Roman (Cold Fury Hockey #7)(72)
Most everything about her transition into this family has gone so smoothly that sometimes it’s hard for me to remember that this has been stressful for everyone. Lexi’s accepted us, we’ve accepted her, and even the public has been incredibly supportive after the announcement was made. As long as Roman toes the line, then Lexi should remain a happy woman, and that makes me happy.
My gaze flips to the right, where Gray is sitting in an armchair opposite Ryker. Violet’s curled on her lap and is resting her hand on Gray’s belly. While Gray has become exceptionally close to both of Ryker’s girls, Violet has practically become Gray’s shadow. This is not only because she’s pregnant with Violet’s soon-to-be-born sister, but because when Gray stepped into that family’s life, she took a great burden off of Violet, who had sort of become a surrogate mom to her little sister when their mom withdrew from their life. When Gray became part of Ryker’s world, she stepped into the role of wife and stepmother with such quiet command it enabled Violet to become just a little girl again. Because of that, she’s exceptionally close to Gray.
Yes, this birthday celebration is turning out quite nicely, even if things have been a little forced between Gray and Roman. They’ve certainly been polite to each other, but they’ve not directly spoken and are essentially ignoring each other.
Oh well…baby steps.
“Well, I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m ready for some birthday cake,” Georgia says as she pats my shoulder. She’s been sitting on the armrest of the couch right beside me since we retired to the formal living room after dinner. My woman—and yes, Georgia is that in every sense of the word now—cooked an amazing dinner for Lexi as well as a phenomenal-looking red velvet cake, which is the birthday girl’s favorite.
“Yay,” Ruby shouts, and jumps up and down. She’s been eyeballing the cake since everyone arrived.
“Want to help?” Georgia asks as she holds her hand out.
Ruby doesn’t need to think about that and flies across the room to take Georgia’s hand.
“You too, Violet?” Gray prompts as she rubs her fingers over Violet’s head. She merely nods and pushes away from her perch on Gray and follows Georgia and her sister into the kitchen.
Lexi also stands up, but turns in the opposite direction. “I’m going to use the restroom real quick. A full bladder while blowing out candles can become disastrous.”
I laugh at my daughter and her humor.
Roman also grins in a knowing but satisfied way, which means he adores her humor as well.
A quick look at Gray and I see the same appreciative look on her face that we have a member of the family now who will always keep us laughing.
“I’m going to get another beer,” Ryker says as he stands up, his gaze sweeping the room. “Anyone want anything?”
Everyone shakes their head, and as soon as he’s gone, Gray turns to me and says, “I’ve updated the final trade report recommendations and will have them to you tomorrow.”
I keep my smile to myself, because Gray’s mind is never far from business, and that means she’s a chip off the old block. But I gently divert her because we are not at work, but rather here to relax and celebrate Lexi’s birthday. Also, this could be a good time to get Gray and Roman to interact.
“I’m sure you’ve done a thorough job and I look forward to reviewing it,” I tell her before I turn my gaze to Roman. “And what are your big secretive plans with Lexi tomorrow? She’s really excited.”
While we’re celebrating Lexi’s birthday today, it’s actually tomorrow, and Roman has apparently told Lexi he has a big surprise for her. She jabbered about it to me earlier tonight with Roman watching with smug confidence he’d outdone himself.
Roman shifts on the couch, scoots forward, and puts his elbows on his knees. His face turns stony when he says, “Well, I’d hoped for a nice romantic evening with your daughter, complete with something I’ve been working on for a few weeks now, but looks like instead I might be having a serious conversation with her about what appears to be my impending exit from this team. I’m sure you’ll read all about it tomorrow.”
My entire body stiffens and a sweeping chill seems to permeate the room. My head snaps to the right and I see Gray has a slight smirk to her face that she desperately tries to hide before I see it.
“Gray?” I ask in confusion at Roman’s implication that he’s going to be mentioned in the trade report. While it’s solely within Gray’s realm to make trade recommendations and ultimately decisions after any counsel she wants to receive, I usually have a good idea what’s coming down the pike. We look to trade our weak players to strengthen the team, and Roman Sykora is no weak player.
With a nonchalant shrug, Gray merely says, “Just exploring options.”
Before I can respond, Roman says in a low but deadly serious voice, “Which includes calling my agent yesterday to ‘inquire’ as to whether I had any interest in making a move from the team for a good price. Clearly, you’ll find my name on the report tomorrow.”
A swift burst of anger toward Gray blooms within my chest, not that she would do such a thing, because any player is fair game as the trade deadline approaches, but because she clearly wasn’t making a serious inquiry. She knows damn well he’s not a player we would legitimately consider releasing from this team, and this is just a way to make him aware that she’s still the boss.