Total pages in book: 53
Estimated words: 51827 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 259(@200wpm)___ 207(@250wpm)___ 173(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 51827 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 259(@200wpm)___ 207(@250wpm)___ 173(@300wpm)
But the text on my phone is, once again, not from either of my sons.
Magnus: Hey, how’s the big city?
A photo arrives with the text. It’s a selfie he took in the Vancouver locker room, where he’s playing tonight. He’s smiling at the camera, wearing a white T-shirt, a short layer of light-brown stubble showing on his face. His backward baseball hat almost makes me swoon.
But wait. I shouldn’t be able to see him in such detail. His flip phone takes grainy photos that look like surveillance camera stills. I type back a response as we wait for the driver of the black SUV that’s our ride to pull up in front of the boutique.
Blair: Magnus Lundgren, did you get a Smartphone??
Magnus: I was tired of not seeing pics of my beautiful girlfriend in color.
“He got a smartphone,” I murmur, grinning.
“No way!” Talia cries. “I miss one road trip, and Gramps gets a smartphone?”
“It’s so he can text you easier, isn’t it?” Jules asks.
I smile at her, then text Magnus again.
Blair: We can FaceTime now! Coop will be so excited.
Magnus: And I can send videos from the road. Thought I’d take one on the plane so the boys can check it out.
Blair: They’ll love that. How’s Elin today?
Magnus: Her mood is much better. The new medication seems to be helping with that. She’s cooperating with therapy again.
Blair: That’s a good thing.
Magnus: How’s shopping going?
Jules takes my arm and guides me toward the waiting car. I get in and continue texting.
Blair: She found the one. We’re going back to the hotel to rest because poor Mara is carrying around another human, and then we’ll have dinner and the drag show.
Magnus: Have fun. Miss you.
Blair: Miss you too. Good luck tonight.
Magnus: I’ll text you after, but don’t stay up if you’re tired.
Blair: Okay.
I put my phone away, and Talia grins at me from the seat beside mine.
“I’m so happy about you two. He used to be the team grump, and now he’s ... I don’t know, not. He’s not the type to get all excited about anything, but he just seems really at peace. He’s talking to the other guys more and just loosening up.”
“He’s sent her flowers three times in two weeks,” Jules says. “One of the cards said, ‘I can’t wait to get back to you.’”
I shoot her a glare because that’s private. I didn’t even tell her, but she saw the roses on my bedside table and went hunting for the card.
“Carter’s lobbying hard for the team to keep him,” Suki says. “But let’s not talk about that, because I don’t want to make anyone uncomfortable.”
“You won’t make me uncomfortable,” Jules says. “I’m not saying Noel and I never talk about the team, but we don’t talk about trades and contracts and all that. I told him when word got out in the locker room that Magnus and Blair are seeing each other that I specifically don’t want to talk to him about Magnus at all.”
“That’s for the best,” Mara says. “Most players could get traded to another team; it’s just part of the game. So you’re not alone, Blair, if you feel up in the air about all that. Everyone knows Carter has the only NMC on the entire team.”
I pull my brows together. “What’s that?”
“A no-move clause. That means a player can’t be waived, traded, or demoted. They’re hard to get. Leo has a limited NTC, which is a no-trade clause. He has a list of teams he’d be willing to accept trades to, and he can’t be traded to others. So we could end up moving when his contract is up.”
“Interesting.”
“They can be bargaining chips. But, bottom line, being a hockey player’s partner comes with pros and cons, like all jobs. Leo might not be there when our child is born. We didn’t mean to get pregnant when we did.”
“What’s the hardest part for all of you?” I ask.
Talia answers first. “I’m lucky. I get to travel with Lucien and I grew up with a dad who played and coached, so it’s not unusual to me.”
“I’m lucky, too,” Jules says. “I travel with the team some, but I don’t see a lot of Noel when I do. I like my space, though. I don’t want to be with anyone all the time.”
“It’s hard when you’re raising kids together,” Suki says. “The missed birthdays and holidays. But then I feel like I have no right to be anything but grateful because of the life the money allows our family to have.”
Mara gives her a pointed look. “It doesn’t mean you don’t miss him. Eighty-two games a season is no joke.” She sighs softly. “I just miss my best friend some evenings when he’s gone. He’s the one I want to talk to about my day, but I can’t.”