Page 103 of Sweet as Puck
Monroe laughed and kissed my head. “There are bull sharks in the river. The dog splashing around will attract them, and he’ll end up shark bait.”
The long-haired red pup came bounding up the stairs onto the patio, stick in his mouth, and Monroe bent to give him a pet with his free hand. With the other, he was turning snags on the barbecue. “And you’re too good a boy to get eaten, aren’t you, Blue?”
The dog smiled—actually smiled—at Monroe, his tongue lolling out the side of his mouth and tail wagging furiously.
Alec was sitting with Zali and Monroe’s friend, Kristie, around the table, and Zali’s guys were spread out. Some down near the water, and Flynn was next to me on the couch. Ezra was leaning up against the barbecue, talking to Monroe. There were smiles and laughter all around, playful ribbing and love everywhere you looked. Monroe went to stand behind Alec, running his fingers through his hair. Every time he did it, Alec practically purred.
Zali came to sit by me on the sofa and whispered, “Your boyfriend is hot.” She grinned at me conspiratorially.
“Both of them are,” I shot back.
“That’s my dad. Ew.” She gave an exaggerated shudder, but her laughter gave her away. “I’m happy you’ve worked it out.” She paused, her tone serious but her eyes dancing with humour as she asked, “As an athlete, does he have incredible stamina?”
“Oh yeah,” I breathed. My cheeks heated and I giggled. “He really does.”
“You’re going to have to up the cardio to keep up with him. Heck, I know I’ve had to.”
“Your dad is my cardio.” As soon as the words left my mouth, I stilled. That sounded a whole lot ruder than it did in my head. I flicked my hesitant gaze to Zali.
Her mouth was open, and she blinked slowly before she pressed her lips together and clamped her hand over her mouth.Her shoulders shook and tears sprang to her eyes as she giggled. It was contagious. I leaned into her, and with our heads pressed together, we laughed until we both had tears streaming down our faces. My side was hurting from the stitch, and my cheeks were sore too.
“You’re addickted.” She laughed again, and I struggled to breathe. “I love you,” she said to me after our giggles subsided. “You’re the best friend I could ever have asked for.”
“I love you too,” I said, reaching for her hand and interlacing our fingers. She was the first true friend I’d ever had. We’d bonded over a true crime podcast about her mother, and we’d been the very best of friends ever since.
I looked around. Seeing everyone together and happy was incredible.
I sighed. It couldn’t last. Monroe needed to be close to Zali. She was his only family. I couldn’t take that away from him. But Alec needed to be in the US for the NHL. Two places on the opposite sides of the world and me stuck in the middle. It was going to be tough to make it work, but I knew we could.
“What’s on your mind?” Zali asked quietly, nudging my arm with hers when my smile turned sad.
“I wish we could be together all the time like you and your guys are,” I admitted. “But we’ll only see Alec for a few weeks every year. It’s going to suck when he leaves.”
“Why aren’t you going with him?” she asked. She sat up and turned on the seat so she faced me instead of the water.
“Monroe,” I said. I thought it would have been obvious.
“Does Dad not want to move? Why?” Zali’s brows dipped, and her lips turned down in confusion.
“Because of you,” I explained.
Zali shook her head. “Absolutely not. No.” She stood up and stalked over to Monroe.
He looked at her, smiling instantly as she approached him.
“You can’t do this.” She shook her head, and his face fell. She grasped his arms and squeezed them. “I won’t let you stay here because of me. I’ve never seen you happier. I won’t let you walk away from Alec and Cara or put yourselves through the torture of a long-distance relationship because of me.”
“Zali—”
“If you aren’t ready to be together full time, fine. But don’t stay here for me. We can talk every day. We can come and see you in the States as often as you like. Hell, I’ll buy a bigger plane so we can fly there without pit stops and get the place next door to Alec’s if it means seeing you more often. You can all come and stay in the guest house whenever you want to—it’s just sitting there empty—but Dad, please. Please, don’t throw this away because of me. Seeing you happy with Alec and—” She looked at me with a soft smile and tears in her eyes. “—with someone who I love as much as Cara means everything to me.”
“I….” Under his hesitation was a spark of hope that flickered to life. Monroe had been torn, desperate to keep Zali geographically close so he could protect their relationship, but I knew how much he wanted to be with Alec too—he wanted it as much as I did.
“Say you’ll go, Dad.”
He nodded and wrapped his arms around Zali, squeezing her tight. “I’ll go.”
Tears sprang to my eyes, and I raced over to them, engulfing them in a hug. Alec was there too. He wrapped his arms around my shoulders and Monroe’s waist before he pressed a kiss to Monroe’s temple, then nuzzled mine.