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Before I can answer, Ryan cuts in, “Last year she worked several events for my company, so I put in a good word when I heard they needed an event planner for the Stanley Cup playoff events.”
I raise my eyebrows in surprise, a hint of venom in my voice. “Really?” I turn to him with my arms crossed. “So, you are saying I didn’t get this job based on my own abilities?”
Ryan immediately turns red, while Ethan doubles over with laughter.
“It’s not like that, Mia…” Ryan frowns.
“What he’s trying to say is that he trusts you,” Ethan elbows him, making Ryan perk up, but then Ethan’s next statement wipes the perkiness away. “He just doesn’t respect you.”
My eyes widen in shock. Ryan’s face is inflamed, a huge vein in his forehead throbbing. I end up going into an awkward giggling fit that’s an inch away from becoming hysterical.
“Well, that was harsh,” I say after composing myself. Ryan seems to calm down a little by then and just nods his head, gritting his teeth and adjusting his tie.
“It’s the truth,” Ethan shrugs. “If he respected you, he would have asked you to move to New York with him.”
I narrow my eyes toward Ethan and retort, “I was the one who didn’t want to move.”
“Okay, okay. This is water under the bridge. Let’s change the subject,” Ryan interjects. “Where are Amanda and Senna?”
Ethan looks around, momentarily confused. “Huh, they should be here already.”
“You didn’t come together?” I ask, puzzled. Amanda and Senna are Ethan’s wife and son.
“We don’t live in the same house anymore, Mia,” Ethan explains nonchalantly. “Amanda and I got divorced six months ago.”
My eyes widen, my mouth falling open as shock washes over me. “Well, that shatters my picture of a perfect family,” I exclaim, my arms dropping to my sides.
“Mom is still not over it,” Ryan adds.
“Your mom is still not over us. That woman hates me,” I joke, but it’s the truth. No woman is good enough for Glenda Matthews’ little men.
A tiny, familiar voice cuts through the air. “Daddy!” Rapid footfalls follow, and Ethan turns with the cat-like reflexes of a pro hockey player, easily scooping up Senna in his arms.
“Did you watch the game, buddy? It was our first one of the Stanley Cup playoffs!” Ethan asks, trying to kiss his son on his forehead, but Senna dodges him before he can.
“U-hum!” In his hand, he has a plush toy of Howler, the husky mascot for the Iron Huskies, and a superhero themed t-shirt half-hidden underneath a denim jacket. “You won the match!”
Ryan and I were still in college when Senna was born. I can’t believe Amanda and Ethan aren’t together anymore. Their marriage was what I looked up to and for so long it’s what I wanted to have with Ryan. It was so beautiful, and now it’s gone.
“Look at the businesswoman!” Amanda’s soft voice reaches my ears. She has the sweetest heart and a stunning figure. I wonder what caused their divorce.
“Glad to see you, ‘Manda!” I say, going in for a hug, which she warmly returns.
“Were these two torturing you?” she asks playfully.
“More like Ethan torturing us both,” I respond, casting a crooked stare in his direction.
He just blows me a kiss.
“Oh, Ethan, behave,” Amanda says, giving me an apologetic look.
“It’s not my fault Ryan got flustered when I said Mia looks pretty,” Ethan shrugs.
Amanda pushes him away, eyes wide. Senna, still in his arms, bursts into a giggling fit, repeating the word “flustered” over and over.
“You like that word, don’t you?” I approach Senna, who immediately reaches out for me to pick him up. “Oof, you’re heavy!”
“Mom says I can play football!” Senna exclaims, his hand clinging around my neck.
