Page 60 of Crossing Lines

“I see the desert hasn’t ruined my baby yet.” She huffed a laugh. “Now tell me how the hell you ended up with your coach?”

I flicked my gaze up to my ceiling. Where to start? “I sort of pursued him.” I thought back on those first times, our lunch at Five Guys, the drink in the bar after the away game, when he’d started to let me in. “There was something about him, you know? It was like the moment I saw him, I just knew he was special.”

“Aw…sort of like when I met your father down at the lake when he was skinny dipping. I got to see all the goods?—”

“Mom, I don’t need to hear that story again.” With a grin, Iscoffed and shook my head. My fucking mother was something else. My poor Dad… “Anyway, we’re keeping things quiet until after the season ends.”

“Okay, and then?”

“And then…” I breathed in deeply, or I’d explode. “And then we’ll be together in the open, and hopefully, I’ll get an invitation to go to the Maple Leafs’ development camp.” My chest swelled. “Mom, I’m getting scouted.”

“Are you shitting me?” She barked out a laugh.

“I shit you not.” A deep chuckle rumbled in my chest. She was on a roll now. “I met with a scout and things are looking pretty good. I should hear soon.”

“That’s great. I was able to see one of your recent games when you scored,” she said.

“Yeah?” I bit my lip inside a smile. I loved it when Mom watched the games. She didn’t get to all of them anymore, but I know she tried.

“Okay, so this summer, you’ll bring this coach to meet us, won’t you?”

“I will.” As my smile faded, I scratched my neck. Shit, how was all this going to work? “Mom, I might not be home as much as we thought this summer.”

“Camp is only for a week, isn’t it?” she asked.

“It is, but Ryan, my boyfriend, is probably going to spend a lot of time in Toronto with his mom this summer. If he’ll let me, I’d like to be with him.” I winced. Shit, I hadn’t even discussed this with Ryan yet. But I wanted to be ready with an answer if he invited me to stay with him and his mom.

“Oh, I see.” She blew out a soft breath. “I suppose. I mean, shedidhave cancer. Poor woman.” She sighed. “She’s okay now, though, right?”

“Yes, she’s okay now.” I glanced at the pillows resting on the headboard of my bed. I had to get off the phone so I could get my nap in. “Anyway, we’ll talk more about all of this in a few weeks, okay?”

“Yeah, sure, honey.” She took a quick inhale. “Don’t forget about me now that you’ve got a boyfriend.”

With a snort, I said, “Don’t worry. I won’t.” I glanced at my backpack. “Love you, Mom. Talk to you soon.”

“Love you too. Bye.” She hung up the call.

I stuffed my phone into the pocket of my backpack, then set it on the floor and lay on my back. There was so much stuff to think about. Would I even be able to nap?

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

RYAN

Thursday evening, I sat on my sofa with a glass of whisky after a long day of meetings and running my players around the rink. I wanted to be ready for Omaha. They were a beefy team, and we needed to outrun them if we were going to win. If we did, we were a shoo-in for the Frozen Four.

As I sank into the cushions, I sipped my drink and watched the sun setting behind the mountain. My phone buzzed. “Shit.” Leaning over, I picked it up. “Laurent.” I answered the call.

“Hey, Ryan. How’s it going, eh?” He chuckled.

“Good, you?” A smile played across my lips. We’d had our good and bad times, but it was always nice to hear his voice. It was a slice of home.

“Great.” He breathed into the phone. “Hey, listen. It just so happens I’m headed down there for work. There’s a client I need to see,” he said. “I fly in on Sunday.”

“Sunday? As in three days from now?” I shot up straight, almost spilling my whisky, my pulse quickening. How weird would it be to have him down here in my new apartment?

“Yeah, three days. I’m staying in some hotel called The Palms on Mill Avenue?” he asked more than stated. “Do you know it?”

“Uh, yeah. It’s just down the street from me.” I sipped my drink. What a coincidence. “How long are you staying for?”

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