Joycee’s Reviews > Holding Hailey > Status Update

Living with them gives me a front row seat to the life of a happy couple who also have a child. Dani loves Sergei’s son from his late wife like he’s her own, and the three of them are extremely close. Even when they argue, there’s an intimacy I don’t yet feel with Kane,

“Oh, lighten up—you and I are having a baby. If I don’t want your money, what makes you think I’d want his?”

“I guess you got me there.”

I tend to be impulsive about things, and while it serves me well in hockey, it’s detrimental in most other areas of my life.

“There’s nothing easy about an unplanned pregnancy, but it doesn’t have to be hard either.”

I’m not particularly old-fashioned, but I don’t ever want my child to feel unwanted. If the marriage doesn’t work out, I’ll be able to say we tried. I let out an involuntary sigh, thinking about divorcing her before we even decide to be a real couple is outlandish and cynical as hell.

He’s right, though.

Right about? That you haven’t scored hat tricks in AK? You weren’t drafted to score hat tricks, you were drafted to play. You didn’t start hat trick stuff until three or four years in?

Yeah, but sucks that I lost mojo for it now that I’m in AK.

What I said to kid still applies—new team w/disparate players. Even though some teams gel right away, obviously you guys need more time.

she turns to me with those big blue eyes and I get lost in them. Framed by thick, dark lashes, she’s the only woman I’d ever met whose lashes looked no different whether she wears makeup or not.

“what do you think love is?” Nancy presses lightly. “Friendship that crosses over into sex and lust and companionship. When people are friends, they’re usually not interested in sex with each other. When you hook up with someone for casual sex and there isn’t much beyond the bedroom, you don’t even want to be friends. But when you have both, it’s special.”

“I need to be able to make it on my own.”

“Why?” Nancy cocks her head slightly. “You’ve been doing that all along, so you know you can… Now that there’s a child involved, what’s so hard about accepting help from someone who loves you?”

“Would you mind pretending we’re in a serious relationship in front of my dad and stepmom?” I ask as we drive toward Franklin, a Boston suburb.

“We are,” he points out. “We’re just in the early stages of it.”