“You didn’t get enough of me last night or this morning, is that it?” he asks quietly.

I try not to eavesdrop, but he’s sitting right beside me and we’re in my car, so it’s impossible.

“Oh, really?” Darren makes a clicking sound with his tongue. “That sounds like a lot of fun, but I’m on my way to the gym with Alex, so you’ll have to put that thought on hold… Uh-huh…Yeah, you can come to my place. That’ll work better anyway. Mmm…I think the red one.” He shifts around in his seat. “That’s entirely up to you.”

When I glance at him, he raises his eyebrows. There’s a long pause, during which his smile grows even wider.

“You know what I like, Charlene. Okay. I’ll see you around six… Looking forward to it.” He ends the call and tucks his phone back in his pocket.

“Things getting serious there?” I ask.

He shrugs. “I like her, and we have a good time together.”

It’s not an answer, but then that’s kind of how Darren is.

“So what happened this morning?” he asks.

“Everything was fine until I joked around about Vi quitting her job.”

“Why would you do that?” He sounds incredulous.

“I don’t know. I just…the away games aren’t my favorite. I don’t like the long spans of time away from her, and she doesn’t have to work. I make more than enough, right?” I’m looking for some kind of affirmation. Darren is probably the wrong person to ask, though, considering his relationship with Charlene isn’t anything like my relationship with Violet.

“Does this have anything to do with the Darcy account?” Darren asks.

“What?”

“The Darcy account. Are you worried about that?”

“What are you talking about?”

Darren gives me a look. “Mitch Darcy. You know, our teammate?”

“Did he say something to you? He’s got his own damn wife. He needs to stay the fuck away from mine.”

“Settle down, Waters. Didn’t Violet tell you last night?”

Anxiety makes every muscle in my body tighten. “Tell me what?”

“Jesus, you’re edgy today.”

“Yeah, well, my fiancée, who won’t set a damn wedding date, denied me sex this morning after I’d been away for a week, and now you have information I don’t, so there’s something she’s keeping from me.”

“I don’t think she’s keeping it from you. Apparently Violet drew up a proposal for his account, and she’s presenting it next week.”

“Oh. That’s it?” When Darcy’s wife, Bunny, found out Violet manages finances for sports professionals, she got her contact information. I vaguely remember Violet telling me about creating a proposal a few weeks ago. She’s had to stay late a bunch of times over the past few months.

“What do you mean, that’s it? It’s a big fucking deal.”

“It is? How do you know?”

“Charlene told me. Junior accountants don’t present on multimillion-dollar accounts.”

“She already manages Miller’s accounts.”

“Yeah, but this is different. Darcy isn’t family, and Bunny specifically requested her. Charlene said this is atypical.”

“Oh. I didn’t realize that. Well, I guess that explains her reaction this morning. I wish she would’ve said something.”

“I’m surprised she didn’t.”

“We were kind of busy last night, with other things.”

“Apparently.”

I like Darcy well enough. He’s a good guy, and Bunny’s always pleasant. She seems like the one in charge in that relationship. I tap the steering wheel, considering my options and how things could have gone differently had I known this information.

“I should do something nice for her tonight. Plan a dinner or something.”

“Good idea. Then maybe you’ll get some action and you won’t be so bitchy on the ice tomorrow night. We could really use a home win.”

“Yeah, don’t I know it.”

While we managed to win the first two away games—just barely—on this last trip, we lost the second two. It’s been like that this season: a lot of up and down, and not a lot of consistency.

My scoring average is also down, and Randy Ballistic, who’s new to the team, has been responsible for more goals than I have lately. It’s good for him, but not so good for me.

I’m silent for the rest of the trip to the gym. Darren doesn’t push for conversation, which is good because I’m mulling. As much as I’m disappointed that I didn’t hear this news from Violet, I’m also a little relieved it’s Darren who told me. It gives me time to process.

As exciting as this is for Violet, it also means she’s going to be busy planning for the presentation this week. Which means we’ll have even less time together. I’m happy for her, because she works hard at her job, and she’s amazing at it, but this isn’t just about this week. The better she gets, the higher she’ll climb, and the more time it will take away from us.

As a kid, my mom was always there: taking me to skating or hockey, making breakfast, working on homework with Sunny. I’ve always kind of imagined it’d be the same for my kids. I want that for my family, and I have the ability to provide it. Maybe Violet isn’t ready to look at it that way.