Page 41 of Taking The Shot

“Captain,” Savage chuckled, giving him a half smile as Keith rolled his eyes as the man hugged him easily, patting him on the back. Yeah, this was not a bad call, and Keith could be extremely patient for the attorney to work her magic on the ol’ Boucher name. “This is my wife, Ashley.”

“Nice to meet you,” Keith said politely, shaking her hand and turning to look for Constance’s blonde head. “That angel over there is my bride, Constance, and those are my two girls. I’m sure she’d love to meet you, Ashley.”

And he spotted Coeur walking up with his wife and their son, Stephen.

“Paige!” Keith hollered quickly as she ran over, dragging Kayla behind her. “Girls, remember to use your hands to say ‘hello,’” he quickly reminded them as Kayla tugged on his arm for a moment to be picked up – and then ran off again, laughing – but not Paige.

Nope. Never Paige…he thought.

“I’m not stupid,Keith,” Paige retorted deliberately, eyeing him and giving the other adults the side-eye as their mouths dropped open. Instead of saying anything else to anyone, Paige signed to Stephen and then latched onto the smiling child, running off to join the others who were arriving.

“Keith?” Coeur asked, grinning.

“Shut up, Coeur,” Keith retorted easily to his longtime friend and teammate.

“That kid calls you by your first name?”

“Obviously, not everything has gone as smoothly for me as it has for you and your wife,” Keith said bluntly, his tone terse. “Mrs. Coeur, nice to see you again.”

“Hello, Mr. Boucher,” Irene began, and Coeur, ever the one to cut a joke or tease someone, rolled his eyes, laughed, and quickly corrected her.

“Apparently, you can just call him Keith.”

“She can,” Keith smirked and then pointed off in the distance. “The blonde woman holding the toddler – that’s my wife, Constance. She could use someone to talk to, especially a new friend who has a kid also. Obviously, my new stepdaughter has taken a shine to your son.”

“I could use a friend also,” Irene smiled gently, nodding. “While we were really lucky, maybe Constance could use someone to talk to – and don’t worry. You have my husband’s back on the ice, and I’ll have yours.”

As Irene walked off, Keith watched her go, staring at Constance and praying with all his might that whatever was wrong between them would be corrected soon. He wanted to kiss his wife so badly, and last night had been sheer torture holding back. How was he ever going to admit how infatuated he was with her? She would think he was weird if she knew that he watched her sleep last night, and that he bought things for the house because he had imagined her reaction, her smile.

Screw ‘infatuated’ – he was falling hard for his new wife and wished she felt the same.

“Coeur, you are one lucky cuss… and I hope your wife can work miracles cause I could use one in my life. The last thing I want is to ruin this because I think this is my last shot in the NHL, brother.”

I don’t have it in me to ever give up Constance or drag her through another exhausting move again – not when this has been so hard on her already, he thought guiltily.I need her to realize her home is here, with me, and that she didn’t marry some loser. I’m never leaving the team – and I don’t even care if I’m not the captain… because without her smile, I’m nothing.

He sighed heavily.

Keith stood beside Jett Acton and his wife, nodding absently as they made small talk. He smiled at something Jett said, though his mind wasn’t fully present. The gathering buzzed around them, the murmur of conversations blending with the sound of children laughing and playing tag in the distance. He wished, not for the first time that he was at the arena instead. There, things made sense. The ice was predictable. The rules were clear.

This? This was messy. Complicated.

And then, suddenly—contact.

A gentle hand landed on his back, warm and unexpected. A bolt of electricity shot straight up his spine, and before he could stop himself, he recoiled with a sharp jolt, his heart leaping into his throat. His pulse pounded in his ears as he spun, his body tensed for… what, exactly? An attack? The guys messing with him again?

But it wasn’t one of his teammates playing a prank.

It was Constance.

“Hey… you scared me,” he admitted, exhaling sharply, willing his pulse to steady. He chuckled to cover the moment, but beside him, Jett erupted into laughter.

“The guys mess around all the time, and?—”

“Can we talk?” Constance interrupted softly, her voice barely above a whisper as she slipped her fingers into his hand.

Keith barely registered Jett’s teasing “Ooooh” before she was pulling him away from the cluster of tables, and guiding him toward a quieter spot. He followed without hesitation, but with every step, his unease grew. The cool fluorescent lights abovewere casting a bluish tone to the open room as children wove between them, their carefree laughter a stark contrast to the tight knot forming in his chest.

He didn’t like this.

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