Goal Line (Madison Howlers #4)

by Camellia Tate

  The bright sound of Annie’s giggles filled the car, turning the atmosphere from one of nervous tension to one of enjoyment. Devon liked knowing he could put Annie’s mind at rest. He especially loved knowing he had the ability to make her laugh. Annie was funny. Devon had never thought that he was. At least, not until he’d met Annie.

  “I am great,” Annie agreed, tucking a stray curl behind her ear. “I guess I just worry that I’m… different than you are. Obviously, you don’t mind that. But I feel like I’m not the kind of daughter your mom would’ve raised, you know?” Annie shrugged. “I worry that means she won’t think I’m the right person for you. And I hope that it wouldn’t matter, if she did, but you’re awfully close to your mom.”

  As if sensing that she was babbling, Annie brought a hand up to rub against her lower lip. “I don’t mean that it’s bad,” she added.

  “It’s not bad,” Devon agreed easily. He knew that some people thought it was odd how close he was with his mom. But those tended to be people who weren’t close with their parents. Being so close with his mom, though, meant that Devon had no doubt she’d like Annie. He seriously doubted that she was particularly interested in whether Annie was someone she would’ve raised (if anything, it’d be a bit weird).

  Stopping at a red light, Devon turned to give Annie a smile. “Being nervous is fine,” he promised. “I’m going to be nervous if I ever meet your dad or brother.” Devon had never met the parents of someone he dated. But wanting to make a good impression was definitely something he could relate to.

  Before he turned back to the road, Devon thought he saw a flicker of a more intense fear cross Annie’s features. He frowned. He hadn’t meant to make her feel worse by introducing the topic that Devon might one day meet her family.

  “Of course, you’ll meet them,” Annie said, her nervous fingers smoothing down the front of her dress. “I just need to get them away from business in Green Bay. Or you away from the rink.” She was teasing. Devon’s shoulders eased a tension he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.

  Annie snapped down the passenger-side mirror, checking her reflection in the tiny glass surface. “Have all your girlfriends been Antonias?” she asked. “Even when you were in high school?”

  The question shouldn’t have surprised Devon. If anything, he probably should’ve been surprised that this hadn’t come up sooner. He and Annie hadn’t really shared much about their past relationships. But the question did surprise Devon. Maybe it made sense, in the context of when she was asking. Meeting Devon’s mom might make her wonder why his other girlfriends hadn’t.

  “Yeah, all my girlfriends have been Antonias,” Devon answered. “I didn’t date in high school.” He hadn’t. Precisely because there hadn’t been any soulmark matches there. And Devon had been busy with hockey. “Five. Well, you’re the sixth,” he said. “I met all of them online apart from Ann Too.” And Annie, but she obviously knew that bit.

  Devon knew that Annie had also done some online dating. They hadn’t really talked about the details of that either. “So, you knew you wanted to meet your soulmate, even as a teenager?” Annie asked.

  “I did too. But most of my friends didn’t,” she explained. “A lot of girls said they wanted their highschool boyfriend not to have the same name as their soulmate, because they didn’t want to accidentally settle down at 16.” It was an opinion that Devon had heard before. Even some people in their twenties said they didn’t want to meet their soulmate until later in life.

  But it also wasn’t an opinion Devon related to. He would’ve been pretty happy to have met his soulmate when he was 16. Probably Devon had a somewhat idealized view of what that would’ve meant. He tended to romanticize the idea of soulmates.

  “I knew I wanted to meet my soulmate since I first got my soulmark,” Devon explained. “Mom was actually pretty great at sitting me down and explaining to me how it doesn’t happen to everyone. She said it was fine if I wanted to date other people but...” Devon paused then, taking a turn and slowing down as they came to another red light.

  Glancing at Annie, Devon gave a small shrug. “Honestly, I think if my soulmark read ‘hockey’, I wouldn’t have even bothered dating.” Not that Devon didn’t like some parts of dating! But he’d never felt like he had to have any of the individual elements. Well, maybe until now.

