“Why? You’re so pretty,” Angie said simply. “And he always stares at you.”

“No, he doesn’t.”

“Yes, he does!” She laughed, smacking her thigh. “I’m gonna ask him.”

“You better not,” she warned, and Angie was full out laughing like they were in comedy hour.

“Ha! Mommy has a crush.”

“Angela Lynn! What in the world? How do you know what a crush is?”

“I’m seven, Mom, not a baby.”

“You are a baby, thank you,” she said, breathless, pulling into the parking lot. “And I do not have a crush.”

“Yes, you do.”

“Angela! No, I do not,” she said, by this point giggling as she parked. Why was she giggling? Stopping, she glared back at her daughter. “And if you say one word to Benji about that nonsense, I’ll ground you.”

Angie only snickered as she threw the door open and got out. Lucy, on the other hand, was shaking her head. Kid was going to give her gray hair before she was thirty. She swore it. She grabbed Angie’s bag out of the back, and Angie met her by the trunk and bounced on her heels.

Wait. Did she say that because she wanted Lucy to get married? Crap. Looking over at Angie as she shut the trunk, Lucy found herself asking, “Do you think Mommy needs to be married?”

Angie shrugged. “Daddy is married to Heidi. And I don’t know, I think it would make you happy.”

Lucy bit into her lip. “But you’re happy, right, baby?”

“Duh, I have the best mom in the world!” she gushed, giving her a half hug. “I just want you to be happy.”

“I am.”

“I know, but I think you need someone to talk to who isn’t a kid, who loves you like I do.”

“You are way past your years, Angela,” she said, squeezing her baby to her side. “Plus, I have my mom, Jude, Jayden, and Jace.”

Angie gave her a deadpan look as they walked up to the rink. “But they are busy with the people they love. You need someone to love.”

“I love you!”

“Mom, come on. You know what I mean,” she said, rolling her eyes. Lucy did, she just hated that her daughter thought this. What did she do wrong? Was she really that pathetic all the time? “There’s Grandma and River!”

Running off like they hadn’t just had a very eye-opening conversation, Angie jumped into River’s arms, him throwing her up in the air before hugging her tightly. Smiling, Lucy made her way to them, catching the very end of River giving Angie a pep talk.

“Play deep, and when you get a chance, shoot. These girls don’t even know what’s in store for them! You know you’re the best, so play it. Okay?”

“It’s the peewees, River, not the NHL,” Lucy sang and he grinned.

Angie giggled happily as Lucy’s mom beamed. “Are you ready, sweetheart? I’m nervous for you.”

“Mom,” Lucy complained and she shrugged.

“What? You know how I am. My baby, come here. Let me hug you.”

Angie went willingly as Lucy and River chuckled at how silly she could be. She was a mother hen, and her babies were just that, her babies. Hugging her grandma, Angie looked back at Lucy. “Mom, is Dad coming?”

Lucy swallowed hard, pulling her phone out of her pocket. “I told him the time. But it’s still early, honey. I’ll text and ask, okay?”

She looked dejected as she turned to Autumn. “You have your iPad, right? Uncle Jace and Jude want to watch the game.”

Autumn patted her purse. “Done, River is gonna set it up.”

“I wish they were here. I wonder where Jayden and Baylor are. And Benji.”

Yeah, where was Benji?

Looking around, Lucy saw Jayden and Baylor coming from the concession stand. “There are Jayden and Baylor.”

“Oh, yay! Oh, there’s Coach Adler. I better go,” she said, wiggling out of Autumn’s arms and grabbing her bag. “Benji said he would be here, right?”

“Yeah, and I’m sure he will be,” Lucy said reassuringly, but maybe she should text him, just to make sure.

Shit, maybe he wasn’t coming.

No. He wouldn’t have told her he was if he wasn’t.

Nodding her head, Lucy bent down and patted Angie on the helmet since she had her cage on already. “Good luck. Love you.”

“Love you,” Angie said before running off. She fist-bumped Jayden and Baylor as Lucy watched, a grin on her face. When she ran past them, Benji all of a sudden came out of a side door, catching Angie midstride, lifting her over his head, her stick and bag hitting the ground as her laughter filled the room.

And Lucy’s heart promptly exploded in her chest.

“You’re here!”

“Duh,” he said, hugging her tightly. Then they were talking, but Lucy couldn’t hear them. As she headed toward them, her mother stopped her.

“Who is that tall drink of water?” she whispered and Lucy gasped.

“Mom!”

Autumn laughed. “What? Just wondering. Is that the famous Benji?”

Lucy’s lips curved as he patted Angie on the head and they fist-bumped. “Yeah, that’s him.”

“He’s adorable,” she said as they closed the distance between themselves and Benji and Angie, but Lucy didn’t verbally agree as Angie beamed back at her.

“Benji’s here!”