Page 44

Chloe

Stephanie steps into view.

“I’m so sorry, Chloe.”

I feel overwhelmed and don’t know what to do.

“Oh, good grief, you two. Stop penning her in.”

My eyes drift over to Amber.

“You’re all here.” It’s all I can manage to say.

“Uh, that’s my fault,” Bri admits.

“I couldn’t stop crying, so Aiden called Amber to come with me. And we called Stephanie.” She bites her lip.

“I’m sorry; this is probably so overwhelming.”

“No.” I blink back tears.

“I’m too scared to be alone right now, so this is...perfect.” My voice is shaky, and I knot my fingers in Gunner’s shirt.

“Oh, Chloe.” Bri starts crying and walks over to me and wraps her arms around me.

Her belly pushes into me, but it doesn’t bother me.

I’m just grateful for the hug because I feel like I’m falling apart.

“Chloe, I’m so sorry.” That’s from Stephanie, and I feel her join us.

“Oh for goodness’ sake,” Amber says, but she doesn’t sound upset.

I’m pretty sure she joins our group hug.

“All right. You know what we need?” she says a moment later.

“Snacks,” Stephanie calls out.

“And a movie,” Brielle adds.

“And pizza,” Amber adds.

“I’m on it.”

“Can you even order pizza at ten in the morning?” I ask.

“Oh, you are such a newbie,” Amber says, shaking her phone at me and then turning away a moment later to talk to whoever’s on the phone.

“What kind do you like, Chloe?” she asks a moment later.

“I can’t have pizza,” I tell her.

Her mouth opens in shock, and the other two turn to me as well.

“You can’t have pizza?” Stephanie asks.

I almost laugh at the awful expression she’s making.

“I’m dairy free and gluten free.” Amber scrunches her nose in distaste and turns back to the phone.

“I’m going to go find some clothes to put on,” I tell the girls.

“Just be sure to have that back on when Gunner comes home today,” Bri says.

I frown and look down at Gunner’s shirt.

“Why?”

“Because you wearing nothing but his shirt will make him absolutely feral, and we are here for that,” Stephanie says with a grin.

“I don’t think he—”

“Oh, he will,” Amber calls out, even though she’s still on the phone.

“Come on, Chloe,” Amber says.

“We’ve never seen Gunner lose it before.”

“Yeah,” Stephanie adds.

“O-kay,” I say slowly.

“I’ll make sure we have popcorn for the show,” Amber throws out.

“For when Gunner comes home?” I ask incredulously.

They all three nod, and I don’t even bother fighting it.

“All right. Fine.” I walk back to Gunner’s room and throw on the pair of sweatpants he handed me last night.

They’re still big, but it beats walking around in just a t-shirt.

I snag one of his hoodies and pull it on, taking a moment to breathe in the scent of him that still lingers.

I think I’ve officially lost it.

Seeing all three of them sprawled around the living room and even taking in Riley, who’s currently crawling across the floor, eases something inside me.

I’m so glad I don’t have to be alone right now.

I settle into one of the available chairs.

“Thank you,” I tell them.

“I really didn’t want to be alone today.”

“Of course,” Bri immediately says.

She gives me a cautious look.

“Do you...do you want to talk about it?”

I take in their faces and know they’re not pushing me.

They honestly want to know if I want to talk about it for my sake.

Suddenly, I do; I want to get it off my chest.

So, I begin with Gunner dropping me off to opening the door and everything that happened after that.

"I was wondering how you got that awful bruise on your face,” Amber says with a frown. “Too bad he's in prison. I bet Gunner would love to take a beating to him.”

“Amber!” Bri says in shock.

Amber just shrugs. “It’s true. I would like to do some damage to him as well.”

There's something about her words that help take the paralyzing fear I’ve been feeling all morning. “Gunner would have last night, if the guy had still been there,” I admit. “He was so mad; I’ve never seen him so mad.”

“Of course he was mad,” Amber jumps in. “His girl got hurt.”

Nobody refutes the claim that I’m his girl; I don’t either. They pass the controls around until somebody figures out how to work Gunner’s tv. Speaking of Gunner, I pull out my phone.

Chloe- hey, so all the wives are here and they’ve sort of taken over. We’re ordering food, using your tv, taking over your living room. Probably should have checked with you first

My phone rings seconds after I send the text. I move towards the kitchen for a little privacy. “Hey.” When he doesn’t say anything, I frown. “Gunner.”

“I’m here. Sorry. I just,” he pauses. “It’s really good to hear your voice.”

“Same,” I say softly.

“How are you feeling?”

“Okay. I took those pain pills you left for me. Thank you.”

“Did you find anything to eat?” he asks. “I set some food out for you before I left.”

I look over on the counter and see gluten free bread, three different kinds of cereal that I know are all gluten free, as well as apples and bananas and a nut mix. I cross the kitchen to the refrigerator and pull it open. Inside, sitting on the top shelf are oat milk, dairy free yogurt, and a few other things. “I see that. You didn’t need to get all that. I think Amber’s ordering pizza.”

“Can you order pizza this early?” he asks, and I can’t help my laugh.

“I asked the same thing, and she called me a newbie.” I expect him to chuckle, but he doesn’t.

“How are you doing?”

