“Okay,” he says, walking away from us. I watch him until he walks into the office before I get up and turn back to Julia.
“I have a question,” I say, my heart hammering in my chest.
“Hopefully, I’ll have an answer for you,” she says, smiling.
“What are the chances we can get Maddox for the weekend?” I ask her, not sure if it’s even possible.
“You can’t just take him for the weekend, Dylan. He’s not a library book that you sign him in and out.” She just looks at me.
“I know that,” I huff out. “But what if you brought him here to the rink on the weekends? What if we offer weekend hours?”
“Do you offer weekend hours?” She tilts her head to the side.
“No,” I admit. “But I would come in on the weekend, and we can skate. I’ll talk to Wilson about it, and if I have to rent out the ice myself, I will.”
“I can ask his foster parents. I’m not sure if they will be okay with that. It will throw off their routine.”
“I want to adopt him,” I say the five words I’ve wanted to tell Alex all night but was scared to admit it. Julia looks at me, shocked as well. “I don’t know the first thing about being a parent.”
“Okay, one, that isn’t true,” Julia says. “You come from a family that pretty much runs itself.” I smile when I think about it. “And, Dylan, I really think you need to think about this.”
“I have,” I tell her, taking a deep breath. “It’s the only thing I have been thinking about. When I was eight, I got into my father’s hockey camp. I want to think he was made to be my father, and I feel the same way about Maddox. This whole thing, me leaving Montreal, admitting that I was in love with Alex, moving here. Coming here to help out, it was all for a bigger purpose, and that was Maddox.” I’m pretty sure I’m rambling now. “I know we are young but there is nothing that we won’t do for him.”
“Dylan, you have to be one hundred percent sure,” she says softly. “Before I start the paperwork or do anything like that, I have to be sure you are going to be in one hundred percent.” She looks over at the office and sees Maddox coming out with Alex. “Have you spoken to Alex about it?”
“Not in so many words,” I admit. “But I don’t think she is going to have an issue with it.”
“I’ll see what I can do, and we can talk about it,” she says, and I just nod at her.
The day flies by, and when he leaves with Julia again, a void is right back where it was yesterday. When I watch him walk out of the arena beside Julia and then feel Alex’s hand slip into mine, I swallow down the lump. As the hours ticked by, he got quieter and quieter. While he got changed out of his hockey gear, I sat with him, and everything inside me was yelling not to show him how sad I was. So I kept a smile on my face, and we made plans on what we were going to do on Monday. Well, I made plans, and he just listened. I am going to have to gain his trust. He probably had so many empty promises in his life he knew better than to trust anyone. “He’ll be back on Monday.” Julia lets us know that the family already made plans, and they didn’t want to change them as they wanted to gain his trust.
“Then what?” I look at her, my chest feeling like it’s being crushed. “Then we don’t see him until Monday.” Alex doesn’t say anything to me. All she does is lean into me and kisses my arm.
“You have the gala tomorrow for the foundation,” she reminds me. “First time Dylan Stone is going to be making his debut as a Dallas Oiler.” She smiles at me, and her smile makes the pressure on my chest lighten up just a touch.
“Did you get a dress?” I ask. Her eyes go big, but I don’t know why she’s surprised by this question.
“I didn’t know I was going.” She laughs. “It’s the first time on the red carpet. The press will be all over you.”
“It’ll be the best time to bite the bullet and make our grand entrance.” I put my arm around her and lean in to kiss her lips. “I’m sure you have something you can wear.”
“Of course.” She rolls her eyes at me. “Because everyone has a dress to wear to a gala hanging in their closet.”
I laugh. When we get home, she goes into her closet while I grab my iPad and start to make a plan of my own. The next day, I slip out of the house when the girls come over to glam her up. I grab Mac and her leash because I’m leaving her at my parents’ house for the night.