The Shots On Goal Series Box Set

by Kristen Hope Mazzola

  I rubbed the back of my neck. “No, it’s actually one of his teammates.”

  “Oh, nice. Who?” My dad flashed me a knowing glance.

  “Crosby.” One word and my heart was fluttering.

  “Are you two dating?” I knew my father hated talking to me about my love life—or usual lack thereof—so it was nice that he was making an effort. It helped calm my nerves. I didn’t know why at nearly thirty years old, I was still nervous to tell me family about anything personal.

  “It is very new, but yes we are.” I enthusiastically admitted.

  He took another sip from his beer can. “Well, you must really like this guy.”

  “What makes you say that?” I asked while starting a pot to boil water for the noodles.

  “Because you’re introducing us to him. Throwing him to the wolves when it’s new is not your style, sweetheart.”

  “Well, this one is different.”

  “I’ll make sure everyone is on their best behavior.”

  “Thanks Pop.”

  With a quick wink and pat on the shoulder, my dad made his way to his usual spot in the living room.

  “Are you ready?” I asked after greeting Will on the front porch. I didn’t want him ringing the doorbell and taking a chance on one of my brothers getting to the door before I did.

  “As ready as I’ll ever be.” Crosby kissed my cheek. “Should I be nervous?” he questioned as my hand gripped the doorknob.

  I grabbed his hand. “No, don’t be. It’s going to be fun.”

  I was sweating bullets, but I didn’t want Will to know that. I really wanted him to like my family and vice versa. I walked him into the dining room.

  “Everyone, I have someone I would like all of you to meet. This is Will.” Crosby sheepishly waved as I continued introductions. “That’s Noah and his wife Jennie. Then we have Liam and Alice, and at the far end are Jacob and Janet. Noah and Liam are twins and the oldest. I’m the baby of the family.”

  My dad made his way into the dining room with a beer for Will. “Hi, I’m Wes, Jordan’s old man.”

  Shaking my father’s hand, Crosby spoke to the group. “It’s nice to meet all of you.” His face, neck, and ears were a thousand shades of red as he took a seat next to me. “I thought there was a gang of kids, too.”

  “They’re all mesmerized by a new video game upstairs in the loft. Best decision we ever made, putting an X-Box up there. Gives us grownups a little bit of much-needed quiet time,” Alice remarked.

  “You know it is fucking crazy, while Noah was away on his last business trip, I found myself on the phone with a wrong number for at least ten minutes because I was so desperate to communicate with another human that was over the age of six after being cooped up with the kids by myself for four days straight.” Jennie chugged down more than half of her wine before continuing, “These dinners are a damn lifesaver for my sanity.”

  “Amen to that.” Alice raised her glass.

  “So, Will.” My father cleared his throat. “You’re the goalie for the Otters?”

  Crosby swallowed hard, finishing his bite of garlic bread. “Yes sir.”

  “Congratulations on making the playoffs,” Liam said while dishing more lasagna onto his plate.

  “Thank you. We are all very excited about it.”

  “I bet.” My dad was beaming from the head of the table. He loved any excuse to talk about sports. “What’s it like playing on a team with Gavin?”

  I was thankful my father was talking to Will without interrogating him about his damn intentions.

  “Great. Gavin and I have been on the Otters together since our rookie season, and I couldn’t have asked for a better captain.”

  “Man, I remember when Gavin was a scrawny little punk kid. He hit a slap shot right through that front window,” Noah reminisced. “Remember, Dad?”

  My father laughed. “How could I forget? Gideon brought that poor boy over here by the scruff of his neck, scared out of his wits. I felt terrible for that little shit.”

  “Wine, anyone?” Jennie asked before leaving the table to get another bottle of pinot grigio from the fridge. Jennie was already feeling no pain and was a total wildcard, but I knew my brothers knew better than to stray away from Dad’s lead when it came to talking to Will. Alice was too sweet and sheepish to meddle in anyone else’s affairs, and Janet was as stoic and cold as ever.

