Page 96 of Banter & Blushes #1

Arwyn chewed it and grinned. “Nice shot.”

“I am a professional.”

“With a puck.”

I shrugged. “I’m good at hitting targets.”

“Your turn.” She pinched the first blueberry between her thumb and index finger.

I leaned back on my elbows and opened my mouth toward the cloud-spackled blue sky. The sun was brighter than I was expecting, forcing my eyes to close against the light.

Instead of a blueberry, it was Arwyn’s mouth that met mine.

Another kissing session?

Way better than lunch.

Up here, alone in the meadow, it felt like we were in another world, and I could tell from the fervency of her kisses that she wanted to make every minute count.

Arwyn pulled away and smiled, waiting for me to make the next move.

As I drew near her again, her smile faltered, and she inhaled a slow, steadying breath.

It whooshed out in a soft sigh, and I patiently pressed my lips to hers once again.

But this time, I deepened the kiss so that her next sigh would be all mine.

Lunch could wait.

After we tucked the girls into bed, I kissed Arwyn goodbye, grabbed my Edge cap, tossed it on backward, and took the resort shuttle to Paddy’s Tavern. Flynn’s bachelor celebration was already in full swing when I arrived.

It looked like every guy in town had shown up.

I recognized Ryan, Easton, Damon, and Matt at the pool table—I’d met him at pickup yesterday—and a cluster of professional hockey players in a lively darts tournament.

Flynn’s dad and uncle sat at the bar, and his brother and cousins were on the small stage attempting to sing a rock song I think was from the 1970s .

I loved a good karaoke night.

I finally spotted Flynn at a round high-top table in the corner with our Edge teammates, Xavier Schwann and Trask Emerson, and his bestie from when he played in Boston, Taz Houlihan.

I’d known Taz since he was a teenager. He grew up in Palmer City, and his sister was the assistant trainer for the Voltage.

Taz was one of those kids we called an “ice rat”—if he could’ve lived at the rink, he would have.

Flynn, ever stoic, wore an expression that was hard to read. But from the way the other guys were leaning in, I surmised whatever they were talking about was important.

Maybe I could help.

I beelined for the table, and when I reached earshot, I heard him loud and clear. I had no doubt he was talking about the big commitment he was about to make.

“But how do I know it’s going to work?” He looked up just then, and our eyes locked. He paled, probably thinking about my divorce. His relationship with Meggie had begun when they were teenagers, just like mine and Viki’s.

So given my history, I had a unique perspective the other guys at the table didn’t.

I pulled an unoccupied stool from a neighboring table and joined them, folding my arms on the tabletop before I spoke.

“You can’t ever know for sure. But what you can do is listen.

Check in—often. Not just ask if she’s good.

She’ll always say yes. Get the details, and let her talk all of them out of her.

Then ask if she wants advice or help. Don’t offer it without asking first. And be affectionate.

Hug often. Make her morning coffee when you’re home.

Add whipped cream and sprinkles for flourish.

Find other ways to constantly show her she’s your world. ”

“And if I do all that and she still wants to leave me?” Flynn rubbed the back of his neck. “Wait … did you do all those things?”

I shook my head and thought for a minute before I responded so I could form my racing thoughts into something constructive and helpful.

“I was young. I did everything I could think of at the time. Ultimately, it wasn’t enough because you can never control everything .

.. especially another person. When she told me she didn’t love me anymore, I knew I would never be able to fix that, no matter how much effort I put in or how much I tried to change.

I’m a lot. I’ll never stop learning and growing to be the best man I can be, but I can’t change the core of who I am.

I strive to be better today than I was yesterday, and that’s all I can do.

” I lifted my chin so I could lock eyes with him.

“I assumed she’d always be there, because she always was.

And when she said she was fine, I assumed she was telling the truth.

If you ever hear Meggie say she’s ‘fine,’ always assume the opposite. ”

“You know what they say about assuming,” Taz interjected. “The first three letters make an—ow!” Xavier cut him off with an elbow to his bicep.

I smirked. “It’s true. Never assume. Instead of worrying and wondering, take action.

Communicate. Meggie is leaving her home and her veterinary assistant job for you.

She’s put off her dream of becoming a vet herself so she can support your dream.

That’s a lot for you to carry on your shoulders.

I get that. She may regret her choices at some point, like Viki did, but that isn’t anything you can control.

What you can control are your words and actions.

