Roman (Cold Fury Hockey #7)(64)
“She’s really fantastic,” Gray says as she leans in toward me and nudges my shoulder. “I had no clue talent like that ran in our blood.”
I chuckle and put my arm around Gray’s shoulder. Leaning in, I kiss her on the side of her head. “Honey…pretty sure she got that from her mom, not me.”
Gray laughs, then shrugs and says, “Oh well, she got your nose and chin.”
“I suppose we could put some ice skates on her and throw her onto the ice to see how she does,” Ryker says.
“Well, her knowledge of ice hockey is rudimentary,” Gray points out. “Only what she’s gleaned from watching games. We’ll need to give her some schooling.”
And then all three of us laugh as we look up at Lexi and listen to her finish the song.
“Thank you all very much,” she says into the microphone when the last notes dissipate. Her voice is rich and husky, and her eyes are shining bright, as it’s clear she’s in her element.
The applause is thunderous as Lexi hops off the stool she had placed center stage, and carefully lays her instrument across the top. Patrons all come to the stage to put money in her tip jar or speak with her for a few moments. She’s clearly beloved by the regulars here, and it warms my heart to know that Lexi has found a place where she truly belongs. It’s so weird to look at my daughters, both very different in their successes. Gray is a genius, Ivy league–educated Olympic medalist, and now the first female manager of a professional hockey team. She’s married to a wonderful man and is getting ready to have a child with him. She’s living the life that most women would kill for, and she’s deliriously happy with it.
Lexi didn’t go to college, has basically worked as a waitress for her adult life and lives off the tips she gets from singing. She lives in a small apartment and drives a beat-up little car. And she’s just as deliriously happy as Gray.
As a father, that knowledge for both of them fulfills me beyond measure.
When Lexi comes off the stage and joins us at our table, Gray and Ryker move their chairs back to their original positions and Lexi takes the one opposite of me with her back to the stage.
She sits down and exhales in relief before smiling around the table at us. “No matter how many times I perform, I’m always a nervous basket case up there, and having you all here to watch me made it infinitely worse, but I wouldn’t change a thing.”
Gray laughs, and I love that it’s natural and she seems to have accepted Lexi completely. “Well, you were truly wonderful. Dad and I were wondering if that musical talent came from us, but we’re thinking not.”
Lexi laughs and waves Gray off in a self-deprecating way. “I’d kill to have gotten the genius-level IQ that got passed down to you.”
Gray’s laugh dies immediately and she looks at Lexi solemnly. “I think you’re very smart, and that’s obvious by the clear talent you have. You’re a genius too, just in a different way.”
And my heart swells with pride. Yes, Gray is fully on board with her new sister.
Which brings up an important subject. “If it’s okay with both of you girls, I’d like our team publicist to issue a statement about Lexi.”
“I think we should do it sooner rather than later,” Gray says with a nod, and this is coming from her business side. “We do it now, it coincides with the test, and there’s no speculation that we were sitting on this or afraid of the media’s take on it.”
“Should be we afraid?” Lexi asks hesitantly.
“Not at all,” I assure her. “But I do feel like we need to be truthful that we didn’t know about each other until recently. I don’t think we have to give details, but we need to be clear that this is new to us as well. It will make the media a bit more respectful, if such a thing is possible.”
“And you’ll have people wanting to talk to you,” Gray warns Lexi. “You handle that however you want, but we can have our publicist deal with all inquiries.”
“Okay,” Lexi says with a slight quaver to her voice.
“It will all be fine,” I assure her. “You’ll see.”
There’s a gentle hand to the middle of my back for just a split second, and I instantly recognize the touch as Georgia’s, but then it’s gone after a slow glide as she walks around the table to Lexi. She has a bottle of water and a pink teddy bear with white silk ribbon tied in a bow around its neck. She sits the water in front of Lexi and hands the bear to her.
“What’s this for?” Lexi asks with joyful surprise, and she looks from the pink bear to Georgia.
“Your man dropped that off while you were singing,” she says as she plops her arm around Lexi’s shoulder. “What a romantic, huh?”
I smile as I see Lexi’s eyes shine with happiness even as her cheeks turn pink. Her head raises and she scans the interior of the coffee shop.
“Oh, he’s not here,” Georgia says to her as she nods down to the stuffed animal. “He just dropped it off and asked that I give it to you. There’s a note on the bow.”
Lexi turns the bear around, looking at the bow. When she can’t see anything, she unties it and pulls it free, and I can see there’s handwriting on the underside. I watch as she reads it silently to herself, her lips moving, and when she finishes, a look that I’ve never seen on Lexi’s face breaks free. It’s a dreamy expression, full of wonder and hope. It’s a look that says, All is right in my world.