Page 37 of Hat Trick (Titans Hockey #1)

Chapter thirty-two

Emily

L ife falls into a comfortable sort of routine after the wedding.

The boys are so busy and so tired we don't get much of a chance to do anything but make out on the couch and cuddle in bed.

Annie's easy, and we have our weekly playdates with Nancy.

It fills my heart to see so many people love on this little girl.

She deserves it. Every child deserves it.

And I feel blessed to be able to play a role in it.

It's a rare Saturday the boys have off so I've planned Annie's first birthday party.

It'll be a simple affair, burgers and brats and beer for the parents, finger foods for the kids.

She's one so I know she won't remember it, but she'll have pictures of it to look back on and I don't want her ever to doubt that she was loved.

Nancy came early and picked Annie up and took her to the park so I could concentrate on decorating.

I'm in the kitchen, about an hour before everyone's supposed to arrive, when Carter and the boys come back from a grocery run I sent them on. Gabe offered to man the grill for us, but we still needed all the food, beer and cupcakes.

I'm standing on one of the dining room chairs, hanging a ribbon that says "Happy Birthday" over the back sliding doors when the boys return.

They're chatting with themselves as they set everything down in the kitchen. Suddenly, two strong arms wrap around my waist. Carter looks up at me, resting his chin on my stomach .

"Can't have you falling, now, can we, baby girl?" I can't help the smile that spreads across my face, looking down at my handsome boyfriend. I lace my fingers through his soft hair and let him pick me up before sliding down his chest.

I get lost in his eyes for a moment, body pressed hard against his, before I take a step back and chuckle. "Don't look at me like that, or I won't have time to finish decorating!"

He looks around at the decorations. "You did all this while we were gone?"

I shrug. It's not a big deal. "Yeah?"

"You're amazing." He breathes, running the back of his fingers down my cheek.

"Alright you..." I tease, pushing away. He swats my ass cheek playfully before heading back to the kitchen to put all of the food away.

Nancy and Annie return just before guests start arriving.

Thankfully, it's a warm enough fall day that we're hosting the party mostly in the backyard.

Before long, the back yard is full of hockey players, WAGs and children.

Music plays from an outdoor speaker and the sounds of people happily chatting and laughing makes me happy.

Gabe mans the grill while Luca and Carter entertain the guests. I run gofer, getting everything Gabe needs and keeping an eye on the drinks. Nancy is happily chatting away with some of the wives.

I'm in the fridge, digging out the tomatoes and lettuce from the crisper drawer when a deep, warm voice makes me jump .

"Need any help?" I toe the fridge door shut, arms full of produce, to see Ben, the rookie from the river day. I blush at the memory of him flirting with me but turn to hide my smile.

"Actually, yeah. If you don't mind. Grab a knife and help me slice the tomatoes? I'll do the onions."

"Sure."

We stand shoulder-to-shoulder in tense silence. He may be slicing tomatoes, but I can feel all of his attention on me.

"So, I never got the chance to make it up to you from the river that day..."

I wince. Never in my life have I gotten so much attention, and I'll be honest, I have no idea how to navigate it.

Ben's obviously very handsome and fit. His body is stockier and thicker than Carter's but not as big as Gabe's.

In another life I would have been giddy at the prospect of going on a date with Ben. I would have been head over heels.

But now...

"That's very sweet of you, but I'm not dating right now. And I wouldn't want to lead you on..."

He nods thoughtfully. "I can respect that. But...if you don't mind me asking...is it one of the guys?"

I bite my lip. I know what we are, but we never really discussed what we were comfortable telling everyone else. My silence sits between us like a live entity.

"I see. How does that work? I mean, I see how they all look at you..."

My silence sits heavier.

"Oh. So, it's not just one of them. Is it two?"

He sets his knife down, turning towards me .

"All three?" He whispers. I peak at his face, but I don't see judgement there, or disgust. Just surprise.

"Want to add a fourth?" He teases, nudging my shoulder with his.

I choke down a laugh and wipe my eyes. The onions are starting to make them water.

"Jesus, Ben. A little forward, don't you think?"

He shrugs and gives me a boyish smile before returning to his tomato. "Can't blame a guy for trying. If things change, you'll let me know?"

I can't help but appreciate his openness and honesty.

"Yeah, Ben. I will."

