Page 18 of The Rebound Plan

She beams at me. “Thank you. Don’t say a word about how married life is going to change once the season starts up again.”

“I would never,” I promise, taking the seat beside her. “And it’ll be fine.”

It always has been for me. If anything, I find the summers more stressful with the non-stop travel schedule and adjusting to full-time husband management. But I keep that to myself, too.

“Isn’t this place incredible?” Harper waves a hand at the expansive terrace that flows out from the house and around the long, rectangular pool. Beyond it is a lush green lawn that spills to a border of trees and a wide wooden staircase that leads down to the lake. “I can’t believe Russ of all people splashed out forthis. But I mean, good for him. He deserves to put down some roots.”

Getting traded is part of the life of a hockey player, and Russ Armstrong has been moved around more than most of them. He’s a bottom six journeyman, not a star, and it’s a toss up whether his best value to a team will be on the ice or as a trading

“Do you think this might be his last year playing?” Kiley asks. “Is that why he’s finally making a big real estate investment?”

“Yeah, I don’t know,” Harper says thoughtfully. “It definitely feels like something has changed for him, though, doesn’t it? New house, new girl.”

“New girl?” I twist so quickly, white wine splashes onto my hand. “What girl?”

“Emery Granger,” Ani answers.

I give her a blank look.

“She’s nice! And cute,” Harper adds. “They were holding hands when we arrived. She’s young, but they have a lot in common, apparently. She’s a hockey player. Youngest sister of three NHL brothers, in fact. She’s training with them right now.”

My stomach twists with anxiety. My husband likes the young, athletic type a lot. What are the chances we get through the weekend without him saying something inappropriate to Russ’s new girlfriend?

I take a big gulp of wine. There’s an annoying wobble in my belly that I hate. These women look to me for cues, and if Russ has a girlfriend, that’s great. I can’t wait to meet her.

Ani waves her phone. “I’ve got her profile here.”

“Oh God, no, that’s not—” I shake my head. “We shouldn’t?—”

“Too late.” She winks. “One of her brothers played with Russ in Minnesota, it sounds like. So she probably trained with them then, and he was just waiting for her to grow up?”

Becca throws a foam ball at Ani. “She’s older than the two of us.”

“But we’re not dating the oldest player on the team.”

“So she’s a bit younger than him,” I say smoothly. That’s better. “Maybe that explains his new energy with this place. Young girlfriend, thinking of starting a family…” Hard to picture Russ with kids, but it’s the trend on the team. Ani and Jenson are trying, and I’m sure Harper and Kieran won’t be far behind them.

“Maybe as a thank you for the weekend, you can give Russ the name of your couples therapist,” Harper says to Ani.

“Couples therapy?” My head snaps to my friend. “What?”

Ani beams, unbothered. “We’re doing some counselling around the whole trying to have a baby thing. Especially because it’s taking us longer than expected. But mostly it’s preventative, because we were raised in very different ways, and we want to be on the same page about our parenting styles.”

“I’m surprised. And impressed! That’s so cool that Jenson was on board with that,” I say.

Ani gets a soft, dreamy expression on her face. “Honestly, at first I think he just agreed to do it for me. But it's actually the best thing they ever did for our relationship. It’s really…” Her cheeks turn red. “It’s really, really good.”

“I’ll cheers to that,” Kiley says, lifting her glass. “I bet Ty would do it if it wasreally, reallygood, too.”

Ani squeals and covers her face with her hands.

“Can I get the name of the therapist, too?” Becca asks, her eyes twinkling. “Hayden also?—”

“Stop,” Ani gasps as the rest of them dissolve into giggles. Then she grins. “Don’t we have the best husbands?”

I force a smile to my face.

They sure do. Their husbands care about being good partners.

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