Page 61 of Fear of Love (Falling #3)

LYDIA

F our Months Later….

“Fuck you,” Trevor hissed.

“I didn’t do anything!” Tasha shot right back.

“You were cheating!” Trevor accused his girlfriend.

Tasha glared at Trevor, holding a spoon. “No, I was not.”

“You totally were.”

I held a different spoon tightly in my hand as I watched my friends argue that someone cheated. I wish I could say this was the first argument we had since we started playing Spoons, but this was the fourth in the last half hour.

Thankfully, it didn’t go on as long as I thought it would before we were back to playing. You’d think after playing games as a group the last two years we’d learn our lesson and not play at all, but nope. Card and Board games hated to see us coming.

“Has anyone thought about our next group vacation?” Josie asked randomly as we passed the playing cards around the table.

“We went tropical last time. Maybe we should go to the mountains or something,” Mila suggested.

“We could wait a few months until it gets cold again and get a cabin. Going skiing or snowboarding could be fun,” Tasha piggybacked on Mila’s idea.

“I love that,” Josie said.

The guys mumbled something, but they were all so focused on the game to do much else. Grabbing a card from the small pile next to me, I finally got four of the same kind. Peeking up at the others, I reached out and silently grabbed a spoon. Everyone was too focused on their own cards and missed it.

It took a good thirty seconds before someone finally noticed. Wyatt’s arm snapped out to grab a spoon, setting everyone off as they scrambled to grab one, too.

You would think a game using cards and spoons would be easy and safe. No. I had a few scrapes on my fingers from people’s nails, and one chair almost broke from Trevor shoving it back to lunge across the table.

“Damn it,” Landon grumbled next to me.

“Who got it first?” Mila asked. Everyone looked at Wyatt, who shook his head.

Smirking, I lifted my spoon. “Took you guys awhile to figure it out.”

"Sly ninja.” Josie shook her head. She scooted her chair back and stood up. “Are you guys getting hungry?”

There was a chorus of yeses as we started cleaning up the table.

“Evelyn and Steven are going to be here in a bit. Wy, want to go start the grill?” Josie asked as she headed for the kitchen.

Wyatt was quick to jump up. He’s literally been waiting all week to show the guys his new grill. Who knew Wyatt would be so domesticated when he got married and bought a house?

While the guys filed outside to go see this famous grill, all the girls gathered in Josie’s new kitchen.

“I’m obsessed with this,” Mila remarked. “I may even like it better than mine.”

At their wedding four months ago, Wyatt surprised Josie with a house he secretly bought months earlier, waiting for the perfect moment to tell her.

Between the wedding, playoffs, and their honeymoon, it took them awhile to get everything packed up and moved.

They only just settled in a few weeks ago.

They still owned Josie’s apartment. It was the last thing her father gave her when he passed, and she couldn’t bring herself to let it go quite yet so they kept it, either for Mateo or if a teammate of Wyatt’s needed a place to rent.

While Josie’s apartment was great, this house was even better.

It was only a few streets over from Mila and Bryton and in a great neighborhood.

The two-story house was big, but with how often we all came over, the space would definitely get used.

And who knows—maybe in a few years they’d start a family and fill the empty rooms.

“The blue cabinets and white counters are my favorite part,” Josie gushed. The kitchen was a chef's dream—beautiful dark blue cabinets, white quartz counters, a huge stove, and double ovens.

“Love it,” I said, running a hand over the grey lines in the quartz. I loved my apartment, but a house like this would be nice one day.

“Mateo’s coming today right?” Tasha asked, heading to one of the cabinets for wine glasses.

Josie nodded. “Yeah, he should be here soon.”

“He’s been MIA the last month,” I noted. “Think he has a girlfriend?” My question made them stop in their tracks.

“You know… maybe he does. He seems to be on his phone a lot when he’s here,” Josie said.

Tasha smiled almost evilly. “I can’t wait to give him shit if he does.”

While Josie moved around the kitchen, getting things for our barbecue, I looked out the window facing the guys. They were all standing around, holding beers, and talking.

“How are the guys handling the loss?” I asked, lifting my wine glass to my lips. It felt good to finally use my right hand again after eight weeks in a cast. I’d gotten so used to having it there, it felt strange without it.

