Page 9 of Desperate Pucker (Denver Bashers #6)

Maddy

When Ingrid and I walk into Spanky’s, she waves at a table in the back.

Sophie Porter, team doctor for the Bashers and daughter of the head coach, smiles at us. Three other women are sitting with her at the table.

They all smile and introduce themselves when I sit down and join them. They’re all married or engaged to players on the team.

Nerves fire off inside my tummy. They all seem really nice, and they’re so kind to come hang out with me on such short notice…but part of me is afraid they’ll think I’m some loser who doesn’t have my own group of friends to hang out with.

Sophie smiles at me. Her soft blue eyes are bright and friendly. “So. I hear we’re here to trash your ex.”

All the women at the table raise their drinks. I let out a weak chuckle.

“Yeah, if that’s okay,” I say in a shy voice.

“More than okay,” Dakota says. “These girls listened to me countless times when I vented about my awful ex. Tell us about yours.”

Ingrid pours me a glass of wine from the bottle of red at the table. I tell her thanks and take a sip.

“What did he do?” Maya asks. She’s really beautiful and almost as tall as Ingrid is. She has long, dark hair and a tan I’m jealous of.

I sigh, feeling more relaxed. “He, um, cheated on me for most of our relationship.”

They’re all shaking their heads. Bella mutters, “What a douche.”

“Yeah, he definitely was,” I say.

“My ex was a cheater too,” Bella says, gently patting my hand. “Was he a hockey player? Mine was.”

I shake my head. “Figure skater, like me.”

Sophie looks at her friends. “But Madeline is way, way better than he is.”

I shake my head, blushing.

“You are,” she says. “Madeline went to the Winter Olympics twice. And she medaled. Your ex didn’t.”

I flash a flustered smile. “How did you know that?”

Sophie’s cheeks flush pink. “When you got hired on with the Bashers, I knew who you were. I grew up watching you skate on TV.”

“I did too,” Dakota says, smiling. “You’re amazing, Madeline.”

“Thank you,” I say, even though I don’t feel amazing. I think about my freakout at the last Winter Olympics. They all probably saw it.

I brace myself for them to ask me about it, but they don’t. Instead, Bella talks about how she threw wine in the face of her cheating ex when he walked into this bar, which she used to work at. I burst out laughing along with the rest of them.

“I should have done that to Sergei,” I say, sipping more wine.

“It’s very freeing, chucking a drink in a guy’s face. Try it sometime,” Bella jokes.

Everyone laughs.

I glance down at my glass. “I found out today that he got engaged,” I say quietly. “To another figure skater…who won gold at the Winter Olympics the year that I won bronze. And who was also one of the women he was cheating on me with.”

They all fall quiet. When I look up, they’re all gazing at me with pained expressions.

“Oh my god…” Ingrid murmurs.

I nod and down more wine. “Way to twist the knife, huh?” I sigh. “I don’t even want to be with him anymore, but it just really hurts to know that he got his happily ever after after how he treated me, you know?”

They all nod like they understand completely.

“I’m not gonna pretend I know what you’re going through,” Dakota says.

She swipes her long, chocolate brown hair over her shoulder.

“But I know what it feels like to have your heart shattered. I know what it’s like to feel hopeless—like life sucks and will never get better. I went through that with my ex.”

I look at her, heartened that she’s sharing her experience with me. “Can I ask what happened?”

She gives me a sad smile. “I got married to the biggest jerk on the planet. He humiliated me during our reception by shoving cake in my face when I asked him not to, and in that moment, I finally realized what a piece of garbage he was and broke up with him, on the spot.”

My eyes go wide. “Oh my gosh.”

“It was a trashy, tragic mess for sure,” Dakota says. “It felt like I lost everything in that moment. My marriage, my home, the future I pictured together.”

Sophie gives her shoulder a soft squeeze.

Dakota looks at me. “I thought that I was done with dating and relationships forever after breaking up with my ex. But then Sam came along and changed all that.”

Her fiancé is Sam McKesson, defenseman for the Bashers. I met him when I attended orientation for my job. He was so nice and welcoming.

“We were friends for a really long time. He let me live with him while I got my life back together,” Dakota says. “I’d always had a crush on him, though.”

“And he had a crush on you too,” Sophie says.

Dakota blushes, then looks at me. “I know it sucks right now, but things will get better. And I know that dating is probably the last thing on your mind right now, but you’re going to find someone amazing who actually deserves you.”

There’s a soft pain in my chest at the thought…at how hopeless that feels right now.

“I can’t imagine ever being with anyone again,” I say. “I ended things with my ex two years ago, and I haven’t been interested in pursuing anything with anyone since then.”

They all nod like they understand.

“Totally get it,” Ingrid says. “Sometimes you just need to be by yourself.”

“But if you get lonely, you can always find a hockey hottie to rock your world in bed,” Bella says.

I cough on my sip of wine. Maya elbows Bella, who just shrugs.

“What? That’s pretty much what we all did,” Bella says. “Most of us started hooking up with our guys just to have fun. Now look at us. We’re all married and engaged.”

I glance around the table. “Really?” They all nod.

“Xander was the first guy I was with after my ex,” Sophie says.

“Theo and I were friends with benefits after I caught my ex with someone else,” Maya says.

“Del was the first guy I hooked up with after my breakup,” Ingrid says with a sweet smile.

“Braden was my hookup buddy after I had sworn off hockey players forever,” Bella says. “Then we became roommates. And now I’m engaged to a hockey goalie.” She raises her wine glass with a chuckle.

I look at all of them and let out a laugh that’s equal parts disbelief and amusement.

“Wow, okay. Good to know,” I murmur. They all laugh.

“Camden would totally hook up with you,” Ingrid teases.

“I get the feeling that guy would hook up with any attractive woman who gave him an enthusiastic yes.”

They all laugh and say that yes, he would.

“He’s cute for sure, but he’s really young,” I say. “And I’m just not interested in being with anyone right now.”

“If you change your mind, you’ve got an entire team of hockey hotties to choose from,” Bella says.

“Not gonna happen, ever,” I say.

“Not even with Ryker?” Ingrid quirks an eyebrow.

I make a grossed-out noise. They all chuckle.

“Especially not with Ryker. He’s a jerk. And he can’t stand me.”

I watch as they all exchange a knowing look.

“What?” I ask.

“Maya couldn’t stand Theo when she first met him. And Bella couldn’t stand Blomdahl when she first met him either,” Ingrid says. “Now look at them.”

Bella and Maya laugh. I shake my head and chuckle. “That might have worked out for you all, but I can promise you it won’t for me. Never in a million years would I ever hook up with Ryker.”

“Well, that works out because never in a million years would I ever be interested in hooking up with you, princess.”

My head snaps up, and I see Ryker standing behind me, frowning down at me.