Page 88 of Body Check

“Not in the slightest. I think it’s amazing.”

“It means you and her having kids…”

“Not in the cards for us,” I say firmly.

He raises an eyebrow.

“Neither of us wants kids. Our lives aren’t conducive to a stable family life, anyway.”

“Have you thought about what you’re going to do?” He nods at my ankle. “After?”

“Still thinking it over.” I put a call in to my agent, but he hasn’t gotten back to me aside from a vague, “we’ll talk soon.”

“Well, there’s one thing I learned from spending so much time with athletes over the years,” he says.

“What’s that?”

“The entire world is open to you. You’ve made millions of dollars, the kind of money most people only dream about. You can do anything you want with your life. You can go back to school. You can start a new career. The only limit is your imagination.”

“I never thought I’d have a life after hockey. I never even considered it. Probably should have.”

“Well, that was then, and this is now. You can only move forward.” He pauses. “Do you intend to stay in Boston?”

“It’s my home.”

“Aren’t you from Chicago?”

I shrug. “I haven’t lived there since I was sixteen, when I went away for the juniors. It’s not my home. Not anymore. This is. This is where I want to be.”

His eyes narrow, studying me. “And I’m sure it doesn’t hurt that Amelia is here too?”

It’s a test; one I’m sure I need to pass.

“Wherever she wants to go, I’ll follow.”

“Wow. You’re serious about her.”

It’s the honest truth. I’m not sweet-talking her brother into liking me—hopefully, he already does. I’m laying my cards on the table.

“I don’t know that I’m ready to get married anytime soon, not after the disaster that was my divorce. But when I look at my future, she’s in it. I’m by her side.”

Tyler hums.

“What?”

“You’re by her side,” he says. “Not that she’s by your side.”

“She’s the catch in the situation. Like you said, the whole world is open to me. Wherever she wants to be, that’s where I’ll go.”

But I think she’ll want to stay here. After all, her brothers are here. Her niece. She built a life here. She’s close to her coworkers. She’s finally putting down roots.

Ainsley squirms in her carrier, her chubby face contorted.

“Oh, shit,” Tyler says. “I have six point seven seconds before she starts shrieking. Gotta go.”

“Come by anytime,” I tell him. “All three of you are welcome anytime.”

He nods seriously, clapping me on the back. “You’re a good man, McKittrick. I’m glad Amelia picked you.”

His praise blooms something deep within my chest. I open my mouth, but I’m cut off by an insistent wail.

“Overstayed our welcome,” he says, bouncing his knees to soothe the baby. “I’ll look at the calendar, and you’ll come over for family dinner.”

It’s not a request.

“I’ll be there,” I promise. “For as long as she’ll have me.”