Page 48 of The Grinder

“I’m sorry. That must’ve sucked.”

It had. It’d sucked big time because it’d been his second failure. “I was divorced by the time I was twenty-one. Wow. Seven years ago. Seems like forever.”

“But you finished college and you’re playing professionally. That’s a great achievement.”

He nodded, her smile making him want to close the distance between them and kiss her. But he didn’t want to push her. If she wanted to talk, he’d talk. He got almost as much satisfaction from that as he did from kissing her. Almost.

“Thanks.”

Yes, it was an achievement but he still hadn’t made the leap he wanted to make. The one to the NHL. And he was starting to realize it might be out of his reach.

“But?” she prompted.

He shook his head, amazed she’d read him so easily.

“But I still haven’t made it to the NHL. A lot of the guys I started out with have been playing up for years. My parents have always been supportive but they’re starting to ask when I’m going to come home and get a real job.”

Her nose wrinkled. “Ouch.”

He huffed out a laugh. “Yeah. They’ve always been my biggest supporters but my dad’s a pragmatist. If I haven’t reached my goal in ten years, it’s time for a new goal.”

“Is twenty-eight old for a player?”

“Not really, no. A lot of guys play until they’re in their late thirties but,” he sighed, “I guess I’m a lot like my dad. I told myself I’d play until I’d made it to the NHL or I turned twenty-eight. At the time, twenty-eight seemed like a lifetime away. Now…”

He shook his head.

“Now you’re twenty-eight and you still enjoy playing.” She tilted her head, blonde hair spilling over her shoulder and making him want to run his fingers through it. “So why are you even thinking about giving it up? Goals change all the time. Do your parents expect you to come home?”

“Probably, yeah. We’ve always been close and that’s kind of what I figured I’d do. I’m their only and I think they’re counting on me to be around when they get older.”

She nodded. “My parents are the same. They keep telling me how much I’d love living in Florida and that I should come to visit more often and, oh yeah, Millie across the street, her son just moved down from Milwaukee and he’s wonderful and they want to introduce me to him.”

A surge of jealousy ripped through him and he had a moment to think “What the fuck?” before he got it under control. The feeling was still there but he reined in the urge to tell her to forget it.

This whole caveman act was not his deal but there was something about Aly that made him want to beat his chest and lock her in his cave.

“Do you want to move to Florida?”

She shrugged, her gaze sliding away. “I’ve thought about it. But…I’m settled here. I like my job. I like my house. We moved around a lot when I was a kid and I hated it. Every year or two, we’d end up in some new town where I didn’t know anyone.”

A pit opened Riley’s stomach. There’d been seasons where he’d moved three or four times, sometimes across the country. Sounded like Aly would hate that.

“Guess you’re used to it,” she said. “Moving all the time?”

“Yeah. But I’m realizing there might be a good reason for me to stay in one place.”

“And what would that be?”

Did he imagine the breathlessness in her voice? No, he didn’t think so. Not combined with the look in her eyes.

Sitting here listening to her, he realized how much he’d miss her if he couldn’t see her tomorrow. Or the next day. Or the day after that.

He also knew that if he blurted out exactly what he wanted to say, she would think he was crazy.

If there was one thing he’d learned about Aly, it was that she was nothing if not logical. And declaring his ever-lasting devotion after only three days wouldn’t fit into her neat, logical life. And his life was anything but neat and logical.

So what the fuck should he say?

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