Chapter 21

21

Connie went for a nap because a three-hour drive and a morning martini will do that. That left Georgia with Trish while Banks was busy making lunch.

“I probably should see if he needs help.”

Trish patted Georgia’s arm. “My son is well trained. I want to hear all about you. So you grew up in Chicago?”

“Yeah, not too far from here. Lake Forest. It’s a suburb a few miles north.”

“Brothers? Sisters?”

“A twin sister, Dani. She died a couple of years ago. She had a heart condition; she’d had it since she was a child.”

Trish’s eyes filled with tears. “Oh, honey. I’m so sorry. That’s awful, for you and your parents.”

“It was. We were so close and well, life hasn’t been the same without her.” She sucked in a breath. “But you know what it’s like. When you lost Dylan’s father in Iraq.”

Trish sighed. “I do. It was the saddest time of my life. Thankfully I had Connie and the kids to get me through. As for Dylan, he made it his mission to ensure we were taken care of. I had Jonah’s pension, of course, but it never stretches far enough, not with four kids and a mother-in-law.”

“Gotta keep Connie in martinis.”

Trish chuckled. “Exactly! That woman will never say no to a cocktail. As for Dylan … he was only sixteen when his father passed and while he was good at hockey, you just never know if it’ll be enough. Those first couple of years until he got his scholarship were touch and go. There was so much competition, but he stepped up and made sure he had a contract, though he did get a finance degree as a backup. Always good with numbers, that boy. Takes care of everyone’s accounts. Then the first thing he does is pay off the house!”

“Wow!”

“Yep. I had a second mortgage on it and had fallen behind—oh, that money came in so useful. But that’s Dylan. Always puts us first.”

Georgia saw that, and knowing Banks’s true motivation for marrying her, it made her admire him all the more. He was a family man, and these lovely people were his priority. As it should be. Georgia would never be Banks’s number one, which was fine. She was used to being the background artist in a family dynamic.

But that ring exchange in the bedroom? A foolish romantic might read a whole ton into that.

“Lunch is up,” he called out.

Georgia expected it to be in the kitchen where they’d eaten before, but Banks had set the dining room table with colorful plates, a jug of water, a bottle of Sauv Blanc in an ice bucket, no less, and a platter of sandwiches. A vase of fresh-cut flowers sat in the center. He must have bought them on his way home from practice.

“Oh, this is lovely,” Georgia said. “Fancy presentation of sandwiches. I like.”

Trish kissed her son on the cheek. “You shouldn’t have gone to so much trouble, but I’m glad to see you haven’t forgotten how to treat the women in your life.”

Banks blushed at his mom’s words, but Georgia didn’t have time to enjoy it because a screech pierced the air.

“What. Is. That?” Trish pointed at Cheddar, who had finally deigned to join them.

“That’s Cheddar.”

“A cat?”

Kind of a weird reaction. “That’s right.”

“But you’re allergic!” This was addressed to her son.

“It’s not a big deal, Mom.”

Georgia snapped her gaze to Banks. “You are? Why didn’t you say?”

“Because it’s not important. I took an antihistamine. No trouble.”

She flew to him, unable to resist cradling his jaw, if only to ensure he would meet her eyes with his big, fat, lying gaze.

“You said it was allergies. I can’t believe you—oh God, you had him in your lap the other day!”

“He likes me.”

Who wouldn’t? Yet, here she was, a terrible wife forcing her husband to engage with a creature that could harm his health.

“Come on, Cheddar.” She scooped him up.

“Georgia, it’s okay,” Banks called out, but she ignored him. Lies, the whole lot of it.

She took Cheddar into the laundry room where she’d set up his litter box. “Sorry, little guy. This is only temporary until I figure out what’s best.” Should she really be surprised that Banks had kept up this fiction? After all, everything happening here was completely bogus. The marriage, the ring, the whole lot of it.

She heard a snick behind her, the door closing. She turned to find Banks, looking agitated. (Though, the only difference from non-agitated Banks was a thinning of his sensual lips.)

He exhaled roughly. “I didn’t tell you because I suspected you’d react like this.”

“Like what?”

“Think of this as one more obstacle.”

An obstacle to what? She hated the idea of him in any sort of discomfort, which was weird because he was constantly getting smashed up on the ice. But that was by choice.

“I just don’t want to see you suffering. That’s not fair on you. Your home is supposed to be your haven from the craziness of this world and the game and the playoffs. It’s already bad enough I’m here upsetting your routine. Now you’re sneezing constantly.”

He stepped in quickly and cupped the back of her head. There was a lot of that today—her with him, him with her, and she was completely on board with it. The warmth of his hand cradling the back of her neck was divine.

