Chapter 7 #2
“Should I be worried?” I tease. She whistles innocently as I fish a quarter from my pocket. “Wait, what does the winner get?” I ask.
“Let me think.” She taps her chin. “What do I want?”
I laugh. “Confidence, I like that.”
She winks at me. “I’ll think about it.”
“Okay, call it.”
I flip the coin as she calls heads, and it lands perfectly. She takes her position at the head of the table, and I notice immediately how naturally she handles the cue, the ease in her stance.
She takes her shot. Balls clank and scatter across the table before she sinks a low one with precise control.
“Nice,” I say, impressed.
She grins. “Did you have a misguided youth or something? Spend a lot of time in a pool hall?”
She laughs at my surprise. “No, we had a pool table growing up. Dad loved the game and taught me.”
Not to get too personal, but curious none the less, I ask, “Your Dad…I mean, your mom came to Boston with you.”
She nods. “We lost Dad a couple of years ago. Heart disease. It was very sudden.”
“I’m so sorry, Maria.”
“Thanks. The boys really miss him. He was such a good influence in their lives. They needed that.” Sadness moves into her eyes.
“Their father was never really there for them and Dad always took up the space. He took them to sporting events, and even helped with their homework. They miss him terribly. We all do. Honestly, I was very lucky to have two loving parents.”
“Me too. Two very supportive parents.”
She laughs lightly. “Look at us, something in common.”
I laugh at that. “Why is that so hard to believe?”
She shrugs. “I don’t know. We both seem so different, both wanting different things.”
I glance at the table, not wanting to think about how wrong she is. “Are you ready to be annihilated?”
That gleam is back in her eyes. “You should be asking yourself that question.”
I think about her upbringing. “So no misguided youth, then?”
“I was, in fact, a straight-A student and didn’t give my parents any trouble.”
I study her, curiosity tugging at me. “If I asked your mom, is that what she would tell me?”
She tilts her head, playful. “If I asked your mom, what would she tell me?”
I smirk. “Okay, answering a question with a question. Classic avoidance. It tells me everything.”
She pokes me lightly with the stick. “It tells you nothing.”
“You don’t know my life?” I shoot back, feigning offense. She cocks her head, and I square my shoulders, pretending confidence. “Maybe I studied psychology in college. Maybe I can read you like an open book.”
“Did you study psychology?” she asks, voice tinged with curiosity, leaning in slightly as she lines up her next shot.
“Nope. Business.” She chuckles softly, but there’s a trace of wistfulness in her smile.
“And let’s just say my parents are in Nova Scotia, so it won’t be easy to ask them anything, like just how great of a kid I was, or if I was truly responsible for the fire in the garbage can that nearly burned down our shed. ”
She laughs, “Oh, I have to know. What’s their phone number?” A moment later her smile dies. I tilt my head, sensing the shift inside her. “What?”
“I regret not going to college,” she admits, voice barely above a whisper.
“You’re going now,” I remind her, understanding her worries. “It’s never too late, Maria.”
She nods, eyes dropping to her glass of wine. Memories flicker behind her lashes. “I know. I understand that. But…back in the day, when I should have gone, when it would have been easier, life got in the way.”
I walk around the pool table, chalking my cue, feeling the quiet pause stretch between us. “Do you mind if I ask why you didn’t go to college?” I sink my ball with a satisfying clink, letting the sound fill the space.
She leans back into the sofa, wine glass cradled in her hand, and closes her eyes for a moment.
“I met Lucian,” she says softly, voice tinged with nostalgia.
Memories flicker across her expression like old film reels.
“He was older. A fourth-year medical resident on his way to becoming a big city psychiatric doctor. Charming, smart…probably also a narcissist,” she adds, wincing.
“But I didn’t learn that until later. He was making a name for himself, and was adored by everyone. ”
“And you fell for him,” I say, keeping my tone neutral. “Why wouldn’t you?”
“I did. So did hundreds of other women.” She snorts out a humorless laugh and then under her breath murmurs.
“I wonder how many other kids he has out there.” A sip of wine and then, “He even fooled my family. Mom and Dad were charmed. But they were worried I was too young, and they did encourage me to go to college. If only I’d listened. But I was a stubborn girl.”
There’s no judgment in my voice, just curiosity when I ask, “Just how young were you?”
She glances at me, gauging my reaction, before answering carefully. “I was just finishing high school.”
