“Otis, back up damn it!” He runs past me to greet Brayden. “Otis! What happened to listening to me? We were doing so well! Get back in here!” I lean over and pat my leg. What if he gets distracted? He doesn’t have his leash on or anything. He could run off and be lost forever! Otis is too busy walking circles around Brayden. I stand upright, about to stomp my foot, but I’m interrupted.
Brayden’s hands are suddenly on my waist and he pushes me into the house, causing Otis to follow. “You always answer the door naked?” The words are gritted out, snapping my eyes to his face.
“What?”
One hand moves over my stomach, up to my breasts, which are on clear display now, and the other goes to my ass. “You answered the door like this.”
“It’s Otis’s fault,” I breathe. Where’d all my air disappear to? “I had a hold on it before he went rogue.”
“Why are you dressed in this?”
I open my mouth to answer, but he pulls me against him. “Because—” His hand moves between my legs. “Because I went—” His magical fingers drag a sigh out of me.
“Hmm, Deanna?”
I grab his wrist and take a step back so I can think clearly enough to answer him. “I went for a run. I was about to take a bath. What are you doing here?” Without waiting for an answer, I pull my robe closed and stalk off to my bathroom.
“I’ve been texting you; I came to check on you since you didn’t answer.”
I don’t even know where my phone is at the moment. “Well, as you can see, I’m fine!” Why am I snappy all of a sudden?
Brayden laughs as I sink into the tub. “Are you flustered, Deanna? You like to show up unannounced, but you’re not a fan when someone else does?”
I narrow my eyes at him. “I’m flustered because I answered the door with everything hanging out! What if my neighbors saw? What if it was someone else who was here to see me? And then, you groped me!”
Brayden grins as he sits down on the floor with Otis next to my tub. There’s not a lot of room, and I struggle not to smile at how funny he looks. Why is he in such a good mood anyway? Where’s my grouch?
“I did not grope you,” he says matter-of-factly.
“Then what would you call that?”
He pauses as he thinks about it. “A greeting. Our special little greeting.”
“You’re crazy.” But it makes me smile, so he wins.
“How are you doing today?”
I shrug. “Fine. My dad stopped by. He wanted my mother’s diaries back. I happily gave them to him.” I look over and rest my chin on the edge of the tub. “Should I be fine? I mean, she died a week ago and in some ways, it feels like she’s still alive and breathing down my neck.”
“Everyone’s different, darlin’,” he replies softly.
“I kinda miss her.”
“Kinda?” He grins.
“I mean, I do.”
He laughs. “Either way, it’s normal. Have you had dinner yet?” When I shake my head, he starts to stand. “I’ll cook us something then. Enjoy your bath.”
He surprises me by leaving me all alone in my bath, but I don’t mind. My heart is still warm from knowing that he drove all the way over here to check on me when I didn’t answer my phone. And now he’s cooking for me?
Steal my heart and keep it, Brayden.
Give me my heart back, Brayden! I decided to let Brayden choose where I sit at the game. He placed me in with the spouses of his teammates. The moment I walked into the box, it hit me that the last time I saw these people, they discovered I was sleeping with two teammates. I wanted to turn and walk back out, but the pregnant lady comes over and drags me to sit with her. Apparently, there are two pregnant ladies, but the one who comes to me is Sylvia.
“Karaoke girl, I’ve been dying to talk to you.”
“I haven’t,” one woman says dryly.
Sylvia waves her off. “That’s Sydney; she’s good friends with Zane. You were never introduced to the rest of the girls, were you?” Before I can answer, she points. “That’s Lizzy, Meredith, Sydney, and Theresa. Those two girls there are mine: Stephanie and Stella. That little girl is Ian and Sydney’s; her name is Savannah.”
I wave at them, though Sydney keeps cutting glares at me. This may be more uncomfortable than I was counting on.
“Tell me. What exactly happened between the three of you?”
“Excuse me, but how is that any of your business?”
