Page 10 of Clear Shot (Lauderdale Knights #9)

Aiden

“Aiden, I hear congratulations are in order?” the older man says to me.

“Yeah. Thanks.” I hope I look more relaxed than I feel. I wasn’t planning to answer questions about Hana and me on the record.

“Is it true your new wife is Johan Hasek’s sister?”

Christ, who the hell has been running their mouth?

“It is,” I say, nodding.

“How does he feel about that?” the guy asks.

“You’ll have to ask him,” I say, forcing a tight smile.

“It’s tough getting married during the season,” he continues. “But you looked good out there tonight.”

“Thanks.”

What the hell else am I supposed to say?

Luckily, he asks a few more game-related questions and then goes off in search of Coach Petrov.

Thank fuck.

I make a beeline for the showers so I can get dressed and go find Hana.

This is her first time hanging with the WAGs in an official capacity and I know how nosy some of the women can be, especially the ones who aren’t yet married.

According to some of my friends’ wives, the unmarried ladies can be jealous sometimes, and there are a couple who seem to want to make trouble, even when there isn’t any reason to.

“She’s fine,” Johan says to me as I yank on my clothes. “Sloane and Claudia are with her, and Coach’s wife always takes the new girls under her wing.”

Coach Petrov’s wife, Tessa, is known for making sure any new additions feel welcome, but sometimes she’s not aware of what’s happening in the gossip mill.

“I’d be less worried if we weren’t hiding something,” I mutter.

“Only a handful of us know that.”

“Felix and Jordan could run their mouths, and that would be trouble for all of us.”

“They won’t. Relax, Aiden. Everything is going to be okay.”

I don’t know why I’m so worried but until I see her with my own eyes, I won’t be able to stop.

By the time I get to the family lounge, I feel like I’m going to puke, but that feeling fades the moment I see Hana. She’s laughing with a group of ladies, perfectly at ease. Like she belongs.

Okay, good.

I pull in a breath and then head in her direction.

“Hey, babe.” I lean over to brush my lips across hers.

“Hi.” She smiles at me. “Good game.”

“Thank you.” I slide my arm around her waist. “Did you enjoy it?”

“Always. You know I love hockey.”

“I do.”

“You’re a sly one,” Zakk Cloutier’s wife, Tiff, says to me, wagging a finger in my face. “You had us all convinced you friend zoned Hana—and then, bam! You’re married.”

I playfully wiggle my eyebrows since I adore Tiff. “Sometimes a man has to have secrets, you know?”

She laughs. “Depends on the secret, I guess.”

If she only knew.

“Are we going out to eat with everyone?” Hana asks, deftly changing the subject. “I guess a bunch of people are going to Cicero’s.”

“I’m down,” I say, nodding. “If you are.”

“Sure.”

We chat with everyone for a few minutes, until the rest of the guys on the team arrive, and then we start to disburse. Since Hana and I drove to the arena separately, we have no choice but to meet at the restaurant.

“Next time, either ride with one of the others or I’ll hire a car service,” I tell her. “I don’t like you driving out of here alone.”

“I drive alone all the time.” She seems confused by my concern.

“Yes, but here at the arena you’ll get caught in game-day traffic. It would be easier for you if you could just come with me.”

“Next time, then,” she agrees.

“I’ll see you there,” I say. “Drive safe.”

She nods. “I will.”

“Everything go okay with the wives and girlfriends?” I ask, watching her face when she doesn’t turn to leave right away.

“I’m fine. Everyone was really nice. I felt very welcome.”

“I’m glad.” I reach out to brush a lock of hair behind her ear and she leans into my hand for a couple of seconds.

Damn, I love touching her.

“I’ll, uh, see you at the restaurant.” She turns abruptly and hurries in the opposite direction and I watch until I can’t see her anymore.

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 sitting with 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.

Now that we’re in the thick of it, I can’t help but think we could make it work.

Not if she wants kids, though.

That’s a hard line for me.

One that’s cost me relationships in the past, including my first wife.

She couldn’t live with the idea that we’d never have kids.

And I tried to change my mind. I really did.

Couples therapy, individual therapy, and a lot of soul searching.

In the end, I couldn’t do it, so she left and took a piece of my heart with her.

That’s when I decided marriage wasn’t for me.

I don’t know why I thought it might be different with Hana, but I never gave the kids angle a second thought. Mostly because it’s not a real marriage. I’m doing her a favor, and I have to keep that in mind whenever I start having these weird possessive feelings for her.

Kids were one of the reasons I didn’t ask her out in the first place.

I’ve always had a thing for her but I know women like her—who come from large, traditional families—almost always want kids of their own. Since I can’t give them to her it’s better not to get involved. It will only make things harder.

Except for one pesky little detail—we’re married .

She’s my wife.

And I want her so fucking bad I can taste it.