Page 102 of Against The Boards

“Seriously?” I huffed.

“He likes it when a man stands up for his woman,” she said and rolled her eyes. “He’s trying to make amends with me, but thank you for what you said to him. You’re not wrong.”

“What about your mom?” I asked.

She shrugged and looked at her phone. “She left me a voicemail yesterday.”

“Oh?”

She nodded. “When I talked with my dad, he said she wants to mend our relationship, but I’m not sure I want to call her back.”

That made me sad for her, but with the way my parents were, I understood her reasons. I handed over her cheesesteak and started shaking up my salad. I pulled the chair closer to her desk and sat across from her.

I reached across the desk and squeezed her hand. “Whatever you decide, I’m here for you.”

She nodded but then stood up and shut her office door. I raised an eyebrow at that.

She laughed. “So no one will bother me and ask me a million questions while we have lunch. Look, I’m even going to turn off my monitor; the emails can wait.”

I dug into my salad and watched her devour her sandwich. “Your dad’s something else.”

She laughed. “Tell me about it. I hated having him as a coach in peewee.”

“I’m proud of you for getting back on the ice. Have you decided on joining a league yet?”

She frowned but shoved her sandwich in her mouth, so she didn’t have to answer. I knew when to press my girl, so I changed the subject instead. “Is your dad sticking around?”

She nodded but seemed annoyed still. “He wants to spend time with us.”

“That’s good, right?”

She nodded, but she seemed conflicted.

I knew it wasn’t my fight with my parents, but I doubted my parents would ever come around with my sister. That bummed me out, but we were better off without them. Maybe it didn’t have to be the same for Rox. Maybe she could have the relationship she wanted with her parents. I wanted that for her, but I’d support whatever decision she made.

She smiled. “Thanks for coming to see me. I always miss your face when I’m at work.”

“I miss you too,” I said. “When the season starts, it’s gonna be hard being away from you.”

She frowned. “I know, but it’ll be okay. We have to try, right?”

I reached across her desk and grabbed her hand. “Rox, we spent so many years hating each other; I don’t want to go back to that. It was miserable.”

“Do you think we moved too fast?”

I shook my head. “Nah. As your brother pointed out to me today, I probably had feelings for you for years.”

She glanced at the clock. “Shit, I have a meeting in like twenty minutes that I’m not prepared for.”

I threw our trash in the garbage and leaned over her desk to kiss her. “Have a good rest of your day. What do you want for dinner?”

She wrinkled her nose. “You don’t have to cook for me all the time, you know.”

“I want to do it now because once my season starts, it will be sparse.”

She shrugged. “Whatever you want, love.”

She walked over to the door and opened it again. I stood in the doorway of her office and bent down again to kiss her goodbye. Loving this woman was the best feeling in the world. I never imagined a life where Roxanne Desjardins spent most of her time kissing me instead of staring daggers at me. It was a pleasant change of pace, and I never wanted to go back to the way things were before.