Her eyes widen like no one has ever asked her that before while the other girls giggle. Sylvia glances at them. “I liked it better when the newbies are dumbfounded and eventually tell me.”
Meredith laughs at her, but to me, she says, “She’s nosy; she can’t help it. She likes to know things, that’s all.”
“I’m sure you know enough.” My eyes fall back to Sydney.
“We know Z’s side,” Sylvia replies.
“What more is there to know then?” I don’t think Zane, or Z as they call him, would lie or anything about us.
“About you and Brayden.”
Just when I think I’m saved because of the singing of the national anthem, the game starts and Sylvia brings it up again. I don’t want to share, and I can’t imagine that Brayden would want me to either. “Can you explain the game to me? And help me find Brayden?”
Sylvia frowns. “I reckon.”
She points to Brayden. It’s helpful because at this point, I didn’t even know his last name. Hard to find him when I don’t know that. I also discover that he’s the captain of the team. The game sounds easy the way Sylvia explains it, but I’ll be damned if I can actually follow the action on the ice. I do like the close-ups of Brayden on the jumbotron, though. He looks pissed off the entire time. That’s one of my favorite Braydens.
He scores a goal, but unlike one of his teammates who scored one earlier, he does not celebrate. His teammates crowd around him, pat him on the back and on the helmet, but they smile and he doesn’t. That seems to fit Brayden.
Sydney gets up and moves to the seat next to me. “What are you doing here?” she asks. “Do you really think you should be here after what you did to Zane?”
I frown. “After what I did to him? I didn’t do anything.”
Her jaw drops a little. After a moment, she moves back to her seat. I’ll take a wild guess and say that she doesn’t like me. What exactly did Zane tell them? Brayden did say he was unhappy about this whole mess, so maybe he said some things while he was pissed?
Hockey seems like a fast game, but maybe it’s because I can’t keep up. When the game is over, the scoreboard says we’ve won. Yeah, I couldn’t even keep track of how many times everyone scored. Brayden told me to wait for him, so I do. My muscles tense the moment the little girl with the green seahorse—Savannah was her name, I believe—shouts, “Z!”
“What’s up, Savannah?” I hear him say.
I thought Brayden said we wouldn’t run into Zane? He probably doesn’t want to see me! I sink into my seat, hoping to go unnoticed.
The room suddenly quietens a bit. I risk glancing over my shoulder to see that Brayden has arrived, which alerts Zane to my presence and now he’s staring at me. Brayden ignores him completely as he comes over, holds out his hand, and the second I take it, he leads us out of the room.
His hand is tight in mine. His body is stiff. Brayden did not like walking in there and waltzing me out with all those eyes on us. That makes two of us.
“Deanna!”
We stop, but I’m the only one who turns at the sound of Zane’s voice.
“Can I talk to you for a second?”
I glance up at Brayden, who looks down at me. “It’s up to you,” he says softly.
“Don’t go anywhere.” I let go of his hand and hesitantly walk over to Zane. “Hey.”
“Hey. You finally made it to a game.”
“Yeah, I guess so. Sylvia tried to explain it to me, but I couldn’t manage to follow it. What did you want to talk about?” This is so awkward. He keep
s looking at me and flicking his eyes back to where I know Brayden stands with his back to us.
He smiles. “I don’t know. I just wanted to talk to you. How are you doing?” His eyes flick back to Brayden.
“I’m good. How are you?”
He shrugs. “You were clueless that I liked you, weren’t you?”
A knot ties in my stomach. “Basically,” I answer. “I’m sorry, Zane.”
There’s that shrug again. “It’s okay. I was able to work out my frustrations on Brayden, so it’s all good. Hope things work out for you.”
“What are you talking about, you worked them out on Brayden?”
“Deanna, let’s go,” Brayden calls.
“Ah, maybe you should go,” Zane says.
I frown. What are they hiding?
“Deanna,” Brayden repeats with a more demanding tone.
