Chapter Six #2
He has the opportunity to call me out for the lie that I hope isn’t obvious.
If there’s one thing my mother gave me other than my facial features, it’s my ability to sound believable.
Sometimes the skill even scares me. “I like to keep this place to myself. I’ve brought some of my buddies here before, but that’s rare.
Usually, it’s just me, and sometimes my daughter.
Nina even started making chicken tenders solely for Gemma when she’d tagalong. ”
Nina made his daughter homemade chicken tenders? That’s…wow. “They must love you,” I note, voice softer than before. Gone is the little green monster that pokes at my heart as I think back to his daughter’s face lighting up when she pet Puck.
“I tip well,” he jokes, making me roll my eyes knowing that’s a nonsense answer. “Honestly, they’re like a second family to me. Mine all live in Vermont. It’s not that far if I want to visit, but it’s difficult this time of year.”
Because of his schedule. “You’re lucky that Gemma’s grandparents live close by and can watch her.”
His Adam’s apple bobs as he stares off at something behind me.
“They relocated for her, actually. We have an agreement that took some time to come up with involving custody. Gem’s mom…
” He pauses, finally meeting my eyes. “She passed away a while ago. Her parents were insistent on raising Gemma on their own, but I wanted to be there for my daughter. It was a rough time figuring out the details, but everybody seems happy now. We all get to be in her life, and I’m grateful for them every day that they came here for my career. ”
I’m both impressed and saddened by the news at the same time.
I’d known about his daughter since the beginning.
What was it that he told me the night we met?
I never knew I could love someone so unconditionally until I saw her in the ultrasound picture.
Hearing him talk about her was a mesmerizing moment that I still think about.
I don’t know how much he drank before he’d sat down at my table, but it was enough to glaze his eyes and teeter his body whenever he’d stand to use the bathroom or order another beer.
He’d made himself a promise that night—an oath. To be better for his unborn child.
“I’m sorry to hear about her mother,” I finally tell him, meaning it.
It seems unreal that the last time we spoke, Gemma’s mother was alive and well.
Bodhi never said a bad thing about her; never cussed her out or called her names even when he said he wasn’t sure he wanted to be with her.
I respected him a lot for that, because most men would have.
My chest swells when he lifts a shoulder and finishes his water. “It is what it is. All I can focus on is being the best dad to my little girl. I made a promise to myself that I would.”
He remembers the oath he’d made to himself but he doesn’t remember me? I have no right to be upset by that, but disappointment settles into my gut anyway.
Yet, warmth covers my heart like a blanket despite that pang of hurt. He’s really making it hard to not like him. He’s attractive, good with kids, and wants to be a great girl dad. I swear my ovaries threaten to combust. I bet he braids her hair and paints her nails and plays tea party.
Clearing my throat, I drag my water cup closer to me and stare at the condensation dripping down the sides. “So how many players are on the team?” I ask, moving the topic to safer territory where I’m not picturing him cross-legged on the floor trying to figure out how to French braid.
Bodhi’s lips tilt at one corner, but he goes along with it. “There are twenty-three players on the active roster, but forty-three of us under contract. Which means only those of us active see ice time unless one of the players gets seriously injured and needs time to recover.”
“Then they’ll pull in one of the people under contract to fill in?” I guess.
He nods. “Exactly.”
“And the current twenty-three players are…”
His cheek twitches. “Why did you ask for my help instead of researching this online?” he asks, cocking his head inquisitively.
It’s fair he asks me that since I pried into his personal life.
“I thought it would be easier to have one of the players fill me in because you’d know more than the internet.
You play with these guys every day. You’re in it.
I’m still going to do some research on my own and take some notes, but it’s easier for me to hear it firsthand rather than assume what I read on Wikipedia is correct. ”
He chuckles. “Fair point.”
“And,” I add, biting the inside of my cheek for a second.
And it doesn’t hurt that we have history.
And that you’re eye candy. “I don’t want to disappoint my father by messing this up.
I won’t be the girl who got a job just because of blood.
I’m determined to work my ass off to earn this position.
I need it right now. I need…this. The distraction. ”
I’d depended on Max for far too long when I didn’t need to. I let him take control of our relationship. I allowed him to make all the big decisions for us. And because I loved him, I was willing to look the other way when things got bad because I didn’t want to start over.
I was scared to.
I won’t make that mistake again.
I won’t leave me again.
Bodhi must sense that, because a softness enters his features. The amusement in his eyes fades and calmness takes over them. “Okay then,” he says with a nod of his head.
After Nina and Elias bring the food out and refill our waters, Bodhi gets to business telling me everything there is to know about each player on the active roster that I’ll be working with.
By the end of the night, I’m full of delicious lamb gyros, and enough information to make me feel a little more confident in my new position.
And the only personal question Bodhi asks is which Shakespeare play Puck comes from and why I chose to name my dog after him.
But I don’t tell him it’s because Puck is my mother’s favorite Shakespeare character, and that the name makes me feel closer to her somehow.
So, I simply tell him, “Just because” and ignore the way he stares knowing it’s a lie.