  “I’ll help you.” I shot up to follow her.

  Taking the unopened bottle, I grabbed the corkscrew from the drawer next to the sink.

  “Holy hotness, Batman!” She slapped my arm right as I was getting the cork free.

  “I know, right?” I filled our glasses. “What do you think of him so far?”

  “That I am so jealous because I didn’t play the field more when I was younger. You know your brother is the only man I have ever been with.”

  I nodded. Every time she got drunk and saw a good-looking guy, she told me that same crap over and over.

  “I mean, I am not trying to complain,” she continued, “but if I’d known men like that existed when I was in my late teens and early twenties, I might have taken a little hiatus.”

  I knew she was full of shit—Jennie was madly in love with my brother—but I let it slide.

  “Let’s get back in there before we leave Will alone with Dad for too long.”

  “Good idea.” She hooked her arm with mine and we made our way back to our seats.

  For the most part, dinner went by uneventfully. I was impressed that my brothers didn’t try to tell embarrassing stories about me.

  “Who’s ready for dessert? Coffee anyone?” Liam asked, helping me and Alice clear the plates.

  Crosby reached out to grab the dishes out of my hands. “Let me get those.”

  “Really, Will, it’s fine. Go into the living room with Dad.”

  He wasn’t going to take no for an answer. “You cooked, so you deserve to relax a little bit.”

  My father came up next to us. “You’ll learn quickly, son, Jordan doesn’t back down. You might as well let go of those dishes before she starts playing tug of war with you for them.”

  “Fair enough.” He reluctantly let go, following me into the kitchen. “But I feel like I should be helping in some way.”

  The kitchen was getting too crowded for me to handle. “How about you take the tiramisu Alice brought into the dining room and dish it out there? That’ll give me some room to work in here.”

  “Aye, sis. Will, hang with us and let them do their thing in here.” Liam and Jacob grabbed the dessert and plates and Will followed them into the dining room.

  “I should go check on the children. They’ve been quiet for too long.” Alice set the dirty plates down on the counter.

  Jennie laughed. “Good call. Good luck up there.”

  “Thanks I am going to need it.” With that Alice exited the kitchen.

  It didn’t take long for Jennie and me to do the dishes. It frustrated me to no end that Janet just stood idly by while the two of us did all the work, but it didn’t surprise me one bit. By the time I got back into the dining room, it seemed I must have left Will alone for too long. His face was drained of color and he was fidgeting with the tab on the top of his beer can.

  “How’s it going in here?” I asked, handing Crosby a cup of espresso.

  “We were just telling Crosby here about the time we had you convinced that the tooth fairy ripped your teeth out of your month instead of taking them out from under your pillow.”

  “Oh fantastic.” I rolled my eyes and took a seat next to him. “I didn’t sleep for almost a week straight. My teacher had to call my father to ask him why I kept dozing off during class.”

  “We really had you fooled.” Jacob laughed.

  “Do you have any siblings, Crosby?” Alice asked sweetly, taking a seat across the table from us.

  “I am actually an only child, and my folks died a few years back, so it’s just me now.” My heart sank. I knew that about
Will, but I had never given it too much thought until now.

  “I’m sure your team makes up for it a lot though. The way Jordan talks about all of you, it seems like you guys are really close.” Jennie smiled at me, sipping on her coffee.

  “You are definitely right with that one. I’m lucky to have a great group of men that are practically like brothers to me.”

  I stifled a yawn, glancing down at my watch. “Dang, it’s getting late. What do you say we call it a night?” I grabbed Will’s hand and he nodded.

  “Oh crap! Look at the time—we need to get the kids home and in bed.”

  We all started to say our goodbyes, slowly making our way into the living room where my father was practically asleep in his recliner.

  “Night Pop. We’re heading out.”

  He stretched before getting up. Taking Will’s hand, he pulled him in close. “It was nice to meet you.”

  “It was definitely a pleasure. Thank you for having me in your home.”

