Page 3

THREE

HANNAH

“Are you sure you don’t mind?”

“Mind? Are you crazy? I would be offended if you didn’t stay here. I’ll be gone for the next six weeks, and my place has two bedrooms. You can take mine and Oliver can have his own bed. At least while I’m gone. At your dad’s, you’d have to bunk up, wouldn’t you?”

Noah’s deep chuckle fills my bedroom. “Yeah. I still can’t believe we’re moving to Boston.”

I smile at the phone in the middle of the bed as I stuff a pair of shoes into my suitcase. “I can’t believe you’re going to be a Bolt and that I get to see Oliver all the time. It’s still wild to me that you have a kid, and he’s already four. It’s going to be incredible to have you here. It feels like forever since we got to spend this much time together.”

“You were still in high school?—”

I frown down at my suitcase. I’m an excellent packer. It’s a skill I mastered after my mother’s third divorce. More than once, I was given a half hour to fit the stuff I wanted into one suitcase before it was time to leave and start our next life. That’s how she phrased it. She’d dump her current husband and instantly move on to the next. Every time, she was certain this new life would be better than the last.

The hardest departure was when she left Noah’s dad. The boy a couple of years older than me was everything to me back then. He was a true big brother, blood or not. He loved me for who I was, and even when he left for college, he made sure to call and text regularly. And if he wasn’t coming home to visit me, I was traveling there to spend time with him.

For the first time in my life, I felt like I was enough for someone.

I’d never been enough for my mother. It took a long time to understand that she was the problem, not me. Not a single one of her husbands was ever enough. She’s currently on her fifth. He wasn’t around for Christmas, so I can’t help but think that’s already over. Though if it was, she would have shown up on my doorstep, needing a place to stay. Since I settled in Boston—after she left stepdad number three—she comes to me between divorces.

It’s serendipitous, I suppose, that Noah will be staying here. That means mom will have to find somewhere else to go.

A smile curves my lips. “Yeah, high school. Anyway, how did Oliver take the news?”

“He’s thrilled. With Jen’s husband starting work in Boston, it couldn’t have worked out better. I’ll miss my team and building bonds with new teammates will take work, but you know Oliver comes first for me.”

He does. Every time we’re together and I witness the way Noah parents his son, my scars heal a little more. He’s the exact opposite of my mother. That four-year-old has always come first, despite the unplanned pregnancy. Jen was a one-night stand, but from the beginning, the two of them have been dedicated to putting Oliver first. They’re exceptional co-parents. Jen recently got married, and her new husband received a job offer he couldn’t refuse. A job that happened to be in Boston. So without hesitation, Noah and his agent worked a deal with the local hockey team.

And since I work for the Bolts’ sister organization, the Boston Revs—a baseball team owned by the same family—it means I get to spend lots of time with him.

Not only that, but Noah’s dad lives in Boston as well. It’s like it was meant to be.

Lips pursed, I eye my closet. I’ve already packed shorts, T-shirts, three skirts, and seven blouses.

The blue bodycon dress I bought last week from Lulu’s grabs my attention. Will I even have time to go out? As head of PR for the Boston Revs, almost every minute of my time during spring training will be accounted for. Maybe with a more mature team, I could catch some downtime at the beach or at least hang by the pool, but with so many young guys on the roster, they’re keeping me busy and driving me absolutely batty, and the season hasn’t even begun.

Jasper Quinn is at the top of that list. That boy can’t keep himself out of trouble. Though at least some of the shit he gets into is entertaining, like the time he ended up sexting with a nun. If Channel Seven hadn’t been working on an exposé of that specific parish, he might never have gotten caught.

But he did, which meant I had to do damage control.

Spinning sexting is never easy, even if it’s between two consenting adults—why the world gets so butt hurt about sex, I’ll never understand. Sex is amazing if both people know what they’re doing, but I digress. Sexting with a nun? Yeah, that took some work.

