world think of Hulk dating the Alaina Newman?”

“Hah,” he barks out one laugh in his reserved way. “There might be some beauty-and-the-beast comparisons going around.”

“Dad’s not a beast,” I scoff, because... well, because I look just like him and I’m a very handsome man, thank you very much. Thankfully, Michael laughs too .

“I think the general public is loving it, but there were some not-so-nice comments about how EMP is producing her next movie,” he says, mentioning one of the studios he owns, the one based in LA.

“And how that has to be awkward, and blah, blah, blah.” I really appreciate the way he rolls his eyes at that.

“As if I haven’t financed fifteen other films she’s been in. ”

“And she was gushing about you and Mom last night too,” I add, defending her to no one since he’s obviously on the same side as me.

“No matter how much proof there is to the contrary, the world will never get over your parents divorcing. They’ll always think there’s this big scandal we’re all keeping secret,” he says and sighs.

“Whatever. Those outside opinions don’t matter, Mich.” I figure on the spot it’s high time he gets a nickname. “We know the truth.”

“Yeah, we do!” Mom shouts from somewhere far away.

“Hey, I have an idea if you’ve got time.

” And this just seems even more important right now, because in every article where they insinuate something nefarious went on behind the scenes, Mich is always the one who comes out looking like a bad guy, and I really don’t like that, I realize.

And since there’s something I think we can do about it, I think we should.

“Sure, what’s up?” He’s all business all of a sudden, and it pains me a little that he thinks I’m always going to talk to him in a business capacity.

“Why don’t you fly down with Mom and spend some time here? If you’ve got the time to spare, that is. I can get Dad to come for a weekend or something, and we can shut everybody up, living it up in the casino or some shit like that.”

I get another laugh, this time a bit louder.

“I’ve got the time, yeah, and I bet Eli would love to have the house to himself.”

I snort at that because my stepbrother does like his space.

“I can get you four some good tickets for Sterling’s show, and you can even come to the first game of the season in a couple of weeks. Gab would love to have you, I’m sure.”

“That’s such a nice idea, Vinny,” Mom says, still sniffling, but closer this time.

“I’ll make sure to be there,” Michael adds. “And I like the nickname.” He winks at me, and so from now on, he’s Mich.