Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 56213 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 281(@200wpm)___ 225(@250wpm)___ 187(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56213 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 281(@200wpm)___ 225(@250wpm)___ 187(@300wpm)
Max frowns. “Okay, party pooper.”
“She’s a handful,” Lila says to me. “I hope you’re not sick of us already.”
“The opposite.”
Lila’s eyes meet mine. “Thanks for doing this, Duke. It means a lot to Max. To me. Her Dad—”
“Max told me.”
Lila nods. “Ted stands her up a lot. It’s hard for me to let another man into her life. She looks up to you.”
I clutch her shoulder and steer her toward the hot dog stand. “Don’t worry. I won’t let her down.”
She flashes a smile that produces the same response in me. “You’re already off to a good start.”
On our way to the luxury box, a few fans notice me. I stop to sign hats, shirts, and just about anything they throw at me. A crowd gathers around, my name a whisper on their lips.
“Duke,” Max says, pulling on my jersey. “I can’t see down here.”
She’s half the size of everyone around us, so I bend down to lift her up. I throw her onto my shoulders, and she screams as she waves to the fans surrounding us.
“Mommy, look,” she yells. “I’m the tallest person here.”
Lila laughs, and then her eyes meet mine. I fucking like her. I’ve never done anything like this for another woman. And of course, she’s the one woman I can’t have.
After I sign a few more autographs, I tell the fans we have to head to our seats. The game is about to start, with the crowds in the halls thinning by the second.
“Do you want to stay up there?” I ask Max.
“You don’t have to carry her all the way to our seats,” Lila says.
“I don’t mind.”
Max wraps her arms around my neck in response and rests her chin against the back of my head. Whoever’s left in the hallways points at me as we pass. I wave, and so does Max, who’s beyond ecstatic. We don’t have time to stop for autographs again. The announcer’s voice blares over the loudspeaker.
A few minutes later, we’re seated in the front row of the empty box. The players from the Penguins are announced, and now, the house lights go down to announce my team.
Max taps me on the arm. “Did you know that the Pittsburgh Penguins used to have a real penguin as their mascot?”
I nod. “His name was Slapshot Pete.”
“I don’t like our mascot,” she groans.
“What’s wrong with a bald eagle?”
She smiles up at me. “They’re not as cute as penguins. I like penguins. Did you know that penguins can’t fly?”
“So, I’ve heard.”
“She likes trivia,” Lila says in my ear. “When I told Max your team was playing the Penguins, she spent the night on her iPad.”
“It’s cute,” I say, sounding unlike myself, because when do I say cute?
I take a sip from my water bottle to keep myself from talking.
“Penguins,” Max says, talking over the announcer, “only have one mate at a time. Do you have a mate, Duke?”
I almost choke on my water. “Umm… No, I don’t.”
“When a male penguin chooses a female penguin he likes, he searches the entire beach for the perfect pebble to give her.” Max’s eyes are on the ice as she speaks. “And they stay together forever.”
“That’s sweet, baby,” Lila says.
“Not like Mommy and Daddy,” Max adds, looking at her mom with sadness in her blue eyes.
Lila looks down at her shoes and sighs. “How about we talk about something else, Max?”
Max slides off her chair and stands in front of the window that overlooks the rink. She presses her hand to the glass and watches as the puck is dropped. Her arms fly above her head when we win possession.
Lila leans into me and clamps her fingers around my wrist. “I’m sorry about that,” she whispers. “The divorce hasn’t been easy for her. I stayed longer than I should for Max. But I just…”
“One day, she’ll understand, and she’ll be happy you didn’t stay just for her.”
“That’s what I told myself when I filed the divorce papers.”
“You’re a good mom, Doc. Don’t beat yourself up.”
“I try,” she admits. “It’s hard. I didn’t have a normal childhood.”
“Me neither.”
“I wanted her to have what I didn’t have, but…” She sits up straight and removes her fingers from my wrist, placing her hand on her thigh. “I shouldn’t be telling you this.”
We share a long, awkward moment of silence until the goal horn sounds. The Capitals have scored the first goal of the game. Max comes over to high-five each of us and then jogs across the front of the box, taking a victory lap. This kid cracks me up. I forgot how much I loved when Kat and the twins were younger.
Max reminds me of the part of my life I sometimes miss. Maybe Lila was right. I could see myself settling down and having my own kids—with the right woman.