I knock on the front door of Devin and Callie’s Park Slope brownstone, and Callie swings it open with a bright friendly smile. “Come in!”

“Sorry I’m early,” I say. “But I brought wine.”

She wipes her hands on her apron and grabs the bottle. “Thanks! Let’s get this puppy open.”

I follow her through the house to the kitchen at the back. She puts the bottle on the counter and opens a drawer, digging around for a corkscrew. I sit at one of the bar stools on the other side of the peninsula. “I haven’t had a drink in weeks. Not since Conner brought the stomach flu home from school. He got over it in a couple days, but I struggled for weeks.”

“Devin mentioned it. You’re better now?” I ask as she pulls out the corkscrew and reaches for the bottle again. I inhale deeply. Something smells delicious, like tomato and cheese.

She nods, a piece of her long brown hair coming loose from the ponytail she’s wearing. She tucks it behind her ear and begins to open the bottle. “Mostly.”

I take another long whiff of the delicious aroma filling the kitchen. “Dinner smells amazing.”

She sniffs. Pauses and sniffs again. “Really?”

I nod and her brow furrows for a second. How could she think it smells anything less than delicious? I look around the place, glancing into the dining room to the left and the archway to the family room on the right. There’s a train track set up in there and a bunch of toys on the floor. “Where’s Devin and the rug rat?”

“Dev is picking him up from hockey practice,” Callie explains. “They’ll be home soon.”

“Hockey practice,” I repeat and smile. “Another Garrison getting ready to make the league his bitch, huh?”

Callie laughs. “Devin sure hopes so. And Conner loves it. It’s all he talks about now.”

I feel a weird little sting, like a paper cut inside my chest. I am kind of jealous of what it must feel like to have a family. I haven’t felt that sting since I was a teenager and couch surfing, bouncing around between the homes of other guys on my hockey team because I’d run away from my foster home. I must look like I feel because Callie’s expression softens and grows curious. “You want to add another Larue to the league one day?”

I shake my head. “I don’t want kids. I would have no idea how to be a good parent.”

She pulls the cork out of the bottle but pauses, her brown eyes curious. “Your parents suck, huh?”

I shrug but for some reason, for the first time in a very, very long time, I don’t stop there. Maybe it’s because I know her childhood history is similar to mine since she and her sisters were orphaned at a young age or maybe it’s because running into that Mac kid this morning has made me think about it a lot more today, but I tell Callie something I haven’t told anyone since I was eighteen. “They didn’t get a chance to suck. They died.”

She puts the wine bottle down on the counter with a thud. Her eyes are even wider now. “Both of them?”

I nod. “Car accident.”

“Holy shit. Recently?”

“Before I made the league. I don’t really talk about it.” The dreaded prickly feeling of humiliation starts to set in. I shift in my seat and stand up. “Wineglasses?”

She points to a cupboard next to the fridge so I walk over and open it.

“I’m going to tell you what you’ve heard a million times: I’m so sorry you went through that,” she says and I glance at her over my shoulder. Her eyes aren’t filled with sympathy but more with understanding. “My mom died before I was even a teenager and I still get condolences when people find out. I try not to bring it up because of that. It’s hard.”

I shake my head. “You guys avoided foster care though, right?” I take two wineglasses down, put them on the peninsula and reach for the wine.

“Thankfully,” she says quietly, which is uncharacteristic for her. “Our dad’s mom took us in but as soon as Jessie turned sixteen, Grandma Lily moved to Florida for nine months of the year, leaving us on our own in Maine, and we had to lie to just about everyone so they didn’t put us in foster care.”

“That’s horrible,” I tell her but still, part of me considers her lucky because she had Jessie and Rose and a house to live in, which is much more than I got once I left the foster care system. “You know things are changing now. There’s a lot of private facilities for orphaned or abandoned kids. There’s this one right here in Brooklyn that lets them live independently as long as they’re in some kind of schooling and helps teach them life basics like budgeting and cooking and nutrition. They offer the classes to kids who don’t live there too. And they have lawyers and stuff who help them for free.”

She looks genuinely excited. “Oh my God, I wish there was a place like that in Silver Bay when we were growing up. I almost burned the house down like five times trying to cook that first year Grandma Lily left us.”