Making her feel valued, showing your gratitude, and showing up for her. ”

“Do you wish you had done more of that?” Flynn asked. “If you had, do you think you’d still be together?”

I still felt bad for not being what Viki needed, but I knew in my heart our separation was better for both of us.

“Not anymore,” I confessed honestly. “After she filed for divorce, for the longest time I wished I had. But it wouldn’t have helped.

We wanted different things, and by that point, neither of us were willing to give something up for the other.

We thought we were each other’s person at the time, but then we grew up and realized we weren’t right for each other.

In retrospect, we probably never would’ve gotten together in the first place if I hadn’t been living in her house.

And then I met Arwyn, and it was different.

That woman saw the worst of me before she saw the best of me, and she gave me a chance.

I’ll never take her love for granted. It’s a work in progress, but it’s growing every day. She’s my forever.”

“The forced proximity trope,” Jason Dexter, our goalie, said from behind me. “Twice.”

All our heads turned to stare at him.

“What? I’m well-read. Y’all know that.”

We exchanged a round of cheerful chirps, aimed at Jason and his confession that he read romance novels.

“Don’t judge.” He elbowed me. “I know about you reading the Anne of Green Gables series.”

“With my daughters,” I retorted.

“Mm-hmm. Sure.” He took a sip of the water bottle he’d brought with him. “And if Arwyn asked you to read them just because?”

My cheeks heated. I was glad for my ginger beard. “Yeah. I’d read them.”

“And would you have read them for Viki?” Jason pushed.

I shook my head. “Unlikely.”

“Exactly my point. You”—he pointed to Trask—“went hard chirping at me reading Lauren’s favorite book when we were dating.

That book was key to me getting a second chance when I blew it with her.

And yet here y’all are, chirping me again now for taking an interest in my wife’s interests.

And I couldn’t care less.” He turned to Flynn.

“If Meggie asked you to spend a weekend watching Hallmark Christmas movies, would you?”

“Heck yeah,” he said.

“Point made.” Jason grinned.

“Unfair ask,” I insisted. “Bro’s from a tiny town in Vermont. He grew up in a Hallmark Christmas movie. ”

Jason sighed heavily, like my comment wasn’t worth responding to. I grinned at him.

“Let me try,” Trask said. “Kami’s got her PhD in environmental science.

She was finishing it when she met me, and then she planned to move back to her family’s bee farm in the South Carolina Lowcountry and start a career as a research scientist testing and analyzing swampy dirt.

She put that on hold. For me. Because we talked about it.

The career of a professional athlete isn’t very long.

We all know there are expiration dates on our bodies playing such a physical sport.

I’ll retire before I’m forty, and she can have a long career after that.

And right now, she’s happy being a hockey mom to our kids.

They’re growing so fast, and she’s there for every minute of it.

You can’t ever get that time back. If she was traveling around the world sampling dirt, she’d miss a lot of it. ”

Like Arwyn’s mom did, I thought. How had she felt about missing Arwyn growing up? My girls were the same age as Arwyn was when her mother left.

“So every summer,” Trask went on, “she chooses a vacation location or a research project—just for her—where she can dig to sample and analyze dirt. Sometimes we make it a family affair, for fun and to teach our kids about the environment and cool things like why citrus thrives in the South and apples don’t. ”

“I don’t know Meggie too well,” I said. “But from what I can see, she isn’t being coerced to marry you and move to Colorado. She doesn’t appear to be marrying you for money or out of convenience?—”

“Hey now,” Xavier warned. He was smiling though. His marriage of convenience to Penny had worked out far better than either of them could have imagined.

“Sorry, Swanny.” I grinned back at him. “Meggie’s different from Viki, Flynn. I know it, and you know it.”

“Yeah. You’re right. Thanks, guys.”

“Anytime,” I said.

Jason pointed to the small stage by the bar. “Looks like it’s about to get loud.”

“Uh-oh,” Flynn said. “I don’t know who’s worse. You or JC.”

“JC?” I angled my body toward the stage. Sure enough, JC had the mic in his hands. The beginning chords of “Don’t Stop Believin’” began to play.

“You gonna let him show you up, Marshy?” Taz instigated. “You know you can’t resist.”

Once JC started singing about the small-town girl in her lonely world, a cluster of women appeared out of nowhere and began singing along.

All hopes of finishing our conversation dashed, I grinned at Taz and hopped off my stool.

It was time to introduce Crane’s Cove to Quebec’s pride and joy.

Celine Dion.