“You were young, enamored. It happens,” I say, letting the words fall gently.
Her gaze drops again, thoughtful. “I saw the way the girl at the pet store looked at you. You’re a hockey player. People flock to you the way they did to Lucian.”
I chuckle, shaking my head. “She was too young for me, Maria.”
She laughs quietly, a little self-conscious, because yeah, she might have been too young for her ex too and a part of her now realizes that. But no judgement from me. We all make mistakes, myself included.
“Honestly, Tuck…I couldn’t believe a guy like Lucian would want a girl like me.”
I line up another shot, keeping my focus on the table but my thoughts on her. “What does a ‘girl like me’ mean? Any guy in his right mind would want you, Maria. Smart, beautiful, focused…determined.”
“Maybe now,” she murmurs. “Back then, I was just a young girl, fresh out of high school. A girl with dreams, until…”
I lower my cue, studying her. “What did young Maria want to do before she was swept off her feet?”
She smiles faintly, almost shyly. “I did a lot of tutoring in high school, and thought I’d like to get a degree in education. Maybe one day become a university professor.”
“I can see that,” I say, nodding.
“But don’t get me wrong,” she continues, eyes softening. “I don’t regret the choices I made. Those choices…they gave me my sons.”
I nod, letting her words settle between us. “How did you and your ex meet?”
Her smile brightens slightly, a little mischievous now. “Coffee shop. I spilled my latte…all over him. No, it was not on purpose.”
I laugh, shaking my head. “That was long before you became a professional server, I take it?”
“Exactly,” she says, chuckling. “Now I only spill on the table when serving a hot hockey player.”
I chuckle, then frown. “Wait, are you talking about me or Nicklas?” She just rolls her eyes, and I ask, “So, you and Lucian, love at first sight?”
“Latte at first sight,” she corrects, laughing softly. Then her smile fades into something quieter. “But yeah… he asked me to marry him after a couple of months. I said yes. And instead of going to college, I stayed home. It’s what he wanted. He wanted kids right away, too.”
I lean my hip against the pool table, studying her carefully. “I’m not trying to sound harsh here,” I say slowly, choosing my words. “But maybe that’s what he found attractive. Someone who didn’t have an outside life yet. Someone whose world revolved around him. His career. His plans.”
Her eyes lift to mine sharply, not offended, just assessing. “You sure you didn’t study psychology?”
I huff out a laugh. “Pretty sure. And now you want to go to law school?” I ask.
She sucks in a breath like the idea still startles her.
“I want to be there for other women. To help them when life hits them over the head and they don’t have anyone to turn to.
” Her voice steadies as she speaks, conviction replacing hesitation.
“I don’t ever want someone to feel as small as I did. ”
I take a shot and miss, and she pushes to her feet, cue in hand. “What about your dreams, Tuck? Did you know you always wanted to be a hockey player? Any demons in your past?”
I swallow as she studies the table, and a part of me feels like she deserves an honest answer to that. But I don’t talk about my past. Ever. She takes a shot and sinks her ball, then turns curious eyes my way.
I hesitate, not sure how much to say or even what to say. “When I was a boy, I wanted to be an astronaut, but then my hockey skills became apparent early on, and the rest is history.” She waits for me to expand, talk about my demons, when I’m saved by the bell.
I pull my pinging phone from my pocket and read the message from Tanner. “Tanner wants to know if he can bring Stella over later to see the kitten.” I mock shiver and she laughs.
“You’re scared of her.”
“Damn right I am. She’s out to get me.”
“Why did she call you ugly, anyway?”
“That got twisted.” I tell her what Stella really said and she reaches over and takes my hands. “These really are ugly,” she teases. “I actually have some cream with me that would help. Want to try it later?”
“They’re that bad huh?” I joke.
Heat moves into her eyes and I don’t miss the way her body quivers, and it takes me back to when I ran my callused hands over her body. “I uh, I’ll let him know it’s okay to bring her, if it’s okay with you.”
“It’s okay with me.”
My phone pings again and I see that it’s Ash. “Jesus,” I say. “Now Zoe and little Grant want to come over. I don’t think I’ve ever had that many people in my house at one time.”
She studies me for a beat, then smiles. “Well. Good thing you’ve got a big empty house.”
Yeah.
But suddenly it doesn’t feel so empty. And I’m not sure which part of that scares me more — the crowd coming, or how much I’m looking forward to her and the boys staying after they leave.