I laugh and hand her a glass of wine, taking my own.

“You should tell Rose about this place,” Callie informs me. “She’s got a teaching degree and she wants to tutor kids. And of course that type of place would mean a lot to her because of our past.”

I nod and make a mental note. “Cheers,” I say to Callie and clink my glass against hers before taking a sip. She takes one too but instantly makes a face.

She spits the wine back into the glass. “It tastes disgusting.”

I cock my head. “Really. I like it.”

“How can you like it? It’s like vinegar!” She sniffs her glass and I watch the color drain from her face. I’m about to ask her if she’s okay but she abruptly puts the glass down on the counter and charges from the room.

Fuck! Where is Devin when you need him? This is husband territory. I set my glass down beside hers. Pause. Pick it back up and gulp down more wine. Nope. Definitely not vinegar. I put it down again and trace her steps. She went out into the main hallway and at first I’m not sure where she went from there but then I hear her groan from behind a door under the stairs. I knock on it tentatively. “Callie? Are you okay? Should I call Devin?”

I hear a toilet flush and a moment later she opens the door. She’s leaning over the sink, the faucet is on and she’s scooping water into her mouth with her hand and then spitting it back out. The bathroom is tiny, with no windows so I stay firmly in the hallway.

“Don’t call Devin,” she croaks. “He’ll be home shortly anyway. I can’t believe this flu is coming back. I think I really have to give in and get to the doctor.”

“Callie…” I feel like I’m intruding by saying this but it seems so obvious to me. “Are you sure it’s the flu?”

“You think it’s something worse?” she questions, panicked. “Like salmonella? Or Ebola?”

“No.” I laugh as she steps out of the bathroom closing the light and then the door. “Any chance you’re pregnant?”

She freezes. “What? No. I mean. Maybe. But no. I would know. Right?”

“Umm…I think these symptoms might be your body’s way of telling you,” I reply and I’m more than a little stunned that she seems so confused.

“We’re not trying,” she confesses. “I mean…we’re not using anything but we’re not trying. You know what I mean?”

“No. Honestly, I don’t really have a clue.” The idea of being lackadaisical about birth control is terrifying to me. “But you should probably take a test.”

“I did a couple months ago when I was late, and it came out negative,” she replies.

“Too much information,” I blurt out and cover my ears.

“I can’t be.”

“You can be,” I argue. There’s a storm brewing in her big brown eyes as hope and fear swirl behind them.

“I have a test upstairs,” she explains. “I bought a bunch.”

“Okay then.”

The front door opens suddenly and Devin walks in with a pint-sized version of himself. “Hey Rue,” he says, sniffing deeply. “Something smells incredible.”

“I…” Callie’s face is still a swirl of emotions and Devin takes it in and looks instantly concerned. She tries to smile down at Conner. “Hey, Con! How was hockey?”

“It was awesome. I scored,” he announces and then turns his attention to me. “Do you play?”

“Yep. With your dad. I’m Alex,” I say and he extends his little hand. I want to laugh but I don’t want to offend him so I extend mine and we shake.

“Nice to meet ya. I’m gonna play with my iPad now.”

He marches to the back of the house and I watch him go in amusement. Devin is looking at Callie. “You okay? You don’t look it.”

Callie smiles. “Fine. I’m just going to run upstairs for a second. If the oven dings take out the lasagna okay?”

She charges up the stairs. I follow Devin into the kitchen again. He sees the wine and heads to the cupboard to grab another glass. “Should I be worried about her?”

“I think she’s just trying to figure out if she has the flu,” I explain as he pours himself a glass.

“That bug is back? Damn.” He shakes his head. “I’m going to make her go to the doctor this time. She hates doctors but I’ll carry her there if I have to.”

“Devin,” I say his name and he looks up at me. “You’ve been through this before. How are you not getting it?”

And then he gets it. Instantly. “No. She’s…?”

I shrug but nod because if I had to bet I’d bet yes. He puts his glass down on the counter again and his eyes shift toward the family room, where Conner is and back. “With Ashleigh we had to try forever. But Callie and I…we were just going to see what happens.”

