What Are The Chances (Phil-U #2)

55 Family will always come first

CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE

Family will always come first

WILL

I owed Grace. She’d delivered on the hangover cure. First she’d snuck us into the Phil-U Olympic-sized pool where the fresh water had worked a miracle, then she’d driven us through Starbucks on the way home where we’d stocked up on coffee, and lastly she’d come through with a refreshing smoothie that’d chased the leftover taste of last night’s alcohol away.

Now I felt somewhat prepared walking into the restaurant to meet Eric Hamilton, the GM of the Texas Bobcats. He was waiting in the foyer. Spotting me, he ended his call and slipped his phone into his pocket.

“Will,” he greeted, extending out his hand. “Good to see you again.”

“You too.”

I’d spoken to Eric often over the past two-and-a-half-years. He’d checked in regularly ever since I was drafted and had come and watched some games.

“We have another prospect joining us. I hope you don’t mind.”

I didn’t mind, but I was surprised. I knew all of the players from around here who had been drafted. Nobody else had been picked up by the Bobcats.

“Here he is now.”

Turning over my shoulder, my gaze collided with Tanner fucking Holbeck. He faltered slightly upon seeing me. You and me both, dude .

The Bobcats couldn’t seriously be considering Tanner, could they? He hadn’t declared. There must’ve been a reason for that. Whatever had changed between now and then was officially on my hitlist.

“I assume you two know each other,” Eric said.

“We’ve crossed paths,” I returned .

“We actually knocked Phil-U off less than twenty-four hours ago in overtime,” Tanner smugly added.

Eric chuckled. “I saw. A good game on both sides. Could’ve gone either way, but props on the win.”

The attendant arrived and ushered us to the table. Unlike many GMs who would select the nicest restaurant in town, Eric had booked a laidback sports bar. It was thirty minutes from Phil-U, which meant it was also thirty minutes from Allentown. The location made sense now.

“I invited Tanner last minute after a mutual friend reached out and mentioned Tanner might be interested in continuing with hockey after college,” Eric began once he was settled in his seat. “I thought talking to you might help Tanner make the decision, Will. Tanner has some reservations about playing at the professional level.”

I raised my eyebrows. This was the first I was hearing of it. And fuck it, I was curious.

“Like?” I prompted.

Tanner cautiously looked between Eric and me before reluctantly sighing. I doubt he wanted to level with me about his concerns, but here we were.

“A friend of mine’s dad used to play in the NHL and because of that I have some...” Tanner paused to choose the right word. “ Trepidations about the lifestyle I suppose.”

Eric hung back in his seat, his lips sealed. It was clear he was wanting me to take the reins here. If I was to guess, I’d say he had done all he could do to convince Tanner about playing next year. He was trying another tactic. And that tactic was me.

“Family will always come first to me,” Tanner went on. “I guess I don’t think that’s achievable playing professionally.”

Tanner’s confession and honesty made me hate the guy a little bit less. It was raw admitting that. It made him seem a bit more human. Part of me had expected he was worried about getting caught up in the party scene, or even the fame and the attention that came with the NHL.

“I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t had those same concerns,” I told him.

“Really?”

He sounded sceptical.

“Sure. It’s a lot. And we’ve all heard of the players who have fallen to the wrong side.” And ended their career in the process – a trap I would never fall into. “But knowing your priorities going in sounds like a smart place to start. There are plenty of guys who seem to have found the right balance.”

My response was surface level and Tanner picked up on that. He pulled back, as if I’d lost him. In my peripheral I caught the subtle look Eric flashed my way. I needed to try a different approach .

I tried picturing what my life in Texas would look like next year and how I’d spend my time. But the reality was I couldn’t see my future now without seeing Riley. I imagined what it would be like having her in the stands cheering me on, or coming home from an away game to her in our bed, or FaceTiming her late at night from my hotel to hear about her day. Preferably a quick recap before we transitioned to naked FaceTime.

Even now, sitting with one of the men who controlled my future, I was still thinking about her. About what she was doing. And whether she was still upset. And what I could do to convince her that we were endgame.

“Your friend’s dad, did he have a girlfriend when he joined the league?”

Tanner shrugged. “Kind of, but not by choice though.”

That was cryptic as hell, but it played into my theory.

“And do you?”

Tanner held my gaze for what felt like eternity before finally shaking his head. I had to keep myself from pumping my fist in excitement. It felt as if I had just shed my entire hockey kit. I felt a world lighter knowing – in his eyes too – that there wasn’t anything happening between him and Riley. And we were going to keep it that way.

“If you had the right person or people waiting for you at home, it wouldn’t be possible to let them slip off the radar,” I said with conviction.

For some strange reason, looking at Tanner felt like I was looking at Riley. Or maybe it only felt that way because she was the person I wanted to be sitting opposite me right now.

“I haven’t always gotten the balance right myself,” I admitted. “But I think that’s more about not having had the right person there, rather than putting hockey before them.”

Frowning, Tanner crossed his arms over his chest. “And have you got the right person now?”

What a loaded fucking question. One I didn’t know how to answer when there was some type of history between him and Riley.

Eric was leaning forward on his elbows, like he was hanging to hear the final line of one of Riley’s shitty romcoms. Sorry to spoil the ending, but it wasn’t a happy one just yet.

“I do,” I firmly answered. “But I have my work cut out proving that to her.”

With guarded eyes, Tanner nodded slowly. Whether I’d just stirred the dust or started a war, I wasn’t sure. But I wasn’t backing down either way. I hope I’d made that clear.

The rest of lunch wasn’t actually horrible. Once Tanner and I got talking about hockey, conversation flowed freely .

When you played opposite someone as much as we had, it was easy to fall into the trap of only thinking of them as a player. Essential thinking when the puck dropped. But off the ice, there was more to him. And if the Bobcats were thinking about bringing him on after graduation, we were going to have to make amends at some point.

As Eric picked up his beer, the sight of it made me squirm. I’d settled on water, the remnants of last night’s session still too fresh.

“Maybe the universe will have its way and you’ll be teammates after all.”

I craned my head. “What do you mean?”

“Tanner received an offer for a full-ride to Phil-U.”

I’d heard the rumour that Coach Hall had tried to recruit Tanner, but not that it had come with a side of a full scholarship. Tanner had to have a good reason for turning that down. Guys scrambled to play under Coach. And guys scrambled harder when they didn’t have to pay a penny for their education.

My eyebrows lowered. “Out of curiosity, why did you turn it down?”

Tanner wasn’t stacking up. He hadn’t declared, but he was interested in playing professionally. He loved hockey, but he’d turned down a scholarship to a school with a renown hockey program and Coach.

Tanner shrugged indifferently. “Not a fan of your coach’s style I guess.”

Eric snickered. “I remember Bryce Hall well. He’s the perfect example of a player who never got the balance right.”