“Trevor’s a bit down, but he’s already looking forward to the next season,” Tasha said from behind me.

“Same with Bryton. Disappointed they didn’t win but they had a great season,” Mila added.

A few weeks ago, the Toronto Knights lost in the final game of the Cup Championship.

After weeks of intense playoffs and finals, the team lost by one game.

It was heartbreaking watching everything they worked so hard for all season long come to an end.

But the fact they made it back to the Cup Championship again was huge.

“Wyatt was sad about it, but I think the honeymoon made up for it.” I didn’t miss the smug undertone in Josie’s voice.

“Oh, I bet it did,” Tasha joked, making all of us laugh.

With playoffs right after their wedding, Wyatt and Josie postponed their honeymoon until it was over.

It turned out the present Landon got them on their wedding day were plane tickets back to Queensland.

They were able to spend two weeks at the same place they got engaged.

Pretty sure the two came back even more in love.

The sound of the front door opening, followed by Evelyn’s voice, had all of us turning. She walked in with Coach Barnum, their hands intertwined. The sight of the cute couple had me smiling. Four months after announcing they were seeing each other, they were still together.

It was adorable how Steven doted on everything Evelyn did. If he wasn’t busy coaching, he was with her. Half the time, we didn’t see Evelyn without him by her side. Who knew Steven would be such a sweet boyfriend?

“I brought cake,” Evelyn said, which prompted Steven to hold up the tray in his free hand.

“The guys will be thrilled.” Josie grinned, stepping forward to hug the two and take the cake from Steven.

“If you want, the guys are out back.” Tasha gestured over her shoulder. Steven gave a nod before leaning down and kissing Evelyn’s cheek. I watched as she stared after him like a lovestruck puppy as he headed outside.

“You two are adorable,” Mila said from her spot at the bar.

“He’s such a gentleman,” Evelyn gushed.

“The guys would have an aneurysm if they heard you say that,” I said, sipping my wine. I found it comical how scared the guys were of Steven. Yes, he was a strict coach, but he really was a nice guy.

Over the last four months, we learned even more about him. He was married once while he was in the pros, but it ended after he got injured. Aside from hockey, he was an avid golfer, something he and Landon were bonding over. The two went out to play together every other week.

While Mila and Josie talked to Landon’s mom, I pulled Tasha off into the living room.

“Did you get an ETA on Mateo?” I whispered, wanting to make sure no one could hear us, most of all Mila.

“Yeah.” Tasha pulled out her phone. “He said he’s fifteen minutes away.”

“Okay, good. I’m going to go out and make sure everything is all set to go. Tell Josie and Evelyn to somehow get Mila outside,” I said, sharing an excited grin with her.

I slipped out the door, making sure it was shut behind me, before heading for the guys. They were deep in hockey talk when I approached, but the moment they saw me, they fell silent.

“Mateo is fifteen minutes away. Josie, Tasha, and Evelyn are going to get Mila out here in just a few minutes. Is everything set?” I directed most of it toward Bryton. He looked nervous as hell as he gave me a nod.

“Dude, don’t worry she’s going to say yes.” Trevor clapped Bryton’s back. “You two are practically married anyway.”

“I know. I just want it to go perfectly.” The nerves were clear as day in Bryton’s voice.

“Don’t worry, it will.” I sent him an encouraging smile. “Everyone remembers what they’re supposed to do, right?” Everyone nodded, including Steven.

When Bryton started a group chat without Mila and brought up proposing, us girls jumped in, ready to help. He already had the ring and just needed us to help come up with an idea of how to propose. Within minutes, we had a plan and instructions on what everyone was supposed to do.

“Good. Mateo said he’ll text when he’s in the driveway,” I instructed.

Byron nervously reached into his pocket where he had the ring stashed. Knowing he needed a few minutes to hype himself up for what he was about to do, I made my way over to my boyfriend.

“Hi,” I greeted when I came to Landon’s side. He instantly wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into his chest. I pressed up onto my toes as he bent his head, our lips meeting.

Months later and I still couldn’t get enough of him. He was an addiction I was more than happy to have.

“Hey,” he murmured against my lips. You’d think we hadn’t seen each other with the way he held me. It didn't matter that we sat together for forty minutes playing a game, and that we came here together. Every time Landon looked at me, it felt like the very first time.