Page 45 of Hockey Wife

He should not enjoy the sound of that.

A few minutes later, he served up scrambled eggs on toast and orange juice.

She blinked at the plates, then met his gaze. “This is lovely, Banks. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” It was only breakfast, but he got the impression Georgia didn’t allow herself much in the way of simple pleasures, just complicated ones. He was tired enough to drop, but it was worth delaying his bedtime if it meant giving her this one small thing.

After he’d eaten a few mouthfuls, he picked up his coffee cup and took a sip. “How come you were sleeping on the sofa?”

“I was watching Suits.” At his blank look, she explained. “It’s this show about New York lawyers with Meghan Markle, now Her Royal Highness Meghan. Anyway, it’s a comfort watch. Hot suits, competence porn, and sizzling romance. It was Dani’s favorite show.”

He remained silent, giving her room to open up, which she took after a moment.

“She had this huge crush on the guy who plays Harvey Specter and for her birthday, I got her this giant cardboard cutout that I had to courier to him in LA to get him to sign it. I was hoping he’d come to the party, but he was filming a movie in Hungary.”

“Sounds like a cool gift all the same.”

Georgia laughed. “Oh, it was. Kind of silly but what do you get the girl who has everything? Money’s no object except—well, it can’t fix your health. Not Dani’s anyway. So silly gifts were the way to go. Mom thought it was ridiculous, but she didn’t get it. No one did.”

“Not silly if it meant a lot to her.”

“True.” She finished chewing a mouthful of eggs. “For my gift, she took me to a karaoke bar, which is kind of absurd because I’m an awful singer. She couldn’t do as much as me because she got tired so easily, but that was something we could do together. She had a list of things she wanted to do before—” She shook her head. “We just rented the room and sang our hearts out.”

“Song?”

“‘Juice’ by Lizzo! The gift was to me after all.” She smiled. “Last night, after a couple of episodes of Suits, I dialed up the old home video. Good times.”

“How long since she’s been gone?”

“A little over two years. It’s getting easier, though.”

“Is it?”

“That’s what they say, right?” She crumpled up her napkin, then straightened it out again.

“Different for everyone. When my dad died, it took a while. It’s been twenty years and I still think about him, wish he was here.”

“Did he see you play?”

“Not professionally. I was sixteen when he passed, but he knew I was good. That it was my future.”

She nodded. “That must be very reassuring. To know what you want.”

He hadn’t thought of it like that. “It can be, but there’s also a certain tunnel vision associated with that kind of career path. My mom always says ‘do what you love, love what you do’. I knew I wanted to play hockey, that I loved it, but once my dad died, I also saw it as a way to ensure my family was provided for. That no one would go hungry.”

“That’s amazing, Banks.”

His family were grateful, that was for sure. Securing their future had always felt like the most important goal, and now that he had, he itched for something else. Something for himself.

Typical thoughts for a guy in the twilight of his career. What came next?

Who came next?

He’d assumed he would find a woman who had baby making and cookie baking on her mind. She’d be a hockey fan, a few years younger but still in her child-bearing prime. Maybe an elementary schoolteacher. Someone with similar life goals.

For all his insistence that he and Georgia had forged a connection that night, how much sense did that really make? The real reason he’d been drawn to her was more likely a pathetic attempt to have her youth and vibrancy rub off on him. Steal some of the glow for his elderly self.

What had she seen in him? He didn’t have charm like Kershaw or O’Malley, or good looks like Petrov or the Durands. No doubt she had explained it away to her friends with a tale of another crazy Georgia escapade.

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