My Lucky #13

by Piper Rayne

  “Stop it. In vitro. I’m the lucky gal who went in for one and got two more free!” Kendra picks up one of them. “Good thing there’s a no return policy.” She kisses his stomach.

  I slide next to Aiden. “How do you tell them apart?”

  “Boys, come here,” Aiden yells, and they all do as he says. He points at the first boy. “Hayden?”

  “Uncle Aiden.” The boy rolls his eyes.

  Aiden laughs. Maybe one day I’ll get this joke.

  “No, it’s Hudson, right?” Aiden says.

  “Noooo,” the boy says.

  “Well shit, I guess you’re Hunter then.”

  “Uncle Aiden swore!” the other one yells.

  “Tattletale.” Aiden scowls.

  “Right?” The other boy nods like, ‘Can you believe it? He’s the enemy.’

  “Anyway, let’s show Saige how we tell you apart,” Aiden says.

  “I’m Hayden.” The boy models as though he wants me to look at his face, his hair, what’s different about him than his brothers.

  I see nothing.

  “I’m Hunter.” The next kid does the same moves as his brother.

  For the life of me, I don’t see it.

  “And I’m Hudson.” The third kid doesn’t move and stares at me, looking bored.

  I get down on my knees and I don’t see one difference. All their eye colors are the same. Same haircut. Same everything.

  “Okay, give her some help,” Aiden says from behind me.

  “I’m Hayden and I wear red.”

  “I’m Hunter and I wear blue.”

  “I’m Hudson and I wear green.”

  “Seriously?” I ask Aiden, and he nods.

  “Kendra used to put their initials on the bottom of their feet with Sharpies when they were little.” He shrugs. “But who knows? Maybe Hudson was really Hayden and Hunter was Hudson at one point.”

  “Stop it!” Hudson says.

  Aiden tickles him. “I’m joking. Most of us don’t need the colors anymore. We can tell by your personalities who is who.” He leans in. “One day though, they’re gonna screw with us.”

  Aiden walks into the kitchen and I follow. Working in the kitchen is a guy who’s definitely the father of the three boys and girl with dark hair and dark eyes.

  “Hey, Joe.” Aiden shakes his hand. “Joe is our chef for these brunches, and his sous chef is Emma.”

  Aiden holds out his arms and Emma walks into them. His eyes shut when he hugs her. For a moment, I catch Kendra and Joe sharing a look.

  “How’s it going?” Aiden asks.

  “Good. I made the team,” she whispers.

  Aiden pulls back and looks at Kendra, who says, “She wanted to tell you herself!”

  “Let’s go on the ice,” Aiden exclaims. “Show me your moves.” Emma glances at me and Aiden notices. “Emma, this is Saige, my girlfriend.”

  “Nice to meet you, Emma.” I smile and nod.

  “You too.”

  He ruffles her hair and she quickly fixes it. “After brunch. You and me on the lake.”

  “She’s gonna school you. Her slap shot is deathly.” Joe points at his face. It’s then I notice a healing black eye.

  Aiden cracks up. “What is a chef doing on the ice with the next Hayley Wickenheiser?”

  Emma rolls her eyes. Although I don’t know the player they’re talking about, she must be one of the best.

  “Who let these monsters in my house?” Phil shouts from the family room.

  Three boys yell, “Grandpa!” in unison.

  “I’m sure he didn’t tell you what you signed up for, did he?” Kendra whispers in my ear. “Come have some coffee in the sunroom where it’s quiet.”

  I join his sister and find a coffee machine in there.

  “I love brunch days. They’re the one day I get catered to.” She takes a seat and rests her feet on the stool.

  “It must be hard with three little ones.”

  “Emma helps a lot, but as they get older, it gets a little easier. I imagine each phase will bring something different.” She sips her coffee. “So tell me about you. My brother doesn’t ever tell us much about his personal life, but I heard a bit from Frankie. She said that you’re sweet, but you guys aren’t actually a couple?”

  My face heats. Kendra must be wondering why I’m sleeping with him in his room if we’re not together. Time to clear this up. “We weren’t when we were in New York, but we are now. It’s newish.”

