Page 23 of Hat Trick (Titans Hockey #1)

Chapter twenty

Emily

C arter arranged an afternoon with the boys, Novy, his wife Lauren and their son Kyle on one of their off days, so I can get to know one of the WAGs and Carter could ask parenting questions.

We pull up to a stately home in a gated neighborhood.

The house is large but not obnoxious, and it's well manicured, no doubt by a gardener.

The door swings open and Lauren, the team's physical therapist comes out, Kyle on her hip.

"Emily!" She squeals. I've met Lauren before when she picked up and dropped Kyle off at the center, but we never exchanged more than just friendly greetings and debriefs on what Kyle did while he was in our care.

Her friendly smile immediately puts me at ease.

She drags me to her in a fierce one-handed embrace while Carter gets Annie out of the car seat.

Her smile is stunning and I'm immediately put at ease.

I never got along with other girls. I was shy and insecure in High School and the mean girls immediately picked up on my weakness.

A few bullying interactions later and I stuck to myself, head down, and barely made it out of High School intact.

But Lauren's friendly, welcoming smile is a different story. There's no fakeness behind it, no ulterior motive.

"When Novy told me about Annie and that Carter was bringing you on full-time I was so disappointed you wouldn't be taking care of Kyle anymore. But Carter couldn't have picked a better person as a nanny, so I can't really blame him! "

I smile up at her gratefully, before turning to Kyle. "May I?" She immediately presses him into my arms.

"Hey buddy! I've missed you!" I say, pressing my face into his belly and rubbing it back and forth, making him giggle. He coos and grabs my hair. "Em-ma." He says. My heart explodes and I look at Lauren, surprised.

"I may have told him you were coming, and we may have been practicing your name."

My heart clenches and my eyes water. Lauren waves her hands between our faces.

"Okay, none of that, let's get inside so we girls can chitchat while the kids play outside.

" Carter, Luca, and Gabe greet Novy and then follow Lauren and I inside.

She briefly shows us the open concept kitchen, living and dining room before we follow her through the sliding doors to the back yard.

They've got a great open back yard with a covered patio and a pool.

The boys congregate by the grill on the patio, talking shit and drinking beer, while Lauren and I set the kids up in an inflatable pool full of ball pit balls Lauren's set up on the grass.

"You want something to drink?" She offers, pulling a bottle of chilled white wine from a cooler.

"Yes, please." I reply gratefully. Things have been escalating with each of the boys and I have no idea what to do about it. Girl talk with white wine sounds exactly like what I need.

After she pours us a glass she leans back against a recliner.

"So, tell me what's going on with you and the boys?" She whispers conspiratorially.

I choke on my wine. I was expecting to make small talk before we got to the elephant in the room. "What do you mean? "

"I saw you guys at family day and at the river. You could cut the sexual tension with a knife."

I flush red. "We're just friends." I like Lauren, but we're not exactly on BFF terms, so I don't know how much I should reveal.

Lauren screws her mouth up. "My friends don't look at me the way those boys look at you. They look like they want to devour you."

I look up to see Gabe glancing our way with an eyebrow raised. "Things just...get tense...all living together..." I stutter lamely.

She gives me a disbelieving look before looking up at the boys. A soft smile plays on her lips. "You don't have to tell me anything, but I do have to say...if you have a chance at happiness, whatever that looks like for you, don't let it go."

I look at my boys now, too. There's a story behind her words, but I don't pry.

If I'm not willing to share my story I have no right to ask her about hers.

But we sit for a moment in comfortable silence.

Luca's got his feet in the water while Novy flips some burgers on the grill.

Gabe and Carter sit back comfortably in chairs, sipping on beer bottles, content smiles on their faces.

What does happiness look like for me? Does it mean one of these men?

All of them? The nasty part of my mind speaks up first. There's no way they want anything to do with you.

You're boring, plain, stupid. Then another part of my brain, the one the boys have been building, replies.

Luca watches everything I do and asked me to wear his jersey.

He kissed me. That certainly doesn't seem like someone not interested.

Gabe's touches at Family Day at the arena.

His hard cock pressing into my ass certainly seemed interested.

And Carter's kiss at the river? I chuckle at the memory.

His hard dick when we took a bath together .

No. They're interested, if only physically. But what do I want? Do I want them physically? Do I want more than the physical with them?

Lauren's given me a lot to think about, and I don't think I'll come up with an answer today.