Page 69 of Hockey Wife

“Repeat our vows?” He slipped the ring onto her finger, slowly, wanting the moment to last. With this ring, I thee wed. I promise to cherish, defend, and fight for you … He looked into her eyes and said with his gaze what he couldn’t with his voice.

“What about yours?”

He extracted the platinum band from the drawer. It would have been easier to just put it on, get it done, but he wanted her to do it.

He would examine the why of that later.

She took it from him and slid it onto his finger. “With this ring, I promise … to cheer like hell at my husband’s hockey match.”

“Game.”

“And not embarrass him with my lack of hockey knowledge.”

He laughed, relieved she’d pricked the balloon of tension. At least one of them was thinking straight.

21

Connie went for a nap because a three-hour drive and a morning martini will do that. That left Georgia with Trish while Banks was busy making lunch.

“I probably should see if he needs help.”

Trish patted Georgia’s arm. “My son is well trained. I want to hear all about you. So you grew up in Chicago?”

“Yeah, not too far from here. Lake Forest. It’s a suburb a few miles north.”

“Brothers? Sisters?”

“A twin sister, Dani. She died a couple of years ago. She had a heart condition; she’d had it since she was a child.”

Trish’s eyes filled with tears. “Oh, honey. I’m so sorry. That’s awful, for you and your parents.”

“It was. We were so close and well, life hasn’t been the same without her.” She sucked in a breath. “But you know what it’s like. When you lost Dylan’s father in Iraq.”

Trish sighed. “I do. It was the saddest time of my life. Thankfully I had Connie and the kids to get me through. As for Dylan, he made it his mission to ensure we were taken care of. I had Jonah’s pension, of course, but it never stretches far enough, not with four kids and a mother-in-law.”

“Gotta keep Connie in martinis.”

Trish chuckled. “Exactly! That woman will never say no to a cocktail. As for Dylan … he was only sixteen when his father passed and while he was good at hockey, you just never know if it’ll be enough. Those first couple of years until he got his scholarship were touch and go. There was so much competition, but he stepped up and made sure he had a contract, though he did get a finance degree as a backup. Always good with numbers, that boy. Takes care of everyone’s accounts. Then the first thing he does is pay off the house!”

“Wow!”

“Yep. I had a second mortgage on it and had fallen behind—oh, that money came in so useful. But that’s Dylan. Always puts us first.”

Georgia saw that, and knowing Banks’s true motivation for marrying her, it made her admire him all the more. He was a family man, and these lovely people were his priority. As it should be. Georgia would never be Banks’s number one, which was fine. She was used to being the background artist in a family dynamic.

But that ring exchange in the bedroom? A foolish romantic might read a whole ton into that.

“Lunch is up,” he called out.

Georgia expected it to be in the kitchen where they’d eaten before, but Banks had set the dining room table with colorful plates, a jug of water, a bottle of Sauv Blanc in an ice bucket, no less, and a platter of sandwiches. A vase of fresh-cut flowers sat in the center. He must have bought them on his way home from practice.

“Oh, this is lovely,” Georgia said. “Fancy presentation of sandwiches. I like.”

Trish kissed her son on the cheek. “You shouldn’t have gone to so much trouble, but I’m glad to see you haven’t forgotten how to treat the women in your life.”

Banks blushed at his mom’s words, but Georgia didn’t have time to enjoy it because a screech pierced the air.

“What. Is. That?” Trish pointed at Cheddar, who had finally deigned to join them.

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