Page 59 of Goalie Interference

“You can’t say anything to anyone.” She bit her lip, looking worried, and damn, I couldn’t do anything right tonight.

“No, not my business. But then why—” Sophie had been upset that Otts was with a woman with a couple of young kids. If Sophie could have had children, did Otts not want them? But she said—almost said—he couldn’t have kids himself.

She sighed, looking so sad I wanted to wrap her in my arms and tell her everything would be okay. “You’re right. It’s what finally broke us up. It was for the best, but… Come on in. I don’t want to talk about this sober.”

I followed her into the house. She stepped out of her shoes and led me down the hall to the big kitchen. She headed straight for the fridge and took out a bottle of wine. I wasn’t a wine drinker, but I’d keep her company if she wanted.

She set the bottle on the counter and reached into a cupboard for a glass. She almost grabbed a second, but instead opened the fridge again and pulled out a can of beer, passing it to me.

“Thanks.”

She poured a full glass for herself and then corked and placed the bottle back in the fridge. “Since you already know most of the story, here’s what happened. When we married, we expectedwe’d have kids. We both wanted them. Ollie had already planned out their futures—he’s a big planner, manifester, stuff like that. But the kids didn’t come. So we went for tests and found out he wasn’t going to father a child. It hit him hard.”

I took a sip of my beer and let her talk.

“I wanted kids too, but I would have been happy to adopt. Do IVF, whatever. Ollie and his father, though…that wouldn’t fly. His dad is big on legacy. Ollie’s grandfather would have been a pro ballplayer except for an early injury. His dad was a big baseball star—World Series titles, all-star, Hall of Fame, the whole thing. Ollie wanted to follow his own path, but any time he picked up a baseball, someone compared him to his dad. So he chose a different sport. But he was also really gifted and he’d probably have had that dream career, Hall of Fame, a couple more Cups if he hadn’t been injured.”

He would have. He’d been really good.

“So, adopting kids? Having one without his super athlete DNA? His dad would have wanted to know why, and Ollie couldn’t face it.” She lifted her glass. “Stupid pride.” She took a large swallow.

We all had pride. And when we lost it in front of others, dealing wasn’t easy. “So you split? How would that help anything with his father?”

“His dad wouldn’t approve of kids outside of wedlock, so Ollie thought he’d get less pressure if he wasn’t married. And honestly, by then we were better as friends than spouses.”

Sophie talked like it wasn’t a big deal, but when your partner decided to end your marriage—that couldn’t be as painless as she was pretending. “From what I saw, your dad wouldn’t have been much help.”

She refilled her glass. “Legacy is important to our families. For my dad, it’s music. Cash is successful, and Dad wants the next generation of Williamses to keep the torch burning. He asksCash about settling down, not me. I didn’t get the right genes. Ollie’s dad focuses on sports instead. Probably just as well Ollie and I didn’t inflict our fathers on kids anyway. I don’t know how they’d have decided which career choice was more important. Maybe a cage match?”

I set my beer on the counter and leaned my hip against it. “So Otts was going to put off telling his dad there’d be no kids by divorcing you and staying single. How long did he think that would work?”

Sophie swallowed more wine. “I don’t know. But that’s not my problem.”

“Why is he dating a woman with kids? Kids that aren’t his. Isn’t that just going to bring up the issue?”

Her smile was forced. “Apparently now he’s ready to raise boys that don’t share his genetic legacy.”

Fuck him.Now I got why Sophie was so upset. This was what she’d wanted to do, the life she’d been looking forward to, but Otts had said it wasn’t enough. They split up, and now he’d decided he could take on kids with someone else. Which left Sophie feeling like he hadn’t ended things because of kids, but becauseshewasn’t enough.

“You’re wrong.”

She’d been staring into her wineglass, but that caught her attention and she looked at me, eyebrows raised.

“He’s wrong too. He should have owned up back then. You’re worth it.”

Her lips twitched and she swallowed hard, eyes blinking back tears. Her voice was shaky when she said, “Tonight, when he was with someone else, trying something he wouldn’t do with me? I wasn’t feeling worth it. And Dad? That’s the most attention I’ve gotten from him in months.”

I saw the hurt in her expression. She’d had a moment to shine and he’d besmirched it. Her family didn’t value her, whichher father made sure to show tonight, and now her ex was making her feel like shit.

“Youareworth it,” I repeated. She looked gorgeous in that red dress, but it wasn’t just that. Beyond what she looked like, she was a good person and that was harder to manage than a sexy dress and makeup. She helped people, she’d been good to Beast and even looked after her brother’s cat as if it was more than an inconvenience. Too many people had taken advantage of that without letting her know how incredible she was.

She met my gaze and I couldn’t look away. She studied me, gauging whether I was serious. I wasn’t sure what my expression revealed, but dwelling on the things I admired about her was amping up the attraction I felt.

The feeling had been quietly growing. There were good reasons why getting involved with her was a bad idea. Number one was that this could mess up my relationship with my coach. None of those reasons mattered right now. My gaze dropped to her mouth, and she licked her lips before biting them. I met her stare again and there was a question there. Was I just talking, or did I mean it?

I closed the distance between us. She didn’t look alarmed or nervous. This time she looked atmymouth, and when our eyes met again I saw heat. I lifted my hand, ran my callused fingers along her jaw. “Did I tell you how good you look tonight?”

Her mouth lifted into a smile, and I traced her lips with one finger.

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