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COLE

T wo weeks later…and three days before the Montreal Triumph Scares and Boo event

UNKNOWN: Ghost. Hockey. Daddies.

COLE: Who the fuck is this?

UNKNOWN: Sunders, I’m wounded. And considering you and Hunter are the first to be initiated into the #ghosthockeydaddies before the big reveal, I’d expected a touch more enthusiasm.

HUNTER: It’s six fucking AM, LeCav.

Mystery solved. Hunter sent me a text the day he heard we’d be back playing together for the first time since our AHL days. I had a habit of never deleting a contact. My thumbs worked, adding the goalie, as I slowed my pace on my morning run. Five mile warm up before a workout at the training center later.

NOAH: Beauty sleep is important, Cowboy.

HUNTER: Goalies are so fucking weird.

NOAH: Bestie is running the sign up, J. I know everyone’s trick or treat!

*NOAH changed the name of the chat to #GHOSTTHOCKEYDADDIES

COLE: Bestie?

It was a rhetorical question, but LeCavalier didn’t need to know that. I knew it all. And Zoe was in the best friend circle with Eden.

Last season, I had a year ending injury right before the playoffs, but I still attended every damn game. Every fucking time I watched Oliver Sutton on my line , playing my position, it lit a fire under my ass to get back on the ice. But, my body needed fucking time to heal, so I tortured myself and traveled with the team and went to every damn game. Seattle might not have won the Cup in their first season as an expansion team, but no one had us getting that far.

Tunnel vision took over my life, determined to get back on the ice with Kas’ line.

And then, in one second, one play in the playoffs while I watched from the owner’s suite, my whole world changed. Oliver scored off an assist from Kas, and the arena exploded. The text from my father, who’d I’d been estranged from for more than eight years, threw me off kilter. But when I looked up and saw her, my being shifted. Bright pink and purple hair, eyes that drew me in, and a smile that fucked every thing I thought I knew up until then up.

From that one look, one second, I became obsessed. I searched every damn second of footage from the game, scrolled through hundreds of social media posts, hoping to catch a glimpse of pink and purple hair and green eyes. But every damn picture didn’t show her face enough to figure out who she was.

I wouldn’t call it obsession…yet. But, within a few weeks, I found out she was LeCavalier’s best friend’s best friend, and lived in Montreal. I called my agent, and within a few days, a trade had me heading north for the first time in my career. Second change in two years, but, fuck, this was the one I knew would be the last. More money, but the only perk I wanted was Eden. Can’t exactly put a person as a clause in your contract, though.

And I planned on changing Eden’s last name to Sunders. She didn’t realize it yet, but she was mine just as sure as I was hers.

Kas might still be a little pissed at me, but he’d get over it. Eventually. Our first game on opposite sides of the ice would be interesting. We’d played on the same teams for most of our careers.

NOAH: Jax, go get your damn jump rope and do that thing that makes all the girls swoon. If you need someone to film you, I’m available after my spa day with the girls.

HUNTER: WTAF?

NOAH: Ok, it’s just a mani/pedi. But I like to pretend.

HUNTER: Zoe has to have some serious shit on you, LeCav.

COLE: How the hell did I get involved in this insanity?

NOAH: You’ll grow to love it. And until you’ve had someone rub your feet or calves not because you’re in pain but because you want to be pretty, you’ll never understand.

HUNTER: …

Sweat dripped down my face, so I used the hem of my shirt to wipe them away.

NOAH: Oh, Jaxie. Once you have a day out at mani and pedis with the girls, you’ll see.

Here’s my chance.

COLE: The girls?

NOAH: Z and Eden. Pink hair. Purple. The other not my woman in my life. Other than my sister. But she loves pedis more than manis.

COLE: Eden?

NOAH: Soph. Eden loves it, though the girl can’t sit still the entire time. We alternate toes and tips.

HUNTER: HOW DID THIS BECOME MY MORNING?

My thoughts exactly. But, at least I was learning more about my future wife. And this whole Noah helping my girl get through getting her nails done outings were on their last leg. Or toes. Whatever. The more I could get of Noah, the better.

COLE: Don’t knock it until you try it.

Did I ever have a fucking mani whatever? Nope. But soon enough, that will all change.

I was about to get Noah to spill more when my phone pinged.

MR. SUNDERS: Cole. Please. Just talk to me. We are so happy you’re in town.