  “If you hurt her, my sons will break your legs,” my old man whispered, and I wanted to crawl under the coffee table and die from embarrassment.

  “Sir, if I hurt her, I think Gavin will hogtie me and deliver me to your front step with a giant red bow on my ass.”

  “You’re going to fit in just fine here, kid.”

  “Thank you, sir.”

  “Cut this sir crap out. My name is Wes, plain and simple.”

  I kissed my father’s scruffy cheek. “Good night Dad. Love you.”

  “Love you too, sweetheart. Let me know when you get home.”

  “I always do.”

  Climbing into the front seat of Crosby’s car, I couldn’t help but be relieved. “So, not as bad as you thought it was going to be?”

  “I actually had a great time. I was a little nervous there when your brothers had me alone, but it all turned out very nicely.”

  “Really? They didn’t threaten you at all?”

  Will laughed. “Oh no, they told me all of the ways that they would torture me if I ever hurt you. Your dad’s comment was the mildest out of them.”

  I covered my eyes, shaking my head. “I knew they weren’t just telling you embarrassing stories about me. I’m so sorry.”

  “You have nothing to be sorry for. They are your family, I expected them to give me a little shit.” He grabbed my hand and looked at me intently before backing out of the driveway. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but do you mind if I take you home instead of to my place?”

  I was taken aback by his question. I didn’t know what I was expecting him to do when I got into his car, but in that moment, I felt completely rejected. “Yeah, sure.” I fastened my seatbelt. “You know how to get there, right?” I was trying to downplay how hurt I was.

  “Jordan, here’s the thing: I really like you, really like us, and I am so scared of ruining it. I don’t want to rush any of this. I feel like that would be incredibly easy for me to do because I have an overwhelming desire to be with you every second of every day, but I want this to work so I don’t want to push it too far too fast.”

  The sincerity in his voice and words whisked away all of my self-doubt and feelings of rejection. “I think that is the nicest thing a guy has ever said to me. Even though I want nothing more than to be in your bed again, I think you’re right. We should take this slow, or at least try to.”

  “Fuck, I am so relieved you agree. I didn’t want you to think too much into it. I am just happy and don’t want to fuck that up for either of us. I’m in this, Jordan, and I will do my best to prove it to you every damn day that you’ll let me.”

  “I’m in this too.”

  Chapter 13

  Jordan

  The next morning, I was woken up by my doorbell ringing. I glanced at the clock on my nightstand: it was nine in the morning, but it felt like six. I grabbed my robe up off of the floor and trudged to see who the hell would be so rude as to come over at what felt like the ass crack of dawn.

  Groaning, I opened the door to find no one standing there, just a bouquet of a dozen long-stemmed white roses with a handwritten note from Will.

  Good morning gorgeous.

  I hope you slept well. I have a surprise for you tonight.

  Meet me at the arena after practice.

  Dress casual and bring a jacket.

  I have everything already taken care of.

  See you later.

  Yours, Crosby

  I thought it was adorable that Will had signed the card with his last name. Even though I had been calling him Will for a long while, it felt so much more natural to call him Crosby. It was most likely because all my friends did, and in conversation it was easier to call all the guys by their last names.

  I snapped a picture of the beautiful flowers and sent it to Crosby along with a text.

  Me: You’re amazing. They’re beautiful.

  Crosby: I’m glad you like them.

  Me: I like you…the flowers are a nice touch though.

  Crosby: So, you are free tonight, right?

  Me: I’m all yours, sir.

  Crosby: I love the sound of that.

  Me: Me too.

  Crosby: Practice shouldn’t get out too late. Do you want me to send a car for you?

  Me: I think I can manage.

  Crosby: Just let me know if you change your mind.

  Me: About seeing you or the car?

  Crosby: Don’t toy with me little girl. You know what happens to bratty girls, don’t you?

  Me: Yes Daddy.

  Crosby: Good girl.

