Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 77292 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77292 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
She chuckled. “Probably not, but it was a good call on his part.”
“So we’re going to a local Italian place we like. We know the owners and they always find us space in the back room where no one bothers us. You in?”
“Absolutely.” She grinned. “Annalise called for me at least half a dozen times while you were napping. And I just directed her back to Grandma. By the time I left, she and Patrick were more than a little frazzled. I don’t think they remember how much work a six-month-old is.”
“Not to mention an almost four-year-old.”
“Speaking of which, I’ve got to get started on planning her birthday party. I honestly don’t know where to begin.”
“Doesn’t she want something to do with Frozen?”
Hadley nodded. “It’s still too chilly for something outside, so we’re going to have to get creative.”
“Did you talk to Nina?”
“Tomorrow.”
We grinned at each other.
“All right, are you riding with me or going with Nina?”
“Oh.” She hesitated. “I guess I’ll go with you. I don’t know if Nina and Drew are going. They were going to call the sitter to see if she could stay later.”
“Cool. Then I’m ready to go if you are.”
We took over the back room at Giovanna’s Italian Bistro, a quaint place that had amazing food, good ambiance, and took care of the Mavericks whenever we came in. The owner, Vicenzo, had named the place after his wife Giovanna, or Gia to us, and they greeted us warmly.
“Good game tonight!” Vicenzo whispered to me. “Gia, she doesn’t know I watch on my phone when I’m in the back.”
I chuckled. “One of these days we’re going to have to sneak you out to an actual game.”
“From your lips to God’s ears,” he said, looking up to the ceiling.
“I want you to meet my friend, Hadley. She’s Ben and Lauren’s kids’ godmother.”
“The one you told me about.” He reached for Hadley’s hand and closed both of his around it. “We miss Ben and Lauren terribly. But welcome to St. Louis and to our little restaurant. Are you hungry? What can I get you?”
“I’ll check out the menu and let you know,” Hadley said, smiling at him.
We sat at a big table in the back, more than a dozen of us, and it reminded me of before the accident. This had been our favorite postgame hangout. Sometimes we came to eat, sometimes just for dessert, other times just for a few drinks and to hang out. Ben had started the tradition after home games on nights when we weren’t traveling or playing the following day. It usually happened about once a month, a time for all of us to catch up, relax, and spend time together. Though the whole team and their significant others were always invited, it was usually the same dozen or so who came.
Tonight we were a rowdy but laid-back group, including Drew and Nina, me and Hadley, another veteran on the team named Ross Camden and his wife Allie, Nash, Lars, Boone, and our new Russian backup goalie, Konstantin, with his girlfriend Svetlana. He’d only been on the team a year, and mostly kept to himself, but he did come to our monthly dinners, as if trying to fit in and find his place with us. A few others were stopping by but hadn’t arrived yet so we settled in without waiting for them.
“How’s it going with the kids?” Nash asked. “I feel bad I haven’t been by in a while, but it seems like you’ve got it under control.”
“Well, we hired a nanny to help us out so Hadley can work and I can rest when I need to. That’s made a huge difference.”
“And then the grandparents arrived.” Hadley picked up her wine glass and took a sip.
“Are Ben’s parents still suing you for custody?” Drew asked, disbelief on his face. “I can’t wrap my head around that.”
“Me either,” I admitted. “I used to have a pretty solid relationship with them. I’ve known them since I was a kid, but they’re not backing down. I’m not worried about it, though. The lawyer I hired is going to chew theirs up and spit him out. There’s nothing that’s going to make a judge overturn the will and the arrangements Ben and Lauren left unless there was some kind of abuse involved. Which obviously isn’t an issue.”
“Judges make weird decisions sometimes,” Nina said. “Make sure all your ducks are in a row, just in case.”
“We’re trying.” Hadley glanced at me and for the first time maybe ever, her eyes were filled with…appreciation?
I slid my hand under the table, gently resting it on her thigh, though closer to the knee than anywhere else. I was trying to show support, not make a sexual overture, and to my surprise, she put one of her hands over mine. I almost expected her to move it out of the way but she just squeezed it gently as she took another sip of wine.