I wipe away another tear and sniff. Suddenly, Ben's thrown back against the fridge with a grunt and an angry Gabe presses into his throat with his forearm.

"What the fuck did you say to her?" He growls, inches from Ben's face. Ben's easy smile is unaffected.

"Jesus, Gabe! It's the onions! Get your hands off of him!" I shout, smacking his back.

Reluctantly, Gabe backs off and lets Ben breathe.

"Apologize to him! Right now!" I bark, hands on my hips. Gabe's not one to be told what to do, but I put my foot down at unprovoked violence.

Ben simply smiles and shakes his head. "Nah, that's alright. I'm glad to see they're protective of you. It's what I would do if you were mine." The look he gives me pinches at my heart. I like Ben. I don't want to hurt him.

"But she's not yours. And don't ever look at her again like she might be. "

"Gabe!"

Gabe's shoulder slouch half an inch. "Sorry, Rookie." Gabe says, somewhat unconvincingly.

"You're a neandertal." I admonish, turning back towards the island.

He crowds in behind me, pressing his front to my back and wrapping a thick arm around my waist. "Gabe!" I whisper-shout. We haven't had the conversation yet about going public, even though I kind of admitted to Ben that we're all together.

"I'll just..." Ben says awkwardly as he makes his escape.

I spin around and smack Gabe in his hard pec. "You didn't need to mark your territory like that." I try to frown at him, but I can't seem to make my mouth make the shape when he's touching me.

"Rookie needs to learn his place." He growls, running his nose up my neck.

"His place would have been my bed if he'd been a few months earlier." I can't help pushing Gabe's buttons. It's too much fun.

"If we didn't have a hoard of people outside, I would take you over my knee right now for that comment." My cheeks flush at the idea. "My girl likes that, does she? Noted. You'll be paying me back for that little comment of yours later."

I squirm involuntarily and squeeze my thighs together.

I spin back around before he can rile me up anymore.

"You just scared away my sous chef, so either you get to slicing or send Ben back in here.

" He wraps his hand around my throat, bending my neck to the left to give him better access, before biting down on my right shoulder. Hard.

"Gabe!" I scream loud enough I'm sure people outside heard it. My hand flies to my shoulder. No doubt there's going to be a mark left there. I shoot a glance out the back slider and see four Titans staring at us.

I try to slide to the side to distance myself from Gabe, but he's having none of it. He wraps his arm around my waist before kissing my hair and taking up the abandoned knife.

Carter's sitting at a picnic table with Luca, Nancy, and Annie when I plate a few brats from the grill, some corn on the cob and potato salad.

I set the plates down in front of Nancy and Luca when Carter suddenly grabs me by the hips and pulls me to sit on his lap.

My hands fly to his shoulders to steady myself.

"Carter!"

My face flushes hot and I suddenly feel like every eye is on us.

He ignores me, but I don't miss the grin that Nancy's struggling to hide.

"Did you get anything to eat, baby girl?" He asks before placing a kiss on my shoulder.

"I was going to get you and I dinner next." I whisper, shifting uncomfortably on his lap.

He senses my discomfort before pinching my chin gently with his thumb.

"I'm tired of hiding this. Of hiding us.

I'm tired of not being able to touch you when I want.

If it were up to me, I'd broadcast our relationship to every news network out there.

" My eyes widen. "But I know you're not comfortable with that.

But here? With our friends and family? You're mine. "

I sink into him further. He's right. This feels...good. It feels right. I chance a glance at Nancy, who is enjoying her corn on the cob, but can't stop the smile on her face. Something tells me she's not all that surprised about this development .

I glance around us and a few of the players are giving us questioning glances, but no one seems to be judging. No one seems to be angry. And isn't this what I wanted? Isn't this different than Chad? Carter wants people to know we're together. Carter wants to show us off.

There's no public. No paparazzi. So, I give in. I can be his for today. His teammates might give him shit, but he doesn't seem to be worried about it.

I'm worried about what Nancy might think, but both Carter and Nancy seem happy as hell. So, I let myself be happy too.

I cup his cheek before giving him a kiss on the other one.

"Lemme go get us some food, too, sweetheart."

He pinches my hip quickly before letting me up. I set up two more plates and join the rest and eat comfortably.

On more than one occasion, I glance up to see Ben or Jonesy watching us but ignore them. This is our home, our backyard, our little oasis away from the rest of the world. If I can't love them openly here, I can't love them anywhere.