Page 51 of Desperate Pucker (Denver Bashers #6)

Maddy

When I follow Ryker through the front door of his parents’ house, I’m hit with the aroma of roasted garlic, tomatoes, and herbs.

“That smells delicious,” I say as I slide my shoes off and walk down the hallway of this two-story brick home on the outskirts of Denver.

My stomach rumbles. Ryker looks at my stomach, then my face.

“I ate a small breakfast and skipped lunch so I’d be hungry for dinner,” I say.

“Good. My mom’s going to shove an ungodly amount of food in front of you tonight.”

“You’re here!” Shannon’s cheery voice rings through the kitchen. She pulls Ryker into a hug.

I stand back and take in the massive size difference between them. He’s more than a foot taller than she is.

Her sandy blonde hair is pulled into a ponytail, and her brown eyes are bright—a shade lighter than her son’s eyes.

When she smiles, the bridge of her nose crinkles. She’s wearing this really cute white sweater that hangs off her shoulder. If Ryker told me she was his older sister or cousin, I would believe him.

His serious expression eases, and the look in his eyes warms as he looks at his mom.

She pats his shoulders and looks at me. “Can you believe he was barely seven pounds when he was born. Now look at him.”

I chuckle as Ryker shakes his head, fighting a smile.

She pulls me into a hug, and I make an “oof!” sound at how tight she hugs. Wow. She’s a lot stronger than she looks.

“I’m so happy you came!”

“Thank you so much for having me. I brought you a little something.”

I twist around and pick up the bundle of pink peonies on the counter that I set aside when we first walked into the kitchen.

Shannon gasps and takes the bouquet from me. “Oh, these are gorgeous! Thank you!”

“Ryker said they were your favorite.”

She pats her son’s arm as she passes him to the kitchen sink.

“I hope you’re hungry, Madeline. I made enough cabbage rolls to feed an army.”

Shannon places the flowers in a vase and sets it at the center of the kitchen table.

“So just enough to feed me, right?” Scott says when he walks into the kitchen.

Shannon rolls her eyes, but she’s smiling. Scott walks up to her and kisses her cheek before saying hi to Ryker and me.

Ryker hugs him and steps into the kitchen to grab plates and silverware.

When Scott shakes my hand, I notice just how much Ryker takes after him.

They’re the same height and have a similar build.

Broad, muscled, and strong. He has the same thick, dark hair as Ryker, except Scott has some strands of silver.

Same straight nose and bourbon eyes. He could pass for Ryker’s older brother, easy.

“Those are pretty,” Scott says when he sees the flowers on the table.

“A very thoughtful gift from Madeline,” Shannon says, beaming at me.

Scott flashes me a thumbs-up.

“You could learn a thing or two from her, Scott. Surprise with me peonies every once in a while and see what happens,” Shannon teases. He winks at her, then walks over and kisses her again.

Ryker winces. “Let’s keep the PDA to a minimum, okay? We’re about to eat.”

His parents laugh.

“Can I do anything to help?” I ask.

Shannon shakes her head. “Just make yourself at home.”

She gives me a warm look that makes me feel like I’m standing in the middle of sunshine after a rainy day. So kind and welcoming.

Scott holds up a bottle of wine in each hand. “Red or white?”

“White, please.”

He pours me a glass of wine, then hands it to me.

“Oh, I don’t want to drink if no one else is,” I say. “I can wait until dinner.”

Scott waves a hand. “No, you go ahead. You’re our guest of honor.”

That feeling burrows deeper in my chest. His parents are so kind and welcoming. They’ve known me for ten minutes, and they’re treating me like a member of their own family.

A tiny burst of pain hits when I think about how my own siblings aren’t this nice to me.

Ryker’s mouth slants up as he looks at me while he finishes setting the table. “Come sit.”

I sit down on one of the dining chairs and drink my wine. A minute later, Ryker and his parents join me. Scott and Shannon are drinking wine while Ryker sticks to water.

