Page 127 of Hockey Wife

O’Malley walked into the locker room, all swagger, and bumped against Banks’s bad shoulder. “Our old team, dude.”

They would fly out tomorrow afternoon for Game 1 of the second round against Nashville. It was a surprise they’d squeaked into the playoffs, to be honest, as they had offloaded Banks precisely because they thought they wouldn’t. There were always mixed feelings when you went up against former teammates, but for now Banks was erring on the side of “fuck those guys.”

“They won’t know what hit ’em.”

O’Malley chuckled, then after a furtive look over his shoulder, took out his phone with its lock screen of Ashley and Willa and opened it to a website. “What do you think of this one?”

A house in Riverbrook, a nice faux Tudor priced just under a million five.

“What do you want me to think of it?”

The kid’s eyes turned dreamy. “I’m gonna buy it for Ash and Sparkle. That’s what I call Willa.”

Cute. “Before you sign a contract?”

He moved closer. “I got the offer yesterday. I’m meeting the brass and my agent after morning skate to sign on the dotted line. Can’t believe it’s happening, to be honest.”

“Since you got your shit together, you’ve played great. Congrats on the contract. It’s thoroughly deserved.”

O’Malley blinked like he couldn’t believe the words out of Banks’s mouth. He couldn’t quite believe them himself, but he meant it. The kid was a great player when his head was in the right space.

On the subject of contracts, Banks’s agent was currently in negotiations for an extension, one more year at least to see out his career. He’d contributed a shit ton to this franchise in the last four months, and frankly, he wanted to stay here. In this city. On this team.

With this woman.

He’d even looked into selling his house in Nashville and putting an offer on the one in Winnetka.

“Thanks, man,” O’Malley said in response to Banks’s compliment. “That means a lot.”

Because it was getting a bit soppy in here, Banks followed with, “You’d better keep it up. Justify the millions they’re spending on you.”

O’Malley grinned. “I will. But the house? Is it too much?”

“I wouldn’t recommend springing it on your woman without running it by her first. It might seem like this big romantic gesture but there are other considerations, too. School districts, work commutes, who pays for what.” He held up a hand. “Yeah, yeah, you’ve got millions in your checking account?—”

“Not anymore. This genius I know showed me how to open a brokerage account and invest in index funds.”

Banks had opened it for him, then spent an hour walking him through dollar-cost averaging and automatic investing. Hard to know if it stuck, but it was a start.

“Right. My point is that you and Ashley are a team now. Don’t go making a unilateral decision that affects her life and the life of her daughter. Communication is what you need, ya feel me?”

Like him and Georgia. It felt like they were in a good place, telling each other the deep stuff and working through it together. He had never expected to be in this position. In love, and with his wife, no less. Maybe he had more to offer than tips on injury prevention and where to invest your hard-earned cash.

O’Malley still looked misty-eyed. “I just want to take care of them, y’know?”

Banks could feel a smile tugging at his lips.

“Maybe slow your roll and involve your partner. She’ll assume it’s a great signifier of your maturity and God knows, you need all the proof you can get.”

“I think you just insulted me, but I’m gonna give you a pass because you generally know what you’re talking about. And you seem different.”

“Yeah?”

“Happier. Marriage suits you.”

Love, man, the fucking worst.

But he was grinning as he thought it, so much so he had to turn away from O’Malley to hide it.

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