Page 54 of Lucky Shot (Moonshot Hockey #1)

RUBY

I wake up with Nick’s arm thrown over my middle. I snuggle deeper into him, and his arm tightens.

“You’re still here,” I say, voice still gruff from sleep. We crashed at the cabin after I got moved back in and then we celebrated…many times.

“Mhmm.” He pulls me against his chest. He’s warm and smells faintly of my perfume. His mouth travels along my neck and shoulder, dropping soft kisses that have me turning in his arms to celebrate again.

My stomach, however, picks this inopportune moment to growl. We skipped dinner last night in favor of sex and I have no regrets.

“You need to eat some breakfast,” Nick says.

“No. I don’t want to go anywhere.”

“Me either, but I have big plans for you today so first…food.” He brushes his lips over mine, then gets out of bed. I shift, pulling the blanket up around my bare shoulders.

I watch him as he pulls on his boxers and jeans. “I could get used to this.”

He glances at me over his shoulder as he pulls his T-shirt on over his head. “Good. I like having you here.”

We haven’t talked through everything yet, but being here feels right.

“What happens when Aidan comes back?” I ask.

Nick looks to me like he needs more information to answer my question.

“If you don’t want to tell him yet or think it would be weird to have me stay at the cabin, I found some apartments?—”

Nick’s expression shifts from confused into some grumpy scowl that I can’t quite decipher. “I’m not hiding you from him. Plus, he already knows we had a thing this summer.”

“He does?” I ask, then wince at the implication.

“Yeah, I mean, we weren’t that subtle, so I guess I’m not shocked that he saw us making out at the rink.”

“Oops. Your fault. All that padding really does something for me.”

He leans forward with both hands on the mattress to kiss me again. “Better for him to see his dad acting like a horny teenager in love than wondering if he’s taken a vow of celibacy.”

“Did you say love?” My smile widens. He’s already told me he loved me once, but I’m dying to hear it again.

“Yeah, Red. I’m in love with you.”

I pull him back onto the bed—or most likely, he lets me pull him back onto the bed.

“I love you too,” I say between kisses, sliding my hands under his shirt.

He hums and settles his weight on top of me. Breakfast can wait. He brushes my hair out of his face and guides his hand to settle at the base of my neck where my pulse point flutters under his touch.

I’m filled with so much happiness I feel like I might float away without him.

“I think I’m going to need you to sneak over here and wake me up like this every morning.”

“You just want me to bring the good coffee from the house.”

“That too.”

He laughs against my mouth and then takes my bottom lip between his teeth. I let out a contented sigh.

I don’t hear the knocking until Nick yells, “Go away!”

I freeze, listening for it now. “What if it’s Aidan?”

“He’s not due back for a couple hours. And he wouldn’t have knocked.”

The door handle jiggles and then the knocking starts back up. “Nicky. Open up.”

Nick groans and stands. “Perfect timing, Dad.”

He picks up my shirt from the floor and tosses it to me. While he sees to the door, I jump out of bed and quickly get dressed. I come out, running my fingers through my hair, as Mike is setting a cardboard box on the kitchen counter.

“What’s all this?” I ask.

Nick’s jaw is tight. Uh-oh. This can’t be good.

Mike smiles at me. “Welcome back, Ruby. We missed you around here.”

“Thanks. Me too.”

Nick sighs. “Dad, you can’t move in. I told Ruby she can stay here while she writes her next book.”

Heat blooms in my face. Of course. It is his place after all. I should have thought to ask him.

“I’m so sorry,” I say to him.

Mike reaches out and gives my hand a reassuring squeeze. “Nothing to apologize for, darling. I thought you might prefer something a little closer to my son. I cleaned out the downstairs bedroom. It has an attached bathroom, even nicer than this one, and a deck that looks out to the lake.”

“I don’t know what to say.” I look from him to Nick. “Do you want me under the same roof?”

He tugs me to him by my shirt and scoops me up in his arms, kissing me like we don’t have an audience.

Behind me I hear Mike say, “That’s what I thought.”

“Ruby-Doo!” Travis’s big, booming voice comes next.

He walks in, carrying more boxes. Conrad, Danny, and Penn follow after him.

“You recruited my friends to help?” Nick asks his dad.

“I’m not as young or as strong as I look.” Mike winks at me.

Travis puts down the box then wraps me in a big hug, lifting me off the ground and stealing all the breath from my lungs.

“Need air,” I wheeze.

He sets me down but keeps his arms around me, rocking side to side. “So fucking happy you’re staying with us.”

“Us?” Nick mutters.

I laugh. “Me too.”

Danny is the next to hug me. “Congrats on the book deal. If you need a beta reader, let me know.”

“I do and you’re hired.”

Penn leans down to give me a quick side hug. “Glad you’re back.”

“Thanks, Penn.”

Conrad shuffles forward with a shy smile. His hair looks like it’s been cut since the last time I’ve seen him and it’s out of his eyes, which makes him look even more like he stepped off a runway.

“Hey, Ruby,” he says as I wrap my arms around his shoulders. “Congratulations.”

“Thanks.”

“Should we get everything moved and then have a party?” Trav asks with a mischievous glint. “Good day to take the boat out. Probably our last chance.”

“I just noticed you’re wearing your trunks,” Nick says, arching one brow.

“I always come prepared.” He slaps him on the shoulder and then heads to the house, presumably to get another box.

“You sure you know what you’re getting into?” Nick asks as he takes my hand and pulls me from the doorway.

“I have a pretty good idea.”

“Still want to stay?”

I lift up on my toes to kiss him. “Definitely.”

“Can we watch a movie tonight?” Aidan asks as we’re cleaning up after dinner.

“Sure,” Nick says. He looks to me and I nod my agreement.

Mike pushes back from the table. “I think I’ll leave you three to it. I have a new audiobook I want to listen to and then I’m calling it a night.”

“Night, Dad,” Nick calls as Mike ruffles Aidan’s messy hair.

“Good night.” Mike lifts a hand in a wave and heads out the sliding door.

It’s been two weeks since I moved in, and the nights are my favorite.

When Nick doesn’t have a late practice or game, we have dinner together followed by TV time or sitting out on the back deck.

Fall in Arizona is really just extended summer, but here I’ve already had to break out my sweatshirts and leggings.

After the kitchen is clean and the dishwasher started, we settle in the living room and Aidan scrolls through the options, calling them out one-by-one.

My phone rings while we’re deciding between Mighty Ducks 2 and Sandlot .

“It’s Travis,” I say, looking at the screen.

Nick and I share a concerned look. I accept the call and put him on speakerphone.

“Hey, Trav. Everything okay?”

“Yeah, yeah. I have a quick question for you.”

“Me?” I ask.

“Yeah.”

“O-kay.”

“Is love at first sight a thing?”

“Excuse me?”

Nick groans and falls back onto the couch beside me.

“You’re an expert on love and romance, so I trust your judgment,” he says as if that explains this bizarre phone call.

“I don’t know about love love, but yes, I think you can have chemistry with someone from the moment you lock eyes,” I say.

Nick’s lips pull up at the corners. “Me, right?” he whispers.

I’m transported back to the airport, me babbling and him with his grumpy, stoic expression.

“I definitely felt a spark of something,” I whisper back, then lean forward and press my lips to his.

“Why?” I ask when Travis falls silent on the other end.

“Because I just met my new neighbor and I’m pretty sure I’m in love.”