“Never said upsetting my routine was a bad thing.”

“It’s in the phrase itself. ‘Upsetting’.”

“Sometimes people need that change to kickstart them into the next phase.”

She placed a hand on his chest. For balance, for comfort, to feel all that vitality beneath her fingertips.

“Explain.”

“Well, I’m not sure if you’ve figured this out yet, but I am considerably older than you.”

“Yeah. The cradle snatcher references from family, friends, and foe have not been lost on me.”

He let out a little puff of air. “So, my career is coming to an end, which means it’s time to think of what comes next. For the last twenty-five years, I’ve lived and breathed a specific routine. Diet, training, sleep. A regimen that keeps me at the top. There hasn’t been time for a life, to be honest. I thought there was but …” His voice faded out.

Something about a woman, she suspected.

“But …”

“I couldn’t juggle this life and what was needed to make it all work. But now, this—what’s happening here—has brought what I’ve been missing into focus. How I need to make some changes to figure out what comes next.”

“And my presence here is helpful?” She placed verbal quotes around that last word.

“Not in the slightest.” He grinned. “But your presence here has made me realize that I need to learn to … adapt. To let someone else in.”

Was he saying what she thought he was saying? Before she could get ahead of herself, he spoke again.

“Not that you’re the someone . I know that’s not what you signed on for. More that you’re helping me realize that compromise is the essence of relationships. With my teammates. The people in my life. Even a creature that makes me sneeze.”

“You know what else is the essence of relationships? Com-mun-i-ca-tion .” She finger-tapped each syllable against his hard chest. Oh my, that felt good, though his dismissal of her as “the someone” dampened the pleasure slightly. “You should have told me about your allergy, and we could have figured out a plan together.”

He inhaled deep and there it was, that lovely skitter of sensation she felt at watching this stoic man think. The way he was looking at her right now was doing major things to her libido.

“I didn’t want you to get second thoughts. About us.”

They were an us ? “You thought I’d bail if you told me? Haven’t you heard? I need this marriage to look real. But you know what else I need? For my husband to talk to me about his health.”

He placed a hand over her finger, trapped it against his chest. “Cheddar deserves a home, too.”

So sweet. “And he’ll have one. This place is large enough that we can carve out a space for him so he’s not contaminating where you live. For God’s sake, Banks, you need to be in top form for the playoffs!”

But she wouldn’t forget how he’d let Cheddar jump on him with no complaint. Her enduring, stoic, magnanimous husband.

They were close now and she could feel her heels lifting, her calves stretching, her lips moving closer to his.

Voices trickled through the bated-breath silence, the female murmurs of their guests. Connie must be awake.

She drew back. Banks blinked.

“We should eat lunch,” she said.

“Yeah, but something else. I need to know if …”

“If what?”

“It’s okay to touch you. Show you affection that’s a bit more natural than a photo pose. In front of Gran.”

“Oh.” She bit her lip. “Can you give me examples?”

“Just touching your back perhaps. Or a light pat on?—”

“My ass?”

“Funny how you go there.”

Funny how you don’t. “I just assumed that would be how a big lug like you would treat his woman. Possessive ass grabs.”

Manifesting seemed to be as good a strategy as any.

“I was thinking more along the lines of a gentle touch of my fingertips to your spine.”

Not nearly enough. “You’re very touchy-feely with your mom and gran. I assumed you’d be like that with your girlfriend. Or wife.”

“I would be.” If this were real was the unspoken coda. “But I’m aware that this is awkward for you.”

“I’d be fine with you touching me.” She moved in closer, pressed her hand to his chest. “How would you feel if I touched you? Like this?”

She moved her hand over his pectorals, down his torso, then quickly around his hip until … damn. She cupped that very fine ass.

She drew away quickly. “If that’s too much …”

“I can handle it.”

A challenge? She placed her hand back on his ass and squeezed, filling her palm with one perfect Banks bun. No slouch, he moved his hand around and coasted it over the rise of her ass. Then down.

“How’s that?”

As test squeezing went, it was perfect. Her body inched closer and stretched up—whether it was a move on her part or his hand pulling her flush, she wasn’t sure. It didn’t matter. Her breasts were now smashed against his chest, their hips were touching, and she desperately wanted his fingers to work their way into the snug recess between her thighs.

It was unlikely they’d be feeling each other up to this degree in front of his family, but it was good to know the limits. For science.

“Hungry?” he murmured, his gaze dipping to her lips.

“Starving.”

“Dylan, we’re going to start without you!” Trish’s voice broke the spell.

He pulled his hand away, she returned the favor, and they took a step back.

Then exhaled as one.

He found his voice first. “Let’s eat.”