  Crosby

  It was our Monday morning routine—Gavin, Brayden, and I all went to the gym together before heading to a greasy diner for lunch.

  “So, how’d it go last night? The Bates clan eat you alive?” Gavin asked, placing the weights in the squat rack.

  “Actually, I had a great time and it wasn’t until the end that her dad threatened to have his sons break my legs. All in all, I would call it a win in my book.”

  “I got off easy when meeting Myla’s family,” Gavin teased his brother-in-law as he put the straight bar up on his back.

  “Oh, shut up dude. I was ready to kill you when I found out.”

  I remembered that day in the locker room like it was just yesterday. I was sure Brayden was actually going to knock Gavin’s teeth in. “But look at the two of you now, fucking bromance of the year.”

  “Myla had it bad meeting my folks for the first time, but I don’t even get along with them so there was no surprise there.”

  “Oh to be a fly on the wall that night when Coach had to break bread with his arch nemesis’s spawn. He must have damn near had a heart attack.” I couldn’t even imagine how awful that must have been for everyone at that table.

  “I think my mom was worse than Dad was—fucking ice queen.”

  “She should become best friends with Jordan’s sister-in-law, Janet. They can scowl at each other awkwardly as they sigh all night long. You know I spent hours at that house last night and I have no idea what the woman’s voice sounds like.”

  “I told you man, she’s fucking awful.” Gavin was up.

  “Thankfully, Myla, Karla, and Jordan are all normal chicks. I don’t know how some men deal with their crazy bitchy wives,” Brayden remarked before taking a swig of water.

  “I think denial comes into play for most guys. I have a crazy ex-wife, but up until the rose-colored glasses were ripped off my face, I thought Mindie was God’s gift to the damn planet.”

  “Yeah, I guess you’re right on that front.”

  “Lunch time?” Gavin threw the weights down as Brayden and I agreed.

  “A greasy burger is calling my name.” I was practically salivating thinking about the carnivore’s dream I was about to sink my teeth into: a half-pound burger with a fried egg, bacon, and ham on top. It was nothing short of incredible.

  Me: Lunch time! How is your day going?

  Jordan: It’s going. Barely started yet. Welcome to the
weeks of me being off in between consulting gigs.

  Me: I am so jealous.

  Jordan: You get an entire off season.

  Me: Touché.

  Jordan: So where are you boys heading for lunch?

  Me: Gino’s, our usual spot for Monday.

  Jordan: Oh, of course. I should have known.

  Me: Gavin likes watching the bikini carwash across the street.

  Jordan: I’m sure it is only Gavin that enjoys the view.

  Me: I need my girl.

  Jordan: What, the eye candy isn’t enough for you?

  Me: Not in the slightest. They’re nothing compared to you.

  Jordan: You know I am only joking, right?

  Me: I am just speaking the truth, little girl. I kind of think you’re the bee’s knees.

  Jordan: Oh really?

  Me: I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t mean it.

  Jordan: I like you.

  Me: How much?

  Jordan: More than I can really admit. It’s more than what can fit in the parameters of such as small word as ‘like’.

  Me: What word would you use instead, then?

  I was nervous waiting for her text to come through. I knew we were trying to take this whole thing slow, but fuck it – I just couldn’t. I was already falling hard and fast and that one little word was on the tip of my tongue. Four letters that I was scared shitless of putting together. Jordan played it perfectly, though.

  Jordan: Admire, esteem, treasure, canonize, cherish—just a few that popped into my head.

  Me: You’re killing me, Smalls!

  Jordan: Really? It’s because I used canonize, isn’t it?

  Me: How’d you know?!

  Jordan: Lucky guess. Enjoy lunch and say hi to the guys for me. I don’t want to distract you too much.

  Me: You’re always a welcome distraction.

  Practice seemed to drone on more than usual. Part of it was because it was leg day so my morning workout had worn me out, but it was mostly because I couldn’t wait for Jordan to get there. I was so proud of myself for coming up with our date, and I was pumped to see the look on her face.