We turn to walk into the restaurant, and I hold the door open for everyone. Erika is the last one to walk in. "They closed down the restaurant," she says. "We’re safe." With a laugh, I put my hand around her shoulder.
"It’s not a good time if we don’t get kicked out of a place," I tease, and she just shakes her head.
We sit next to each other with Mia on her left side and Emma on my right. She takes off her white jacket, leaving her in a silky pink top. "If you did that not to get dirty." I shake my head.
"I don’t care if she took my jacket to wipe her face. I was getting hot," she admits, grabbing a piece of bread and buttering it for Mia and then asking Emma if she wants a piece. Dinner is crazy chaotic, and when I look over at her, she has Mia in her lap facing her with her head on her chest.
"We should get going," I say, looking at Erika, who nods her head. "It’s been a long day when you get up at four in the morning."
We kiss my parents good night, and I drop her off at her car. Erika kisses the girls and tells them she will see them tomorrow. I want to ask her to come back to the condo with us, but I know she has a forty-minute drive, and I don’t want her staying out that late. "Text me when you get home."
"Go away," she says, shutting the door and walking over to her SUV. I wait for her to get in and drive away before I leave. The condo is five seconds from her office and four minutes to the arena. All of our heads hit the pillows by the time nine o’clock comes.
My parents get to the condo right in time for my mother to cook breakfast and take the girls so I can get ready for the game. "You really need to get a house," my father says when I walk out of the bedroom. "I mean, this would be okay if you were alone."
"I know, I have a couple of houses to check out next week." I kiss the girls goodbye and walk out of the condo.
The drive to the arena is stupid. I should have just walked, but I know the girls are coming to the game tonight. I park my SUV at the same time as Manning, the captain, gets there. He gets out of his SUV and nods at me. "Coops," he calls out to me. "You look better."
"How shitty did I look before?" I ask him, and Miller, the assistant captain, slaps my shoulder.
"Horrible," he says. "Worse than Ralph did when he got another newborn."
I open my mouth, thinking back to last year when Ralph and Candace welcomed another child. Candace is my brother-in-law’s sister and the social media expert. "He fell asleep getting dressed once," I recall as we walk into the arena. The journalists are already lined up to take pictures.
We nod politely to them as I open the door and walk down the blue carpet.
"Boys," Nico, the owner, greets us. "We have a big one tonight," he tells us, but every game is a big one. When Nico inherited the team at twenty-seven, he was the youngest owner. No one thought he would do anything with the team but he proved them wrong. Our team is not ready for the Cup just yet, but I give it a couple of years, and I think we have a decent shot at it.
I change out of my black suit and put on my track pants, then go to hit the bike. I do a couple more cardio exercises, and when it’s time to hit the ice, I’m bouncing on my skates. I glide out when the doors open, looking at the corner to see if the girls are there. I see their heads jumping up and down when they see me as they hit the glass.
"Daddy,” I hear Emma say when I get close enough. Both girls have their hair in ponytails and are wearing Dallas jerseys with my name on the back.
I look behind them, expecting to see my mother or father, but Erika is standing there with them. She is wearing tight black pants and a white shirt with an oversized brown sweater. Her hair is in a ponytail like the girls. "Why aren’t you wearing my jersey?" I ask, and her eyebrows pinch together. She’s never ever worn a jersey to any of the games. "You could match the girls."
"You aren’t my favorite," she says, smiling.
I throw my head back and laugh. "Liar." I grab a puck and shoot it over the glass. "Who else will carry you over their shoulder while you sing ‘Runs the World’?"
"One time!" she shouts, holding up a finger. I skate away to do some drills, then come back over and bend to kiss the glass where the girls are.
"I’ll see you guys later," I tell them, and Erika holds out her hands for the girls. I see they are wearing black tights just like her, and the three of them are wearing the same sneakers. If anyone were looking at us, they would think we’re a family. I guess, in a strange way, we are. There is nothing I wouldn’t do for her.
"You ready?" Manning asks as we stand in the hallway to get on the ice, and I nod at him.
"Press is going to be all over your ass," he says, and I know he isn’t wrong. This is the first game since the divorce, and even though it was mentioned in the news, I haven’t had to talk to the press yet. "The boys will have your back, and the minute you don’t want to answer questions, you just walk away." Manning went through his own divorce a while ago, but no one fucked with him because he never gave any interviews unless it was after the game. The press has been watching me for what feels like my whole life. Knowing they are waiting for me to fuck up only pushes me harder.
"Grant," my coach says, "you’re on with Miller and Manning." I nod my head. We walk out of the hallway, and I get on the ice starting at center. The national anthem plays, and I shut it all down.
I skate in a circle, waiting for the puck to drop. I bend, getting ready for the puck to drop. The referee stands there with his legs open wide. "Clean game, boys," he says, and I look over at other centerman nodding my head.
The puck drops, and I win the faceoff, sliding the puck toward Manning, who takes the puck and moves it up. I skate past the centerman going to the blue line and looking to see that Manning passed the puck to Miller, who skates into the zone with it. He moves it toward the net and takes a shot on the net. It bounces off the pad of the goalie, and I pick up the rebound, sending it over the pad and into the net. The horn blows loud as I turn to smirk at Miller and Manning.
"Fuck, that felt good," I say to them as we skate to the bench, and I take a second to look up to the box at my girls. My father high-fives my uncle Max as they celebrate. "Let’s do that again."
Chapter 6
Erika
I shoot out of my seat when he scores the goal and yell. He is on fire tonight. This is his second goal. "Look, Daddy scored again," I tell Emma, who is sitting in the seat next to me.
I look over at the luxury box I own, seeing that it’s finally full. To be honest, it’s only full when his family comes to visit. The rest of the time, I give away the tickets to people in the office.
"Who is number forty-seven?" Franny, Cooper’s sister, asks from in front of me. "He looks like he needs someone to talk to." Franny, Vivi, and I spent the day shopping. She didn’t have anything to wear to the game tonight, which was bullshit, but I had fun hanging with them.
"That is Brad Wilson, and trust me, he has his share," I look over at her, and she just smirks. "Forget about it," I say, and she shrugs. She wears her black jeans and matching black tank top with a jean jacket and a scarf. "He’s the biggest player out there.”