  “And the whole drink in his face thing?”

  I laugh at how absurd it sounds coming from her mouth. “Yeah, he seems to think it makes a difference in how he plays.” I shrug.

  “So you get to throw white wine in his face before every game?”

  I nod.

  “Man, I’m jealous.” She laughs, and I sip my coffee. “I’d love to be able to have an excuse to do that to my husband.”

  We both laugh.

  “What?” Aiden peeks his head into the sunroom. “Is she telling stories about me?” He slides in next to me on the wicker love seat.

  “Not at all,” I say.

  “Since when are you a superstitious person? He’s told you the story of him picking number thirteen, right?” Kendra asks.

  “Stop giving all my secrets away,” Aiden says good-naturedly.

  “He was ten at the time, and until then he’d been number nine, I think.”

  Aiden nods.

  “Then our parents take us to Milwaukee for a night at a hotel where we could swim in a pool and have fun. And he discovers there’s no floor thirteen on the elevator buttons. This baffles him, so he keeps asking questions about it the entire trip. We get back, hockey season starts, and he says he’d like number thirteen because he doesn’t believe in bad luck.”

  I look at Aiden and the tips of his ears are pink. He says, “True story. Thirteen ever since.”

  “That’s a great story! And you’ve had a great career.”

  “Until he had to have a woman throw wine in his face before every game.”

  Aiden picks up a magazine and tosses it at Kendra as she laughs.

  After brunch, Aiden and Emma go out and skate on the small lake behind the house while the three boys play in the snow with Joe and Phil. Kendra, Barb, and I sit in the sunroom and watch.

  “Brunch was great,” I say.

  “Thanks. Too bad you guys don’t live closer,” Kendra says. “I could use some babysitters.”

  Barb and Kendra laugh.

  “It must be hard not having Aiden around that much,” I say.

  Barb nods. “The first few years were bad, but you get used to it. We raised them to leave the nest. No one wants their adult child living with them.”

  I understand her point, but still, the love this family has makes me hope I could have it someday. My family isn’t terribly close, especially since my parents divorced after I graduated high school.

  Emma circles around Aiden. I can tell he’s not giving his all, which I find endearing. She scores and raises her hands in victory, doing the same celebration move that Aiden does.

  “Oh!” I point.

  Kendra laughs. “Yeah, he’s kind of her idol.”

  We keep watching until Aiden eventually calls it quits. He takes off his skates and walks up to the door.

  “Maybe she should take your spot on the lineup tomorrow?” Kendra says.

  “My skates are old, okay?” Aiden sneers. “Fuck though, Kendra, she’s good.” He comes in and sits next to me, pressing his cold ear to my cheek.

  “I know. Pretty soon she’ll be leaving us too.”

  A look of sorrow hits Aiden. He hasn’t told me much about his family. “With her moves, she’s definitely gonna have opportunities.”

  Kendra sips her coffee. “I know.”

  Silence falls over the room, and Aiden grabs my hand. “Come on, I want to take you on a walk.”

  “A walk?” Kendra says. “There’s the way to a woman’s heart. Take her on a walk in negative-ten-de
gree weather. No wonder you’ve been single for so long.”

  I laugh while Aiden scowls at his sister.

  “Don’t go too far. We have to leave for the bar soon,” Barb says.

  “I won’t, Mom.”

  After I’m as bundled up as I can be, Aiden and I walk along a path behind their house.

  “Do you like it here?” he asks.

  “Besides the weather, I do. Your family is great.”

  “I know.” He squeezes my hand.

  “They miss you,” I say.

  “I know.”

  “Have you ever talked about trying to get traded to Chicago or Minnesota so you could be closer?”

  He shrugs. “During the draft, there was some talk about Chicago having an interest in me. My family really hoped it would come together, but it never did. I was pretty homesick my first year, but it’s all worked out. Not many of us Drakes have left the town limits. Frankie and I are the only ones. She went off on her own to make a life and I did my thing. I grew up with the goal of making it to the NHL and I’ve done that. And it’s been amazing. But the hardest part was what happened with Emma.”

