Page 41 of Hockey Wife

“Can you recommend someone?”

“If I do, will you shut up so I can eat my breakfast?”

O’Malley grinned. “I might.”

If only it were that easy. Next up in the torture cycle was Hudson Grey, who took a seat and sent a significant glance at O’Malley. After several painful seconds of silent yet urgent conversation between them, Grey finally spoke up.

“Heard Georgia moved in with you.” At Banks’s glare, he added, “Tara said.”

The gossip machine was in peak form, oiled by the hair stylist/GM’s wife combo of Tara Fitzpatrick.

“And this is your business because?”

O’Malley took the baton. “When she walked into the Net and told you that the divorce didn’t take, you seemed pissed about it. From where Grey and I stood, it looked like you were ripping her a new one.”

Banks mentally squirmed, not liking how that sounded. That night in the Empty Net, he’d been annoyed. Not because they were still married, but because he’d liked the idea a little too much. Here she was, dangling this carrot of potential in front of his greedy mouth and he was chasing after it like a cartoon donkey.

Banks offered a noncommittal, “It’s complicated.”

O’Malley’s eyes turned shrewd. “So you’re giving it a second chance?”

“Yep.”

The kid’s mouth dropped open, like this was the best news ever. People in love were always advocating for its myriad benefits to the single losers of their acquaintance. “That’s fantastic. Georgia’s a hard woman to pin down and here you are?—”

“What do you mean she’s a hard woman to pin down?”

“She’s been engaged before.”

The rock star from Bison, Keaton something, though “rock” was a complete misnomer and “star” had never been more wrong. They broke up in a public fight at some nightclub. Another top ten Georgia viral moment.

“Your point?”

“That she didn’t go through with it before, but she did with you.”

Sure, way more meaningful. He took a sip of coffee. He hoped she set the alarm, but maybe she didn’t care because she was out with friends or at an all-night party, doing Georgia things with Georgia people. He could check her social media, see if she was being mentioned anywhere, but that sounded like weirdo stalker behavior.

Fuck. He needed to focus on his game and that meant not wondering what Georgia was doing or why she had broken engagements littered in her past. It also meant not imagining her pretty mouth and all the places he wanted it on his body.

“Listen, I don’t want to hear a word against her. Understood?”

“Are you kidding?” O’Malley grinned. “Georgia’s a great girl. So she’s not the best neighbor. Those parties were mighty loud …” At Banks’s glare, he changed his tune. “You’re protective of her.”

“She’s my—” He broke off, restarted. “She might have been featured in gossip rags before, but I don’t want anyone having a go at her while she’s with me.” Or because of me. “Are people talking?”

“You mean, the guys?” Grey looked around as if expecting to find their teammates in a good ole gossip right this minute. No one was paying them any mind. “They’re surprised, that’s all.”

Don’t ask. “Why?”

O’Malley looked skeptical. “You and Georgia do not seem like the most obvious couple.”

“Like you and the kitten wrangler.”

“I suppose from the outside we might seem like a weird pairing. But Ashley is perfect and she’s perfect for me. Why, has someone said something?”

Theo Kershaw plunked his ass down beside Grey. “No one’s talking about you or your woman, Oh-Em-Gee. You met at the puppy pound. Big whoop. And Hudster here met his guy on an app, like the rest of the world in this millennium. Banks and Georgia, though? Their origin story is a thousand times more interesting.”

“The shelter was a good place to meet. Gave us a chance to get to know each other.” O’Malley winced. “Not that you don’t know Georgia, Banks.”

---