“Liam! They’re here! They’re here!” Jacks hyper voice yells from the bottom of the stairs. Apparently from his squeals, the team are here. Jack wanted to go back to the rink and there was no way they were going to miss out on some ice time with their new six-year-old best friend.

It takes another ten minutes to wrangle him and Ellis and get them packed into the back of Anders’s car. Ellis asked to get dropped off at Bloom and Blossom where Lyndsey is waiting so she can check that the building is still there after nearly three months away. Anders was all for popping to the shop – I wonder if a certain redhead had anything to do with that.

Speaking of Lyndsey, she is waiting against the side of her car when we pull up, and Anders and I both hop out at the same time. Me to help Ellis out and help her into Lyndsey’s car and Anders for… I’m not sure what.

“Hey, cowboy.” Lyndsey winks over her shoulder at him after she has hugged Ellis and rubbed the bump.

“Mornin’ Darlin’.” The charming mother-fucker kisses the back of her hand.

“Oy fucker, you didn’t kiss my hand. I thought you were a gentleman.” Ellis teases, her British twang sounding stronger in her faux offence, Lyndsey runs to put Ellis’s bag in the trunk of her car trying to hide a blush.

“My mama would never forgive me, ma’am.” He kisses Ellis’s hand which makes her cackle and make a kissy face at him.

“Okay, now a kiss from you.” She demands from me, and my heart grows at her initiating intimacy like this. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth I pull her to my chest and kiss her, nothing inappropriate in front of Jack, but enough to satisfy us for a few hours until I can see her again.

By the time we pull up to the rink, Jack is vibrating with excitement in the back and he gets even more excited when he sees Edge and Rook waiting by the door. Anders barely has time to cut the engine before Jack is out of the door.

“Do you have them? Do you have them?” Jack yells as he runs over to Rook jumping at his feet. As a belated birthday gift Rook promised he would buy Jack his own pair of skates.

I wanted to get them myself but Rook felt like it was his duty as Jack’s favourite player. When I tried to tell him that Felix is his favourite again, he threw a puck at my head. I settled for getting him his own stick and I’m glad because we got to have guy time when I showed him how to tape his stick properly.