Page 85 of Sleepless Nights and Hockey Fights

Twenty minutes later, I’ve downed an entire glass of Pinot Grigio and spilled my guts about my parents and my vow to raise Matthew in a home life that’s stable and secure. They listen intently as I share all the other factors that went into my decision: the lingering scars from my failed marriage, Bobby’s unexplained predilection for dating older women, our age gap and my fear that he’ll have regrets, our opposite personalities—Bobby’s impulsivity versus my pragmatism and cautiousness. All of it.

“I hated Banks for the first ten years I knew him,” Kaitlyn is the first to speak when I’ve quieted. “Well, technically, I liked him for a couple hours when I met him, but then I hated him for ten years.” When I cock my head at her, wrinkling my nose in confusion, she laughs. “What I’m saying is I got in my own way because I thought we were too different. Turns out, our differences complement one another.” She shrugs.

“Roman is younger than me. And I had no idea what to do with the idea of dating a celebrity,” Olivia says. “Turns out it’s pretty easy to shut off all the noise when it’s just the two of us.”

“Niko’s younger than me too!” Chloe says.

“Banks too!” Kaitlyn laughs.

Chloe squeezes my arm. “Niko is a grumpy sourpuss half the time, but he needs my positive energy. It’s okay to have differences. And we all tune out what other people are saying. Who cares what some strangers think about your private business?”

She reaches for the wine bottle and refills my glass. “I’m not trying to talk you into anything, so just take this for what it’s worth. Bobby has a big personality, no doubt. But that means he loves just as big. The guy can’t help it. He gives a hundred percent to whatever he commits himself to.”

“As his agent, I can tell you I’ve never seen a client so ecstatic to find a team that was as ready to commit to him as he was to commit to them. What can I say? The guy knows what he’s got and doesn’t take it for granted.” Kaitlyn shrugs and takes a sip of her wine.

“You guys aren’t doing a very good job of helping me get over the guy, you know,” I respond with a hint of a smile.

They all laugh and toast each other while my mind reels.

“Hey.” Kaitlyn squeezes my hand. “You know yourself better than we do, of course. If your heart is telling you you’re better off without Bobby, that’s okay. Just don’t let yourheaddo all the decision making, okay? Been there. Done that. Got a bucketful of regrets for wasting so much time.”

I squeeze her hand in return, but when I draw in a breath to tell these women how great they are, I’m cut off by a barking German Shepherd streaking through the house with a little girl at his heels brandishing a can of body glitter and a pink hair bow. “Paul! We’re not done yet!”

I can only shake my head and drink another sip of wine.

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Bobby

I made sure my location is off on all my social media apps. The boys would never let me live it down if they knew I was at Coach’s house. Voluntarily. I ring the doorbell, and it takes years for someone to swing open the huge wrought iron door. Coach stands there in an elf costume with a confused look on his face. And he doesn’t look like a cute elf from the North Pole, but more like Buddy the Elf from the movie Elf. It takes everything I’ve got not to give him a full-length perusal to take in the green tights and pointy shoes. There’s not enough eye bleach in the world for that.

A snicker bursts out of my mouth before I can swallow it back, and Coach’s face turns to thunder. Which is the opposite of why I’m here two days after Christmas. I force my face into neutral and hold out the platter I’m carrying. I stopped by the finest seafood restaurant in Tampa just to pick up this bad boy.

“Merry Christmas, Coach!” I really want to add in a hearty ho, ho, ho, but I don’t think he’d appreciate it. “I brought you and the Missus your favorite oysters!”

He looks at it like it might be poison. I shake the platter, and he finally takes it with a disgruntled harumph. A much cuter elf comes up to his side and gasps at my offering.

“Bobby Rhodes! Thank you so much!” Coach’s wife leans in to give me a hug, which I return. She has a curious accent that I can’t place.

“You’re welcome. I just wanted to say sorry for being a jackass at our last game and I know how much Coach loves oysters, so...” I scratch the back of my neck, feeling like I walked into some weird role-playing game they’ve got going on.

“Come in, come in!” His wife grabs my arm and drags me inside the house. “We have at least fifteen minutes before we have to leave for our party. Isn’t Andre the cutest elf you’ve ever seen?”

I force a smile to match hers as we both glance at Coach. He stands there with the oyster platter, looking like he hates his life. My smile turns into a chuckle. He sticks his finger in my face, but his wife bats it away.

“Oh, he’s such a grouch. I don’t know how you boys put up with him.”

I really want to suggest he go to the costume party as the grinch, but I’ve reached the level of maturity that lets me think things through before I say them out loud. “Well, we’re pretty hard to put up with too. Which is why I’m here with my sincerest apologies.”

Coach huffs, setting the tray down on a coffee table fit for a king. He gestures to the couch behind me, and I sit. He and his wife sit across from me. Thankfully, Coach puts a throw pillow across his lap so I don’t have to worry about my eyes accidentally seeing anything in those tights.

“I appreciate the peace offering. I know I can come down on you pretty hard, Bobby, but I see your potential. You could be our starter for the next ten years if you get your act together.”

His confidence in me makes the weight on my shoulders lift a little. “Thank you, sir. I promise I’m doing everything to get my personal life in order. I just spent the holidays healing some of the things that get under my skin.” I wince. “Now if I can just fix the woman situation...”

“Ohh, honey,” his wife interjects. “I can help, if you’d like. Women are complicated creatures. When Andre and I were dating, we broke up for a little while. He would never answer his hotel room phone when I’d call while he was on the road with his team. I began to believe he was keeping time with women in every city his team played in.” She laughs while Coach rolls his eyes. “Come to find out, he was learning Italian with his headphones on to surprise me. Never heard that phone ringing! After he convinced me to give him another chance, he proposed in front of my family back in Italy. And he did it in my native language!”

I look over at Coach to see the tips of his ears bright red. “That’s really romantic, Coach. You got game.”

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