Page 18 of Man Advantage

“I figured it would.”

He eyed me. “What do you mean?”

“I knew exactly what it meant. But he seemed like the kind of guy who’d try to quiz me and trip me up, so…”

Trev’s eyebrow climbed. “Wait, so you didn’t actually…”

“Pfft. Are you kidding? ‘Ice cream toppings on top instead of mixed in.’” I rolled my eyes. “That is not rocket science, my dude.” Grinning, I added, “But it does tell the uptight dad to knock off the suspicion that the nanny won’t bother reading the manual.”

Trev studied me for a moment, and I was worried he’d get mad that I’d done something admittedly manipulative.

I was about to apologize, but then he laughed and shook his head. “Well-played, my friend. Well-played.”

Oh, thank God.

“You think it actually worked, then?” I grimaced. “And you don’t mind me playing little head games to get your ex off my back?”

He scoffed and flailed his hand. “Are you kidding? The way he started coming at you sideways the minute you sat down, I wouldn’t have complained if you’d torn into him. Your approach was even better, though. Play a little stupid, make it obvious you care enough about the boys to ask questions—” He raised his beer in a mock toast, then took a drink.

I laughed, more than a little relieved that I hadn’t crossed a line. “Okay, so it worked. And there are few things in the world that everyone will agree on—one of them is that slimy, wilted lettuce is disgusting.”

Trev chuckled. “You’re not wrong.” He sighed and played with the label on his beer bottle. “I’m sorry he was such an ass to you at first, though.”

“Seems like he was mostly being an ass to you. Either directly or”—I gestured at myself—“by proxy.”

He grunted. “Still. I didn’t want you to be caught in the crossfire. If we could’ve swung this whole arrangement without you ever having to meet him, I would have.”

“I had to, though,” I said softly. “I understood that.”

“I know. It just sucks.” Trev’s gaze turned distant. “Everything about it fucking sucks.”

I watched him curiously, unsure if I should press. On the other hand, we were already on the subject, so we might as well go there.

I pulled my feet up under me and rested my beer on my knee. “What happened, anyway? Between the two of you?” I paused. “If, uh… If you don’t mind me asking.”

“Nah, it’s fine.” He took another swig of beer, then set the bottle on a coaster on the end table. Tilting his head back, he stared up at the ceiling. “I don’t even know, honestly. Like, thereisn’t just one thing. I mean, I caught him cheating, so that was what ended it, but we were in trouble long before that ever happened. If he hadn’t cheated, I think we still would’ve ended up divorced just because we were… I don’t even know. It was a lot of little shit snowballing over time.”

“So, death by a thousand cuts?”

“Something like that.” His eyes fluttered shut as he sighed. “I guess it was just… like all the usual things that can put a strain on a marriage, but we didn’tfixany of them. We’d argue about them, and we even went to counseling for a little while, but…” He shook his head and stared up at the ceiling again. “Nothing changed. Then one day, we could barely stand the sight of each other, and then I caught him cheating, and…” He waved his hand as if to say,do the math.

“That sucks,” I said softly.

“Yeah. It’s probably just as well we separated while the boys were still toddlers. It’s not ideal, but we split before they were really engaged with the outside world. Like before they had solid memories of us as a family. I think it’s easier for them to adapt.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “That’s what I tell myself, anyway.”

“There’s probably some truth to it,” I said. “I’m no expert on child development, but I think my parents’ divorce would’ve been easier if it happened before I remembered them together.”

He let his head loll toward me. “Yeah?”

“Well, yeah.” I shrugged. “I remember them being good together. I remember them falling apart. And I remember the divorce. I think it would’ve been easier if the only thing I really remembered was them being divorced.”

“Maybe?” Trev whispered. “I hope so, anyway. This whole parenting thing has been nonstop trial and error, and I just hope the errors I’ve made haven’t completely messed up my kids.”

“I highly, highly doubt they have. You obviously love them and want what’s best for them. Bryan obviously does too. I’m sure you’ve both made plenty of mistakes, but like, remember how oftenourparents fucked up?”

He managed a soft laugh. “Yeah. I do.”

“Right, and we turned out okay. The people whose childhoods messed them up—they’re the ones with parents who actually mistreated them, you know? Even at their worst, none of our parents did that. And I can’t imagine you mistreating anyone except another hockey player who pisses you off.”

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