I whirl around to find him facing us now. “Hold your fucking horses, Brayden.” Zane snorts, but stops when I face him. “What did you mean?”
“You’re in good hands, Deanna. I’m sure he’ll tell you.”
“I will, if she’ll get her ass over here so we can leave,” Brayden says loud enough for us to hear.
“We’re going to a bar. You guys should come,” Zane says. When my eyes widen, he laughs. “You told him to hold his fucking horses and he smiled. I’ve seen him smile like once since I’ve known him. I’ll be fine.” He gives me a quick hug before returning to the box.
“Deanna, darlin’, I won’t say it again.”
Slightly stunned, I return to his side. “I’m so confused. You don’t smile around your teammates? What did he mean about that whole frustrations thing?”
“I smile plenty,” Brayden grumbles. “Do you want to go to the bar?”
I slap his arm because he totally avoided my question. “If you want. Now, answer me.”
He sighs. “Remember that day we met Raelynn? My face was all messed up?” I gasp. “Don’t worry. Z’s face looked similar. We worked it out, and it’s no big deal. It’s long over. Leave it alone.”
***
Deanna was stunned as I pushed her into her car. The last thing she was probably expecting to hear is that Z and I exchanged a few punches. Maybe she’ll be over it by the time we reach the bar. Things have remained tense yet civil between Zane and me, but maybe the tense part is over now. I most certainly never want to walk into that box again if all those eyes will be watching me.
“I can’t believe you hit sweet, good guy Zane,” Deanna murmurs as we walk to where some of the guys are already sitting in a booth.
“He hit me first,” I defend, gritting my teeth at hearing her call him a “sweet, good guy.”
“Who is the hot chick?” Cal asks as I take a seat next to him.
“Hot chick is mine. Her name is Deanna. Deanna, this is Cal and Collin.” Deanna pinches my thigh and I glance over at her. “What?”
“Hot chick is yours, huh?” She grins.
“Don’t get cute.”
That only makes her grin widen.
“You’re the karaoke girl, right?” Cal asks. “Have you made him use the machine we gave him?”
Fucking great. Deanna glances at me before nodding and explaining to Cal that I gave her another show one night, while leaving out that it was only to cheer her up. When Meredith and Rams show up, I’m thankful, if only because Meredith talks to Deanna and asks about her. Not about us. They also start to bond over the fact that they are pet owners.
Z shows up, but Deanna doesn’t notice, even though he talks to Rams. The twins busy themselves talking to Hells about some video game. This is why I don’t come out with the guys. Most of my teammates are younger than I am. I don’t play video games anymore. Not exactly jumping into the conversation with Z and Rams because they’re across the table and I don’t know what they’re talking about. Where’s EJ or Savage when you need them?
Think of the devil and he shall appear.
EJ comes over with a beer in his hand and I scoot Deanna out of the booth for him to take my place. I take Deanna’s seat and she sits in my lap sideways.
“I didn’t think you’d come.”
“I wasn’t going to, but Raelynn said if I wanted to, I should since the kids are asleep. I don’t plan to stay too long.”
“How is she doing so far?” I ask.
“Good. I almost feel like I can finally relax knowing that Ma isn’t away from home and away from my dad, but at the same time, I don’t feel like much has changed. She’s hesitant about some things, but I don’t really have time for her to be hesitant. And then, having Jackson there is kinda crazy, but he’s a quiet kid. It’s working out, so that’s all that matters.” He turns his bottle of beer on the table and glances at me. “You know what I kinda miss? Having the house completely to myself.”
“Seems reasonable.” He went from living alone to having a baby and his mom with him and now, it’s two kids and a nanny.
“I feel guilty for missing it because I love my princess, but one of my favorite pasttimes was lying on the couch in an empty house and watching movies. I never get to do that anymore.” He groans. “I’m not complaining, I swear.”
I laugh. “Didn’t think you were.”
“Hey, EJ,” Deanna says, turning in my lap to face him. “When can we babysit that beautiful baby of yours?”
