Page 109 of Just One Season
Lucy’s cheeks are flushed, and her lips swollen with my kisses. Exactly as they should be.
“Wow,” she says quietly, green eyes wide and locked with mine.
I nod. What else can I do?
“Lucy?” Bri calls.
Lucy detangles herself from me and glides out of the mudroom. Her and Bri talk and laugh, and then the door to the basement opens and shuts.
I press my palms on my eyes, willing my misbehaving heart to stand down. After a few deep breaths, I return to the counter and my half-chopped pepper.
“So your sister is working for the Blizzard?” one of the moms asks in the family room, around the corner and out of sight.
“Yup,” Atticus says. “Just for one season though. Not even for the whole season, actually. She’s trying to get a job with a pro soccer team in England.”
“That’s wild,” another mom says. “So she’s here temporarily?”
“If you want to know if Ava’s dad is going to be single again soon, just ask,” a third woman says. They think they’re being quiet, but the voices carry to the kitchen. They must think I’m downstairs.
There are a few low laughs from the hockey boys, because they all know the real deal. Well, most of the real deal.
I’ve kept it purely platonic with all the single moms and women associated with Ava. No soccer coaches or ballet instructors or girl scout leaders. I’ve never wanted to get messy like that.
But I can’t imagine anything messier than the situation with Lucy now.
“She worked for our father’s soccer team back in D.C.,” Atticus adds.
Lachlan appears in the kitchen doorway.
“Didn’t know you were in here,” he says and lowers his voice. “There’s a mom in there that has a thing for you, I think.”
I grunt and shrug.
“I can’t date my daughter’s friends’ mom.”
“But you’ll date your teammate’s sister?”
I look up, and Lachlan’s eyebrows are raised.
The door to the basement bursts open, Ava leading the way with Mister Barky McBarkface in her arms.
“Piñata time! Come on, Daddy!” She leads a line of kids into the kitchen.
“Hold on!” Bri squeezes to the front of the group and points to the mudroom. “Everyone get your jackets and come outside to hear the rules. After, we’ll have dinner.”
“Come on, kids!” Lucy appears and leads the way into the mudroom. I wink at her as she passes, and she grins back. A curl hangs over her right eye, and I desperately want to touch it.
A herd of moms help with kids’ hats and gloves and puffy jackets. Lachlan heads out back with Lucy, throwing his arm around her shoulders and whispering something in her ear that makes her laugh.
I sigh and hang my head. Lucy blends in perfectly with my family and my friends. With my life, really.
But tomorrow?
Tomorrow it’s all over. My heart rate picks up, and I head out back to help manage the piñata.
I touch Lucy on the back as I pass by, letting my fingers linger on her jacket.
We’ll have a public breakup. Then we can both move on with our lives. I can get back to focusing on only hockey and Ava. She can get back to trying to move across the Atlantic Ocean.
