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“Eating alone?” he asked.

She shook her head. “Nope. You just missed McKenna. She got called back to work for a rearranged meeting.”

“Ah.”

“Were you meeting someone here?”

He shook his head. “No. Just popped over to grab some takeout. They’re working on my order now. I was waiting by the counter when I spotted you sitting out here.”

She gestured to the chair his daughter had just vacated. “Want to wait here with me? I have a million errands I need to run, but the weather is too nice, so I’m procrastinating.”

He grinned. “It really is a nice day. Fortunately, today’s schedule only included a morning workout, so I have the afternoon off. Like you, I intended to mark some shit off my to-do list. I’ve got a mountain of laundry to do, and my car is two months past inspection time. Adulting sucks.”

“So much,” she agreed. “If I don’t hit the grocery store today, Pip and I are going to be dining on Ramen and a nearly expired can of creamed corn tonight.”

Dean laughed as he lowered himself into the chair across from her. “I’ve definitely had worse dinners.”

“Oh yeah?”

“When I played junior hockey, money was sparse. Trust me, instant noodles and questionable frozen burritos were practically their own food group.”

Vivian took a sip of her tea. “Tell me about it. I lived on frozen burritos in college.”

For a moment, they sat together in companionable silence, enjoying the warmth of the October afternoon. The café patio buzzed with quiet conversations, someone laughed at another table, and the breeze carried the smell of fresh-baked bread from inside.

“Did you enjoy the fundraiser event last week?” he asked.

She nodded. “It was a lot of fun, and McKenna just told me it brought in some serious donations.”

“Kenny deserves a ton of credit for that. She put together some amazing silent auction items.”

Vivian nodded again in agreement. “I know you’re only about a week in, but how’s the new season looking?”

Dean leaned back, stretching one leg out in front of him. “I feel pretty good about it.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” His expression shifted into that thoughtful look she noticed he wore whenever he talked about hockey. Her brother had the same one. “I didn’t make a lot of changes last year when I first came in. I wanted to get a feel for how things worked and get to know the players before I put my own spin on things. That’s changing this year. Honestly, we’re sitting where I expected we’d be this early. A couple wins, one frustrating loss, plenty of things to clean up, but nothing too horrible.”

“You sound optimistic.”

“I am. Last year, we’d lose one game and everyone would spiral. Probably because my predecessor had a hair-trigger temper and he took the losses out on the guys. This year, I’m determined to make sure they bounce back faster.”

“That’s because you’re an inspiring coach.” He tilted his head, curious about her compliment until she added, “According to Victor.”

He snorted. “What Vic sees as inspiring, most of the younger guys call lecturing.”

“Either way, it seems to be working.”

Dean toyed with the condensation sliding down the half-drunk glass of tea McKenna had left behind. “We’ve got good leadership from the older guys, and the rookies are settling in faster than I expected. I also managed a couple of amazing trades for players who are going to take us to a higher level.”

“Victor nearly keeled over when he heard Dominic Gallo was joining the team. I think everyone thought he’d spend his entire career with Carolina.”

Dean wiggled his eyebrows. “That trade was a definite feather in my cap. The man is brutal on the ice. Little worried about ego, but we’ll see how that pans out.”

“Ego?”

“Can’t tell if it’s ego or just his nature, but he’s the quietest guy on the roster. I honestly don’t think I’ve heard him say more than twenty words.”