Chapter 14

I didn't know at first what was bothering me, but the feeling wouldn't go away. Practice was perfect for burning through the physical energy, but my mind still felt unsettled. Even as I went through drills and plays, a nagging sense of unease lingered in the background, refusing to be ignored.

Penelope called and texted me every day to tell me how she was doing. Erin wasn't making any unreasonable demands, she'd even asked me how I felt about Penelope taking classes to help her with her art. It was surprisingly unselfish for her, and I could only guess that her sudden generosity was at her lawyer's behest. My lawyer had assured me everything was underway. The season was going in our favor, and even the press had backed down as they switched their focus to a scandal involving a rock star's drunken wedding in Vegas. But for the last three weeks, something had been scratching away at my subconscious. I hoped I'd be able to figure it out soon, I was starting to go crazy.

Perhaps a harmless practical joke was exactly what I needed to shake off the weight of my subconscious worries. I owed Dan one for taping my gear together. After looking around the locker room, I headed to Dan's cubby and pulled out a little toy spider from my pocket. I taped it to his water bottle before strategically placing it back on the shelf. If he grabbed it like he normally did, when he went to take a drink the spider would be right by his nose.

I returned to my locker and sat on the bench to start pulling off my skates. Lou stomped into the locker room and sat down hard in front of his locker. He started to unlace his skates as he asked me, "Think Lia could score me some of those cinnamon rolls?"

"She only makes those once in a while, I've only seen them at the bakery twice. Maria still refusing to sell to you?"

"Yes! It's been three weeks, and I even offered to pay her triple the money."

My eyebrows rose in surprise. The entire team had been to the bakery multiple times and it was quickly becoming a fan favorite. Maria had even started renaming some of her goodies after the team. Glacier Bay Bear Claws and Penalty Box Croissants were my particular favorites.

"What did you do?" I asked him.

He held up his hands in an I don't know gesture as Matt came into the locker room and sat on the bench.

"Did you upset Hannah again?" Matt asked.

Lou leveled a glare at him. "My sister is none of your business."

Matt shook his head. "Just asking. She was cursing your name earlier."

"What were you doing with my sister?" Lou asked.

"She's been bringing those Right Wing Raspberry Muffins into the break room every morning."

"What?!" Lou asked in outrage. "My own sister is siding with the enemy!"

Matt got a big smile on his face as he asked, "Are you more upset that Hannah is friends with Maria or that Maria named a muffin after me?"

Lou stormed out of the locker room and I couldn't stop my laugh. He hadn't bothered to finish changing or putting on shoes before leaving to give his sister a piece of his mind. For as long as I'd known Lou, Hannah had been the only one who knew what buttons of his to push. Now it seemed, a certain baker had managed to get under his skin.

"It's good to see you laughing man," Matt said as he started pulling off his gear.

"What do you mean? I laugh."

He shrugged. "Sure, but you've been different after getting engaged."

Lia had come to another game and sat with Penelope, Hannah, and Maria in the suite. Much to my surprise Erin hadn't put up a fight in letting Penelope stay with me for a second weekend. Then they'd all come to the karaoke gathering with the team to celebrate the win. Like moths to a flame, the guys had been drawn to Lia. I'd felt a strong sense of satisfaction each time her ring caught the light and announced that she wasn't available. The guys had treated her like a long-lost sister, and gone out of their way to make her feel welcome. But all that had been swamped by how amazing it was to see Penelope and her together.

The pair of them were thick as thieves as they talked about Penelope's classes or different color combinations. Who knew that coloring hair had so much in common with art? Plus she'd done a popular braid with Penelope's hair that Penelope had seen going viral online.

"See there you go smiling. Lia's good for you."

"She really is," I admitted.

We'd managed two more dates since I'd gotten her ring. The first was a cliched night at the movies where we'd watched an action movie and shared a bucket of extra buttery popcorn. Our second date though, I'd been blown away to see her all dressed up for a nice dinner at a high-end restaurant that served the best cooked crab legs. Lia had seemed to enjoy her herb-crusted chicken breast with lemon before I took her back to Maria's.

"There's just one thing..." Matt said as he wrapped his towel around his neck. "Why haven't you kissed her?"

Like being hit by a puck I realized what had been bothering me. On our dates, Lia had smiled and been pleasant, but any time there was a moment like the one at Radiant Diamonds, she disappeared. Literally and figuratively. On our last date, I'd walked her up to the door of Maria's two-bedroom apartment, but before I could say more than how great the night had been, Lia smiled, yawned, and slipped inside. She'd been pulling away just a little bit at a time, not enough that anyone looking at us would realize, but I now saw it for what it was.

"We're engaged, of course, I've kissed her," I told him, bluffing as confidently as I could.