  Annie giggled again, shaking her head slightly. She didn’t say that Devon was weird, as so many other people had when he’d explained his position on soulmates. Devon had never cared about what those people thought. It still touched him to know that Annie got it. Even if her search hadn’t been as focused as Devon’s, she’d never belittled him for his choices.

  “I like dating,” Annie teased. “And I especially like dating you.” Her fingers fidgeted with the hem of her skirt, giving Devon a brief glimpse of tanned thigh. “I even like the idea of meeting your mom,” she added, with a softer smile. “I’ve never met a boyfriend’s family before. Are we nearly there?”

  Devon reached out to take Annie’s hand, giving it a squeeze. “I like dating you, too,” he told her. “And yes, we’re close,” he promised. There were probably a few more blocks and then parking. It wasn’t going to take them long before they got there. “I’ve never introduced a girlfriend to my mom and sister. At least you don’t have to measure up to anyone.”

  Not that any of Devon’s previous girlfriends even remotely matched up to Annie. “Just be you. You’re pretty great,” he told her with a grin.

  Grinning, Annie nodded. “I can manage being me,” she agreed. “A nervous me, anyway.” Devon chuckled at that. He had no doubt that Annie would be absolutely fine.

  Once Devon had parked, he let Annie clutch his hand all the way to the restaurant. He honestly didn’t mind. It did seem to keep her calm. She was still practically vibrating with energy, giving a small squeak as Devon pointed out his mom and his sister waiting for them at one of the window tables.

  Putting on a bright smile, Annie followed Devon over, returning Serena’s shy wave while Devon greeted his mom. “Hi,” Annie greeted, as soon as Devon had introduced her. “I’ve heard so much about both of you.” She grinned at Serena. “One of the first things your brother told me was that if he could have dinner with anyone, it would be Princess Merida. I know I’m not quite as exciting as that.”

  It definitely seemed like the right thing to say if the way Serena’s eyes widened was anything to go by. She smiled widely at Devon. He did his best to make a mental note to thank Annie later. “I love Merida,” Serena nodded. “It’s why I do archery, did Devon tell you I do archery?” she asked.

  “I did,” Devon confirmed as they all sat down.

  “We’ve heard much about you, too, Annie,” Susie smiled. “Good things only,” she specified. Devon almost laughed. It was definitely true. He didn’t have bad things to say about Annie. Him and his mom had talked about the whole not-finishing-things argument but he had also told her how well the conversation afterward had gone.

  Devon really was sure that both his mom and Serena would like Annie. Serena seemed pretty convinced already. Leading with Brave was an excellent choice. “Devon tells me you’re studying Spanish? I’ve always been terrible with languages.” Susie shook her head.

  “I am,” Annie confirmed. “I’ve done a bit of traveling in South America, so I feel like that’s definitely helped. It’s still a lot of work, but I feel like it’s useful. Being able to talk to more people is a pretty great motivator.” Devon chuckled. That wouldn’t have been a good motivation for him. But he could understand how someone like Annie would see that as a worthwhile goal.

  Settling into her chair, Annie smiled as Susie. “Did you go to college?” she asked. “I know Devon didn’t, because of hockey.”

  “No, I didn’t,” Susie shook her head.

  “Mom was too busy with raising me,” Devon explained. He knew Susie didn’t feel like she’d missed out. Devon had offered to pay for her to go to college if she wanted to. He ha
d plenty of money now. For Susie, doing artistic activities had always seemed more interesting.

  She nodded, giving Annie a smile that Devon knew was meant to reassure her that it was a fine question to ask even if the answer was ‘I was too much of a single mom to have money for college’.

  “I want to go to college,” Serena interrupted. Devon grinned. Despite her age, Serena was always very determined. It was a quality he got and shared, just in a different way. “Devon says I can learn more about history there.”

  Annie turned her attention to Serena, a wide smile curving her lips. “Devon’s right,” she agreed, her hand finding his forearm and giving a small squeeze. “I’ve got some friends who’ve studied history. It’s always been a lot more names and places than I’ve been able to remember.”

  A spark seemed to shine in Annie’s eyes as she leaned forward. “But I bet you’re great at remembering the names of important people, aren’t you?” Serena gave an energetic nod, making Susie hide a chuckle behind her hand. “If you could meet just one important person from history, who would you pick?” Annie asked.

