Page 34

Ch apter 34

Chloe

“All right, are we going to actually play some games or just talk about it?” Sebastian calls out.

Gunner’s eyes meet mine, and he smirks.

I’m reminded of what he said about Sebastain and Stephanie always winning.

It takes a few moments for everybody to claim a seat, and I take the open one next to Gunner.

Thankfully, Brielle is on my left.

I have a feeling she did that on purpose.

Amber settles across from me, and I watch as she settles Riley on her lap.

Rico swoops in and steals her, putting her on his leg and wrapping his other arm around Amber.

I feel my lips tug up in a smile.

It’s been good watching these guys turn into family men.

Gunner’s the last in their tight knit group to fall.

My smile slides when I think of him with another woman.

I immediately wipe that thought from my mind and focus instead on the game that Stephanie and Sebastian are setting up.

“What is this?” Rico asks, and I take in the bewildered looks around the table.

“We got a new one for tonight,” Stephanie says with a grin.

“It’s a hockey game?” Amber asks.

“Hockey trivia is part of it,” Stephanie says with a grin.

“It’s also part strategy.”

Bri groans next to me.

“I’m sorry, Babe. This one’s going to be all on you.” Aiden pats her leg.

“This is just a chance for you guys to showboat all you know,” Amber says sitting back in her chair.

“Exactly,” Sebastian says with a grin.

“Is it teams?” Rico asks.

“Yeah. Husbands and wives,” Sebastian says.

I turn to Gunner.

“I suppose I’m on your team,” I say dryly.

“Sorry. Husbands and wives and engaged couples are together,” Sebastain corrects with a grin.

“You do know we’re not actually engaged, right?” I feel myself pointing out for the second time tonight.

Sebastian winks at me.

“Whatever you say.”

I shake my head but don’t argue with him; it’s useless.

“What do we have to do?” Rico asks, thankfully taking the attention from me.

Stephanie explains the rules, and I pay close attention.

These guys are all super competitive, and I want to be ready to do my part.

“Okay, sounds easy enough. Let’s do this,” Brielle says as she rubs her hands together.

Not twenty minutes later, Brielle puts her head down on the table.

“This is the worst game ever. Seb and Stephanie, you’re fired from picking games.”

Even though they’re losing terribly, Sebastian still grins.

“Yeah, this one is kind of a bust.”

“Kind of?” Amber adds.

“You guys don’t even know the answers to these questions.”

“Chloe does,” Stephanie points out.

And she’s right.

Gunner and I have a solid lead, and it feels really good.

I’ve known a lot of them, but Gunner has surprised me as well with his wealth of knowledge of past players, teams, and all that good stuff.

The play moves around the table.

When it’s Gunner’s and my turn, we take the last 500-point question.

“Okay, Gunner and Chloe,” Stephanie holds up the card she’s reading.

“In the 1988-89 season, 4 players finished with 150 points or more. Who were these 4 players?” I smile immediately.

Stephanie drops the card onto the table.

“She knows. Of course, she knows.”

I glance up at Gunner.

“Do you know this one?”

He smirks slightly.

“Yeah.”

“Go ahead,” I tell him, waving my hand.

“You do the honors.”

I don’t wait any longer.

“Wayne Gretzky—”

“Well, that’s a given. I could have gotten that one,” Amber says.

“Mario Lemieux, Steve Yzerman, and Bernie Nicholls.”

There's a collective groan when I finish. I turn to Gunner, and he smiles and gives me a high five. “Did you two like prepare for this game ahead of time?” Stephanie asks, leaning back in her seat.

“Yes. Gunner quizzed me on all the hockey trivia he could before we came tonight. He said it was the only way I was allowed to come.” I keep a straight face as I say the words.

Bri turns to Gunner. “You did?”

I laugh as Gunner chuckles. “I’m just kidding.”

“Well, it’s good I didn’t have that same quiz before I started game night, or I still wouldn’t be here,” Bri says. I laugh along with the others as we pick up the game.

“How are things going with that girl, Gunner?” Bri asks.

I feel my smile fade. “Yeah, what’s her deal?” Amber asks.

I let Gunner field this one because it’s his story to tell. “She’s a friend from high school.” He pauses a moment. “And her mom is my mom’s best friend.”

There’s a collective groan. “Exactly,” I can’t help but add. “But it seems to be blowing over. I think she’s realized that she’s not going to get anything from Gunner. I told her as such when she came over to my house.”

Bri gasps. “She came over to your house. To do what? Talk?”

I laugh, but there’s no humor. “No. Actually, she came over to threaten me.” I feel Gunner stiffen beside me, but I don’t look at him.

“She threatened you?” Stephanie repeats.

“I mean, she did, but it was fine. She’s psycho, but she left after I threatened to put my lawyer on this case.”

“After she hit you,” Gunner mutters.

“She hit you?” Bri asks in horror.

“Did you hit her back?” Amber asks hopefully.

I smirk. “No, because of said lawyers, but it was just her bag.”

“She left a black eye,” Gunner practically growls.

I shrug. “It was a heavy bag.”

“That’s insane,” Sebastian says with a serious frown.

“Yeah. That should have never happened,” Rico adds.

Warmth works its way through my body at their defense of me. “Thanks, but I’m fine.”

