Page 16 of The Rebound Plan

Coveting his wife is an easy ticket to being traded away faster than I can saythird line nobody, and the thought of never seeing Shannon ever again is a hundred times worse than seeing her regularly but never getting to call her mine. So…I mostly lock it down.

But deep down, I have to admit I’m not inspired by him the way my younger teammates are. And that’s my own damn fault. By every observable metric, Max Tilman is one of the league’s best players. Dangerously fast, he’s a sniper from afar and a bully in the blue paint. But he’s also calm and cool under pressure. He’s the guy you want to talk to the refs when they keep calling penalties against your side and your side only.

When I’m being uncharitable, he can be manipulative. It’s like he’s constantly assessing the balance of power, trying to keep it on his side.

But again, even at my most uncharitable, I have to admit that’s a great characteristic in a hockey captain.

I don’t always love being on his team, but I never liked playing against him, either.

A roar of an engine through the trees tells me my uncomfortable wait is over—and that Max has decided today is not a day for subtlety or respect.

I open the front door as he brakes sharply in the driveway, then take a deep breath in and square my shoulders just in time for the woman who glides from the passenger side to give me a bright, effortless smile.

The last time I saw Shannon was at Kieran and Harper’s wedding last month. I watched as she asked her husband to dance, as he brushed her off and made her face fall, and wished desperately that I could take her in my arms instead.

She’s changed her hair since then. Her long blonde waves are darker now, as if the bottom layers have been painted with caramel and chocolate. And she’s traded the glitzy summer gown from that night for skinny jeans and a loose plaid shirt that flows over her willowy body. Even though it’s still August, she looks ready for fall and the return of hockey. The return of her cheering on my team while wearing another man’s number.

“Thanks for inviting us for the weekend,” she says with more warmth than I deserve, given that I wake up most mornings hard as a rock for her.

“Glad you could make it,” I grind out.

Max comes around from the driver’s side and extends his hand. “Buddy,” he says. His grip is too tight for a teammate, and his smile is too hard. “You had to buy a place in the middle of fucking nowhere, didn’t you?”

I don’t bother to point out that this is a popular lake with hockey players and the only reason he is here is because he invited himself.

He wants to get the jab in, and since I’m going to covet his wife all weekend, it seems fair to let him.

Not that I always play fair.

I thump his bad shoulder and give him a big grin. “You seem cranky, Tiller. You need a nap? I saved the best room for you.”

He grins back. “I don’t need a fucking nap. I just sat on my ass for three hours in the car. I want to see the gym you’ve got set up here. Who else is here? Maybe we can make it competitive.”

Oh, we’re going to make it competitive. My return smile to him is as genuine as can fucking be. “Foster has everyone working in the gym already.”

“And just like that, the day’s agenda has been set,” Shannon says lightly. I make an apologetic face in her direction, but she waves me off. “It’s fine. I’m used to it. Where am I going to find my girls?”

I grin. “Let me tell you about the pool…”

“You’ve got a pool?” Her expression brightens immediately. “Point me to the lanai, Russell. I know what I’ll be doing while you boys get sweaty.”

CHAPTER 5

SHANNON

After Russ shows us to our room and I get changed, I head downstairs again.

I find Ani first, in the kitchen. Like me, she’s wearing a black bathing suit under a white coverup.

We coordinated that on our group chat, because that’s just how blessed life is for hockey wives and girlfriends—matching outfits are our biggest problem. I love it with my whole heart.

“You made it!” She throws her arms around me, wrapping me in joy that more than makes up for the grumpy drive here. “We’re all out at the pool. I was just refreshing drinks. What can I get you?”

“Is there white wine open?”

“There sure is.” She pours me a glass, to my usual amount.

“More.”

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