  Serena paused to think about it, as if it was very important that she pick the right answer. It was sweet, really. Devon was pretty sure Serena wanted to impress Annie. He had no idea if it was Annie specifically or that she was Devon’s girlfriend, though he suspected the former.

  “I’d like to meet Boudica,” Serena decided. “Do you know who she is?” Surprisingly, Devon knew who Boudica was. But only because Serena was obsessed with strong women in history. She was so much smarter than Devon was ever going to be. And Serena was only twelve!

  “She’s in The Aristocats, right?” Devon asked, doing a very good job of not smirking when Serena gave a scandalized squee in response to that.

  Annie joined in, giggling with a conspiratorial look at Serena. “I don’t know who Boudica is, but I know The Aristocats,” she announced. “The kittens are named after people from French history, but not Boudica.”

  Solemnly, Serena shook her head. “Boudica isn’t French,” she explained. “She was a queen, in England. She had a chariot, and she led her tribe against the Roman army.”

  To her credit, Annie looked genuinely interested. “Whoa,” she exclaimed. “That’s pretty cool. You don’t get a lot of women leading armies.”

  “No,” Serena agreed. “Well, there’s Joan of Arc,” she pointed out. “But she did it for religious reasons, while Boudica was more... I don’t know the word. Defending her land?” Serena offered with a frown.

  “Serena watches a lot of history documentaries,” Susie commented. Even to Devon, his mom sounded very proud. And she knew she was. Susie had always been great at expressing how proud she was of Devon and his achievements. Serena was not interested in hockey the way that Devon had been, but she loved history and archery. Susie did well in supporting Serena with that.

  The waiter arrived to take their order, disrupting the conversation about history. When he left, Devon reached to take a sip of his water. “Annie’s from Green Bay,” he told his mom, pretty sure that hadn’t really come up before. “I think she might support the Mammoths,” he added, biting his lip not to laugh at the ridiculously dramatic gasp Serena gave.

  Annie’s eyes widened, too. Devon had expected her to make a joke. But when she opened her mouth, nothing came out. Devon felt a little bad for putting her on the spot. He didn’t mind that she was from Green Bay. He’d thought she knew that. Maybe it was just the pressure of meeting his family that was throwing her off.

  “Well, none of us can help where we’re from,” Susie offered, giving Annie a smile. “I still remember a time you supported the Seattle Bears.”

  Annie seemed to relax, chuckling slightly. “I wanted you to win when I watched you play the Mammoths,” she admitted.

  Devon reached out under the table to give Annie’s leg a squeeze and offer her a soft smile. “I know you did,” he promised. Devon really did know that Annie had been there supporting him. He also didn’t mind if she was supporting the Mammoths. It was far from ideal, but Devon couldn’t fault being loyal to a team.

  “Did you grow up supporting hockey, Annie?” Susie asked, pausing briefly to thank the waiter as their drinks and food arrived. “I honestly hardly had any interest in it until Devon decided it was his favorite thing in the world,” she commented with a small chuckle.

  Devon shook his head at that. “And even now she asks me how my team’s doing,” he pointed out.

  “I’m expressing interest in your success. Verbally,” Susie informed him using that same deadpan tone that Devon so often did. “I watch the games sometimes.” Honestly, Devon hardly minded. He knew Susie supported him, even if she often missed parts of games because she was too distracted doing something else.

  “I watch every game,” Serena informed Annie proudly, since Devon already knew she did. It made him grin and reach out to ruffle Serena’s hair, much to her verbalized dismay.

  Annie grinned. “Yeah, I grew up supporting the Mammoths,” she admitted. “It’s hard to live in Green Bay and not. My high school social life pretty much revolved around ice hockey games.” Green Bay was less than half the size of Madison. It made sense to Devon that there might not be as much for high school students to do there.

  “My brother played football in high school and college,” Annie added, “So I’d watch his games, too.” She flashed Serena a grin, sharing the thrill of watching her older brother play. “Do you get to watch the games in person?” she asked Serena.

