Page 4 of Hat Trick (Titans Hockey #1)

Chapter four

Luca

M y whole body hurts and I want to sleep for a thousand years. My calves and glutes burn in protest as Gabe and I drag our sorry asses up the front steps of our house. It's only the beginning of the season but every year seems to be harder than the last.

I'm laughing at some dumb joke Gabe said as we got out of his car, when he opens the door and stops dead in his tracks.

I bump into the back of him and let out a grunt of protest. He leans back, checking the number on the house as if he's confused. Forget the fact that his key has just unlocked the door.

Finally, I peer around him to see what's got him so spooked when I see the most beautiful girl I've ever laid eyes on.

She's perfection in an image. I've been thinking for some time about settling down and finding The One.

Looking at the woman in my house is like God took all the things I love about the female sex, made her just for me and plopped her right onto my living room floor.

Her natural beauty is a punch to the gut when she looks up at me from the floor and gives me a shy smile.

I'd enjoyed the first few years of being a professional hockey player and what that meant with the ladies, but after the puck bunny routine and connectionless sex, it just wasn't scratching that itch anymore.

I never visited the same bunny more than once because I didn't want one catching feelings.

That might make me a douche, but most bunnies let it go to their head if we exchanged numbers.

They'd want the show, to go public, to think they could fuck their way into a relationship.

If they even wanted a relationship. Most of them just wanted to fuck their way into fortune and fame.

And shit, that was with the more serious bunnies. A lot of them just wanted the bragging rights that they bounced up and down on my dick for a night.

I long for a connection, for someone to know me and want me for something other than the fame and bank account that comes with being with a professional athlete.

This angel of a woman on my living room floor has the perfect girl-next-door look that makes me itch to bring her home to meet my mom. Mousey brown hair in a sloppy bun, large, brown doe eyes, pink, plump, kissable lips.

Fuck, there's even a baby in her lap.

"Roadie!!! Why is there a strange woman in our house!" Gabe shouts from in front of me. I elbow him to the side.

"Shit, guys. I forgot to text you," Carter says, coming from the hallway and running a hand through his hair. "So...this is Annie, she's apparently my baby? My daughter? And this is my Emily. No, not mine. Just, Emily. I've hired Emily to be my nanny."

Emily stands and reaches her hand out to shake mine. Now standing, I can see all her delicious curves and have to stifle a groan.

"Hi," she says sweetly, her voice going straight to my dick.

"It's nice to meet you two." I wrap my large hand around hers and use it to drag her closer to me - closer than two people who have just met should stand.

A pretty pink colors her cheekbones and she looks down at the same time her breath hitches.

I smile. She's just as affected by me as I am by her .

She softly pulls her hand from mine and steps back before offering her hand to Gabe. He takes it quickly, looking at her like she's a bomb about to go off.

"You have a baby?!" Gabe whisper-shouts to Carter, who is now rubbing the back of his neck.

"I guess? You remember Cedar?" Gabe nods. "Apparently something happened with her birth control? And she thinks it's mine? I need to get a DNA test but, I mean...look at her." He says, motioning to Annie.

If she wasn't biologically related to Carter, it would have surprised me. Annie is just starting to lose some of her baby fat, but her hair, eyes and chin are all Carter.

"Dude," I say with a sympathetic laugh. "Holy shit, dude, you're a dad!"

"Language!" Carter bites back without any real heat.

"Since this is all so new to everyone and wasn't planned out, I think it's a good idea if we set some ground rules.

I've never lived with three men who weren't related to me before, and I really don't want to upset your routine, or the peace you guys have here.

" Emily says, giving her full attention to Annie.

"She's LIVING here?!" Gabe whisper-shouts, not nearly quietly enough. My smile breaks out into a wide grin. I'll get to see her every day we're home, live with her, flirt with her. It's too good to be true. I must have done something very right in a past life.

My smile fades a bit, however, when I see her wince. She tries to school her face to not give away her thoughts, but she wears her heart on her sleeve, every emotion playing across her features. Gabe's making her feel unwelcomed and she's afraid we don't want her here .

"Yeah dude, with our schedules? How am I going to take a baby on the road? Or on game nights?" Carter replies. "Am I going to have Emily drag her stuff back and forth whenever I need her overnight? It doesn't make sense."

Gabe's quiet, contemplating.

Emily speaks up. "Look, I know this isn't ideal, and I really don't want to make you uncomfortable or be in your way at all.

I'll look after Annie and do the cooking and cleaning.

I'm sure you guys have strict diets? If you give me a meal plan, I'll do all the grocery shopping and cooking, and I'll stay in my room when you're home.

You'll never have to see me if you don't want to. "

Gabe softens a little. "It's not that..."

"Look, let's hash out rules and expectations so we can all get the most out of this arrangement.

You don't want to see me, I'll disappear.

You want to hang out, we'll hang out. We just need to communicate what we want, what's working and what's not.

Annie and you guys deserve a home you feel comfortable in.

Let's figure out a way to make that happen. "

I sit on the couch behind her, hoping to put her at ease.

