Page 135 of In The Game

“That’s why we’re having a guy’s day today, so I could consult with you first. I want to make sure you’re okay with me asking your mom to marry me. What do you think?”

“I think you should hurry up and do it—you need a ring. Do you have one?”

The smile on my face can’t be smothered; the things that come out of this kid’s mouth…

“Not yet. Wanna help me pick one out today?”

RALEIGH

“Holy shit!” Birdie exclaims!

I run my fingers through my hair and nod. We’ve told the rest of his family, and now I’m sharing the news with Micky and Birdie. I figure we’ll be spending a lot of time together this fall in the WAGs box, so Barrett and I decided to come out with it to the team and their wives. Well, I decided. Barrett’s been ready to scream it from the rooftops from the get-go. It’s nice releasing those secrets.

Barrett is letting me share it with the WAGs first. He said if he told the guys, they’d share it with their wives before I got a chance. We hope that by doing this before the season starts, we’ll be able to get any awkwardness out of the way when we sit in the box suite. Although, talking with Birdie and Micky doesn’t feel all that awkward. They are both so honest about their own stories, that it makes me feel comfortable in mine.

“So where is this woman now?” Birdie asks, referring to Julia.

“No fucking clue, but truthfully, I don’t want to know. I don’t want to meet her—God, I’d probably take a swing at her.” I roll my eyes. “Barrett’s lawyer is looking into it. It doesn’t matter. No money will ever be able to make up for the time we lost, but it makes Barrett feel better.”

“You know, now that I think of it, Lonan mentioned her calling him into her office a few times on false pretenses for work too. She never touched him, but it definitely made him uncomfortable, enough that he refused to speak with her in person and everything had to be done through email.”

“Damn, I’m glad she wasn’t there when Rhys started. The last thing he needed was more pressure from outside shit.” Micky stares wide-eyed as she drinks through a straw and listens.

“Anyway, that’s our story. That’s why I was weird at the soft launch. That was the first time I was in the same room as him since everything happened.”

Micky and Birdie throw an arm around me.

“I’m so happy you guys reconnected,” Birdie says, her eyes welling up. “I’m sorry, I’m so emotional these days. And I know what it’s like to reunite with people you lost contact with, it’s such an intense thing to go through. And to do it with a child? God, I can’t imagine.”

“And you saw him at my opening! I helped!” Micky coos.

Birdie narrows her eyes at her. “The fuck are you talking about?” She laughs, sipping her mocktail. “They didn’t even connect until the Lakes-Method event.”

“I brought afam-il-ytogether.” Micky enunciates, punctuating each syllable in the air with pinched fingers.

“You’rede-lu-sion-al,” Birdie responds, mirroring her. She turns back to me. “So now that you’re back together, how is it? Is it awkward? Is it hot? How is Arthur with everything?”

“That’s what’s so wild, it’s like we’re picking up right where we left off. It’s…easy.He makes life seem so simple. Before him, I was responsible for everything, but he’s stepped in and taken care of things without even being asked. It’s become such a seamless transition. It’s almost too good to be true, and sometimes I think I don’t deserve all this happiness.”

“Fuck that, you absolutely do! And Barrett’s obsessed with you. He loves you both, I can see it. I mean, you’re Runaway Raleigh—” Birdie says.

“How’s the sex?” Micky interrupts. “Please tell me he wears your pussy like a gas mask. After all that time, I hope you’re getting it on the reg. Hockey-player sex is next level.” Her eyes roll back in her head.

I’ve had plenty of hockey-player sex in my life, butBarrettsex is next level.

“I laugh. The stamina is ridiculous. God, he’s so amazing. It’s not even just the sex, he’s always doing these sweet gestures, he’s so giving. I want to do something nice for him too.”

“Blow him,” Micky says around her straw, at the same time Birdie asks, “What does he like?”

I chuckle. “I do blow him! Honestly, he might like being a dad more than blowjobs.”

“You’re not doing it right.” Micky shakes her head, and I laugh.

“I swear to God! He’s so fucking proud of being a Dad, and all he talks about is having more kids.”

“Did you see this photo he posted on Instagram?” Birdie holds out her phone to show me. It’s a picture of us in Hawaii with the caption“Finally got her.”I clutch my locket. I know he hates social media, so to see that small act makes my heart burst. Fuck, I love him so much.

I swirl my glass and the delicious Micky-made POG juice coats the sides. And then it hits me.

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