Page 29 of The Sweet Spot (Kodiaks Hockey #3)

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Wolseley

W ith the Kodiaks on another road trip, I had a week to not worry about food prep. I used the first day to clean Tangi and Ethan’s condo from top to bottom since I hadn’t been there much, and the dust bunnies were making homes in every corner. I also made sure all the road trip meals were accounted for.

Tangi had Saturday off, so she invited us over to hang out for a bit, followed by a get-together at the house of Olivia Schott, the wife of one of the Kodiaks. Now that I was dating Brandon, I’d been invited.

Before any of that, though, I got a call from Jan late Friday afternoon. As if the news that Daniel was backing off suing me wasn’t good enough, she had even more good news.

“I wanted to update you on the potential of lawsuits that could be brought against you for the bad-faith meals Daniel Parry served. I’d been hearing rumors that some customers were trying to put together a lawsuit, maybe get more people involved to make it a class-action suit, but seeing as your corporation is defunct, there isn’t much for them to go after. They could always go after you personally; that is a risk until the statute of limitations runs out, but I decided to mitigate your losses as much as I could.”

I sat down on the sofa in my living room, wondering where this was going. “Okay,” I said.

“I decided to dig a little deeper into Daniel’s past. Right back to his time in Chicago, where he used to live. It seems he’s gotten himself into trouble a few times. Suffice it to say, he has agreed to take responsibility for all his actions. Does that mean people still won’t sue you? Who knows, but it means they can go after him more easily. Now, he’s declared bankruptcy, so there is nothing to go after.”

The pit in my stomach wasn’t satisfied with this news. “Should I be worried about lawsuits?”

“My experience is that if people don’t file in the first six months to a year, they likely will never file a suit. In your case, they would have to show they were there and ate one of the meals in question. As more time passes, that gets harder to do. And what damages can they prove? How were they harmed? Like I said, I don’t think it will happen, but I can’t say that for certain.”

I was feeling better about it, but another thought occurred to me. “How long is the statute of limitations?”

“Two years, so you’re looking at about another year and a half.”

Yet another thought occurred to me. “I’m sorry for taking your time, but I do have one more question. If I were to marry someone, have a family in the next year and a half, would I be opening them up to this? What if I married someone with a lot of money?”

Jan cleared her throat as she thought about that. “Of course, if you are sued and the lawyer and their client think you have deeper pockets, I suppose they could sue you for more, but there are ways to protect a partner. But again, the person bringing forward the lawsuit would need to prove they suffered damages.”

“I would hate to jeopardize a future spouse or bring them into this mess.”

“You could always wait out the eighteen or so months, but again, the risk of a lawsuit and damages adding up is slim.”

She did put me at ease, and it wasn’t like I was planning a wedding, but it was nice to know the information. “Thank you again for your time and all your hard work.”

“Not necessary. Putting people like Daniel in his place is reward enough. I’ll keep in touch if anything else comes up.”

Someone could sue me. And if they found out about Brandon, and that he was worth millions, would they see a payday? Expect him to pay for my stupidity? Not like I’d ever allow that to happen. I’d screwed up, and I had to pay the consequences.

But I couldn’t shake the unease even as I went to my hairdresser, and she touched up my pink-and-blonde style and got a trim. I liked the longer bob she had done for me. It complemented my face, but I wondered how it would go over with Olivia and the other Kodiaks WAGS. I looked nothing like them. I had some hips, big boobs, and a rounder face. I was the curvy girl when I let people see that part of me, a part that Brandon seemed to like a lot, but I was never going to be the girl who cared about hair and makeup. To me, clothes were meant to be fun, not a status statement. I had no idea how I would fit in or if I would fit in.

But I had a plan.

I made some of my tastiest recipes. I put together one appetizer plate and one dessert plate that I brought over to Tangi’s. I popped the trays into the fridge, and her hazel eyes grew wide when she saw them.

“You didn’t have to make anything,” she said .

“I know. But I want to impress them. I feel like I’m behind the eight-ball. So maybe I can win them over with some good eats.”

“They are going to love you, like Jill, and I love you.”

Something about her statement put me off, but lately, everything she said seemed to bother me. Was she implying that something was wrong with me, but she and Jill still managed to love me anyway? No, I wasn’t doing this now. I was already nervous enough meeting everyone for the first time, I didn’t need to worry about Tangi too.

Jill arrived a few minutes later, and her blue eyes popped open when she saw the trays of food. “You didn’t have to bring anything,” she said.