  “Yeah, we have a season ticket!” Serena beamed. Devon knew she loved watching hockey. When she’d been younger, he’d tried to get her interested in playing it, too. But apparently, unless a Disney princess did it, Serena wasn’t very interested in it. And Devon didn’t think he could pull off that look.

  Now that Serena had started talking, she seemed impossible to shut up. Not that Devon had any intention to. He let Serena and Annie chat, with Susie piping up every so often, too. This was nice.

  Having Annie get on with his mom and sister meant the world to Devon. He could easily tell that they liked Annie. Of course, he had known they would. Annie was pretty fucking perfect. Once they’d finished dinner and said their goodbyes to Susie and Serena, Devon pulled Annie in close telling her just that.

  “That went well,” he commented after letting her go so they could get back in the car. “Serena’s going to want me to bring you to all our dinners. I’m nowhere near as chatty as you are.” That was definitely true. Devon suspected that his sister also liked the fact that Annie was a girl.

  Annie laughed, tucking her hair behind her ear as she settled in the heated seat of Devon’s car. “Did you feel like you couldn’t get a word in edgewise?” she teased. Annie knew Devon well enough by now to know that he didn’t mind her doing most of the talking. He liked listening to her. He’d especially liked listening to her engaging Serena on all her favorite subjects.

  “Once I got there, it wasn’t nearly as scary as I thought it was going to be,” Annie confessed. “Your mom is really nice. I can see how much she cares about supporting you and Serena, even though you’re interested in such different things.”

  “Yeah,” Devon smiled. His mom was really nice. And she was definitely supportive. Devon was very sure that he wouldn’t be where he was today if it hadn’t been for all the support from Susie. Serena was luckier in some respects because of it, too. Where Susie and Devon had had to struggle financially, Serena never would. And really, Devon wanted that for her. He wanted Serena never to experience hardships.

  Glancing at Annie as he left the parking lot, Devon smiled. “And you’re obviously now going to have to learn all about Boudica,” he teased.

  Annie laughed, but she didn’t disagree. “Boudica, and any other women who’ve led their country through a war,” she agreed. “Next time, I want to be able to tell Serena someone new for her to learn about.” The thought of there being a next time, of Annie getting to know his family even bette
r, made Devon’s stomach give an excited lurch. He wanted that. He wanted Annie to be part of his life. And not just temporarily.

  “I’d like to go to a game with her,” Annie said. “Do you think your mom would let me take her?”

  “Yeah, definitely,” Devon answered easily. There was no reason for Susie not to let Annie and Serena go to a game together. And besides, it would mean Susie didn’t have to go to a game. It really did warm Devon’s heart to know that Annie wanted to spend time with his little sister.

  Turning to look at her when they pulled at a traffic light, Devon smiled. “Come back to mine?” he asked hopefully. Devon wanted to show Annie just how much he appreciated her effort to get on with his family.

  Annie nodded, almost before Devon had finished asking. “I’d like that,” she agreed. She laughed. “Maybe I need to buy a toothbrush and leave some clothes at yours. I’m spending so many nights there.” Though her tone was teasing, her eyes were bright and eager, and just a little vulnerable.

  They hadn’t talked about Annie leaving anything at Devon’s. It was a step. Not quite as big a step as moving in together, but definitely something.

  The way butterflies rushed to Devon’s stomach at the idea definitely implied that this was something he wanted. “Yeah,” he nodded. “I’d like that.” Devon truly would like that. Having Annie in his space felt good. Something that Devon honestly hadn’t expected to think about someone else.

  “I’ll stop at a drug store on the way, we’ll get you a toothbrush,” Devon decided. The clothes would have to wait but he wanted to show Annie how much he really wanted her in his space.

  After tonight, Devon was all the more sure that Annie was the one for him.

  More than that - she was pretty perfect for him.

  Chapter Fifteen

  HAVING HER TOOTHBRUSH at Devon’s was only the beginning. Annie loved how comfortable Devon made her feel in his house. He was always glad to see her. The two of them had perfected how to spend time together while each doing their own thing. It was companionable and domestic, and more grown-up than any relationship Annie had ever had.