Page 85 of Puck Me Twice
“You still don’t talk to them?”
“Not since graduation.” That was the last time I invited both of my parents anywhere—and neither of them wanted to take off for two days to come see me walk across that stage for my diploma.
Sven threads our fingers together, lending support.
“It’s better this way. I have Elsy and Bex and Wyatt, and now I have Sven, and…”
“People always ask why I have no relationship with my parents,” Robby says. “It’s complicated.”
“We’ll make our own family,” Sven says.
Robby looks between us, his eyes dropping to my belly. “Are you—you’re not p—”
“No. No.” I shake my head quickly.
“Family is what you make it,” Sven continues. “We can pick and choose the people we keep in our lives. The people who mean the most to us. Biology doesn’t make a family.” He squeezes my hand. “Love does.”
Robby swallows thickly. “I’m glad you two have each other.”
“Now we just have to find you your happily ever after,” I tell him lightly.
But he shakes his head. “Nah. I don’t think that’s in the cards for me.”
“Come on. You can—”
“Not without making some personal sacrifices I’m not ready to make,” he says quietly, firmly.
With a sigh, I relent. “Okay. I can see that.” He doesn’t have to come out publicly until he’s ready. With his role as assistant equipment manager on the ice every game, he leads a semi-public life, and the fans are viciously intent on learning every single thing about the team and the staff.
“I just started figuring out my life without playing hockey,” Robby says. “I’m still working out the rest of it. I’ll get there.”
Sven looks at me, then my hand on Robby’s arm, and I hastily move it away. “Well, you’ll always have a place in our family,” he announces.
My eyes go wide. “What do you mean?”
“He cares about you, and you care about him,” he says, meeting my gaze steadily. “We all have shitty enough families that we deserve the chance to start over and build something new. So, if you’re okay with it…”
“I am. But you know he and I—” Waving my hand between my ex and me, I lose my nerve. “We used to… we were…”
Robby chokes.
Sven looks at him for the briefest moment, then back to me.
“Do you plan on sleeping with him?” he asks, genuine curiosity in his voice. “Do you want to be with him?”
“No! Not at all. We’ve talked about this. You and I—we’re committed. That’s… it’s entirely different.”
Robby is my past. The history. Sven is my future.
And to my surprise, that doesn’t scare me nearly as much as it used to.
Sven squeezes my hand. “Then whatever happened between you, it’s in the past. All we can do is move forward. And frankly, we could all use a little more love in our lives.”
twenty-nine
. . .
Sven