I roll the bodycon dress neatly and put it in the suitcase. I miss sex. It’s been way too long since a man has turned me into a pretzel and fucked me sideways. While I would never touch a baseball player, there are plenty of men in Florida to keep me entertained.

And the hockey team will be in the state for at least one of those weekends.

Though I haven’t touched any of them in the four years I’ve worked for the Revs, there’s no rule against it.

“Do you know which weekend the Bolts are playing Florida?”

Noah hums. “I haven’t looked at the schedule, but I’ll text you as soon as I do.”

“Perfect.” I zip up my suitcase and yank it off the bed. “I better go. I’m meeting the girls for drinks to say goodbye.” I pout at the mere thought of being without them for so long. Before working for Langfield Corp, I never really had girlfriends. It’s always been easier to relate to men.

I like sex. Men like sex. I like sports. Men like sports. Instead of searching for other women like me, I disappeared into books. I looked for characters with similar interests there, but after I’d read more books than I can count about meek women who’d never had an orgasm until they met a billionaire who saved them from their boring existence, I decided I’d write my own. I’d create stories that featured the kind of women I wanted to be friends with.

Fierce women who had careers, aspirations, dreams…and knew their way around a vibrator. Because let’s be honest, sometimes we’re our own best orgasm.

Working in the sports industry, luckily, has led me to finally making female friends who share some of the same interests and are more like the heroines in my books.

When I met Sara, I knew instantly we were two sides of the same coin. Like me, Sara had a difficult upbringing. And she struggled to trust men. That changed, though, when she started dating Brooks Langfield, goalie for the Bolts and brother to the bigwigs at Langfield Corp, my employer. She’s loud, like me, and loves talking about sex. We’re a match made in heaven.

Then there’s Lennox, Sara’s best friend from college, who married Aiden Langfield—also of the Langfield Corp Langfields and the youngest of four brothers. She’s ridiculous in all the best ways, so we clicked instantly.

Rounding out the trio of women dating or married to a Langfield—the owners of both the local hockey team and baseball team—is Millie. While she’s the youngest of all of us, she’s a mom to a one-and-a-half-year-old and married to Gavin Langfield, her dad’s best friend and not only the Bolts’ owner but also their coach.

But my actual best friend would be Ava. Though she’s the quietest, most demure of the group—and my total opposite—the two of us just work. She’s also in a relationship with a hockey player, Tyler Warren, a reformed playboy who’s now a father of three non-biological children.

I’m going to miss all four of them while I’m gone.

“Can’t wait to meet your friends,” Noah says.

“They’re all dating or married to men on your team, so you’ll definitely get to know them soon enough.”

“And yet you’re still single,” he teases.

“You know me—anti-commitment right here.”

Noah laughs, the sound reminiscent of the boy I was so close to during my high school days. “So you always say. All right, I’ll let you go. I have to call War anyway. He’s been blowing up my phone since the news dropped.”

I smile. War likes to hide behind the tattoos and the bad-boy exterior, but he’s a complete softie for Ava and their kids. “I’m sure he’s ready to get the gang back together.”

“Yeah, we’ll see how I fit in with the team.”

My chest pinches. “You’ll fit in perfectly. The guys are all great. Seriously. I spend more time with them than the baseball guys, which means you’ll get to spend even more time with me.” I fall onto my bed and stare up at the ceiling.

“We both know you’re my favorite part of this move, so that works for me.”

His words leave me feeling warm. Not many people have made it past my defenses, but Noah Harrison wormed his way into my heart years ago and never left. And now I get him and Oliver. It’ll be a change, living with them, but it’s one I’m excited about.

“I can’t believe you’re headed to Florida while the rest of us are stuck in this miserable weather.” Lennox holds up her rosé, which is almost the exact shade of her pink shoulder-length hair, and tips it toward me. “But cheers to you anyway. I hope you meet a sexy pool boy who services all your needs.”