“I’m okay.”

“For real, Chloe. It’s me. You can tell me how you’re really feeling.”

I stare blankly at the oven for a moment. “I’m scared to be alone, and I’m scared to go back to my house. Which I know is dumb because they caught the guy. Mostly, I just feel kind of...numb.” I swallow and say what I really want to say. “And I wish you were here, so you could give me a hug.”

It’s silent after that, and I wonder if I went too far. He curses softly, startling me. “I’ll see if I can come to the house, even if it’s just for an hour or so.”

“Don’t you dare; you have a game in a few hours. You need to focus.”

“I can’t focus when I know you need me.”

My heart cracks, and I fall even more for this guy. “Yes, you can, Captain. You’ve got a team to lead.”

“And you think I care about that after what you went through? I don’t care about hockey the way I care about you, Chloe!” His words are full of anger, and I can picture him palming the back of his neck—his tell when he’s frustrated.

I close my eyes and lean against the wall for support, knowing things are never going to be the same between us again. “I care about you too, Gunner.” He goes silent on the other end. “And that’s why I’m telling you to stay there. Focus on the game; your team needs you. I don’t think I’m going to come to the game, if that’s okay. I just can’t handle the crowd yet. My nerves are shot. I emailed the staff to let them know.”

“Of course. Nobody expects you to be here tonight after what happened, least of all me.”

I hear the girls laugh. “Thanks for sending the girls over; I really didn’t want to be alone.”

“I just asked Brielle to come, but apparently they’re a group package.”

I laugh at his surly words. “Apparently. Well, it worked out for the best. Listen, I know you need to go, but I just wanted to say...thank you. Thank you for coming for me last night and for calling the police and for taking care of me and letting me stay here, and just everything.”

I hear voices in the background. “Yeah, I’ll be there in a minute,” he snaps.

“Gunner, go, I’m fine. The girls are here; we’re going to watch a movie.”

He sighs. “Okay. Help yourself to anything. And Chloe—”

I hear somebody calling him in the background. “Go, Gunner. Good luck tonight.” I hang up, so he can get going without feeling guilty. I stare down at my phone for a moment because I think I’m hopelessly in love with him. It’s to the point that I literally just ache to be around him. I close my eyes. I’m in so much trouble. With my eyes closed, thoughts of last night start to swirl around in my head. I open my eyes and make my way back out to the girls. I know I need to deal with last night at some point, but right now, I just want to forget. “What movie are we watching?” I ask as I settle on Gunner’s comfy couch.

“Knight and Day,” Stephanie calls out and ques it up.

“Haven’t heard of it,” I say as I grab a handful of candy. “Thanks for bringing snacks, by the way.”

“Oh, we never get together without snacks,” Bri says as serious as can be.

“Good to know.”

“How have you never seen this movie?” Stephanie asks, pointing at the tv. “It’s so good. It's got Cameron Diaz and Tom Cruise in it.”

“To be honest, I don’t watch many movies.”

“Well, this one is a good one,” Brielle says settling into the couch with a hand on her extended belly.

“When are you due?” I ask.

“Any day now.”

My hand stops halfway to my mouth. “Why are you here?”

Bri laughs. “I’m not in labor like right at this minute. My due date was yesterday, but obviously nothing’s happening. So, I just continue on.”

I stare at her. “Is Aiden freaking out?”

“Oh, he’s a mess and driving me crazy. He texts me and calls me like every minute of every day. But I just keep telling him to just keep doing his thing. We’ll do what we need to when it’s time.” I nod but don’t relax. “It’s okay, Chloe. It’s not like I’m just going to burst into labor at any moment. They told me because it’s my first, I’ll probably be in a labor a while.” She makes a face at that.

“It’s true,” Amber says, throwing a piece of popcorn in the air and catching it impressively in her mouth. “My labor with Riley was long; our mom’s labors were long. So, it will probably be the same for Bri.”

“Probably,” I repeat, still unsure.

“Don’t worry. If I feel the baby coming, I’ll let you know,” Bri says laughing and patting my leg.

Nobody else seems worried about it, so I choose not to worry as well. The morning slips into the afternoon as we fill our bellies with snacks and pizza and our minds with chick flicks. Amber surprised me by ordering a gluten free crust with just red sauce and pepperoni and sausage. Surprisingly, it was really good. By late afternoon, I’m really feeling the exhaustion from last night. I excuse myself and crash on Gunner’s bed for a few hours and offer the guest room for anybody that needs it. After sleeping almost two hours, I feel more like myself.

I head back out to the living room, uncertain if the girls will still be here. I come out to see Amber sleeping in the recliner with Riley asleep on her chest and Stephanie typing away on her laptop. I settle on the couch next to Stephanie. “Good nap?” she asks quietly. I nod. “Good; you needed it.”

I’m still trying to wake up. “What are you working on?” I ask with a yawn.

“My next book,” she says easily.

I knew she was a writer but haven't read anything she's written. "I need to read one of your books.” She just smiles and goes back to typing. “Where’s Brielle?” I ask after another yawn nearly cracks my jaw.

“She’s sleeping in the guest room.”

It’s quiet, and I pull out my phone to catch up with all I’ve missed. I haven’t been working for very long when I hear a shriek from the bedroom.