"First things first. For me, my priority is Annie.

I think creating a schedule for her will help her adjust. The case worker said she had no food allergies, but I'd like to take her to a pediatrician tomorrow, if only for a wellness check, and we can pick up an epi pen just in case.

" She looks at Carter for conformation. He smiles and nods. "Great."

Carter looks exhausted. I imagine being an insta-dad isn't exactly easy.

She swallows, clearly nervous. "My only other ask..." she starts, looking at the three of us. I give her an easy smile .

"My only other ask is that if you bring women over, you give me a warning so I can either keep her in our room or take her out. She needs stability and I don't think having different women come and go is a great idea."

I grin. My girl's staking her claim already. I like it. "What do you know about puck bunnies? Are you a fan? And here you were acting like you didn't know who we were." I tease.

She rolls her eyes playfully. "I've been working for the Titans for years, of course I know who you are. Plus...yeah...I grew up in a hockey household. Of course I'm a fan, but I'm not going to fan-girl all over the place and throw my panties at you."

"Bummer," I grumble under my breath at the same time Gabe says, "That was only that one time!"

Last year a fan lifted her shirt to reveal "I heart Gabe" written on her bare chest as she slung her underwear over the boards and onto the ice. The opposite team picked them up and started tossing them around to each other before the ref confiscated them. Children.

That disappoints me, though. She's been under the same arena roof as me for years and I've never seen her before. I could have had more time with her.

Another shy smile and a blush creeps in and I revel in it.

Finally, Carter speaks up. "We don't bring girls here. We don't want anyone to know where we live. Gabe had a stalker in college."

"Oh my God," she sighs, the blood draining from her face.

"Gabe, I'm so sorry." My smile falters. That had been hard for all of us, but most of all Gabe.

She followed him everywhere, slept in front of his apartment, texted and called him non-stop.

We had to get a restraining order, change his phone number, and move him in the middle of the night to the house we have now.

He shakes his head. "It's all good. We're just more careful now." He pauses a beat. "And no bringing random guys home."

She snort-laughs indelicately before catching herself. Interesting. It seems my girl in unattached.

"No, of course not."

The doorbell rings. "Oh! That must be for me!" She says gayly standing to get the door.

Gabe follows behind her closely as she opens the front door halfway. A handsome man stands on the front stoop with two large duffle bags at his feet. My neck burns hot and jealousy churns in the pit of my stomach. Who is this fucker and why is he here for Emily?

"What did we say about random men?" Gabre growls in her ear.

"This is my brother, Sam. He brought my clothes." She growls back to Gabe, before turning to her brother and saying, "And he's leaving now." She says, pressing both hands against her stunned brother's chest.

Brother. Good. Oh! I can use this to my advantage.

"Your brother? Bring him in!" I call from behind Gabe. Perfect time to meet my future brother-in-law and hopefully get in his good graces.

"You really don't have to..." she starts to protest. I wrap my arm around her waist and pull her to the side so I can introduce myself to Sam. He's staring at me with wide, unblinking eyes - looking star struck.

"Come on in. Sam is it?" I ask, shaking his hand and pulling him through the door. He stumbles forward, willing enough, so I wrap my arm over his shoulder and drag him into the living room .

"You told me you were working for a player, not three!" He whisper-shouts at his sister. I stifle a chuckle at him and at Emily as she sits back on the floor with Annie.

Carter introduces himself, but Gabe seems to have disappeared. I sit Sam on the couch before grabbing beers for the three of us.

"Want one?" I ask Emily, my voice low and intimate. She smiles up at me, blushes and shakes her head 'no'.

Sam's clearly a hockey fan, so I turn on the replay from the game last night, giving us a buffer so Sam can relax and enjoy himself.

Sam quickly goes from shocked to engaged as we chat all things hockey.

Annie and Emily play quietly together, talking in hushed, sweet tones. My gaze ping-pongs between the game and Emily. Secretly, I'm hoping she notices the goal and two assists I had last night.

One of the times I sneak a peak at her she's already looking at me. ' Thank you' she mouths to me. I wink at her and give her a smile, warmth spreading through my body.

After an hour and a few beers, I make sure to exchange numbers with Sam and invite him to our next home game.

Really, I want Emily there, and I feel like she'll be more likely to go if her brother and father come along.

I've already texted Heather in PR to get me three on-the-glass tickets for our game Thursday.

We wave goodbye to Sam and I thank him for bringing Emily's clothes.

I close the door and turn to find Emily standing behind me. "That was very sweet of you guys. You didn't have to do that."

I give her an easy one-shoulder shrug. "We've always got time for our fans. "

She narrows her eyes on me. "No, you don't. And you certainly didn't have to offer him tickets. I appreciate it. Take the 'thank you.'"

I want to wrap my arms around her, pull her into my body, bury my face in her neck. But I don't. I'm going to take it slow with Emily, woo her, date her, walk around the house shirtless, and savor every moment of it. It'll be the last time I ever fall in love.