Matt raised an eyebrow, giving me a skeptical look that could rival Coach questioning a penalty call. "If you say so."

"We have. It's the best kissing of my life."

"Really," Matt deadpanned.

Nodding enthusiastically I said, "Yep. One hundred percent awesome. Better than scoring a hat trick."

Matt couldn't contain a smirk. "Because the key to a successful relationship is a good lip lock?"

"Exactly, you gotta aim for the Stanley cup of smooches." I chuckled, playing along.

"In that case, maybe I should find someone to get engaged to so I can understand."

I chuckled. "Better try a kissing booth, Casanova. That's the only way a woman would kiss that ugly mug of yours."

Matt shook his head, and threw his towel at me.

I threw it back at him, and still chuckling the two of us went about changing. But his comments had me thinking. Not just about kissing Lia, I'd wanted to do that for a long time now.

As Dan came in from practice, I struggled to contain my excitement, my grin threatening to give away my prank. With a quick wipe of my face using my towel, I tried to appear nonchalant as he approached his locker, oblivious to the impending hilarity.

Just as he reached for his water bottle, ready to quench his thirst, he noticed Matt.

"Nice slap shot," Dan told Matt. "I thought I wasn't going to stop it in time."

"Thanks," Matt said, before heading off toward the showers.

Finally, Dan lifted the bottle to his lips, only to freeze mid-sip as his eyes landed on the unexpected toy spider I had left for him. With a startled yelp, he dropped the bottle as if it were scorching hot, sending water splashing everywhere as he recoiled in surprise. The sight of his reaction was so comical that I couldn't help but burst into laughter.

I was wheezing as Matt ran back in to see what had happened.

"I'm going to get you for this," Dan told me.

"Yeah, yeah." I held out the container of fudge Lia had given me. Her mom had sent it in thanks for helping Lia with the press. The fudge was good, but I wasn't a big fan of the nuts that were mixed in. Not wanting to hurt Lia or her mom's feelings I shared it with Dan and Matt. If Lou came back I'd give him some too.

By the time I got back to my building, I'd decided that Lia and I needed to try kissing. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that it just made sense. How would the judge believe our relationship otherwise? I ignored the little thought that my decision to talk to her about kissing had more to do with my desire to kiss her than it did with the custody battle. As I approached my front door, my heart raced with anticipation and nerves. I couldn't shake the feeling that this kiss could change everything between Lia and me, perhaps even more than I was ready to admit. I knew one thing for certain: I had to take this leap of faith, not just for the sake of appearances, but for the chance to explore the growing connection I felt with Lia, a connection that transcended our fake engagement and touched something deeper within me.

Erin waited on my doorstep for me. She was dressed in a black power suit tailored to her figure. I knew this because I'd paid her personal shopper bill more than once. She didn't believe in differentiating bills for Penelope versus herself, and had tried to pass off anything she could as Penelope's expense. Shiny gold buttons on her jacket matched her gold earrings and rings.

A sense of impending doom settled in my gut as I saw her evil grin widen when she saw me.

"Nate," She almost crooned my name. "I just had to tell you in person."

"Should I have my legal council present?"

She waved a hand dismissively, "Oh it's nothing like that. This is good news."

I waited for her to lay it out. I strongly doubted I'd agree that whatever she had to say was good news. The pause stretched out. She wanted me to ask, and I wasn't going to play her game.

"I'm tired Erin."

Her red lips pursed into a practiced pout. When we'd first been married, I'd thought it cute. Now I knew it for what it was. One of the many tools she used to manipulate the situation as she attempted to get what she wanted. If pouting didn't work then she'd work through the rest of her tactics.

Three... two... one...

She dropped the pout. "Fine. I thought you'd want to know that I found a buyer for the house. We close on the fifth."

The sense of doom grew. "Where is Penelope going to live?"

The smile that spread across her face was absolutely vicious. "That's the best part. I found a penthouse in New York while you took that extra weekend with her. It was so supportive of you to watch her while I found our new place."

"You can't do this."

"I moved here because of your work. Now I'm moving to New York for Penelope's."

"She's twelve, she doesn't work."

"I found a talent agency that's very interested in her. Her classes start after Valentine's Day."

"You can't be serious."

"Oh, I'm very serious about her art."

I wanted to yell at her, but I caught sight of her phone poking out of her purse. No doubt she was recording and hoping for something to prove I was an unfit parent. I took a deep breath and shoved my fury down.

"We have a custody hearing on the 3rd."

Completely unconcerned she shrugged. "You'll still get your weekends with her. You'll just have to fly to New York, or pay for her ticket here."

"I'm not going to let you do this."

"It's already done." She laughed as she started to walk away. Then paused to look back at me over her shoulder, "I'll send you the bill for the movers."