Page 79 of Play Your Part

“Well, she made a good point about letting fans get to know our players a bit more personally. She says your relationship with Alexei has attracted a lot of attention. We should do more of that if we want fans to feel like the team is their family.”

Zach nodded like a bobblehead. “I’m all for it.”

“People did like that video of you nearly burning Alexei’s house to the ground and me saving your ass.” I grinned sweetly at Zach. Deandra had gleefully used the footage Alexei supplied in an in-game entertainment video as a prank on Zach.

The accented voice directly behind me made me jump. “One of those videos is enough for a lifetime.”

More than anything, I wished Alexei and I spoke a language no one else in the room did so he could tell me what the hell had been happening for the last ten minutes. When he brushed his hand against mine, I realized, with a start, we did have our own language.Everything is fine, he seemed to say with that quick contact. If it wasn’t, he would have lingered more or pulled me out of the room for a breather.

When did I start to know him so well?

“Kennedy, I want to introduce you to my parents.”

His father stood stiffly, hands in his pockets, while his mother’s gaze roamed over me, assessing me. Both had forced smiles on their faces. “My dad, Igor, and my mom, Marina.”

“It’s great to meet you.” I gave them a pathetically small wave. “How was your trip?”

“Long,” Marina answered, her accent stronger than Alexei’s.

Her husband—ex-husband? once again boyfriend?—hummed his agreement.

“Of course,” I said, this line of questioning falling flat. I thought travel talk would buy us a few minutes. Another brush of fingers, this time across my lower back, told me to relax. “Well, we’re glad you could make it. It’s our first Thanksgiving since my mom died—well, the first one we’ve celebrated.”

Alexei’s fingers stilled. I surprised myself with the admission, how easily the words came without me having to steel myself to say them.

Marina’s pinched face softened. “Alyosha told me about your mom”—she glanced over my head—“your wife. Loss is never easy.”

“No,” my dad agreed. “It isn’t.”

When the doorbell rang, I asked, “Are we expecting anyone else?”

No one answered. Moments later, Gemma’s voice cut through the air. “Y’all got room for two more?” She appeared at the wide-open entrance to the room with Matt at her side.

I rushed to her. “What are you doing here?”

“There’s a huge snowstorm,” Gemma explained, opening her arms to me. "Our flight got cancelled. You’d know that if you answered your phone."

I hugged her tightly, grateful to have her here to help weather the shitstorm Alexei’s parents blew into our holiday. I worried about him shutting down during dinner, or the argument with his parents cropping up again.

“It’s been a little frosty here, as well,” I whispered in her ear. “I haven’t had the chance to look at my phone since we arrived.”

Alexei introduced Matt, Zach, and Gemma to his parents. Igor’s stern expression broke into a wide smile when he met Zach, talking to him about his overtime goal the other night. The tension melted as long as everyone focused on hockey, so Alexei kept that conversation going until dinner.

After taking our seats, Alexei’s hand found my knee, drawing my eyes to his.I’m glad we’re in this together,I imagined his expression saying.

I hoped he could read mine.Thank you for being here.

33

KENNEDY

“Iunderstandfrommyson that you met at a party in this house?”

The conversation, apparently, could not remain on hockey all night. Or maybe it could, but Marina didn’t want to talk about her son’s career. She came here to meet me, the woman who entered his life in a flurry of drama. The first woman since his engagement fell apart.

I expected her questions. I practiced for these questions. And yet, I shrank in my seat as all eyes swiveled to me.

“We did,” I said, placing my fork on the table. I would continue eating after the interrogation. “A couple of months ago.”

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