Page 31 of Falling for the Forward

“Yep.”

I’m not. He gets up, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

Suki is part owner of a sex toy company. She should have told me. And who the fuck is Tyler McCane? Am I getting scammed?

Suki thinks I’m cold and brooding now, but she has no idea how pissed I’ll be if she puts the custody case in jeopardy. My nieces are the last pieces of my sister in this world, and they were more precious to her than anyone.

I have to get it together so I can focus on the game, but tonight, Suki and I are going to talk.

At least we won.When I walk into the house through the garage and type in the code to re-arm the security system, I realize I’d be in a much worse mood if we’d lost.

The house is quiet, which is typical for 11:45 p.m. It’s a school night. So Suki and the girls left the game around nine. She said they had a good time in a text earlier.

I’m fixing a plate of grilled chicken and roasted vegetables to heat up as a snack when I hear the beep of the security system. The French doors that lead from the family room to the patio and back yard are opened and I hear someone step in.

“Good boy, Darling,” Suki croons. “You get a cookie.”

The keypad beeps as she rearms the security system and then she comes around the corner.

“Hey,” she says, smiling. “Congrats on the win.”

“Thanks.”

I take off my suit jacket and loosen my tie, watching her as she gets Darling a treat from the jar on the counter. He scarfs itout of her hand with a few snorts and then gives her a pleading look, wanting more.

She’s still wearing my jersey. It’s hard to be mad at her when she looks so good in it. The sleeves are rolled up and it hangs down to midthigh on her. It surprises me how much I like seeing her in it.

I’ve only had two girlfriends since going pro with hockey, and they both came to games and wore shirts and jerseys with my name on them. It was stuff they bought that any fan can buy, though. This is the first time I’ve seen a woman in one of my actual jerseys that I’ve also worn.

Suki is wearing it over black leggings, her hair up in a messy bun with little strands of hair around her face. She sits down to take off her snow boots.

“You should’ve told me about Naughty by Nature,” I say, my tone a lot milder than it was in my head when I thought about this conversation on the drive home.

She sits up, her eyes widening. The boots are forgotten.

“What did you hear about it?”

The microwave beeps to tell me my food is done, but I ignore it. I walk over to the table she’s sitting at, leaning against the island counter.

“Are the girls all asleep?” I ask softly.

“They were when I checked on them at ten thirty.”

Her cheeks are slightly flushed from the cold. She was beautiful, all dressed up for the wedding, but tonight...there’s something about seeing her so comfortable and casual in my jersey, looking so fresh and pretty, that makes me want to kiss her.

Even though I’m mad as hell at her. I don’t get it.

“A hockey blogger looked into you when he heard we got married. He posted business paperwork for a company called Naughty by Nature and it says you’re a co-owner.”

She looks away, guilt in her expression.

“And you’re pissed because of what the company sold.”

“Sold?Past tense? No, Suki, I’m pissed because you didn’t tell me about it. Because I had to find out in the locker room from my teammates seeing it online.”

When she meets my gaze again, I see resolve in her eyes. “It’s not like I’m proud of it. It was my ex-boyfriend’s business and he asked me to cosign on some loans and be listed as a co-owner. He told me it would give me legal protections to be a co-owner.”

“Legal protections?” I shake my head. “And you believed him?”

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