Page 37 of If You Need Me

“Definitely matches the woman.” I sip my whiskey. I may have to come back here in the morning and pick up my ride, but it’s not far from the hotel, so I’ll manage.

“So will this be a long or short engagement?” Hollis asks.

“Probably long, since I sprang it on her, and she’s a bit of a planner.” This lie tastes particularly bitter.

“Dude, how am I going to top that?” Tristan gripes.

“Top what?” I ask.

“That proposal. I’m planning to put a ring on Bea’s finger before the end of summer. But I don’t want her to think I’m onlydoing it because you did.” Tristan crosses his arms, his frown deepening.

“We all know you’re devoted to Rix. It’s no surprise that you’re planning to pop the question,” I assure him.

“But you did it first, so now there’s an expectation of grandeur,” he argues.

Tristan has grown so much as a person over the last ten months. I’ve known him for a lot of years, and it’s inspiring to see him work to be a better version of himself, on the ice and off.

“Rix would be happier with something less public, no?” Hollis adds.

Tristan rubs the back of his neck. “I’m just in my head about it. I want it to be perfect for her.”

“What about you?” Ash turns to Hollis. “When are you popping the question?”

“I’d like my daughter to be at least twenty-five before she gets married,” Roman says dryly.

“So technically, I can propose when she’s twenty-three, and we can have a long engagement.” Hollis gives Roman the side-eye. “When are you going to start dating?”

“When I’m retired.”

“What if the right woman comes along before then and you let her slip through your fingers because you’re too busy focusing on the end of your career?”

“Pretty sure I already found her a few years ago and lost her,” he mutters, then turns his attention to Tristan. “You could give Rix a promise ring.”

“Isn’t that a high school thing?” Tristan asks.

Flip shrugs. “At least you get a ring on her finger, so everybody knows she’s is yours.”

“This!” Tristan points at Flip. “I need all those university fuckers to know she’s off the market.” Tristan laughs at how ridiculous he sounds, but I can understand the possessive draw to seeing your ring on that finger. “Jokes aside, mostly it’sbecause I don’t want to spend another day of my life without her being my wife.”

“Shilps has been talking about babies lately,” Ash muses as he rubs his chin.

Everyone’s attention turns to him. “Seriously?”

“She’s thirty, and I’m thirty-one. I’ve got a few years left on my contract, but I’d be kind of down with being a stay-at-home dad, if she wants to come back to work. Right now, we’re just talking it out and doing a lot of practicing.”

“I can’t even imagine talking kids with someone right now.” Flip drains the rest of his drink. “Then again, I haven’t been in a relationship in years, so what do I know?”

Rix appears, downs a bottle of water, then grabs Tristan’s hand and pulls him onto the dance floor. Hammer does the same with Hollis.

Ash elbows me. “We should get out there, too.”

“I’ll hang back. Go have fun.” Roman tips his chin toward the action.

We weave our way through the crowd until we reach the girls, leaving Roman at the table. I’ve done this countless times, but it’s different tonight. There’s expectation in the air. I wish I’d done a lot of things differently, starting back in senior kindergarten when I pulled her ponytail standing in line, then lied and said it was Mortimer Fig, the quietest kid in our class.

Willy turns to me when I reach her side. Her hair is damp at the temples, her eyes are glassy, and her drink is mostly empty. She wraps my tie around her fist, her expression pensive. “Why do you have to be so pretty?”

“Why do you?”

---