Total pages in book: 25
Estimated words: 23556 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 118(@200wpm)___ 94(@250wpm)___ 79(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 23556 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 118(@200wpm)___ 94(@250wpm)___ 79(@300wpm)
“Oh no, not you. Cocky? Please!”
I laugh. “But Fitz is a handsome son of a gun, and you know our girl would be gorgeous.”
She grins. “I know, Aiden, but I am so busy right now. I don’t want a stressful pregnancy.”
“I get that, but I really want to knock you up.”
She laughs again, the joy filling the car and making me hard everywhere. “You just like trying to score.”
“I always score,” I say with a wink. “But yes, I love practicing.”
Her face fills with color. “So do I, but things are so wild right now. Let’s revaluate this summer?”
I hold up a finger. “Or you can take some stuff off your plate, and we can get this going. We said we wanted the kids to be close like you and Posey.” She nods, but I don’t think she’s listening to me. “Remember?”
She makes a face and then looks at me with her brow raised. Her eyes always get me. The color, the shape, the way her lashes fan, it all just blows me away. For so long, the love of my life was right under my nose. She is so stunningly beautiful and all mine. I get to love her, I get to grow old with her, and I get to watch her mother my children. But most of all, I get to be on the receiving end of that breathtaking gaze.
My wife.
“You okay?” I ask since I don’t think she is.
With her brows furrowed, she says, “Piper Titov just posted a photo of the state of Tennessee with a heart over Nashville, and the caption reads, ‘We’re coming home this summer.’”
I don’t understand. “Well, that’s cool. Why do you have that face?”
“Because I was told they would never come home without the whole family. Which means…” Her voice drifts off, and her brows furrow more. “…Dimitri is coming with them.”
I know I should know what she’s talking about, but I really don’t. “Okay?”
“He just posted a photo of himself in his dad’s old Nashville Assassins jersey with next season’s start date on it. What the ever-loving fuck?” Before I can stop her, she’s calling her mom. “Mom, what the hell? What do you mean? No, he won’t just walk on the team. He’s trash! What? How in the world do you make a promise like that when, hello, you do plan on retiring? Mom! Oh my God. I have a plan. This will mess with our salary cap. He isn’t walking on. That’s fine. We can discuss it Monday, but he isn’t walking on. He will go to training camp, and River will know my feelings about how sloppy he is. His hands are weak, and he needs to gain about twenty pounds of muscle. Don’t let this ruin our Christmas? Mom, I found out Asher and Ally had a baby on Instagram. Along with this, I am pissed. Don’t people know how to use their phones for something more than social media? Whatever.”
She throws down her phone and crosses her arms in a huff. I can feel the irritation rolling off her in waves. Before the words leave my mouth, I know I’m a dumbass. “So, where are we on baby-making?”
With fire in her eyes, Shelli glares at me. “Aiden, he is so fucking sloppy and has trash hands. The only reason he is successful in the KHL is because he is fast and can outskate anyone. Yes, he has a wicked trick shot, where he pops it up and then slaps it to the back of the net. But that won’t work in the NHL because people are fast too and can catch him. Also, knock his ass into bum-fuck-tu! I am livid! How can she make these kinds of promises?”
I swallow hard. “Baby, she promised me I’d play for the Assassins.”
“Because you are the best player out of all the Assassins kids!”
“Your brothers are good,” I try, hopefully to calm her down. “And Odder.”
“Oh my God, I could scream. I want to win. I don’t want to keep twenty-year promises,” she groans. “This is so stupid.”
“Maybe send your mom a list of things he has to have before training camp and see how it goes,” I suggest since I really don’t want this ruining our holiday.
She shakes her head. “She’s going to fight for him, and she’s not retired yet. She still has final say.”
“Shelli, baby, this is months away. Don’t let this ruin our trip. Your mom has gone out of her way to bring the whole family together. Let’s leave this alone until Monday.” I know my words are falling on deaf ears. She’s spitting mad and I hate that, but I understand. I know how she spends her free time, watching tapes and studying stats. She is always on the phone with scouts. Hell, she’s been scouting herself. She’s dedicated and she’s damn good at her job, but I don’t want this negatively affecting our trip. “Nothing can be changed now. Elli won’t go back on her word, so just keep doing you until this goes down. I know your mom, Shelli. She trusts you. Everything will be fine.”