“Max told me.”
Lila nods. “Ted stands her up a lot. It’s hard for me to let another man into her life. She looks up to you.”
I clutch her shoulder and steer her toward the hot dog stand. “Don’t worry. I won’t let her down.”
She flashes a smile that produces the same response in me. “You’re already off to a good start.”
On our way to the luxury box, a few fans notice me. I stop to sign hats, shirts, and just about anything they throw at me. A crowd gathers around, my name a whisper on their lips.
“Duke,” Max says, pulling on my jersey. “I can’t see down here.”
She’s half the size of everyone around us, so I bend down to lift her up. I throw her onto my shoulders, and she screams as she waves to the fans surrounding us.
“Mommy, look,” she yells. “I’m the tallest person here.”
Lila laughs, and then her eyes meet mine. I fucking like her. I’ve never done anything like this for another woman. And of course, she’s the one woman I can’t have.
After I sign a few more autographs, I tell the fans we have to head to our seats. The game is about to start, with the crowds in the halls thinning by the second.
“Do you want to stay up there?” I ask Max.
“You don’t have to carry her all the way to our seats,” Lila says.
“I don’t mind.”
Max wraps her arms around my neck in response and rests her chin against the back of my head. Whoever’s left in the hallways points at me as we pass. I wave, and so does Max, who’s beyond ecstatic. We don’t have time to stop for autographs again. The announcer’s voice blares over the loudspeaker.
A few minutes later, we’re seated in the front row of the empty box. The players from the Penguins are announced, and now, the house lights go down to announce my team.
Max taps me on the arm. “Did you know that the Pittsburgh Penguins used to have a real penguin as their mascot?”
I nod. “His name was Slapshot Pete.”
“I don’t like our mascot,” she groans.
“What’s wrong with a bald eagle?”
She smiles up at me. “They’re not as cute as penguins. I like penguins. Did you know that penguins can’t fly?”
“So, I’ve heard.”
“She likes trivia,” Lila says in my ear. “When I told Max your team was playing the Penguins, she spent the night on her iPad.”
“It’s cute,” I say, sounding unlike myself, because when do I say cute?
I take a sip from my water bottle to keep myself from talking.
“Penguins,” Max says, talking over the announcer, “only have one mate at a time. Do you have a mate, Duke?”
I almost choke on my water. “Umm… No, I don’t.”
“When a male penguin chooses a female penguin he likes, he searches the entire beach for the perfect pebble to give her.” Max’s eyes are on the ice as she speaks. “And they stay together forever.”
“That’s sweet, baby,” Lila says.
“Not like Mommy and Daddy,” Max adds, looking at her mom with sadness in her blue eyes.
Lila looks down at her shoes and sighs. “How about we talk about something else, Max?”