“Babies.” I grin at him because he’s a doofus right now. “Babies are what happens, Captain.”

“I have to go check on her,” he whispers, his voice excited and a giant smile spread across his face. “We were going to start trying the minute we got married but decided to wait to make sure Conner was settling into the stepmom thing and then she didn’t want to be pregnant for Jessie’s wedding and well, now I guess maybe she’ll be pregnant for Rose’s.”

He moves toward the hall, but the oven beeps so first he pulls a bubbling, hot, gooey, delicious-looking lasagna out and places it on top of the stove. It smells so freaking good I already regret the next words that are about to come out of my mouth. “Is it okay if I bail on dinner?”

He’s making his way toward the hallway again, to head upstairs and check on Callie, but he stops and gives me a remorseful smile. “You don’t have to.”

“Dude, this is a family moment.” I tell him what I know he already knows. “It’s fine. Tell Callie I’ll take a rain check on that lasagna.”

I walk to the family room archway, lean in and ruffle Conner’s wheat-colored hair. “Nice meeting you, hockey star. See you soon.”

“Bye, Alex who plays with my dad,” he says, eyes never leaving the iPad in front of him. He’s got some game going with loud, annoying music.

I walk to the front hall with Devin and grab my coat off the banister. Devin still looks remorseful. “Call Luc and Rosie. They’re just down the street and they’re always up for guests.”

“Maybe.”

“Devin!” Callie’s voice sounds urgent as she calls his name from somewhere upstairs.

I smile as the excitement in his eyes grows. I remember Jordan telling me years ago how badly Devin wanted to be a dad. How excited he was when Conner was born. “Go. And Devin,” I pause as he stops two stairs up and looks back at me. “I hope you knocked her up.”

He grins. “I hope I did too.”

As I make my way down the sidewalk, my stomach is rumbling in protest at leaving that lasagna behind. The weather is ominous, dark clouds hiding the sun and a blustery wind has started. I wonder where Mac is. That coat she had on seemed warm, but it was also ripped. I regret not buying her a hotel room somewhere, but I bet she’d have accused me of wanting bad things from her if I did it. Or she’d worry I was going to call the police on her. I really hope she meets me tomorrow.

I pull my phone out and text Luc like Devin suggested to see if he’s free for dinner. He texts back almost right away and says he and Rose are just sitting down to order dinner at a pub a few blocks away. He tells me to come meet them and includes the address. Fifteen minutes later, half a block from the pub, the rain starts. I move faster, ducking under awnings and make it into the restaurant without getting too drenched. I spot Luc and Rose at a table near the back and wave as I make my way over.

We have two days off without games, which Luc explains Rose has packed with wedding planning. I’m almost jealous of him because at least he has something to do. Other than the fund-raiser in the Hamptons for Daphne’s House tomorrow night and a practice Sunday afternoon, I’ve got nothing planned. I figure I’ll busy myself buying new furniture for my new place, but that will probably take all of twenty minutes and a few clicks on some websites.

“I thought you were having dinner with Callie and Devin. She was making her famous lasagna,” Rose says as the waiter brings our drink orders over.

I nod and then concentrate on taking the paper off my straw to buy myself some time. I don’t think I can tell her Callie is in the middle of a pregnancy scare so I need the time to figure out a lie. “She thinks she still has the flu, so we postponed. I can’t get sick.”

“Why not? At least then the coach would have a legitimate reason to bench you,” Luc quips and gives me a sympathetic smile. “He’s being a dick, for the record.”

“Thanks,” I say, smiling.

“So since we have time off, you should have a housewarming this weekend and invite us all over,” Rose announces and I almost choke on my diet Sprite. Luc shakes his head at her. She tries to look innocent. “What? He has to have a housewarming sometime. It might as well be now.”

“I do?” I question and shrug. “I’ve never had one before.”

“Well that’s simply unacceptable,” Rose says. “Every house needs a party to break it in, make it feel loved.”

“She’s a crazy person,” Luc informs me with a grin that says he wouldn’t have it any other way. “But if you don’t plan one, she’ll plan it for you.”

