Page 72 of Pucking My Grumpy Accidental Husband

Another long silence. Then: "Oh, you mean that girl. Tell me about her."

So I do. I tell her about Tessa's brilliant mind and sharp wit. About how she makes me want to be better than I am. About how she challenges me and supports me and makes every day feel like something worth experiencing. About how she ranaway from me in Vegas and how finding her again felt like the universe giving me a second chance I didn't deserve.

"And you think going to Boston means losing her?" Mom asks when I finish.

"I think being forced to choose between her and hockey means somebody loses. Either I lose the chance at my dream job, or she loses her career here to follow me across the country."

"Dax, can I tell you something?"

"Always."

"When your father left, I thought my world was ending. I thought I'd never be able to handle raising you and Emma alone, never be able to give you everything you needed."

Mom rarely talks about Dad leaving.

"But you know what I learned? Sometimes the scariest changes end up being the best things that ever happen to us. Moving to a smaller house, taking that second job, learning to stand on my own—it all seemed impossible at the time."

"This is different, Ma."

"Is it? It sounds like you're so afraid of making the wrong choice that you're not even considering the possibility that there might not be a wrong choice."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean maybe this isn't about choosing between hockey and love. Maybe it's about whether you trust each other enough to figure out how to make both work."

Jamie gives me a thumbs up from across the room, clearly eavesdropping.

"But what if she won't move? What if she can't?"

"Then you'll deal with that when it happens. But don't make decisions for her, sweetheart. Give her the information and let her choose for herself. That's what people who love each other do—they make big decisions together."

"What if I'm not brave enough to risk it?"

"Dax Kingston, you've been hit in the face with pucks traveling ninety miles per hour and gotten back up. You can handle a conversation with the woman you love."

After I hang up, Jamie looks at me expectantly.

"She thinks I should tell Tessa everything and let her help me figure it out."

"Moms are usually right about this stuff."

"Yeah." I stand up, suddenly needing to move. "I should go see her. Get this conversation over with before I lose my nerve."

"Want me to come with you for moral support?"

"To watch me potentially blow up my relationship? Hard pass."

"Fair enough. But Dax?"

"Yeah?"

"Whatever happens, you've got to live with the choice. Make sure it's one you can look back on without regrets."

The drive to Tessa's apartment gives me too much time to think. By the time I'm standing outside her door, I've rehearsed thisconversation at least fifteen different ways, and none of them end with both of us happy.

I knock, and when she opens the door, the sight of her nearly undoes me. She's wearing one of my Renegades hoodies, her hair is piled up in a messy bun, and she's got reading glasses perched on her nose making her even more cute.

"Hey," she says, her face lighting up. "This is a nice surprise. I thought you had dinner plans with Jamie."