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“Fuck, that’s tough,” he says. “But if it’s your dream and a pro hockey player is offering you your dream, Ivy, you should probably take it. It could open huge doors for you later.”

“Do you think, honestly, Everleigh would be saying that same thing?”

His voice is quiet when he says, “I think you’d be surprised. I think she would probably ask you to think it through, and she would want you to minimize your risks. But she would never, ever stop you from reaching for it if it’s really your dream.”

I feel like maybe he’s right.

But I also feel like if I’m really going to do this, I can’t have Cash be my only client because what if things go south for us? Then I’ve burned a bridge with my sister, so I don’t have that job, and I’ve lost my only client.

But as this phone call is reminding me, I would still have that offer from Madden in San Diego. I still have somewhere to go if the risk doesn’t pay off, which makes it feel…well, less risky.

Maybe if I approach this the right way, Everleigh might even be willing to mentor me as I attempt to start up a business of my own.

“You’ve given me a lot to think about, Liam, and I appreciate you,” I say.

“I know you just look at all of us as trying to tell you what to do. And trust me, I get it. But we’re all in this together. All we’ve got is each other at the end of the day, and we’re family.”

“Speaking of which, have you been to visit Dad?” I ask.

“No,” he says quietly. “You?”

“No. Are you going to be there for the sentencing?”

“I’m going to try, but it depends on how the season’s going and whether I need to be at practice. Are you going to be there?” he asks.

“Yeah, I’ll plan on it. But I might go visit sooner since no one has.”

“He told us not to,” Liam reminds me. “What if you get there and he turns you away?”

“I mean, it’s a possibility, but I know Dad, and he’s not gonna do that.”

“Well, I need to go for another day of hell camp. I mean, training camp,” he says, and I giggle.

“Good luck and take care of yourself,” I say. “And give that baby of yours a kiss for me.”

“I will. And you take care of yourself too, Ivy,” he says. “Especially around the hockey player with the reputation.”

“I will,” I say.

And even though I’m tempted to defend my husband, I let it go because the truth is there probably will be many more comments like that over the next year and beyond, and it’s something that I’ll have to get used to.

I pull into the parking lot of the office about eight fifteen, and I’m not surprised that Everleigh’s car is already here. The more I think about it, the more I realize there’s so much that I could learn from her as I think about my own future.

I walk in and head straight for Everleigh’s office, where I find her sitting at her desk already getting a start on her tasks for the day.

“Good morning,” I say.

She glances up at me. “Good morning,” she murmurs, and she returns her eyes back to the screen to finish what she’s typing before she addresses me.

“Do you have a minute?” I ask when she looks up again.

She nods. “Come on in.”

I do, and she leans back in her chair as I take one of the seats across from her desk.

“What’s up?”

I don’t know exactly what I’m here to ask, and I didn’t prepare anything, so the words blurt out of my mouth before the appropriate time. “Is there a noncompete in my contract?”