It’s been too long since anyone has serviced anything, but I tip my glass in her direction to the laughter of all my friends. We’re seated in a booth in the corner of my favorite restaurant—one perk of being besties with the Langfield girls? They can get a reservation anywhere at any time because of who they’re married to. Though it’s nice, I’d prefer it if my own name garnered that kind of service.

One day . It’s what I tell myself constantly. One day I won’t spend all my time cleaning up the messes of others. I’ll be a well-known author, and people will bend over backward to please me.

“Eh, you know how the guys are. Especially Jasper freaking Quinn. I’ll probably be on babysitting duty the entire time.”

“After the nun thing, he’ll surely be on his best behavior,” Ava says.

Oh my sweet, innocent Ava. She only ever sees the best in people.

“You should all come when the guys play Tampa. We can make it a girls’ weekend.”

Millie nods. “I’m in. Gavin will take any excuse he can get to bring Viv and me along with him when he travels with the team.”

“Obviously I’ll be there,” Sara adds.

I glance toward my redheaded bestie. “What about you?”

Ava winces. “I’m not ready to leave Josie, Scarlett, and Bray yet. Arizona will be hard enough.”

As disappointed as I am that I won’t get to see her, I don’t give her shit. She’s still adjusting to being the mother of three. “That’s okay. Arizona is going to be a blast. Three days, a hot tub overlooking the mountains, and time with all my favorite people? I couldn’t ask for more.”

“Speaking of your favorite people,” Sara says with a wiggle of her shoulders. “Guess what Daniel Hall did today?”

Millie groans. “Oh god, do I even want to know?”

Poor Millie. While I have quite a few stepbrothers from my mother’s many marriages, details about their sex lives don’t bother me. Probably because I only ever spent a couple of years living under the same roof. We aren’t nearly as close as she is to her brothers.

Millie, along with the rest of America, had to watch her older brother cheat on the woman who is now her stepmom. When Lake—yes, Lake Paige, international pop star and my idol—found out Paul was cheating on her, rather than fall apart, she slept with his dad. And then became Paul’s stepmom. That’s boss-bitch level shit.

Daniel, Millie’s twin, is literally the biggest player on the Bolts’ roster. That’s saying something, because those guys get around.

Not that I’m bothered by his player status. I like a man who knows what he’s doing, and like they say, practice makes perfect.

Not that I’d ever go near him. There was a time when I had the tiniest crush on the guy.

But sex with the brother of one of my besties would be complicated, and one thing I don’t do is complicated.

“He finally got bedazzled!” Sara does jazz hands to celebrate.

The table erupts in laughter.

Everyone except Millie, whose face is twisted in disgust. “Ew. Why?”

“Why does he want to get pierced?” I lean forward, brows raised, and hold up a finger so I can count off the many reasons he may have chosen this path for himself. “For one, it’s hot. Two, it’s hot. Three, have I mentioned before, it’s fucking hot?”

Lennox and Sara both nod obnoxiously in agreement. When Millie sees Ava biting back a smile, she points at her. “You too?”

Our sweet, reserved friend holds up her hand. “What can I say? It feels fantastic.”

Millie’s head falls back. “Gah, even she gets to ride a piercing.”

A bark of a laugh escapes me. “She married Tyler Warren. Was there ever any real question that he was pierced?”

Arms folded, Millie huffs. “I guess not.”

Sara presses her tongue to the inside of her cheek. “You’re just jealous because yours is the only Langfield who didn’t get pierced.”

“Please, there is no way that Beckett Langfield is pierced.”

“I have a rule!” Ava yells in a voice louder than I thought she was capable.

We all spin in her direction.

“We don’t talk about Beckett’s dick. He’s just…I like him as a person and I don’t want to think of him sexually.”

Millie throws up her hands. “That’s what I’m saying!”

“Bet you he has a really dirty mouth,” Lennox mutters.

“He’s a Langfield. Of course he does,” Sara muses.

