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It’s my turn to roll my eyes as she giggles next to me, and I start the engine. “You’re lucky I liked the presentation; otherwise, that would have cost you your congratulatory iced caramel latte.”

“Hey, I would never have risked an iced latte,” she gasps, clutching her hands to her chest dramatically.

“Well, now you know the stakes.” I shrug my shoulders as I pull out of the rink car park

“The stakes have got to be higher than that.” She shoots me another of her stunning smiles while her phone buzzes, and she answers it.

“More than you know,” I mutter, keeping my eyes on the road while she excitedly debriefs Cami and I try to remind myself that she's just my friend.

Chapter Sixteen

Brooke

The Drop.

That's the name of the second-hand clothing sale that will be held once a month during the hockey season.The idea came from Bear when he asked when it would drop, and it just seemed to fit.

The Drop has its own website, set up and ready to sell, as well as social media accounts. The entire team is following it, prepared to share, and I've already submitted my first paper on the prep work I’ve put in for the launch.

The first sale will take place the night of the team's first official game, and I have been busy visiting every thrift store in the area to gather stock; I have had barely a spare minute over the last couple of weeks. I have just been sitting at the kitchen island, working away.

Which is where I’m sitting when the knocking on the door starts.

“It’s open,” I yell, not taking my eyes off the screen, knowing it’s one of the guys and they can just walk in.

“How many times have I got to tell you girls not to do that?” Grant groans in frustration as he walks up behind me.

“But it was you?” I turn and shrug at him. “So, I don’t need to worry.”

“Brooke, it might not have been me.” He throws his hands up, exasperated, before pulling the stool up next to me. He’s in grey sweats and a Huntington U hoodie. Grey sweatpants should be forbidden for guys like Grant Anders. I’ve got work to do, and now I’m distracted.

“What if I had been a predator?”

“A predator?” I burst out laughing, surprised out of my previous train of thought, before noticing his serious face.

“I’ve been reading about women’s safety when they are alone since I know you don’t have a car at the moment. Do you know how many men follow girls home and try their door handles?”

“Um, no,” I say, a little freaked out that I hadn’t thought about that, but also taken aback that he took the time to think about me.

Fortunately, I had been getting rides with the guys and Cami, but once the season was in full swing, there would be times when I would have to walk or take the bus.

“You need to lock the door and protect yourself better.” He crosses his arms and frowns down at me like he's talking to a child, and I get irrationally annoyed because I'm tired and stressed.

“I can protect myself,” I say stubbornly, even though he is entirely correct. I’m not letting him know that.

“Sure, you can,” He snorts, standing up to walk to the fridge, and I stick my tongue out his back grabbing my keys and pulling the rape alarm on my set. Grant jumps about a foot intothe air as it blares, and I can’t help but cackle as he scrambles to try to turn it off.

“That was not funny.” He points a finger at me before he runs a hand through his hair after he puts the pin back in. “That’s not enough, you know.”

“Oh, it is,” I say confidently, crossing my legs and leaning against the kitchen island and waiting patiently.

“Really? Why?” He looks at me all smug, just as Bear and Adam burst into the apartment brandishing their hockey sticks, shouting incoherently, making Grant jump again, this time almost falling off his stool, catching himself before he falls over completely.

“The alarms, not just to scare people off, it is also a call for those two.”

“Brookie,” Adam whines, looking sadly at me, dropping his stick to his side while Bear lifts his goalie mask off his face. “You promised no more tests.”

“Tests?” Grant laughs, dropping back onto his stool next to me.