Total pages in book: 53
Estimated words: 51827 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 259(@200wpm)___ 207(@250wpm)___ 173(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 51827 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 259(@200wpm)___ 207(@250wpm)___ 173(@300wpm)
“I know, and you are. Eli and Coop are kind and sweet and smart and it’s all because of you. Just slow down, that’s all I’m saying. Magnus is a good guy. Maybe he’s not your future husband, but does that mean he can’t be anything?”
I shake my head, a knot forming in my stomach when I think about Coop throwing his arms around Magnus. He idolizes him.
“Don’t you remember all the men, Jules?” My voice catches. “Mom would bring them around, and some of them ... they were nice. I’d get this hope that maybe this one would stay. Maybe life would get better because he’d make Mom want to be better.”
She nods slightly, her brow furrowed. “I remember.”
“I know you mean well,” I say softly. “I know that, and I love you. But when you have kids ... it’s just different.”
Her eyes lock with mine, concern swirling in hers. “You should go back to counseling. I know I don’t have all the answers, but I don’t think you do, either.”
I scoff, tears dropping to my cheeks as I laugh. “Yeah, I don’t have a single answer. I don’t know a damn thing. I’ve been so adamant about my boys not having men in their lives who might leave and disappoint them later—but they met Magnus through hockey, and it happened anyway.”
“You can’t protect them from ever being disappointed, babe.”
I swipe the wetness from my cheeks. “I know, but I’m not going to be responsible for it. I can’t fill that hole, Jules.” My voice trembles with emotion. “If you could have seen the way Coop was looking at him and holding his hand ... fuck.”
“Okay. What can we do right now to help you feel a little better?”
“I’m fine. It’s just hard when I’m home by myself, with nothing but time to think.” I stand up and walk to the pantry, grabbing a can of Pringles and opening it. “How long will he even be staying with the Crush? Couldn’t he get traded at any point?”
“He’s on what they call a prove-it deal. He has this season to prove he’s good enough for a team to offer him a longer-term contract, like three years.”
“And that comes at the end of the season?”
She shrugs. “At the end of the season, he’ll already know. It’s January, and that’s about when teams would start talking to his agent.”
I talk through chewing my pizza Pringle because it’s just Jules. “Is he proving it? Will he get offers?”
“Oh yeah. Noel says he’ll get a contract. But don’t repeat that; I’m not supposed to know. What’s unknown is which team the contract will be with.”
“So he could be gone in a few months?”
“Yes.”
I roll my eyes. “I win the worst-taste-in-men award, once again. The prize is sadness.”
Jules laughs and stands up, hugging me. “Will you relax? He came over one time. He likes you and he likes your kids. Hang out with him. He’ll know soon where he’s going to land.”
“Okay, fine.”
“Let’s go shopping.”
I groan. “I’ll help you shop, but you’re not spending any more money on me.”
“Fuck you. I’ll spend my money on whatever I want.”
She’s everything anyone could ever hope for in a sister. I don’t like relying on her for so much, though.
“My channels are killing it with all the wedding-planning posts. It’s ridiculous money, and I’m marrying a man who also has ridiculous money. So if I want to take my sister shopping, I will.”
“It would be nice to get out.”
“Go change out of your sad Cinderella rags so we can go.”
I scowl over my shoulder, heading for my bedroom. “These are my cleaning clothes; they’re not supposed to be nice.”
A few minutes later, Jules is driving us to a shopping center in her new white BMW SUV. Since she started making successful influencer money, she trades her cars in for a new one on a whim.
“Will you keep this one long enough to need an oil change?” I quip.
“I might. I do really like this one.”
She drives to a shopping center filled with stores we both love. Even though we have three hours until I have to leave to make sure I can pick up the boys from school on time, she’s efficient. We hit up several stores for clothes and shoes first, both of us ending up with so many bags we have to take them back to the car before continuing with our shopping.
Jules picks up some new pans and dishes at a high-end kitchen store, and then we go to her idea of heaven on Earth: Sephora.
The sales associates all know her, and we get the red-carpet treatment. She’s buying so much I don’t even want to know the total, so I wait near the store’s entrance and check my phone.
I inhale sharply when I see a text from a number I don’t recognize.