Page 29

I hesitate, glancing at Darren. He meets my eyes, and I see the question there, a hope I'm not ready to examine too closely.

"You can walk with us if you want," I hear myself say, but it sounds far off. "Their house isn't far."

His smile is immediate and warm. "I'd like that."

As we walk, the kids naturally gravitate to Darren.

Taylor shows him every interesting thing we pass, and Adam asks countless barely intelligible questions that Darren answers with surprising patience.

I hang back slightly, watching the interaction and wondering what I'm going to say when we're alone again.

"You know," I say quietly when the kids run ahead to examine a particularly interesting tree, "my sister and her husband are going to freak out when they meet you."

Darren raises an eyebrow. "Oh, yeah, your brother-in-law is a Grizzlies fan, right?"

I'm surprised he remembered that, but I nod. "Huge. Like, watches every game, has the jerseys, the whole nine yards. Or, uh, whatever the hockey version is."

He laughs, the sound rich and genuine. "I'm always happy to meet fans." His voice drops slightly, eyes meeting mine. "Especially fans who are related to a beautiful woman I'm interested in."

Heat rushes to my cheeks, and I look away, focusing on the kids. "We should catch up to them before they decide to climb that tree."

Darren doesn't push, just falls into step beside me as we quicken our pace. His arm brushes mine occasionally as we walk, each contact sending a small jolt through me that I try desperately to ignore.

We reach Jessica's house all too soon, a tidy two-story in a family-friendly neighborhood with a small but well-maintained yard. The kids race up the path to the front door, Taylor already shouting for her parents before we even reach the porch.

The door swings open to reveal Jessica, her eyes widening comically as she takes in the scene. Her children, me, and the professional hockey player standing awkwardly on her doorstep.

"Hi, Jess," I say, trying for casual and failing miserably. "This is Darren. He was at the park and walked back with us."

Jessica's mouth opens and closes several times before she manages, "Holy—" She cuts herself off, looking at the children. "Cow?"

"Hi," Darren says with an easy smile, extending his hand. "Nice to meet you."

Before Jessica can respond, Luke appears behind her, his expression changing from curious to stunned disbelief in the span of a heartbeat.

"Holy shit," he breathes, no self-censoring, then immediately winces as Jessica elbows him sharply. "I mean, wow . The Brick. On my porch. This is... wow."

Darren takes it in stride, shaking Luke's hand with the same warmth he showed the children. "Just Darren is fine. Taylor and Adam here were showing me their rock collection at the park. They're great kids."

Luke nods enthusiastically, still looking shell-shocked. "They are. Great rocks. I mean… kids. Rock collection. Yes."

Jessica rolls her eyes, but I can see she's fighting a smile. "Why don't you all come in? I can make coffee."

"Actually," I interject quickly, "Darren and I were just going to?—"

"Talk," Darren finishes for me. "We have some things to discuss."

Jessica's eyebrows shoot up, and I know I'll be getting a detailed interrogation later. "Of course," she says, her tone too innocent to be believable. "Don't let us keep you."

Luke looks like he wants to protest, clearly hoping for more time with his hockey idol, but Jessica's pointed look silences him.

"It was really nice meeting all of you," Darren says, and I can tell he means it. "Maybe next time we can talk more."

Next time.

The casual implication that there will be a next time doesn't escape me as we say our goodbyes. The kids hug me fiercely, Taylor making Darren promise to look for more magic rocks on our way.

As we walk away, Jessica catches my arm, pulling me back slightly. "Call me later," she whispers urgently. "I want details. All of them."

"There's nothing to tell," I insist, but the heat in my cheeks betrays me.

“Sure there isn’t.” She glances at Darren, who's waiting patiently a few feet away, then back to me. “Great, now I have to worry about my husband running off with your new musclebound guy.”

I elbow her, unable to suppress a laugh. "Shut up."

She grins, releasing my arm. "Go. But call me."

I rejoin Darren, acutely aware of Jessica watching us from the doorway. We walk in silence for a moment, the afternoon sun making everything feel hazy and comfortable.

"Your sister seems nice," Darren says finally. "And her husband is..."

"A complete fanboy?" I supply.

He laughs. "I was going to say enthusiastic, but yeah."

"I warned you."

"You did." He glances at me, softness in his expression. "Thanks for introducing me. I can tell that's not something you do lightly."

Warmth spreads across my face again and I force myself to look away. "No, it isn't."

We reach the corner where we need to turn toward my apartment, and I hesitate. This is the moment where I should say goodbye, thank him for walking with us, and go back to my life of sweaters and solitude.

Instead, I hear myself say, "Do you want to come to my place? To talk, I mean. I could make coffee."

The smile that breaks across his face is answer enough.