Page 62 of Hot for the Hockey Player (The Single Moms of San Camanez: The Vino Vixens #2)
The idea of the four of us as a big, happy family taunted me and I had to turn away and face the sink when those painful emotions threatened to bubble up to the surface as more than just a tight throat.
Nobody needed to see me struggling. Nobody needed to know that Maverick’s time with us was surely coming to an end sooner than any of us were ready.
“Awe, dude, you need to cut the onions up smaller. They’re way too chunky,” Laurel complained to her brother. “Nobody wants to eat guacamole with onion chunks the size of a toenail.”
“Eww, why’d you have to use a toenail to compare size? Now I have no appetite,” Damon retorted.
Maverick snorted and went to the cupboard beside me. “All of this can be fixed with the magical machine known as the immersion blender.” He glanced over at me as he pulled the appliance out of its labeled hiding spot. “You okay?”
I pinned my lips together and nodded. “Yep.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah, just … the onion made my eyes burn.”
“See,” Laurel said. “You cut them too big. Now you’re killing Mom’s eyes.”
Maverick plugged in the immersion blender, continuing to play referee between my bickering children until it was time to eat.
“These homemade tortillas are amazing,” Maverick said, making himself another taco. “But I think it’s this queso fresco that really makes the meal.”
“I dunno,” Damon chimed in, “I think it’s the guacamole with that strong, delicious onion flavor.” He smirked at his sister, but she just rolled her eyes.
“I think it’s all good,” Maverick finished, scooping more of the saucy pulled chicken onto his taco.
“Is Mav staying over again tonight?” Damon asked before turning to Maverick. “Are you? Can you?”
All eyes pivoted to me. Waiting.
“Uh … I mean, he’s welcome to. Sure. I don’t have a problem with it.”
“Sweet.” Damon gave a single, appreciative nod. “Fortnite marathon: Round two.”
Maverick yawned and stretched his arms above his head, exposing a thin layer of toned, tanned skin between the hem of his T-shirt and the waistband of his jeans. My lower half clenched involuntarily. “I don’t know if I can make it to midnight again, dude. I’m exhausted.”
Fortunately, I think I was the only one to catch his smirk and the glint in his eye. Sure, he ended playing video games at midnight, but then he came to bed, woke me up, and kept me coming until past two in the morning. That was why he was exhausted.
“Do you have enough clean clothes here, or do you want to do some laundry?” I asked him, picking up a piece of tomato that fell onto my plate and popping it into my mouth.
“Laundry would actually be great.” Then he gave me a discreet little head tilt, asking once again what was wrong.
My smile was small, and I shook my head. “Just tired,” I mouthed.
We all cleaned up, and Damon and Maverick started their video game marathon again while Laurel read in her room and I reviewed some confirmation emails that had just come in regarding a few orders I placed for more corks, bottles, and some new glass demijohns.
While we wouldn’t harvest the grapes until late summer, we typically bottled our white wines in the spring after they sat and fermented all fall and winter.
And since the first day of spring was officially next week, we needed to get started on our bottling if we wanted to stay on schedule.
Our delivery truck was set to pick up on Monday to distribute to several restaurants, pubs, and liquor stores on the mainland.
This would free up quite a bit of space for more inventory.
We also needed to move our stock forward so the freshly bottled stuff could go in the back and age.
Luckily, Naomi could drive a forklift like nobody’s business.
So I shot her a quick text to say we needed to meet in the barn tomorrow to discuss stuff.
It was almost eleven by the time I turned off my desk lamp, rubbed my eyes, and stood up from my office chair.
“One more game?” Damon asked as Maverick got up from the couch, catching my eye.
“Sorry, bud. Tomorrow. I’m bagged.”
My son pouted, but shut off the television and put all the video game paraphernalia away where it belonged. He schlepped past the kitchen where I stood by the sink drinking a glass of water, and gave me a half-assed wave. “’Night.”
“Goodnight, my sweet, handsome son. Mommy loves you so, so much.” Then I blew him some noisy kisses, which just prompted him to roll his eyes and go red in the face. But it was the smirk he tried to hide that made me smile.
Maverick snickered as he came up beside me and filled his own glass from the sink. He waited until Damon’s door clicked shut before turning to face me. “What’s going on?”
I shrugged. “Nothing. I’m just … I’m just sad about how your dad treated you today, that’s all. As a parent, I couldn’t imagine treating either of my children that way, and it’s just made me sad for you, that’s all.”
One eyebrow ticked up half an inch on his forehead, like he didn’t quite believe me. “That’s it? You’re sure?”
I nodded.
“Well, thank you, and I’m still sad about it too, but don’t let it bother you too much, okay?
” He took my waterglass from me and set it in the sink along with his own.
Then he reached for my hand and tried to pull me toward the bedroom.
I hesitated, staring back into the sink.
“Leave them,” he said, amusement in his voice. “They’ll be there in the morning.”
“Yeah, but … if we just take thirty seconds to wash and dry them now, we won’t have to do it in the morning.”
His lips twitched, and he tugged a little harder. “And if they are there in the morning, it will mean the world didn’t end. Come to bed, Gabrielle. Come to bed, get naked, and let me make your thighs shake.”
I glanced at him and sighed, allowing him to tug me through the kitchen and down the hall to my bedroom.
“That’s a good girl,” he purred, closing the bedroom door behind me. “Now, let’s reward you for giving up that control. Because we both know it wasn’t easy. Clothes off, and on your hands and knees. I’m hungry.”