“You bought it.”
Because normal people went around buying up bars and buildings like it was nothing.
“Yeah. See, Jerry and some other local small businesses started this baseball league for underprivileged kids. He was worried if he lost his bar, the other businesses wouldn’t have the money from him to keep everything going. They pay for everything, jerseys, gear, field time, refs. The whole shebang. They were barely scraping by before and hadn’t been able to find more businesses to help out, so without them, the whole thing could have crumbled. So, I bought the bar, chipped in extra, and now all the kids get all brand new gear and uniforms every year and we were able to install lights in a few fields for night games.”
Wow. I’d already known he was a great guy. With this revelation, given so simply, stated like it was just another thing he did during the day like some people mentioned vacuuming, my heart swelled until it hurt.
“How do you manage it all?”
He shrugged like it was nothing. Maybe it was. Everything came easy for him, it seemed. And he probably had a team of people making it easier. I know Garrett did. Personal shoppers when necessary, financial managers being only two of the people he considered his “team.”
“Bar had a great staff up and running already. I approved one woman to manage and she runs it all. I just sign the checks and help with issues every once in a while. Jerry’s now retired, but he stops in for a drink occasionally. Comes to the games that’ll start soon.” He paused and took a drink. I followed his lead, but my wine did nothing to my overheating body. If possible, he was sexier while talking about this bar and helping people than he’d ever been. “And at the risk of bringing her up, Lenora’s busiest time of performances are in the summer, so that didn’t leave a lot of time for traveling like most guys do.”
“I don’t mind you bringing her up.”
“No? Because when I say her name, you flinch.”
He had me there.
“Outside hockey, she was the largest part of my life. I can’t wipe that away.”
“I know.” I got it. I totally understood. But I didn’t relish the fact that he might still end up thinking we’d screwed up. I was the rebound after a woman he loved with his entire soul. Not a comfortable place to be wedged into.
“Can we go?”
His beer paused at his mouth and his brows pulled in. “What?”
“After dinner—can we go to Malley’s?”
“Yeah. I know some of the guys were going to stop by later. They might be ready to pass out by the time we get there, but we can go if you want.”
See the place where Joey admired a man enough to run his sports league and ensure his legacy stayed standing? What better way than to further get to know my husband. “I definitely want.”
His look heated.
The doorbell rang.
“That fucking bell,” he muttered and stepped back. “I’ll go see.”
Thirty seconds later, he shouted, “Get your sexy ass out here! You gotta check this out, Gabby!”
Sexy ass?
Damn.
He wasn’t playing around. He might have said we’d slow this down, but I was beginning to think Joey didn’t know what that meant.
Mach two versus Mach ten?
Still, I quickened my steps and met him on the front cement porch, jaw dropping to the ground.
“Holy shit.” My hands flew to my mouth as I gaped at the Mercedes in his driveway.
He grinned at me, arms flung wide out to the sides. “Looks like they dropped it off early.”
It was black. Matte. So much more perfect than when he’d shown me pictures.
Tears pricked my eyes. “I can’t… it’s…”
After a second hesitation, I rushed into the RV that only felt slightly larger than a Suburban but was so much more. The back had two couches, a small table between them. To my left was a small counter and sink, a fridge barely larger than a wine fridge beneath. To my right was the even smaller bathroom. I slid open the door, cringed at the size of the shower. How in the world Joey would be able to fit much less actually clean himself would be magic I’d let him figure out, but the necessities were there. We’d have water, a sink, and toilet. At the front of the van were two oversized chairs. They could recline enough to sleep in.
I spun in a circle, my grin stretching my cheeks so badly they shook when Joey stepped inside, ducking through the doorway.
“You like?”
“I love. Absolutely love.” I bounced on the balls of my feet. If only we could take off now.
He had his arms crossed over his chest, stretching his sky-blue T-shirt over his muscles, straining the cotton and seams I was certain, but as he scanned what would be our living quarters for the next few weeks, his grin was almost large enough to match mine.
Holy shit. I was getting my dream vacation. If I wasn’t mistaken, Joey looked equally excited as I was.
“Let me show you what I had included in the delivery.”
I clapped my hands together. “Yes. Please.”
He took his time opening the overhead cabinets as he told me he’d called a sporting goods store, told them who he was, what he needed and the RV rental had stopped there to load everything up.
Paid to make millions, I guess. But I wasn’t knocking it, not when he opened up the storage beneath the van and jam-packed in there were camping supplies.
“I think everything came we ordered,” he said. There were sleeping bags and air mattresses. A tent for four so we could share but still have space. There was firewood and a gas stove.
This was happening.
My dream vacation. I turned to Joey. “We’re doing this.”
“Hell yeah we are.”
And maybe, just maybe, I wasn’t only talking about the trip.
16
Joey
I opened the door to Malley’s, allowing Gabby to enter first. As soon as the door shut behind us, all the guys on the team threw their hands in the air, beer sloshing out of many filled glasses.
“The hat trick king is here!”
“We’re not worthy!” Kane shouted, sweeping his arm straight out as he dropped into a full bow at his waist.
“Holy crap, they’re wasted.” Gabby laughed.
“They’ve been drinking since the parade. I’m surprised there aren’t more passed out in the booths.”
As it was, while drunk, most seemed relatively in control of themselves.
Thank God. It wasn’t uncommon for professional athletes to make front-page news on the day of championship parades or in the days after. It was a time to party our asses off after long seasons, regardless of sport, but our team didn’t need any more front-page news.
Mine and Gabby’s attention was enough.
Mostly, I didn’t need Malley’s Bar in the background of any said drunken photos. It’d become our home, in a manner of speaking, over the last couple of years and more since I took over ownership.
Since I’d closed down the bar, having the manager put a sign out front saying Malley’s was closed for a private event, I didn’t have anything to worry about.
“These guys can handle their alcohol. Trust me.”
We stopped at the bar, where Gabby asked for a red wine and I got a double scotch on the rocks. I wanted to enjoy the night, especially with us hitting the road in the morning. Hangovers wouldn’t go well with the drive we had in front of us, but a couple drinks wouldn’t hurt anything.