Page 32 of Learn Your Lesson

He never rushed his observation, never seemed ashamed of it. He took his time, his gaze lingering on every spot where a sliver of my bare skin showed, like he had all night to look at me and intended to spend it doing just that.

“I’m sorry about your wife.”

That snapped his gaze to mine, and my eyes shot wide.

Did I just fucking say that?!

Sometimes, my mouth moved before my brain did, and now, I was nervously fidgeting and trying to think of something to add to that sentence that would make it less awkward and rude.

I came up empty.

“I just mean, I know you said things have been hard,” I finally stammered, my neck hot enough to melt gold. I played with my necklace, plucking it from my skin and running the charm along the chain as if I was scared it actuallywouldmelt against my skin. “With the nannies. And I can’t imagine what you’ve been through, and I…” I cringed. “I’m sorry.”

I closed my eyes shut tight, peeking one open and then the next.

Will just held my stare, his face void of emotion. “Thank you,” he finally said.

“What was she like?”

Oh, my God, Chloe.

Stop. Talking.

Will rubbed the scruff on his jaw, cracking his neck one way and then the other. His gaze was focused on the kitchen island now, like his thoughts were far away.

“Wild,” he finally answered, and a ghost of a smile touched his lips. “Jenny was absolutely wild. She was a free spirit, never gave two shits about what anyone thought of her. She liked what she liked and hated what she hated. She was the first to dance on the bar or jump into the ocean naked after midnight.”

I didn’t know why, but my chest tightened, a pinch of jealousy surprising me. The way he looked when he talked about her was the way any woman would dream of being spoken about, like she’d been his entire world.

She also sounded cool — and I was anything but.

The comparison monster only hung around for a moment before I mentally slapped it away, and genuine sorrow slipped in to take its place.

This man lost his wife, the mother of his child.

“How did you meet?”

Will’s eyebrows lifted and lowered, like he was laughing to himself at the memory. “At some sorority party in college. You would have hated it,” he added with a glance from beneath his brows. “Sweaty, drunk people everywhere.”

I smiled.

“I went with some of my teammates, and as soon as we walked in, she hooked me by the arm and dragged me to do shots.”

That surprised me, since he didn’t drink now. At least, I hadn’t seen him drink, and I learned that first evening at dinner that he didn’t have wine in the house.

I guessed he’d been different back then.

“Love at first sight?” I guessed.

“Not at all, actually. We were just friends. Best friends,” he clarified. “We hooked up a time or two in college, but nothing serious. We’d always laugh it off thenext day. When I left college to start my NHL career with the Tampa organization, we didn’t think we’d see each other again. But about a year later, she got a job offer in St. Pete. She moved here, we started hanging out, one thing led to another, and we found ourselves in bed together… and then she got pregnant.”

My eyes shot wide.

I did not expectthat.

“I couldn’t believe it when she told me, but strangely, neither of us was upset. We were just kind of like… okay, I guess we’re doing this. We got married a couple weeks later, just a small ceremony on the beach.”

He cleared his throat, standing up straighter and looking at the now-empty glass in his hands.