“Gunner, did you take care of it?” Amber demands, staring him down.

“Chloe won’t let me go near her.” He crosses his arms across his chest.

“Of course, I won’t. We’re trying to make this whole thing go away. The second you go face to face with her, it becomes a nightmare. Do not talk to her,” I tell him, staring him in the eye.

“I almost forgot how scary she was,” Bri whispers.

“She’s not scary,” Sebastian defends me.

“Aw, thanks, Hart,” I say with a smile.

“She’s just intense,” he adds a moment later, wiping my smile away.

“Hey now.”

Before I can say anything more, Gunner steps in. “She’s why we’ve garnered the attention we have.”

“Right. It has nothing to do with your talent and winning games,” I laugh.

“Seriously, Chloe, you’ve done an amazing job with our team,” Sebastian says.

“Yeah,” Rico agrees. I even see Aiden nodding his head, and my heart fills with gratitude.

“Thanks. Anyway, she seems to have backed off. I think she finally gets the point. And we won’t have to do this whole thing,” I point between Gunner and me. “...a whole lot longer.”

Silence falls around the room for a moment. It’s not a comfortable silence; it’s a weird, charged silence. Wanting it to end, I add, “That way, Gunner can get back to his life.” I look around the table and notice that all three guys are looking at Gunner. I'm not the kind of person to not deal with a problem head on, so…

“Whyare you all looking at him that way?” When nobody says anything, I turn to Gunner.

“What?” He's sitting back in his chair, arms crossed over his muscular chest. It’s the universal sign a male gives off when he’s not happy.

“Maybe Gunner doesn’t want to stop doing this thing .” Sebastian grunts when Stephanie elbows him.

“Maybe Gunner can speak for himself,” Gunner says, leveling a look at Seb.

Sebastian just grins. “Right, Cap.” He stands up and stretches. Stephanie stands up next to him. “You ready to go, Beautiful?” he kisses her cheek and pulls her into his side.

“Yes, after I help with cleanup.”

“Oh, it’s fine,” Bri says, waving her off.

“We’ve got it,” Aiden adds.

As if on cue, Riley starts fussing. Rico and Amber begin the process of buckling her into her car seat. Sebastian and Stephanie start their goodbyes, and Stephanie surprises me by giving me a hug. “It was good to have you here tonight.”

“Thanks, Stephanie.”

That’s it; but it’s enough. Amber gives me a wave and calls out a goodbye as she and Rico hustle out the door. Then it’s just Gunner and me and Brielle and Aiden. Gunner and I stand up at the same time and start cleaning off the table. “I have to go to the bathroom. I'll be right back. Don’t worry about picking up; I’ll get it when I get back.”

Not one of us tells the pregnant woman that we’re going to help anyway, but that’s what the three of us do. Aiden and Gunner are quiet as they clean, and I’ve run out of polite conversation questions for the night. We make quick work of clean up. Thankfully, it was all paper products for the night, so pick-up is a breeze. I wipe off the table with a sponge, and Gunner dries it when I’m done.

“You guys,” Bri says when she comes back. “I told you not to worry about cleaning up. Thank you,” she says as she stands on her tiptoes to kiss her husband.

And that’s my cue to get going. I head to the door and slip my shoes back on. My stomach rolls a little, and I decide I’m ready to be home and in bed for the night. I am exhausted after this weekend. It will be good to sleep in my own bed.

We say goodnight and head out. “Do you want me to catch an Uber, so you don’t have to drive all over creation? Again.” Gunner gives me a skeptical look. “Okay, never mind.”

It's silent as we begin the drive to my house. I put my head against the seat and reflect on the night. It was actually a good night; I didn’t hate it as much as I thought I would. And the girls were all really nice to me. It’s not like we’re besties now or anything, but it wasn’t terrible. My stomach rolls again, and I put a hand on my stomach, trying to think through what I ate. Hopefully, it will pass quickly.

It doesn’t pass, and my stomach is full-on cramping by the time I get home. Gunner, who was mostly quiet on the drive, turns to me. Before he can say anything, I open my door. “Thank you for a great night and good weekend, Coftman. And thanks for driving me everywhere. I’ll see you tomorrow.” I don’t give him a chance to say anything as I reach into the backseat and grab my bag. With a quick wave, I close the door behind me and make a beeline for the front door. In my haste, I drop the keys but finally get the door unlocked. I drop my bag and purse and head straight for the bathroom. Before I can get there, my phone rings. I almost don’t answer it, but when I see Brielle’s name, I swipe for the call.

“Hey, Brielle.”

“Chloe, I’m so sorry. I was putting something away in the refrigerator and saw the carton of sour cream, and I remembered that I put sour cream in my dip tonight.” My stomach drops. Literally . “I’m so sorry. I normally don’t for that dip but decided to tonight, and I totally forgot about it when you asked me. I’m so sorry. It wasn’t a lot. Are you going to be sick?”

“It’s fine,” I tell her, even as my stomach cramps painfully. “Don’t worry about it, Bri. I’m sure it will be fine. Thanks again for a great night and thanks for hosting.”

“Oh, you're so welcome. I’m so glad you came with Gunner. He’s been alone for too long.”

Unsure how to respond to that, I simply thank her again and then hang up. I’m bent over the toilet minutes later.