Page 90 of Honest Boys Don’t Play

Scooping up Rory, I put him in his car seat and strap him in—double and then triple checking the buckles are correct. One night I was up late and stumbled across videos on car seat safety and now I panic every time that I’m not going to have him secured the way he’s supposed to be.

Jocelyn grabs the diaper bag and rests it on her shoulder so that all I have to do is grab the car seat. My wallet, keys, and everything we need to get into the arena is already inside the bag.

I open the door to find Daire on the other side, fist raised like he’s about to knock. “Hey.” He smiles. “I thought you might want help with putting the car seat in.”

“You’re amazing.” He takes the carrier from me. “The base is in my car. Let me give you my keys.”

Jocelyn lets me dig through the bag until I find them and can hand them to Daire too.

Daire descends the steps with the carrier in one hand and my keys in the other.

“Your friends seem to really care,” Jocelyn says.

“They do. They’re amazing. I don’t know how we could’ve gotten through any of this without them.”

Once we’re on the driveway Rosie hops out to hug me and offers Jocelyn her hand. “Hi, I’m Rosie. This one’s best friend. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

“Jocelyn. It’s nice to meet you, too.”

Daire clears his throat. “You guys might want to get in the back row before I put this in because it’s going to make it harder to get in there.”

“Good idea.”

“This is cozy,” Jocelyn says when we settle into the third row. “How far is the arena from here?”

Fiddling with the base, Daire answers, “Really close, like only ten minutes but with it being a home game and the first of the season it’s probably going to take us a while.”

So far Rory has done fine during car rides, but I still find myself holding my breath each and every time. Especially this time with the stop and go traffic.

Since we have designated parking, we get to turn out of the chaos. When we approach the security booth Daire slows to a stop and passes along his ID and a parking pass.

Once we’ve been verified, we’re cleared to drive through into the private parking area.

I wish I didn’t feel so nervous, but my anxiety is at an all time high. The sweat I can feel pooling beneath and between my boobs is appalling.

Luckily, Daire seems to be steadily in control. He unloads both kids and carries Rory’s seat in one hand and Sammy clutched in his other arm.

“Ugh,” Rosie groans as we trail behind. “He looks hot with two kids. He might convince me yet to have one soon.”

Daire, having overheard, grins over his shoulder and winks. “We’ll start tonight.”

“Don’t even think about it,” she warns him.

Shaking her head, she mutters under her breath, “I wouldn’t be surprised if he doesn’t have the capability to make my birth control fail.” Luke’s mom laughs and Rosie blushes. “I’m sorry, ma’am.”

“Oh, don’t be sorry. It’s fun to hear girl talk for a change. I don’t get out much.”

I’m thankful for Daire’s presence as he speaks with security and easily navigates us to where we need to go.

The box we’re in today is shared between Tanner’s family and another player’s and they were kind enough to offer to let us hang out too for Luke’s first professional home game. He already warned me he might not get any ice time, but I don’t care. I want to see him in action. I went to a few of the college games, but I was with Tommy at the time so it’s not like I was paying much attention to Luke.

“Bertie!” Kayla spots me almost immediately and ditches the conversation she’s having with a pretty brunette. “Come on, let me introduce you to everyone.”

It’s overwhelming as she drags me around the suite and introduces me to a variety of friends and family and a few other wives and girlfriends who are also hanging out today.

“Bertie is Luke’s…”

“Girlfriend,” I supply for her. It’s still a bit crazy to finally put a label on things.