Leave. On. Read.

The first time my father contacted me in over eight years, I had been watching Oliver Sutton score that goal at the Revs/Boston game. And only seconds later had been when I spotted Eden.

Guess who took priority?

Not the man who told me I’d never make it in the NHL. Among other things. Which was why we hadn’t talked, much less texted this entire time. Fuck, I didn’t even really know what my baby sister looked like beyond a few random photos even though I still sent a card to her for birthdays and holidays.

Unlike him, I didn’t try to poison people and when she said she wanted to live with him. But it also meant not seeing Izzy since.

NOAH: You’re the OG’s. The other #ghosthockeydaddies might resist. I’ll charm them. Don’t worry. You guys are desperate to fit in. Just doing my duty. Check your emails. Laney sent everyone’s HH info.

HUNTER: You’ve been bugging me all fucking summer. Poor Sunders doesn’t know what he’s getting into. And what the hell is HH?

NOAH: Ignore his attitude. He needs coffee. And alone time. #ghosthockeydaddies info *pumpkin emoji*

HUNTER: DUDE. Spilling secrets. Once. One fucking time I was in the damn shower when you texted twenty times. Shouldn’t you be bugging Sutton?

NOAH: Time zone. He’s in Carolina until tomorrow. And #hockeygoddess made me promise to let them have until tonight.

What the hell was LeCavalier on?

COLE: Lunch after practice LeCav?

HUNTER: What? I don’t get love?

NOAH: Cole called dibs, dude.

COLE: Before anyone gets jealous, I’ll catch you at practice.

The door barely made a sound as I opened it. Quiet permeated the space. A few boxes scattered here and there took up little to no space in the house. Candyce, my agent’s assistant, helped me find my new place before the ink dried on my contract. About a thousand square feet more than my old place in Seattle, the master being most of the square footage.

My girl deserved to have a walk-in closet that would make Ariana Grande jealous.

Yeah, I listened to the song. Noah put it on the locker room playlist he obsessively made us listen to before skills practice.

I tossed my phone on the counter and ran a hand through my hair. The boxes were in every room because the furniture was supposed to be here a week ago, but there had been a mix up. With any luck, my driveway and the truck would have a fucking meet cute in the next day or so. The only place not needing unpacking was the kitchen. No one fucked with my kitchen. Or cooked in it except me. Some athletes had chefs or meals delivered en masse, but I knew what I liked and hated anyone else cooking or prepping for me.

Ten years in the league, and the one time I hired a chef the poor guy watched me cook more than he touched a damn knife. Probably his best payday. After a week, he tried to quit, but then I ended up investing in his restaurant, Haze, back in North Carolina when he wouldn’t let me pay him out for his contract. Even convinced Kas and a racecar driver buddy of mine to invest, too.

Still wouldn’t let Adrian in my kitchen, but I have let him cook for me at Haze.

I threw the ingredients for my post run shake in my blender, and opened my laptop to check my email. Sure enough, Laney’s email about the haunted house and all the details as well as the link for tickets. I scanned it, took note of times and what expectations were, and then clicked on the ticket link.

And bought out the block Noah had let slip when Eden had planned on going through.

“If anyone deserves to be chased through a haunted house, it’s Eden,” Noah muttered over a mouthful of chicken that he followed with a huge glass of water. “She made me watch the damn movie with Keaton twice after Zoe told her she was designing one of the rooms this year. Twice. And,” he wielded a damn sweet potato fry like a damn wand, “she’s obsessed with Halloween. Which also means I am being forced into a Nightmare on Elm Street marathon during our first three day lull.”

I pushed what was left of my salmon and brown rice around my plate pretending to only half listen when in reality, I had notes sorted and organized in my head. “You’ll survive, LeCav.”

He snorted with a glance behind him. “Maybe, but what if I can’t sleep through the night after? Eden might be a little off her rocker, because I think she actually loves that shit. But then she watches How to Train Your Dragon. The third one. With the Night Lights and the Light Fury. And she cries at the-”

“Spoiler Alert, LeCav.”

His eyes widened. “Who knew you had a soft spot for dragons and their Viking riders. Which one is your favorite? You can tell me. I thought I liked the damn two headed one, but there’s something about Cloud Jumper- ”

“Are you always on like a hundred fucking watt light bulb?”

