Page 57 of On Thin Ice

***

Dom: No pressure or anything, but Brooke Lefleur can’t stop raving about Violet’s pediatrician. She also gave me her own doctor’s name, too. You know, just in case.

Dom: Okay, fine. Pressure. Have you thought about it?

Dom: I want you both here and I don’t think I say that enough.

Ally: Dom.

Dom: I know, I know. I wanted you to be clear on what I’m thinking, okay?

I sighed, leaning my head against the back of my couch. Of course, Baby Girl decided at that moment to jab me with an elbow or foot or something.

“All right, I get it. But he’s not that great. And your daddy’s being very pushy.”

But he was also being so attentive, texting or calling daily, even when he had games. We’d talked about more than just moving in. And I liked him.

Ugh. But justliked. And it wasn’t going to be anything more, no matter what.

Dom: Did I piss you off?

Ally: What? No. I’m just still not sure.

Dom: It’s a pretty sweet deal. I’ll be there to get you anything you need. Foot massages. Ice cream. M&M’s. Whatever.

Dom: You get your own bedroom and you can redecorate or do whatever you like to the entire condo since I’ve pretty much done nothing. You have some former Strikers and their families here to hang out with. I’m relatively neat, and anything you need is yours.

Dom: I will also defer to you for all movie and TV show selections in the living room.

I laughed. He was really pouring on the charm right now. It wasn’t like we’d really disagreed about our movie selections up to this point.

Ally: I mean, it does seem nice. The foot massages and snacks are strong incentives.

Dom: And San Francisco is just a two-hour flight away! I’ll bring anyone out for a visit whenever you need them here. Put them up in a hotel, let them sleep in my room, anything you want. There’s a large empty space in the living room in front of the window where you could set up your workspace.

Ally: Pulling out all the stops, aren’t you?

My phone rang.

“Hi,” I said.

“Yes, I am. I want to be here for you, and I want us to experience the rest of your pregnancy and the start of our daughter’s life together.”

My breath caught in my throat at the complete sincerity in his tone.

“I know it’s a big ask. I truly do. But we can try it out just until the end of the season, and if it doesn’t work, I’ll spend the summer in San Francisco. Then, when the next season starts, we’ll figure the next steps out.” He paused, his expression sincere.

“Just think about it, okay? But you only have a month left because I read that you can’t fly after thirty-six weeks, and I doubt you want to make that long drive super pregnant,” he said. “Or sit on a train for that long. It would be a lot of bathroom breaks.”

“How much reading have you done?”

“Everything I could find. Lots of conflicting opinions in some of those books, but we’re both smart—well, you’re really freaking smart—so we’ll figure it out.”

“That charm is next level,” I said, laughter in my voice.

“Gotta pull out all the stops for what I want, which is both of you here, so I can go through all the ups and downs with you and support you. Don’t get me wrong, I’m nervous as fuck. Shit, I need to work on my cursing.”

I giggled. “You have time.”

---