Chapter 48
~Daley~
The players have barely left the ice when a member of the security team walks into the room I’m in and changes the feed on the TV screen.
Rather than seeing the rink, I now have a view of a table and three empty chairs, the team’s logo in the background and a handful of microphones set up.
With no further explanation, or even a hello, the man walks back out of the room, leaving me sitting on the couch by myself.
Jane's messages keep me entertained as a few more minutes tick by, and when I hear someone else come into the room, I don’t look up, assuming it’s the same security guard from before. It isn’t until arms wrap around me from behind and a sweaty cheek presses against mine that I realize who it is.
“River! Get off me.”
He laughs, still finding it as funny as he always has to make a mess of me, and places a wet kiss on my cheek before releasing me.
What was I just saying to Deacon about men being boys?
He comes around the couch as I stand up and despite the fact that he’s still in his gear and obviously hasn’t showered yet, I reach up to grab hold of his face, turning it from side to side to look for signs of damage from his fight.
There’s some light discolouration on his left cheek, but overall, he looks alright.
“I’m fine,” he confirms as he submits to my inspection. “Deke got it worse than me.”
“Don’t remind me.” After turning his face left to right one more time, I wrap my arms around him for a proper hug, ignoring the state of him. “Congratulations on your win. And your assist!”
“Thanks.” The pride in his voice is unmistakable as he squeezes back. “I heard you were in here and wanted to say hi before you go. Are you going to head out early with Deke?”
I step out of his embrace, wiping my face clean once more. “Probably. I don’t know if you heard, but people know who I am now.”
His face drops. “What? How?”
While I tell him about Megan and the selfie in the restroom, movement on the TV screen catches my eye. Deacon’s solid frame, dressed now in a crisp white shirt that stretches sinfully across his broad chest. His hair is still damp from his shower, and a fresh bandage covers his nose.
“Can we turn that up?” I ask River, and he quickly locates the remote, letting Deacon’s voice fill the air right as he says he wants to make a statement.
He apologizes for the punch, as I expected, and makes a few comments about Brady that are well-justified. When my name comes out of his mouth, I blink in surprise, and with each word that follows, my jaw drops a little more.
“Did you know he was gonna say all that?” River asks me once Deacon stands up and leaves the table.
“No. Not all of it.”
Sifting through my reactions, I find I’m not upset, though. He didn’t say anything people wouldn’t have figured out about me on their own now that word is out that I’m River’s mom. And one thing he said stands out to me above all.
It’s not a secret.
He just told the whole world that he’s in a relationship with me, and sounded proud of the fact.
It’s not a secret.
My other relationships have all been secret. I couldn’t tell anyone about Anthony because he was married, and my boss. It never would have crossed Anthony’s mind to claim me publicly. Any hope I had that he would one day do so died on the day I told him I was pregnant.
It’s not a secret.
Since River was born, I’ve only had casual relationships with men from another town, men I never let into my real life. They were a secret too.
Maybe part of the reason I’ve been so afraid to be open about my relationship with Deacon is simply that I don’t know how. I’ve never been with anyone out in the open, and of course, I had to fall for a man whose whole life is a matter of public interest.
But he’s not hiding it. He sat there and calmly declared his interest, daring anyone to find fault with it.
And they will, I have no illusions about that. But somehow, it matters a lot less to me now than it did before.
Let people talk. I’m going home with the team captain.
A moment later, Deacon appears in the doorway, stopping short when he sees River there. “Hey,” he greets us both, his eyes flicking to the screen and back to me. “Were you watching?”
I nod, and River takes that as his cue to leave. “I better get cleaned up. See you later.”
As River passes him, Deacon says something about talking to the team’s PR before going into the media room, but I’m too distracted by the sight of him to pay attention. He always looks good, but I don’t think I’ve ever found him quite as attractive as I do right now.
When River’s gone, Deacon turns back to me, his head tilting to the side in curiosity. “Is everything okay?”
I nod again, my throat suddenly feeling tight and thick.
His brow tightens and he steps forward. “Did I say something wrong in there? I didn’t plan it all out in advance, I just went with what felt right, but if I overstepped, I’m sorry.”
“You didn’t,” I manage to force out. “It was perfect.”
His expression doesn’t clear, concern still written across his face, so I offer him a smile.
“What was that about you using me to make Megan jealous?”
That does the trick. His face relaxes and his eyes roll skyward. “Who the hell knows? The best thing about us being divorced is I don’t have to worry about her bullshit anymore.”
He gestures towards the TV behind me.
“Do you want to stay and watch River’s Q&A with the press, or do you want to get going?”
As much as I want to support my son, he didn’t ask me to stay, and Deacon looks like he’s more than ready to leave. “Let’s go. I can find out how it went later.”
Together, we walk down the hall to the exit, Deacon saying goodnight to everyone we pass. When we reach the door, he pauses.
“There’ll be some people out here looking for an autograph or picture. Are you okay to wait with me?”
If he asked me that this morning, I might have said no and found another way out of the arena, but after everything that happened tonight, I raise my chin a little higher. “Sure.”
The smile he gives me tells me that’s the answer he was hoping for.
As soon as we exit into the same large, open space where the family media day event went, a cheer goes up among the small crowd gathered.
It’s mostly kids and their parents waiting behind some metal barriers for a chance to meet their idols, and Deacon slips into the role easily.
He signs jerseys and cards, poses for photos, shakes hands and pokes fun at his bandaged nose.
A few women throw sidelong glances at me that I recognize as jealousy.
I can’t blame them. I’d be jealous of me too.
When he reaches the end of the line, Deacon waves to the crowd once more before taking my hand in front of everyone and leading me to the actual exit from the building that leads into the player’s parking lot.
When we’re finally settled into Deacon’s car and headed to his house, I turn to him with a smile. “I hope not every game I come to is going to be quite as eventful as this one.”
He grins back. “I’d like to say no, but honestly? Things seem a whole lot more interesting with you around.”
He reaches over and places his big, warm hand on my thigh, and I lean back as the city’s downtown lights flash by, letting my eyes drift closed. I think I’m falling in love with this man, and I’m shocked to find it doesn’t scare me at all.