Page 73 of Open Net

He shook his head. “Nice isn’t a word I’d use to describe you.”

She blushed and pulled her hand away, walking past him to her baby. “You be a good boy okay? Mommy loves you.” She knelt down to place a kiss on his forehead before making her way back to us.

“Ready?” Grant asked each of us.

“Yeah.” I led the way back to the front door. “Thank you, Janice.”

She smiled. “You guys have fun tonight.”

Addison paused at the doorway. “If anything happens please let me know.”

Janice hugged her. “Everything will be just fine. I promise, but if something does happen, I will call you.”

Addison seemed to hesitate, but relaxed.

Grant opened the back door for her and she slid in before he scooted in next to him. I noticed Addison watching the house as we drove away. “Nervous to leave him?”

She nodded. “I work from home, so this is the first time I’ve ever left him.”

Grant spun to look at her. “Really?”

Oh no. I could see her getting emotional in the rear-view mirror.

Emma turned in her seat. “It’s going to be okay. It had to happen eventually.”

Addison laughed and sniffed. “Yeah, but I was thinking it would be the first day of kindergarten.”

Emma shook her head. “My mom raised three kids. She’s got everything under control.”

Addison nodded. “I know, I just miss him.”

She laughed but I could hear her voice crack.

I was about to offer her some words of comfort when I noticed Grant move. He slid a bit closer to her and his arm moved. “Thank you for doing this. I can’t imagine how hard this must be.”

I tapped Emma’s thigh and when she peeked at me, I whispered. “Are they holding hands?”

Her eyebrows shot up and she nonchalantly glanced over her shoulder. A second later she gave a tiny nod, biting her lips. I slowly lifted my hand to her side of the car. I interlaced my fingers with hers, feeling like I was getting away with something. When she didn’t pull away I could have screamed out in victory. I played it cool though.

When we got to the art center downtown, I pulled up to the valet and mentally prepared myself for what was coming. Reporters lined the red carpet and I knew we’d have a lot of pretending to do. We’d managed to keep our private lives out of the tabloids. We were the old, boring couple but they’d go wild if they sensed something going on between me and Emma.

I turned to her and realized I wasn’t the only nervous one. “You ready?”

Her eyes were panicked.

“I’ll answer all the questions, okay?”

She nodded and stepped out of the car when the valet opened her door. I walked around the car with Grant where we met up with our dates. I took Emma’s hand and she squeezed it tight. Her eyes met mine and I saw fear. I longed to kiss her and tell her it would all be okay. I waited for her to step back, but she held onto me.

How was I supposed to handle being the reason she was so tense and anxious while also being her source of comfort. It was confusing and I didn’t know how to deal with it.

We walked along the carpet toward the entrance of the gala. I glanced at her and realized she was smiling and waving to the cameras. She was a pro. I followed her lead moving us forward without responding to the people calling my name.

We were almost halfway when I recognized the voice of a reporter from NHL Central. I couldn't ignore him, so I walked forward, careful to block Emma. “Hello Carl.”

“Olli Letang, how are you healing?”

I smiled. “Things are going pretty well, I’m down to just a brace which is great.”