Chapter 3

Chapter

Three

This would all be a lot simpler if you weren't so difficult and exhausting to love.

Ryan chewed on the text message he'd seen pop up on Aelin's phone. He hadn't meant to look, but it was hard not to with a message like that.

With Bailey mentioning going to her dad's house and Aelin on her way to the lawyer's, it didn't take a genius to figure out Aelin had to be going through a divorce. Still. What an asshole.

Aelin had disappeared through the garage before he had a chance to ask her about locking up. He left the door open for the time being, just so he could use the washroom if he needed. He wasn't going to go tromping through a stranger's house, though he had to admit, this stranger had piqued his curiosity.

The WiFi password alone. And the towel.

He felt like an idiot for spouting off about her parenting and asking if she was the damn nanny. Clearly, the universe had decided he was worthy of falling into one of his teenage fantasies, and it had taken him all of five seconds to screw it up.

Ryan sat back down on the porch swing and clicked the Zoom link. His screen populated with a message telling him to wait for the host to start the meeting. Tom Beech. He worked out of the head office in Vancouver. This parking garage was a massive project, made more difficult with the ribbons of clay that ran through Calgary soil. Not a surprise that he wanted to be updated.

He leaned back and checked the time on his watch. Five more minutes. He picked up his phone and swiped to his messages. There were seventeen notifications from his brother, his mother-in-law, and Tyler's girlfriend's sister who he'd been invited to double date with the week before. He ignored them and started with the team chat, scrolling to the last message he sent.

I need to get back to the rink on start times. Thoughts?

Brett:

I'm not dragging my ass out of bed at five in the morning to make it to the rink at six.

Sean:

School's out in a week and a half, dumbass. We don't need to start that early

Ryan laughed. He typed out a message.

Just let me know what you want for the younger group. 8-12yo will be from 3:30-6

Tyler:

That works. Starting July 2?

That's the plan. We're already full that first week

He set his phone down. They'd been trying to start up a hockey camp for kids for the past two years, but getting ice time between peewee practices, figure skating, and general skates was like trying to get a parking spot at Lake Louise.

Now things were finally lining up. Brett and Sean were taking the younger group since their work was more flexible. He and Tyler were taking the older kids. All the other guys on the team were filling in where they could.

He'd already arranged with work to come in early for the three weeks they were offering the camp. Then the last week of July he'd booked off to spend with Amaya. It had been over a year since they'd last gone on a trip that wasn't visiting family.

Ryan's laptop dinged, and two faces popped into view on the screen. At least he wasn't the only one.

He adjusted his laptop and pressed mute as Tom welcomed them. The rest of his team was in-person, and the camera showed them sitting around the conference table. His boss Marc who'd been asking the entire neighborhood for numbers through his bluetooth earlier gave a nod to the camera. Chris immediately sent him a private chat.

On location?

Ryan sent him a middle finger emoji, then tried not to grin and give himself away as a smile crept onto Chris's face on camera. They'd both worked for Apex for the past two years, and he played hockey. It hadn't taken more than that for them to become buds. And start giving each other shit during meetings.

Tom started, "We need to make sure the load distribution is balanced. We can't afford any more delays, especially with the subcontractors ready to roll."

Ryan nodded along. Load distribution. Structural integrity. Cost overruns. He unmuted his mic. "I'll be running a few more simulations to see if there's a way to optimize the beam placement."

Marc nodded. Ryan had sent him the cost analysis and initial load calculations. It was already on his list to dial in.

Ryan muted himself again as the others chimed in with their updates. He noted the tasks for his team and tried to knock off a few graphs Chris needed for a different project.

His phone buzzed on the bench, and his heart jumped, thinking it may have been Amaya. Ryan glanced down. It was a message from Brett outside of their group chat, and he realized school had started over fifteen minutes ago. He didn't make a habit of checking messages during meetings, but his curiosity got the better of him.

Brett:

Have you gotten a final invoice from Carpenter's ?

Ryan frowned. Had he gotten an invoice? He opened up his inbox on his laptop, only to realize the call had gone quiet. Marc stared into the camera expectantly. Shit.