“The cabbage rolls are just finishing up. Nick just texted me and said that he and Anna are on their way,” Shannon says. Her bright gaze flits between Ryker and me. “So tell me. How did you two meet?”

“Maddy is my skating coach. She works for the team. She’s been training me since January to help me play after my injury.”

“An office romance. How romantic!” Shannon says.

“We weren’t together right off the bat,” I say. “We were strictly professionals for a while.”

“Oh, of course,” Shannon says before sipping her wine. She winks at me, and I can’t help but laugh.

“She’s telling the truth, Mom. Dating wasn’t on either of our minds. Maddy didn’t even like me when she first met me.”

I tilt my head at him. “You didn’t like me either.”

Shannon giggles. “An enemies-to-lovers romance. I love it even more.”

Scott chuckles and looks at me. “Shannon’s very into romance books and romcom movies.”

She shrugs and sips more wine. She gives her husband a cheeky look over the rim of her glass.

“Don’t act like you don’t like them too.” She turns to me. “He was giving me a hard time a while back when I was reading this very salacious mafia romance series. But then I caught him reading them too late at night.”

She elbows Scott, and he shrugs. “You were right, honey. They’re a lot of fun.”

His parents are ridiculously cute.

“We’re here!”

The sound of Nick’s voice carries from the other side of the house. He walks into the kitchen with his twin sister, Anna. She smiles the second she sees me.

I stand up to greet them, letting the siblings and parents hug each other first.

“Madeline! Hey! ” Nick says with a wide smile. He pulls me into a hug.

When we break apart, his smile turns sly. “So I hear you and my brother are together.”

I fight a smile. “We are.”

He nods at his brother. “Congrats, dude. She’s way out of your league.”

Shannon gives him a scolding look.

“What? It’s true,” Nick says, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

“Nick, your brother is very handsome,” Shannon says.

Nick makes a grossed-out face. Ryker just rolls his eyes. I try not to laugh.

Shannon turns to me. “Nick is right. You are quite beautiful, Madeline,” she says, her tone sweet and sincere. “I meant to say that when we first met yesterday, but I didn’t want to overwhelm you. My son is a very lucky man to have such a gorgeous girlfriend.”

She pats my hand, and I feel warm all over.

Anna walks over to me and pulls me into a hug. “It’s so nice to meet you!”

I laugh at how tight she hugs, just like Shannon. When we break apart, she holds me by my shoulders, just like her mom did.

She looks more like her mom than her brothers, with her light brown hair and eyes that are a shade lighter than Ryker’s. She has Shannon’s petite build too. She’s a few inches taller though, almost as tall as me.

“You should have heard her on the phone with me when she found out about you,” Anna says. “She was all like, ‘Ryker has this beautiful girlfriend who’s so sweet. Just wait till you meet her!’”

I smile so hard my cheeks ache.

“I’m just so thrilled to have another woman at family dinner,” Anna says. “So tired of all the hockey talk.”

“I work with hockey players, so I know how you feel,” I say.

Anna looks at the wine on the table. “Oh, are we having wine with dinner?”

Ryker aims a stern look at his little sister.

“The adults over twenty-one are,” Shannon says.

Anna rolls her eyes, but her mom gives her a look. “Only water and soda for you and Nick.”

Both Anna and Nick grumble, but they head to the kitchen to grab glasses of water. Shannon plates up a serving dish with cabbage rolls while Scott scoops a mountain of mashed potatoes into a shallow dish. Ryker grabs a big salad bowl out of the fridge.

When we all sit down at the table, my eyes go wide at the huge amount of food.

“It’s a lot, right?” Anna chuckles. I nod.

I slice into the cabbage roll and take a bite. My eyes roll back at the burst of flavors on my tongue. Bright and savory and comforting. The cabbage is tender, stuffed with beef and pork, covered in a rich tomato sauce.

“Shannon, this is incredible.”

“Oh, thank you, Madeline. It’s my great-grandmother’s recipe. She made it every time we had a family gathering. She said it reminded her of growing up in Ukraine.”

Before I even finish my first cabbage roll, Shannon scoops a second helping onto my plate.

