Page 29 of Pucking My Grumpy Accidental Husband

"There what is?"

"Honesty. And for the record, I’ve never felt this way about anyone, ever. Which should terrify me, but instead it just makes me want to figure out how to make this work."

"What if we can't make it work?"

"What if we can?"

"That's not an answer."

"It's the only answer I have right now. We try, and we see what happens."

"I need more certainty than that."

"I can't give you certainty, Tessa. I can give you commitment to trying, but I can't promise it'll be easy or that we won't screw it up."

"That's what I'm afraid of."

"Screwing it up?"

"Caring too much and then losing everything anyway."

He squeezes my hand gently. "What if the alternative is never trying and always wondering what if?"

"What if wondering is safer?"

"Maybe it is. But is safer what you want?"

I look at our joined hands, at the way his thumb is unconsciously stroking across my knuckles. "No. But wanting something and being brave enough to go after it are two different things."

"So we start small. We try this, we see how it goes. If it becomes too much, too risky, we stop."

"Just like that?"

"Just like that. But we don't stop because we're scared. We stop because we've actually tried and it's not working."

"And if it does work?"

"Then we figure out the next step when we get there."

"You make it sound so simple."

"It is simple. It's just not easy."

I accept another piece of scone, and when our fingers brush, the contact sends electricity up my arm. I'm about to respond when I catch sight of someone at a table near the window. Middle-aged man in a Cubs jacket, laptop open, taking notes while talking on his phone. He looks familiar in that nagging way that makes my stomach clench.

"Don't look," I say quietly, "but I think there's a sports reporter at the table by the window."

Dax tenses but doesn't turn around. "You sure?"

"Pretty sure. Mike Romano from the Tribune. He covers hockey."

"Fuck."

"Well, that's one way to make an impression," I murmur, earning a surprised laugh.

"How do we handle this?"

I think quickly. "We're having a professional consultation about team psychology. You came to me with concerns about performance anxiety affecting some of the younger players."