"Sorry, it stalled out there for a second. Could you repeat the question?"

Marc nodded. "I was asking if you thought the revised calculations would change our timeline."

Ryan nodded. "I don't think so, but I'll let you know if anything comes up. I should have them done by the end of the day."

The conversation moved on to material costs and supply chain issues. When the meeting ended, Ryan felt oddly . . . not annoyed. Sitting outside in the shade and listening to birds chirp probably had something to do with it.

He hadn't found an invoice from Carpenter's Ice Centre, which wasn't overly concerning. He did have written confirmation that they were booked, and the camps weren't starting for another couple of weeks. He could give them a call and make sure the bill hadn't gotten lost in the ether of the internet.

He closed his laptop and opened the message from his mother-in-law.

It's a good day today. Could you bring Amaya by for a visit?

Ryan read the message three times, his thumbs hovering over the keyboard. He should say yes. It had been two weeks since they'd gone over after school. But he knew what that would mean for Amaya, and he wasn't sure if he was ready to deal with the fallout. He slipped the phone back in his pocket.

It felt wrong walking back into Aelin's house, but she had technically given him permission to be there. Ryan set his laptop on the bench in the entryway, took off his shoes, and found his way to the washroom. He relieved himself and washed his hands, then padded across the hardwood floor to the kitchen and slowly opened the cupboard next to the sink. The doors were a sleek, polished wood with a hint of rustic charm, fitting perfectly with the rest of the house's clean lines and natural materials.

He paid attention to things like that.

He tried not to snoop, but liked that her dishes were neatly arranged. Nothing fancy, just simple white bowls and plates. He pulled out a glass and filled it at the fridge dispenser. He took a long drink and noticed a pad of sticky notes on the counter on his left.

He could leave a note. Thank her for the water and the WiFi. Ryan set his glass in the sink, then found a pen in a jar next to the paper. He took off the lid and paused, his heart suddenly picking up speed.

It was a thank-you note, it didn't need to be impressive. But then he remembered what he'd said to her on the porch, and a flush crept up his neck. He'd been an ass. She'd been a bit of a brat, too, but he'd definitely started it.

His mouth went dry as he wondered whether that scene could've gone differently had he not been stuck in his head about the meeting.

A pang of guilt hit his stomach.

He was still married. He shouldn't be having thoughts like that, and yet they seemed to be entering his head with increased frequency.

Ryan ignored the pressure in his chest and started to write.

Thanks for the WiFi. I hear RyansADouchebag is a contender for the current network settings.

R

Ryan walked to the front door, slipped on his shoes, retrieved his laptop, then opened the door. He paused with his hand on the handle. Aelin had been flustered when she'd left. He assumed she wouldn't want to leave her house unsecured, but he had no way to contact her and find out which lock she preferred. Since he didn't know the garage code, he flicked the lock on the handle and exited to the porch.

He drove to work and missed morning traffic, had a working lunch with his favourite Cobb salad from Sam's in the basement of his building, and finished up in time to pick up Amaya from her after school program at five. Considering how the day started, he'd ended with a significant upgrade.

Ryan waited in the pick up line as Amaya finished chatting with her friends and ran to the car. She jumped into the passenger seat, her face flushed.

"Playing soccer again?"

Amaya nodded, buckling her seat belt. "I scored on Kenny twice."

Ryan made his best "mew" face that Amaya had made him practice for hours over spring break and put all his energy into the word, "Slay!"

Amaya scoffed. "Please don't ever say that again, Dad."

She tried to hide it, but she was grinning. He pulled to the edge of the parking lot already thinking ahead to what options he had for dinner. There was leftover pizza from Saturday night, but Amaya thought the sauce was too spicy. He needed to sit down and make a menu for the week. "Anything else happen today?"

Amaya shrugged. "I got a hundred percent on my math quiz."

"Fantastic. Those practice problems must've helped."

She nodded, then put her hands on the dash as her eyes lit up. "Ooh! Guess what? Bailey's mom got locked out of their house! Can you believe that? We were just there!"