“Don’t offer babysitting services for me, darlin’,” I tell her as I pinch her side.
“Whenever you want,” EJ answers. “And he loves Bree, so he’ll do it anyway,” he adds, which earns him a glare from me.
“She offers to babysit and you say yes. I offer to babysit and you never actually let me. What the fuck?”
He laughs. “It’s not intentional. Why does someone need to babysit my daughter when I have no reason for someone else to watch her?”
“Do it for the people who want to watch her,” Deanna says as if that’s the most obvious answer.
“That won’t work either,” Meredith jumps in. “I tried that.”
“What is it with women and babies?” EJ mumbles. “She’s my kid. Leave her alone.”
“Women like to get their baby fix, even if they don’t want a baby,” Deanna answers. She shrugs. “Plus, they’re plain cute, and your Bree is freaking adorable.”
EJ sighs. “All this talk about Bree, I’m heading out.”
I’m ready to leave myself, so Deanna and I walk out to the parking lot. “How was the game?” I ask her.
“Well, I don’t think Sydney liked me too much because of the whole Zane mess. The girls seemed nice, I guess. Kinda nosy, but I like Meredith. As far as the actual game? It’s too fast for me. It made sense when Sylvia explained it, but I couldn’t seem to match it to what was happening on the ice. I tried. And why didn’t you tell me that you’re the captain? Or you know, your last name yet? I couldn’t even find you on the ice.”
I laugh. “I didn’t realize you didn’t know my last name. The captain thing isn’t that big of a deal.” Besides, I’m not so sure I’m doing a good job lately. On the ice? I don’t worry about that so much as off the ice. I don’t think I’ve ever doubted myself as much as I have this season.
“Brayden?” Deanna tugs on my hand, snapping me out of my thoughts. “Did you hear me?”
Nope. Didn’t realize we stopped walking because we’re at her car either. “What is it?” I ask.
“Are you coming to my house?” She grabs the lapels of my suit jacket to pull me closer.
I absentmindedly run my hand over my hair. “Rain check? You’ll keep me up for another few hours and I need some sleep.”
“Yeah, sure.” She stretches up onto her tiptoes to kiss me. Maybe I should rethink going home. Alone. To a cold, empty bed. The longer she kisses me, the more I think I made a mistake. I push her against her car, leaning into her. My mind quietens as my body comes alive against hers. Her breasts rub against my chest with her every breath, her hands grip my neck, and her hips push against mine. And then she groans whe
n when my hands find her ass to squeeze and pull her closer to me.
Regretfully, I end the kiss. “Go see Otis. Maybe I’ll see you tomorrow.”
She shakes her head, but it’s with a smile. “Can’t believe you’re leaving me hanging like that.”
I chuckle. “Go.”
We part ways. I arrive home to an empty house, but a mind full of Deanna. Damn woman. I should’ve gone home with her. I crawl into bed and text her.
Me: Get home safe?
Deanna: Yes. Otis thinks I was gone far too long today because he wants to cuddle.
She attached a picture of her in bed with Otis right next to her, his big head on her chest.
Me: He would probably miss you if you were gone for 30 minutes. Get some sleep, darlin’.
Deanna: Yes, sir!
I laugh, plug my phone into the charger, and get some sleep myself.
Me: I’ll be there in an hour. We’re going on a date.
My phone starts ringing. “Hello, darlin’.”
“How can you tell me we’re going on a date when you haven’t even asked me out!”
“Do I really need—”
“This is a bit major for us, don’t you think? And you’re depriving me of the simple pleasure of having you ask! What the hell? How can you just spring this on me, Brayden?”
“Are you done?” I ask.
“Yes.”
“I’ll be there in an hour. Wear workout gear.” I hang up and smile. She sounded pretty flustered. It’s about time she got a taste of her own medicine. She hasn’t been too bad about yanking me out of my comfort zone lately, so maybe I should feel guilty. It’s no wonder she liked doing it to me if it’s this much fun.
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