The goalie nodded, wiping his hands before he picked up his phone. “And speak of the little devil,” he grinned as his eyes stayed on the screen, obviously reading whatever message pinged on his phone.

It took everything I had not to grab his phone and read whatever text had him grinning like a fucking idiot. But, I waited, pretending to be interested in whatever dumb ass sports show with talking heads who screamed more than they talked went on and on about how abysmal the Browns were doing this season, and how they should’ve stuck with Sebastian Lockwood. The new QB and his line weren’t meshing.

Might be they didn’t like the guy. He seemed like even more a dick than Lockwood had been when he played with Cleveland.

Okay, so I might not be interested, but the two guys screamed loud enough that anyone within earshot heard them. It didn’t keep my mind off Eden and whatever the hell she was texting Noah. The grin on his damn face wasn’t helping matters, either. The fact that I didn’t reach over and rip the damn phone out of his hands showed how much fucking restraint I was exercising.

I was just about to reach my limit, when he put the phone down. “Sorry, E thinks Zoe is hiding something other than her coffee addiction.”

Noah talked more than most women did. Not that I had been around too many in the past few years other than the few hours I spent making them scream my name.

That shit was over now. I was a one woman man.

“Maybe she has a boyfriend she doesn’t want you to scare away. ”

He waved a hand in my direction as the waitress set down the check, smiling at him like he was the tip she really wanted. But, Noah offered her a smile and snatched the check before I could even try to grab it. “If anyone scared anyone away, it would be Zoe. I’m like the friend you get in with to try to get the girl until you realize the girl can kick your ass. I got this.” Again, his phone pinged, but he reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. He swiped the screen, unlocking it, and read the message as he put his credit card on the small plastic tray with the check.

EDEN: I swear, if she’s lying to me, I’ll kick her ass. And then whoever she’s sneaking around with’s ass. Who lies about these things, Noah? Oh!! Nia and Indie are coming to the haunted house, too. Which means you’ll get a chance to tell Nia yourself that you’re doing the BOOK BOYFRIEND AUCTION. Love you!

“Book Boyfriend Auction?” I asked before I could stop myself.

Noah glanced up.

I held my hands up. “Sorry, all caps. Couldn’t miss it.”

“Don’t turn into a creeper on me, Sunders. You’re already in one chat. I need at least dinner and a karaoke night to let anyone be in two. Lunch doesn’t cut it. Three? We’re talking Netflix and not chill level. But I digress.”

No shit.

“The bookstore Eden does freelance event planning for is having a signing, and there’s a book boyfriend auction date for a night thing. I am #hockeyboy. It’s a fundraiser for a local domestic violence shelter and a few other local charities.” His eyes lit up, and instantly, I knew I was in deep shit. “They do need a few more high profile BFFs, and you are the hot new guy in town, and I’m not just saying that.” A few passersby fans stopped and asked for Noah’s autograph, and mine once they realized the enigmatic goalie wasn’t alone. Guy had the energy of a golden retriever mixed with a kid who stole his aunt’s Monster.

A plan formed in my mind as Noah smiled for a selfie with the guys kids as his wife drooled over him. I smiled, did obligatory sports pose with the kids. After they left, I glanced at my watch. “It’s been fun, LeCav, but my furniture might actually arrive tonight, but if I'm not there to let them in, it’s another week watching Netflix on my phone.”

His eyebrows shot to the sky. “Still? Why didn’t you have your stuff shipped from Montreal?”

I shrugged, pretending to respond to a text from the delivery company, when I really was typing out notes about everything Noah had spilled about Eden. “Donated it.” Didn’t want Eden to have to touch anything another girl had. But that was all before I caught sight of her. “Either way, I had to have it delivered. Might as well support the local economy.”

Noah nodded, though he gave me the kind of look that made me think he knew I was up to something that he couldn't quite figure out. “Catch you tomorrow at practice, Romeo.”

I quirked a brow at the nickname. “Really?” I asked and scooped up my key from the table.

Noah popped another bite in his mouth and grinned. “It’s better than ‘Casanova’ or asshole.”

“Not by much,” I muttered and left as he kept on stuffing his mouth and grinning at the same time.

Outside, rain fell at a steady pace, the streets already a mirrored reflection of the city and all its beauty. But I only had one thing on my mind as I headed to where my truck sat under a streetlight just around the corner.

Eden. And how soon she would be mine.