“I’ll have one, but I can’t this weekend,” I explain. “I’m attending a fund-raiser tomorrow and besides, I don’t have any furniture other than a bed. I could still have a party with just that, but it’s not a party I’d invite old married people like you to.”

Luc laughs. Rose turns pink and shakes her head. “You single hockey players are the worst.”

“What’s your fund-raiser for?” Luc asks as the waiter comes back over with our meals. I try not to stare too longingly at the cheeseburger Rose got. I got a Greek grilled chicken wrap with a spinach salad, which are probably delicious but don’t look as appealing. Luc must agree because he leans over Rose’s plate and inhales deeply with his eyes closed before picking up a fork and diving into his grilled salmon.

“A thing for kids,” I mutter vaguely even though Callie told me Rose would love Daphne’s House. I reach into the pocket of my coat on the bench beside me and pull out the pamphlet about the place I have for Mac and slide it across the tabletop.

Rose pops a sweet potato fry into her mouth, wipes her fingers on her napkin and the takes the pamphlet. Her chewing gets slower and slower as she reads, her eyes narrowing with focus. She looks at Luc, excited. “It’s like Hope House that you did a fund-raiser for back home!”

Luc, who was reading along with her nods and swallows down a hunk of salmon. “Seems similar, yeah. You were looking to volunteer at a place like that. This could be perfect.”

She nods so vigorously. Luc looks over at me. “How’d you find this place?”

“I was looking for a place to volunteer.” I shrug and give him a cheeky grin. “Court-ordered community service.”

He laughs. Rose ignores the joke and leans forward. “Where do I get tickets to the fund-raiser? Why are you just telling us about this now?”

“It’s all the way out in the Hamptons,” I explain.

“Oh no. A night at the beach. How horrible,” she exclaims, every word dripping with sarcasm.

I turn to Luc and smile. “I can totally tell she’s related to Callie right now.”

He chuffs out a laugh. “And just like Jessie when she gets set on something, there is no talking her out of it. So you should tell us where to buy tickets.”

I tap the bottom of the brochure. “If there are any left, you can order them from the website. If they say sold out, text me and I’ll try to pull strings. But no promises. The director kind of hates me.”

“Why would he hate you?” Rose asks innocently.

I move my gaze from her to Luc. “It’s a her, a woman who heard me compliment her ass in a coffee shop and got offended.”

Rose looks confused, but Luc’s face is awash in recognition. “Holy shit! That chick who spoke French? She’s the director of this place?”

He’s laughing so hard I don’t think he even notices I’m frowning. Rose looks clueless. “What am I missing?”

Before I can stop him, Luc gleefully tells her about the incident at Starbucks and then Rose is laughing too. I groan and finish the last of my wrap. “Of all the women in all the youth homes…yeah, I have horrible luck.”

“I don’t know,” Rose says, smiling. “Sounds like fate to me.”

“Oh no…Fleur, I love you and all the romantic bones in your body, but this is not some new love story starting up,” Luc tells her and leans over and kisses her cheek. “She looked at him like he was contagious.”

“Thanks,” I say, but I chuckle because it is true. “And she still does. You can see for yourself if you guys come to the fund-raiser.”

“I’ll buy tickets as soon as we get home,” Rose announces happily.

“Thanks, mon ami,” Luc gripes, but he’s smiling. “I love having to wear a suit on my day off. Because wearing them to games isn’t enough.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t take so much joy in my pain and I won’t take joy in yours,” I quip.

Rose rolls her eyes at us and turns to Luc. “We’ll spend the night in the Hamptons. I’ll find a bed-and-breakfast. I’ll make it worth your while.”

She has a look on her face that makes Luc’s expression get darker and definitely more intimate, like he doesn’t realize everyone in this place can see the lust on his face. I clear my throat to remind him I’m alive as I reach for my wallet.

“I’m going to go. My new bed was delivered this afternoon and I can’t wait to give it a test drive.” I drop twenty bucks on the table and lean over it, closer to Luc. “Looks like you are going to thank me for inviting you to this fund-raiser.”

“I hope so,” Luc replies. “I forgot how much she loves beach getaways.”

Rose gets out of the booth and hugs me good-bye. “See you tomorrow night.”