Page 81 of Scoring Chance

“Unless you want to. Papa Des has a nice ring to it,” Hank says.

I rub my hand wildly through my nicely combed hair. Those kids have fucking grown on me. “I am not meant to be a dad. I am not a family man.”

Griffin cuts in, calm but firm, like a therapist who’s known me too long. “You like him. It’s scaring the hell out of you.”

I shrug, eyes flicking toward the bar TV looping silent hockey highlights. “I like martinis and my promotion. This…this is different.”

Hank wiggles his eyebrows. “Different like how? Butterflies? Daydreams? Can’t-stop-thinking-about-him energy? Or the classic Des spiral where you think you’ve caught feelings, panic, and blow up your life?”

I hate how well they know me.

I sigh, leaning back against the booth. “Tanner’s…he’s Tanner. He’s been my best friend since high school. He’s the guy who made sure I didn’t flunk algebra, who picked me up when I’d drank too much at a party no matter the time. I never thought…” I trail off.

Griffin raises a brow. “You never thought you’d fall for him.”

“I never thought I’d get this domestic,” I admit, the words foreign on my tongue. “Family dinners, helping with homework, grocery lists. I told myself this fake marriage was logistics. Paperwork. Now I’m…” I drag a hand down my face. “I’m looking forward to bedtime stories and accidentally staying for movie nights.”

“Those Pixar films are really freaking good,” Hank adds helpfully, waving for another round.

Griffin ignores him, leaning in, tone serious. “Look, I get it. It’s terrifying. You’ve built your life to avoid messes like this. But Tanner’s not a one-night stand. And those kids? They’re not accessories.”

I nod, throat tight.

“If you keep going down this road, you can’t just…disappear when it gets complicated,” Griffin continues. “You can’t play house and bail when it stops being convenient. You do that to him—after everything he’s been through—you’ll break him. And probably those kids, too.”

Hank, for once, sobers. “You can’t half-ass this, Des. You either keep your distance, or you’re in. All in.”

The weight of their words settles over me heavier than expected. It’s one thing to joke about falling into this chaos. It’s another to hear it laid out plain.

“I’m not the family guy,” I murmur. “I’ve never been good at the whole…commitment thing.”

“Maybe you weren’t,” Griffin says evenly. “But people change. Life changes.”

I picture Tanner’s smile—the one he hides behind when he’s worried. The way Lulu curls up in his lap for stories. Dean trying to wrestle me for the best seat at dinner. That damn sticky kitchen table. All of it, messy and loud and nothing like my sleek condo or carefully constructed life.

And yet…it’s the first thing that’s felt real in a long time.

Hank raises his glass toward me. “So? You gonna stop being a coward, or are you running?”

I hesitate, the answer knotting in my chest. “I don’t know.”

Hank gives me a soft pat on the back. “Maybe it’s time for that fourth martini.”

23

TANNER

The arena is too bright.

Fluorescent lights hum overhead, casting long reflections over the scraped-up ice. Kids lace up their skates with trembling hands and hopeful eyes, the smell of rubber mats and cold metal thick in the air. Parents line the bleachers, coffee cups clutched like lifelines.

I might be as nervous as Davy.

He’s been practicing for weeks. Slept with his stick beside his bed. And now we’re here. Tryouts for the traveling team, the most elite hockey program in the region.

I’d never seen him want something this badly.

I’ve been trying to stay focused on it, and not the odd dynamic currently marinating between me and Des. Our own hockey playing has been off, and that’s been the least of our problems. I knew this fake marriage would be a bad idea, even if, for a short window, it was pure magic.