Page 61 of Goal Line (Boston Rebels #4)

“Honestly, I’m not sure it would have happened without Jameson quietly helping me rebuild my life,” she says with a small, private smile.

“He kept doing things behind the scenes—I had no idea he was pulling the strings, and he wasn’t looking for credit.

He just wanted to make my transition to single motherhood and moving to Boston easier. ”

“Do you think you would have ended up where you are now, without him?” I ask, curious whether there are any similarities between their relationship and mine with Luke.

I feel both thankful and also a tad guilty about all the ways in which Luke has helped me in the past few months.

There’s no doubt I wouldn’t be where I am if he hadn’t done everything he could to make my life better.

“Where I am now is with him. There was no path here without Jameson,” Lauren says.

“And I’m okay with that. I don’t feel like it makes me less of an independent woman that I have a man who I wouldn’t want to be without.

There’s a vast difference between a man who you’re dependent on , and a man you can depend on . ”

“Oh?” I say, raising my eyebrow as we start another lap around the rink.

I wonder if Lauren even realizes how she’s put her hands into the pocket of her Rebels hoodie.

She’s so at ease on the ice now that I’m trying to hide any reaction that might remind her that she was terrified just a few minutes ago.

So I ask her questions to keep her talking. “How so?

“A man you can depend on will support you emotionally and encourage you professionally. He has your back . . . you can depend on him to be there for you, without being dependent on him. He doesn’t make you feel like you can’t survive without him, just that you’d never want to.”

“Yeah, a man like that is a definite keeper,” I say, thinking that I’m picturing Luke in every way she’s described her husband. Luke’s always made sure I have more choices, not fewer, always had my back, and has always shown me just how much he loves and cherishes me.

“Speaking of keepers, where’s Hartmann? I hear that where you go, he goes.”

“He’s in Minnesota for an endorsement appearance,” I tell her.

It’s probably evident in my tone that I miss him.

Last week, I wasn’t sure if he’d go unless I tagged along.

But after a week on the medication, my blood pressure is controlled, and I’m back to practicing with Christopher.

Plus, I’m closer to my doctor here in Boston, and Morgan is staying with me, just in case.

“Oh, you should come out with us tomorrow night, then,” Lauren says. “I’m doing a girls’ night with my sister, Paige. ”

“I wish I could. There’s a meeting for the international figure skating organization here this week, something to do with planning for the World Championships in Boston next spring.

I already agreed to go to a cocktail reception tomorrow night with a few of the organization’s international sponsors.

When I said I would go, I didn’t realize that Luke would be out of town.

I hate going to shit like that by myself. ”

“Could your skating partner go with you?”

“That would have been ideal, but he’s leaving town right after our practice tomorrow.

Going home with his new girlfriend to meet her family.

” Part of me thinks that this is happening pretty quickly, because Christopher does not settle into relationships easily.

The other part of me thinks that what they have must be special if he’s willing to be this serious about her.

I’m frustrated that we had to cancel our dinner with them last week because of my blood pressure, so I still haven’t met Jenn.

But Luke and I are supposed to have dinner with them next week after they’re back from upstate New York.

“Well, I’ll text you wherever we end up,” Lauren says, as she casually does a crossover to turn with the curve of the rink, “in case you want to come out afterward and meet up with us.”

I thank her, even though I know I won’t feel like going out. I’ve been getting way more tired much earlier in the evenings, and Luke should be back home after I get back from that event.

And, tomorrow is our last on-ice practice, because Lynette’s worried about my stamina and potential for injury. Instead, we’ll move to off-ice practices next week and continue that way until my doctor says I need to stop entirely.

I smooth my hand over my baby bump, marveling at how much larger it’s gotten since Luke and I got married.

Back then, you couldn’t even tell I was pregnant.

Now, you can’t miss the size of my belly.

It’s not like I wasn’t prepared for pregnancy to change my body, but I didn’t expect stretch marks on my abdomen as evidence of just how quickly that bump has grown.

At least Luke doesn’t seem to mind...

he just traces them with his finger and calls them my battle scars.

The morning he left for Minnesota, I woke up to him whispering to Baby Squash through my navel, telling her to be good for me while he was gone. The way that man loves the both of us is something else entirely—it’s a depth and breadth of selflessness that I didn’t know existed.

“Eva,” Lauren says with a laugh. “What the hell are you thinking about?”

My head snaps over toward her, and that’s when I realize I got so distracted thinking about Luke that I never even responded.

“Sorry,” I say with a slight grimace. “Totally just got lost thinking about Luke.”

Lauren laughs. “I’d tease you about it, but that would be like the pot calling the kettle black.”

We take one last lap around the rink, and I’m amazed by how comfortable Lauren is now. That’s what makes me want to coach—witnessing someone doing something they didn’t think they could do, and knowing that I helped them get there.

But then the kids start filing into the stands to get ready for their lesson, and Lauren and I part ways. She heads up to the offices for work, as I head toward the Back Bay for my practice with Christopher.

I’m almost at our practice rink when Lauren’s text comes through.

Lauren

Thanks for this morning...I never thought I’d feel safe and happy on the ice again. Coaching seems like a natural fit for you!