“It’s more.”

“Is it love?”

“I don’t know, Dear Abby,” I grumble to him. “It’s complicated.”

“You’re not shitting,” he commiserates. “And you’re not even divorced yet.”

I roll my eyes at him. “It’s all done except for the judge to sign off on it.”

“So how’s Hensley handling this?” Zack’s voice is a little cool when he mentions her. He does not like my ex-wife. Or soon-to-be ex-wife. Whatever the fuck she is. As a single father, Zack is very judgmental when it comes to the way people are with their children. He thinks she pretty much abandoned Ruby and Violet, and yeah…technically that may be true, but I have a hard time even being mad at that since I’m the one who’s benefiting by having full custody now.

“She’s worried,” I say. “She’s been a little withdrawn, and I guess it’s seeing Ruby like that. She hasn’t even said one word about Sutter, and usually she can’t stop talking about the little twerp.”

“Maybe she’s finally understanding the importance of motherhood,” Zack mutters.

“Lay off her,” I chastise him. “She’s here now and that’s what matters.”

He shrugs dismissively and changes subjects on me. “So have you seen the paper this morning?”

When I shake my head, Zack fills me in. “Huge article about the game and whether or not Max should stay in as starting goalie.”

“Well, figured that was coming.”

“Yup,” Zack says. “Twitter’s gone crazy.”

“What’s the consensus?” I ask, admittedly just a tiny bit curious as to what the public thinks.

“Most think you should stay in. Your experience and the fact you’re at the top of the league.”

“So I’m forgiven for not stopping that penalty shot last season that knocked us out of the playoffs?” I ask with a smirk.

“Yeah, I think you’re forgiven. The fans see we have a legitimate chance this year and they don’t want to mess with a good thing.”

“Well, I trust Coach, so whatever he decides,” I tell him.

Zack leans in and grins at me. “Or, you could have your girlfriend pull strings.”

“Knock it the fuck off,” I growl menacingly at him. “That’s exactly why you can’t tell anyone. People will think the worst if we’re outed, and things are too precarious for her right now. Her credibility would be ruined and that would destroy her.”

“Whoa,” Zack says as he leans back in surprise. “Dude…you have it bad for her.”

Yeah…he heard it. In my voice. The depth of my feelings for Gray, which are all turbulent and confused, and yet in some ways so rock solid. If I didn’t care about her so much, these decisions wouldn’t affect me the way they do. The fact I do care for her so much is what is making this an impossible situation half the time.

“We don’t get to choose who we fall for,” I murmur.

His look to me is filled with understanding. Real understanding, because Zack knows that more than anyone. “Preach it, man. Fucking preach it.”

—
I’m just flipping off the late-night news when Hensley comes walking into the living room. I push up out of my recliner, give her a glance, and then do a double take. She’s dressed in one of my old T-shirts that she must have kept after I moved out, and that’s all. While the shirt comes down to cover most of everything, it still hits only at the top of her thigh.

I roll my eyes with irritation, because it’s inappropriate.

She ignores it and says, “Thank you again for letting me stay the night.”

I shrug and turn my back on her, grabbing my empty water bottle from the table. “No biggie. I leave so early tomorrow that it’s just easier this way.”

Walking into the kitchen, I can hear her following behind me. I do my best to ignore her as I put the bottle into the recycle bin and move to the dishwasher. It’s become my habit to unload it every night before I go to bed.

“It was odd that Miss Brannon came by the house today,” Hensley says conversationally. She’s moved to prop herself up on one of the kitchen stools that sits at the center island.

My shoulders tense but I’m hoping the movement of me transferring glasses to cabinet covers my unease. “Not really. Just being a concerned boss.”

She doesn’t say anything so I think the subject is closed. However, she makes me uneasy just sitting there watching me, so I hurry up my movements, dumping cutlery into the drawer without separating it.

“How is it having a female general manager?” Hensley asks curiously.

I slam the drawer shut a little harder than normal. “Look, Hensley…you and I don’t make small talk. We can talk about the girls if you want, but my career and job are off-limits. Small talk with me is off-limits.”

Fuck, that was harsh.

And I didn’t mean it to come out that way, but I’m irritated my daughter is lying upstairs with a broken arm. I’m irritated my soon-to-be ex-wife is staying in my house and prancing around in one of my T-shirts, and I’m irritated as shit that the woman I want isn’t in my house prancing around in one of my T-shirts.

“Patric dumped me,” Hensley whispers, and I go absolutely still.

“Dumped you?”

She nods and looks at me with clear eyes. “Traded me in for a younger model, I guess.”

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