  I look at him. “You don’t have to tell me.”

  “I want to. What Frankie said was right. We thought it would be okay, but should’ve known better. There’re a lot of assholes lurking online. Maybe we were naïve. Emma started to get bullied online by people she didn’t even know. They’d say nasty things about me, about her. One guy in particular got really vulgar with her and was incessant about it. We didn’t know about him until after she tried to end her life.”

  “What did she do?” I slide my arm through his.

  “She took some of Kendra’s painkillers she had from when she hurt her back. Luckily Joe was home. He heard her fall. Found the open bottle on her bedside table. I’m not sure what she thought would happen, but they said she didn’t take enough to do any permanent damage, thank god. She had a lot of psychiatric help afterward and she seems great now. But yeah, that’s why I hate social media. But we should’ve all been monitoring it better. The fault lies with us.”

  “How were you afterward?”

  He makes a sound. “I hated myself. Blamed myself. But I tracked that guy down, and Maksim and I went to his house and we had words. I ended up beating the shit out of him for doing that to a kid.”

  “What?” My mouth drops open.

  “My family doesn’t know,” he says, sounding a little ashamed.

  “Aiden, I did a search on you. There’s nothing out there.”

  “I settled with the guy out of court. Paid him to keep it quiet.”

  I stop for a moment, surprised but not. One thing I know for certain about Aiden is that he protects the ones he loves, no matter the cost.

  “After that, I was off social media. Nothing good comes from it. Like now, you won’t even let me brag to the world about my girlfriend.”

  I take out my phone and pull off my glove, then log into his account. I pose us in a selfie and we both smile when I snap the picture.

  Then I hand him the phone. “Have at it. Say whatever you want.”

  He smiles and takes off his gloves, then takes my phone, types, and hands it back to me. “Don’t read it until I’m on the plane, okay?”

  “Why?”

  “Just don’t.”

  I smile at him. “Okay.”

  I close the screen and put the phone in my pocket, then I put my glove back on.

  We walk the rest of the trail in silence, enjoying the stillness. I should’ve known Aiden came from good people. He’s so kindhearted himself.

  “Oh, you’re not leaving until I see that drink thrown in your face.” Kendra comes out from their parents’ bar area holding a bottle of white wine.

  Aiden rolls his eyes and I laugh.

  “He can’t go through the airport smelling like alcohol,” Barb says, but she’s also grabbing a glass.

  “I guess we’ll have to be careful.” Phil grabs a towel and wraps it around Aiden’s neck.

  Barb fills the glass and sets it in front of me.

  “Saige! Saige! Saige!” The triplets pound on the kitchen counter, chanting my name.

  Emma stands behind them, smiling. Joe’s at work already, and the rest of the family came by to see us off this morning.

  I throw the wine all over Aiden. As always, he snakes out his tongue and licks the drops off his lips. Sexiest move ever.

  “Yay!” the triplets scream.

  Aiden takes the towel from around his neck and wipes his face. “You didn’t say ready.”

  “You told me not to last time.”

  “I like it better when you do it at my house.”

  I must blush because Kendra says, “Ew, there are children present.”

  Aiden laughs and picks up his three nephews in two arms. “Be good for your mom.”

  “Nah,” they say.

  “I figured. Just don’t get arrested.”

  “Nice.” Kendra shakes her head.

  He sets them down, giving them each a high five. Then he turns to his parents and hugs each of them, saying goodbye. I swear Barb has tears in her eyes. Kendra pretends she’s okay with Aiden leaving, but her deep breath while they’re hugging says it’s hard for them to watch him go. I can imagine.

  “Walk me out,” he says to Emma.

  The two of them walk out to the garage while I say my goodbyes. The triplets grab glasses and throw water in each other’s faces while Kendra scrambles to stop them. Phil goes in as backup.

