Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 80562 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 322(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80562 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 322(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
I grin. Pretty soon, there won’t be any single ones left to flirt when this kind of shit happens. Carter is happy enough to stand with a mug in his hand, take a deep sip, and march over to the girls.
I’d never tell him as much, but they look slightly disappointed when only he comes over.
“A favor?” Maddox asks. “By lying to your friends?”
“I was taking a metaphorical bullet for you all,” I correct. “If I’d told you the lie, you would’ve all had to start lying, too. I didn’t want to get any of you guys in trouble with the team.”
“Except me,” Jesse corrects. “He was okay getting me in trouble with the team.”
“Yeah, well,” I say, grinning.
He shrugs, tipping back his drink with a smile.
“How long have we known you?” Liam asks.
“A long time,” I say. “Since before the league.”
“And you think we wouldn’t want to have your back on this?”
“I fucked up. I’m sorry.” My thoughts go back to the locker room last week. “Is this what had you so pissed last week?”
“Oh,” Liam says, rubbing the back of his neck. “No. I’m just making sure somebody at least briefly holds your balls to the fire over this. You shouldn’t get off with laughs and back slaps. It was an asshole move.”
“Fair enough. Consider my balls properly roasting right now.”
“Good.”
“So what had you so pissed?” I ask.
He shifts in his chair. “I wasn’t exactly being honest when I said it was about a girl back at the cabin. It’s that the team isn’t planning to re-sign me after this season. I’ve got some interest from Houston and Florida… But unless something changes, I might not be a Vandal after this season.”
“I thought you were retiring? You made the official announcement and everything,” Maddox says.
“Yeah, man,” Nolan says. “I was already planning to subscribe you to a few newspapers so you could be a lazy retired asshole with me.”
“You run a fine dining restaurant,” Jesse chuckles. “You retired from hockey, not work.”
“Let a man have his jokes,” Nolan complains.
“I was,” Liam says. “But it feels like the whole team is drifting apart all at once. I thought about Jake on his own and wanted to stick it out for him. At least a little while longer.”
Liam’s not meeting my eyes, but the sentiment of what he’s saying makes my throat feel thick. Fuck.
“Oh,” Nolan says, eyes on his beer. “Yeah.”
“Jake is unstoppable, man,” Jesse says. He gives me a punch, smiling as if he still has no idea how tough our group's retirements and changing dynamic really are on me. “You think he gives a shit if we retire? Jake would go out there one against six if he had to. He wouldn’t even complain.”
I try to smile easily like none of this is a big deal, but I still feel a thick ball of something in my chest.
“Sorry, man,” Liam says softly. “I wanted to stick it out for you. But if I’m not a Vandal, I really will retire.”
I nod my head. “Hey, no worries. It’s fine.”
Maddox has been staring hard at me. He finally gets up and comes over, wrapping me in a big bear hug. “Come on, boys. Hug our captain. He needs it.”
I try to protest, but before I know it, all the guys hug me in a tight, muscley ball. Once I’m too engulfed for anyone to see it, I let myself smile.
28
JAKE
Even though we were cheated out of a win in the couple's tournament, Nolan and Mia decided to let us have the romantic couple’s dinner anyway. Jesse and Andi are currently babysitting Walker, who is probably fast asleep at this late hour. Grams and Edgar are due back tomorrow, too. I’m glad I’ll be packing up and leaving in the morning to get back to the team for our game tomorrow night. Having a week off is always nice, but it does make me itch to get back on the ice when it’s through.
Caroline clears her throat from the other side of the table. “You’re thinking about hockey, aren’t you?” She looks mesmerizing with her curly hair pulled back in a thick ponytail, clear-rimmed glasses framing her wide eyes, and a smile tugging at her full lips. She’s wearing a black dress that’s sexy as hell and has me thinking about what I’m going to do to her when we get back to her room tonight.
“Among other things,” I say, eyes drifting down her body to make her fully aware of those other things.
“Like what?” she asks.
Mia appears by the table with a wicker basket lined with a white cloth. It’s overflowing with various fresh-baked breads glistening with butter and various dustings of herbs, cheese, and toppings. She has one arm tucked behind her back, playing up her role as our server. “Bread for our honored guests.” She produces a long rectangular plate with six different-looking squares of butter on it and sets it on the table. “Butter for our honored guests.”