Page 126 of Behind the Net

“How’s your mom?” she asks.

“Better.” It’s been a few weeks now, and my mom avoids talking about therapy, but that’s fine. I’m giving her space. She’ll give me details when she’s ready.

“Good.” Erin smiles at me. “I’m glad.”

We sit there a long moment in silence, and when I go back to that old guilt over what I did, I find nothing.

A weight lifts.

I didn’t break Erin. I didn’t crush her. The woman across the table from me is a stronger, happier version of the girl I thought I hurt.

Erin is more resilient than I realized. She struggled, and she came out on top. Over the past few months, Pippa has conquered her fears again and again. I imagine her on New Year’s Eve, singing on stage. The moment I realized I was in love with her. A bright, warm sensation expands in my chest.

“Wow,” Erin says, blinking at me in mock-surprise. “A rare smile fromtheJamie Streicher? Must be my lucky day.”

I snort and smile wider. “Very funny.”

“Enough about the past.” She studies me. “What’s new with you?”

“I met someone.”

I say the words without thinking. Pippa is the biggest, brightest part of my life, and I’m excited about us. Telling Erin feels right.

Her eyes turn soft and she smiles. “Is this the girl I saw on the sports news?”

A laugh scrapes out of me. After my last game, the sports networks showed clips of me smiling at Pippa behind the glass.

Streicher shut out after a Streich-ing smile!they said.

It was the first time they’d seen me smile in public, the sports anchors joked.

“Yeah.” I nod at Erin, and a smile twitches on my mouth. “That’s her.”

She just studies me with that kind, affectionate smile, and I know she’s happy for me. “Tell me everything about her.”

We spend the rest of lunch in a flurry of conversation. I show Erin the video from New Year’s Eve, tell her about the guitar I bought Pippa, the trip out to Silver Falls, and show her every photo of Pippa and Daisy on my phone. She shows me photos from her wedding in Bali last year. When I tell her about the upcoming charity gala and how I’m going to take Pippa dress shopping, she pulls out her phone and sends me a list of recommendations.

“That’s where I go for dresses,” Erin tells me about one place close to the apartment. “If you call the owner, you can arrange to have the store to yourselves.” Her eyes twinkle. “Really make her feel special, you know?”

“Perfect.” Something sparks in my chest at the thought of the gala. There’s no way Pippa and I can walk into that place without people knowing we’re together, and I’m strangely excited about that.

After lunch is over and I give Erin a hug goodbye, I walk home through the streets of Vancouver in a lighter mood than before.

This thing with Pippa is going to last. I can feel it.

CHAPTER61

PIPPA

In the mornings,Jamie Streicher is warm, sleepy, and sexy as hell. He wakes me up with his lips on my neck, pressing soft kisses there as his hands roam my body. I pull back to see him smiling, so relaxed and at ease.

I love seeing him like this.

His gaze falls to my mouth, and there’s an aching throb between my legs as lust flares in his gaze. His hair is unruly from bedhead, his eyes are puffy from sleep, and dark stubble spans his jawline. I can imagine exactly how that stubble would feel against my inner thighs.

In bed like this, Jamie Streicher looks supremely fuckable. Jamie’s hand tangles in my hair and he pulls my mouth to his, letting out a hum against my lips that sounds like relief.

“Let’s have a shower,” he whispers, and I nod.

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