“I could eat a million of these,” I say.

Shannon looks like she’s about to burst, she’s so happy.

Ryker glances at my plate, then looks at me, amused. “We’ll see how close you get.”

I rest my hand on my stomach. “I have to tap out. I’m stuffed.”

“Eleven cabbage rolls is impressive,” Ryker says.

I squint at him. “Says the guy who ate double that.”

His mouth slants up in a smile. Nick and Anna laugh.

“We’re impressed you could eat that many cabbage rolls, Madeline,” Scott says.

“I’m just tickled that you liked them so much,” Shannon says.

“This was honestly one of the best meals I’ve ever had in my life,” I say.

Shannon beams. “I’m going to pack up some for you to take home with you.”

“Oh, you don’t have to do that. I don’t want to take all your leftovers,” I say.

She waves a hand. “I cook these in big batches at a time. I have a hundred of them sitting in my freezer in the garage. You’d be doing me a favor by taking some off my hands.”

Ryker stands up and starts to clear the empty plates from the table with his dad.

“You’re helping too,” Ryker says to his little brother.

Nick grumbles, but he stands up and grabs the serving dishes from the table.

“My boys are so helpful,” Shannon beams as she watches her sons and husband. “While the men clean up, the ladies will have drinks in the living room.”

I grab my wine glass and follow her and Anna to the couch. They ask me about my job with the Bashers, and Shannon talks about how busy she’s been at the accounting firm where she works.

“Sweetheart, how are classes going?” Shannon asks Anna.

“Busy. My life is lab work, studying, and writing papers.” Anna groans.

Shannon turns to me. “My daughter is so smart. She’s planning to go to medical school after she graduates.”

“Hopefully,” Anna says. “If I can get a decent score on the MCAT.”

“Oh, you will, sweetheart. Shannon pats her daughter’s hand, a proud look in her eyes. “She was valedictorian of her high school class.”

I look at Anna. “Wow, that’s incredible.”

Anna’s smile is shy. “College is harder than high school, though. I’m definitely not going to be the top of my class when I graduate.”

“Anna, you’ve got a perfect GPA. You’re doing amazing,” Shannon says, her heart in her eyes as she looks at her daughter. She looks over at Ryker and Nick doing dishes at the sink. “All my kids are wonderful. My hockey boys and my genius girl.”

It’s so sweet how proud Shannon is of her kids. She reminds me of my mom, how she gushes to her friends about me. It used to embarrass me as a kid, but now that I’m older, I think it’s sweet.

Anna asks her mom how the landscaping in the yard is going.

“Your house is beautiful,” I say.

“Thank you. It’s quite a jump up from the house we raised the kids in.” Shannon looks at Anna. “Remember how tiny that was?”

Anna laughs. “So small. And only one bathroom.”

“This place is so much more spacious,” Shannon says. “It was an anniversary gift from Ryker.”

My insides go soft. “Really?”

She nods. “He had just finished playing his second year in the NHL and told us he wanted to buy us a new home. We told him no, but he wouldn’t hear of it.”

Warmth flashes in her eyes when she looks over at Ryker helping his dad put away pots and pans.

“He’s the kindest soul. He always stops by when he has time on a day off to help us with stuff around the house. And when he’s traveling during the season and can’t make it over, he calls me and his dad once a week to check up on us. He takes care of his brother and sister too,” Shannon says.

“He’s paying for my college. Nick’s too,” Anna says.

“He’s so generous,” Shannon says, her eyes misty.

That soft feeling inside of me intensifies, wrapping around my heart. I already knew that Ryker takes care of his siblings, but to hear how much he does for his parents makes me fall even harder for him.

I look over at him. When he notices me staring, he winks. My heart slingshots around my chest.

He walks over to the living room and leans against the back of the couch. “You’re not gossiping about me, are you?” He looks between his mom and sister.

“Only good things, honey. I swear,” Shannon says.

Ryker smiles at her, then ruffles his sister’s hair.

He walks over to me. “Having a good time?”

I look up at him. “The best.”