Page 28 of Clear Shot

She’s nervous now that I’m here—uncomfortable—and I don’t know what I’ve done wrong. Or if I’ve already screwed up somehow.

Marrying her seemed like a good idea at the time, but now things feel awkward. Like we’re out of sync.

And I can’t let that happen.

Not again.

Hana is sittingwith Vaughn’s wife Juliet and Jude LeBlanc’s wife, Chloe.

“Hey.” I slide into the empty chair next to Hana and drop my arm over the back of hers.

“Hi.” She turns and our faces are barely an inch apart. Her lips are parted, covered in something glossy, and I can’t resist dropping my mouth to hers. A tiny smile curves her lips and the look we share is hard to decipher.

“Hana said you guys aren’t going to be moving until the season is over,” Juliet says to me. “But I just want to let you know my sister-in-law is a realtor so if you need one, I can hook you up.”

“Thanks.” I nod. “We just want to take a little time to settle into married life without worrying about a major move.”

“Jude and I finally bought a house this past summer,” Chloe says. “And it’s exhausting.” She’s an emergency room doctor, so I imagine she has even less time than Jude does.

“Vaughn already had a house,” Juliet says, patting her protruding belly. “But now that we’re expecting, we’re probably going to upgrade. I don’t care but he seems to think we need twenty-seven bedrooms.”

“That’s not what I said.” Vaughn comes over and rests his hand on her stomach. “I just think we need a bigger yard for the kids.”

“One kid,” she corrects him playfully. “It’s just one, Vaughn. And it’ll be a while before we have another. If ever. Because being pregnant sucks.”

He whispers something that makes her laugh, and I can’t help but wonder if Hana wants kids. This isn’t something we’ve ever talked about.

“You guys want kids?” Vaughn asks, saving me the trouble.

Hana shrugs. “Someday in the future, but I’d like to do a little more with my career first. There’s a lot of life to be lived before I think about kids.”

Whew.

That’s a relief.

Short-term anyway.

Kids aren’t on my radar.

Not now, not ever.

I come from a family of alcoholics, drug addicts, and mental health issues. I’ve battled depression my entire life and it wasn’t until I made it to the NHL that I got properly medicated. I don’t talk about it but the last thing I want is to pass any of my genetics down to an innocent baby.

Except now I’m married to a woman who wants them. Someday.

“Look at Aiden’s face!” Vaughn says, chuckling. “You look like a deer in the headlights, bro.”

Crap.

I’ve never been much of an actor so my thoughts on kids is probably written all over my face.

“If we decide to have kids,” I say as diplomatically as possible, “it won’t be for a long time. We both have a lot going on professionally.”

Hana nods, and seems fine with that answer, which is a relief.

But now I’m a little worried.

When we agreed to get married, it wasn’t supposed to be real.