Ava glares at them both, and they hold up their drinks in defeat.

“Fine,” Sara says. “No talking about Beckett’s dick. But Daniel’s?”

Millie scowls. “You are dead to me.”

“No, I’m your favorite sister-in-law.”

“Hey!” Lennox whines.

I roll my eyes. They’re always like this. “Who’s getting Danny Boy on the phone? I’m curious about what kind he got.”

“Don’t look at me.” Millie holds up her hands.

She’s taking this way too seriously. What’s a little dick piercing? Well, okay, hopefully there’s nothing little about it. I’d like to imagine that Hall is well endowed. Not that it matters. Like I said, not going near that complication.

“I’ll call him,” Sara offers, no shame in her game.

When the sound of the FaceTime request ricochets off the walls of the restaurant, a couple from one table over glares in our direction. Sara doesn’t bat an eye. She just lowers the sound and smiles.

“He probably won’t pick up since he’s?—”

Millie’s words are cut off when Daniel’s pretty face fills the frame. God, I forgot how boyishly good-looking he is. Dark brown hair that’s always a bit messy, high cheekbones that belong on a model, and scruff that exists purely to fuel fantasies of what it would feel like between a woman’s legs. And my biggest weakness: wide brown eyes that hold more depth than he lets the world believe he’s capable of. Though right now, they’re glazed over.

“ Sara !” he drawls.

Yup. The boy is either high or drunk. Maybe both.

“Awe are you in pain?” Sara uses the voice she typically reserves for talking to Beckett’s twin babies or Vivi.

“Yes. So much pain. But I got the glitter, Sar. I got the mother-fucking-glitter.”

The snort I hold in is so violent it hurts. The rest of the girls are either full-on laughing or covering their mouths.

All but Millie, who stands and angles over the table, then snatches the phone from Sara. “You’re an idiot.”

“Awe, Mills. I got my pee-pee pierced.”

Tears stream down my face. This is gold.

She shakes her head. “Why?”

He sighs, but he’s wearing a dopey smile. “Because I wanted to be matchy-matchy with my boys. And now I am.”

“Oh my god,” Lennox says between giggles.

“And it’s the one for pleasure. I’m a hero,” he says nonsensically.

“Real hero,” Millie mutters. “You put a pin through your penis and you want a prize.”

Behind us, chairs screech along the floor. Oops. Looks like the couple at the next table isn’t interested in our conversation.

Millie holds up her hand. “Sorry.”

“Nope. My prize is my penis. My penis is my prize.” Squinting, he looks away from the phone. “Aiden, I have words for a song. Penis song. Penis prizes.”

“Oh, someone better be recording this,” I say.

“ Hannah ? Is that Hannah?” Daniel drawls.

I take the phone from Millie and wave at him. “Hi, Baby Hall. How you doing?”

“If I tell you it hurts, will you kiss it better?” He puffs his lip out in an exaggerated pout.

Beside me, Millie tries to steal the device out of my hand. “Oh, for the love of god.”

I pull it back before she can get to it. “You couldn’t handle me, Baby Hall.”

“I’m willing to try.” He scrunches up one side of his face in what I think is supposed to be a wink.

His image shakes, and War says, “Your dick is officially off the market. Talk to Hannah in two months.” Then the Bolts’ instigator appears on the screen. “Sorry, girls. I gotta put this one to bed.”

“ Hannah! ” Daniel screams from off screen. “Please, I got the pleasure one!”

I laugh as I shake my head. “I’m leaving for spring training anyway, Baby Hall. Now be a good boy and listen to Daddy War.”

When War rolls his eyes, I just blow him a kiss and wink.

“I’ll miss you, dream girl,” Hall yells in the background.

“Sorry,” War says, walking out of the room. “He had a few shots to numb the pain. Can you put my wife on? I think I’m going to be late getting home.”

I hand the phone over to my bestie, a big smile on my face. God, I love these people.