  “Nice meeting you, Saige. Have a safe trip back. You’re welcome anytime.” Barb picks up my computer bag while I wheel my suitcase. “Take care of him, okay? Maybe show him a life that’s not all hockey.” Her eyebrows raise as though it will be hard but maybe I can do it.

  I smile. “I’ll try.”

  She runs her hand down my back, following me into the garage. Aiden’s out there with Emma. The two of them have sticks, him showing her a play.

  “Perfect. Damn, you’re legit going to beat me soon.” He hugs her and whispers something in her ear.

  Emma nods a few times, and when they part, she quickly wipes her eyes. The bond they have as uncle and niece is obviously a strong one.

  “Okay, Drakes, see you after the season!” He opens up my car door, and I slide in.

  As we pull out of the driveway, we wave until they’re out of sight.

  “I think I love your family,” I say.

  “I think they love you.” He takes my hand. “I can’t believe you aren’t coming to California with me.”

  “It’s only one night. You’ll be back in Florida tomorrow and I’ll already be there by the time you arrive. Plus, I’ll be watching you.”

  He nods. “Yeah, and we did the drink thing.”

  “Yep.” I squeeze his hand. “So we’re good.”

  “Yeah.” He doesn’t sound convinced.

  We’re driving along when suddenly both our phones go off with notifications.

  “What the heck?”

  He laughs. “My parents live in the sticks. Service is up and down all the time. Must’ve been down for a while.” I pull my phone out of my purse, but he grabs it. “Not until I’m on the plane.”

  “But—”

  “But nothing. I’ll give it to you when you drop me off at the airport.”

  “So bossy,” I say, kind of loving it.

  “I expect some sexy pics tonight, okay?”

  I chuckle. “I do too.”

  “You want a dick pic?”

  “Sure.”

  “Okay, careful what you ask for. I might send you Maksim’s.”

  “You want me looking at another man’s dick?”

  He seems to think a moment. “You’re right. What the hell was I thinking?”

  Some time later, we pull up to the Milwaukee airport and he parks at departures. I’ll keep the rental car until I come back later today to catch my own flight to Florida. He takes his bag from the back.

  “Have a g
reat flight and a great game. I’ll be watching.” I squeeze him tightly in a hug and he kisses the top of my head.

  “I’m going to miss you like crazy,” he says.

  “Me too.”

  The traffic person blows her whistle at us, so we say one quicker goodbye and he hands me my phone. I smile when he puts it in my hand.

  “Don’t go running off?” he says.

  I get up on my tiptoes. “Never.”

  We kiss one more time, then he walks through the sliding doors.

  The crazy whistle lady blows extra hard and long at me.

  “I’m going!” I yell and climb into the rental.

  Although I’d love to check my phone, there’s no way that lady will let me, so I pull away from the curb, figuring I’ll check it when I get to the restaurant where I’m meeting my client.

  I park in the lot of the restaurant, happy to be fifteen minutes early. Pulling out my phone, I go to Aiden’s Instagram first. As soon as I open the app, I see a bunch of likes and comments, but I go to his profile to find the post before I look at all that.

  There we are on his parents’ land with snow behind us and our smiling faces pressed to one another’s. The caption reads, “Introducing my future wife to the family. No we’re not engaged yet, but you know when you know. ;)”

  My heart feels as if it’s growing and might burst at any moment. Does he really see me as marriage material? We’ve hardly been dating that long. But even with all that being true, I can’t deny I feel the same way.

  Ignoring all the comments, I pull up my texts and send him the Kristen Bell GIF with aww and her hands clasped over her heart. He responds with a heart. The man is impossible to read sometimes.

  Going back into Instagram, I check a few clients’ accounts since I didn’t have a great signal at his parents’ house. Maksim posted a picture of two hot girls in thongs he saw on the beach. I delete that with the hopes that no one saw it. I swear, I’m this close to locking him out of his own account.

  I steel myself as I press on the comments on the picture of Aiden and me. I know there will be some bad ones and I hope I can handle it.

  Who is she?

  Future wife? WTF

  I didn’t know he likes the chubby ones.

  What’s with her lips? She has no upper lip.

  He’s so dating down.