Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 93417 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 467(@200wpm)___ 374(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93417 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 467(@200wpm)___ 374(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
“Of course I did,” I say, admitting nothing about my allegiances. I love my job and I love my guys.
“Glad to hear,” the outgoing guy says, then checks his watch. “I better get some sleep. I have my charcuterie board class first thing tomorrow.”
“You take a charcuterie board class?” Trina asks.
“Mine are top tier,” he says with obvious pride, but then his voice trails off at the end as his attention snags on a man and a woman at the end of the corridor.
The guy is Christian, the Sea Dogs team captain. But I don’t know who the woman is. Wesley can’t seem to take his eyes off her though. She’s a pretty brunette with cat-eye glasses and lush hair twisted up in a bun. “Who’s the team captain talking to?” he asks, a little mesmerized. He watches her with avid eyes, enrapt from all the way at the end of the hall.
“No idea,” I say.
Wesley walks toward them, away from us.
Trina leans in and whispers to me. “That’s Josie. Christian’s sister.”
I arch a brow her way. “The new guy and the captain’s sister. That should be interesting.”
“Especially since he’s made it pretty clear she’s off-limits.”
And Christian ushers his sister away before Wesley can even meet her.
“Maybe next time he’ll have better luck,” I laugh.
But whether that’s meeting her or resisting her is anyone’s guess.
Later, when I head home with my guys, I put Wesley’s burgeoning crush, the game, and the app behind us. “I have a surprise for you,” I say when we’re in the elevator in my building.
“What is it?” Hollis asks, eyes sparking.
“If I tell you it won’t be a surprise,” I chide.
“Tell us anyway,” Rhys says.
Gavin chuckles. “Have some patience, guys.”
“Not all of us can be you,” Hollis points out.
Once we leash up Donut and take her for a walk, we return to my home—which is nearly theirs—and I tell the dog to go to the couch. Like a good girl, she obeys.
Then, I bring the guys to the bedroom. I tell them to sit on the edge of the bed. I do a little striptease down to my panties.
“Holy fuck,” they mutter in unison.
“I’m your superfan,” I say, gesturing to the custom-made pair with a fox on them. Just like I promised. “Now, who wants to take them off first?”
Three arms shoot into the air. “I guess you’ll just have to share me.”
And they do. They share me so well.
When the season ends with stellar stats for all my men, we hop in Hollis’s car and head to Lucky Falls. We rented a certain cottage for the weekend. But first we stop at a café in Petaluma for lunch with my dad.
And his special someone.
Clara.
He’s been seeing her for a few months now. We head up the steps of the café, then go inside. The guys straighten their shoulders, smooth out their shirts, neaten their hair. They’ve had a few meals with my dad. They’re scared of him but in a good way. He’s a stern, gruff dad after all, who looks out for his daughter.
He was shocked at first when I told him about my boyfriends, but he loves me, and he’s come to accept my unconventional romance.
Once we reach the table, Clara beams, smiling at all of us. “Knew it. Called it. I love being right.”
My dad rolls his eyes, then pats her hand. I give him a bag of his favorite gummi bears. “Thanks, kiddo,” he says as he stands, then brings me in for a hug.
When he lets go, he nods hello to the guys. “Good to see you, Hollis, Rhys, Gavin.”
He sits and nods toward Rhys first. “Hear you’re sticking around.”
My British boyfriend breathes a big sigh of relief. “I am. Signed the contract yesterday.”
I grab his arm and squeeze it, still giddy that he’s staying put. Amira pulled it off but Rhys did the real work in therapy, learning to manage his expectations and his anxiety. I’m most proud of him for that. “I’m so happy you’re staying.”
Rhys dusts a quick kiss to my forehead. “Me too.”
My dad clears his throat. “If it makes my daughter happy, it makes me happy.”
We have lunch, and it doesn’t really matter that my dad is my only parent. He loves me as I am. He takes me as I am. He respects my choices. And he makes the effort with my boyfriends.
“Are the twins ready for the college app season coming up?” he asks Hollis.
“They’re a little obsessed with it,” he says.
“Not a bad thing to be obsessed with,” Dad says, then turns to Gavin, “And I hear you took up video editing?”
“Yes, sir,” he says. “So I can help Briar.”
“Good. That’s good.”
“And we just invested in a new apartment complex in Darling Springs, not too far away,” Rhys says, always somehow knowing what my dad wants to hear. “There’s a secure future in real estate for us when we’re too old to chase a puck around the ice anymore.”