“I’ve already had that conversation with Tang,” I said, handing her a tray to carry since Tangi was busy loading up Maddy’s things. This was an afternoon party, so families were invited too. I’d known that ahead of time and made some kid-friendly snacks as well.

“If one person asks me when Jeremy and I are getting married and starting a family, this is the last shindig I’m going to,” Jill said. “They ask every time. Thankfully, I don’t have a mother who asks me that shit.”

“You know how it is,” Tangi said. “I lot of them are stay-at-home moms, so it’s a big part of their lives.”

“Well, I want a career. And when—and if—I want to have kids, they still won’t be the first to know.”

Brandon and I had been dating all of five minutes, so I had no idea how he felt about kids. I wanted a family, but like Jill, I also wanted a career. I had Tangi as my role model. She had wanted her career after putting her life on hold for Ethan the first time around. That definitely wasn’t going to happen again, and that’s why she kept her job as a physiotherapist with the Ravens .

Tangi pulled up to a massive house less than ten minutes from her place. Cars lined the circular driveway, and Tangi parked behind another SUV. I hoped they wouldn’t view me as the one with the crazy hair color. I’d actually considered dyeing it my natural color, but then I realized I would be conforming to something and not being me. But I was also acutely aware that these women would think it was funny, or make fun of me behind my back. It wouldn’t be the first time. No one needed to know how much I’d stressed over my outfit. I’d finally settled on what I hoped were normal-styled blue jeans, a plain white shirt, and an oversized black sweater. How much more demure could I possibly get?

A woman answered the door, and I presumed she was Olivia. She gave Tangi a huge hug and Jill a more subdued one. I had a sneaking suspicion Jill wasn’t the most loved of the WAGS, not that Jill would care. Then Olivia set her gray eyes on me and smiled warmly.

“You must be Wolseley! I’ve been looking forward to meeting you. My husband talks about your protein bars all the time! And what’s this?” she asked, staring at the tray in my hands. She’d ignored the one in Jill’s.

“I thought I’d bring something along. I made some desserts and appetizers.”

“You didn’t have to. But I’m not going to say no. If they are anything like the famous protein bars, we are going to eat it all up.”

All right, that was a good start. A huge weight had already been lifted from me.

We followed Olivia through the pristine house and into the kitchen and massive living room area. That was where all the women had gathered, drinking wine, munching on the spread Olivia had put out, and some minding their children. In a whirlwind, I met them all, trying desperately to keep track of their names. Olivia told me it was okay to ask again. No one would be offended. She set out my appetizers first and put the dessert tray in what looked like a commercial kitchen refrigerator. I was a little jealous. How many times over the past few months had I rearranged Brandon’s normal-sized fridge to make all my groceries fit?

Before I knew it, I was swept up in numerous conversations, most with WAGS, who wanted to know more about Brandon.

“He’s this mystery to most of us,” Becca Haywood said. Her husband was a defenseman on the team. “You are the first of his girlfriends we’ve ever met. We know he has had them, but I don’t know if he wasn’t serious about them or if he’s scared of us.”

Amber Murray, wife of one of the forwards, jumped in. “He’s not serious about them. That’s my vote.”

A woman I hadn’t yet met came bounding over. She had one of my goat cheese and onion pastries on her plate. I couldn’t tell if she was happy or angry, but when she got to me, she smiled.

“Oh my god,” she said. “I have tried all of your appetizers, and I love you right now! I’m Sasha, by the way.”

“Nice to meet you,” I said. “And I’m happy you like them.”

“Do you cater?”

That caught me off guard. “I don’t. I used to do it back home.”

“Jon and I are getting married next summer, and we were planning to have a party here at the end of the season with all the friends we’ve made and for the Kodiaks family. Would you consider catering it?”

I didn’t know what to say to her. “Can I get back to you? I’d need to figure out the logistics.”

“Please consider it. Your apps are delicious. Now I understand why the guys rave about your protein snacks.”

I had no idea how many snacks Ryan and Brandon were sharing with the team. I’d just assumed they were eating more than I’d thought two people could eat.

“You would make a killing with catering,” Amber said when Sasha went to raid the fridge to try my desserts. I’d told her some were vegan and that those were clearly marked. “You have no idea how often we have parties and get-togethers. We also do some charity events, and finding good caterers isn’t as easy as you think.”

“I’d have to think about it. Between my personal chef duties, I don’t know how I could swing it.”

But could I? Maybe I could with Delia’s help. And she probably knew people through her delivery job. If she went to culinary school, she could potentially recruit more people. Sasha’s suggestion had me thinking.

By the time my dessert tray came out, I had talked to everyone, been added to all their various group chats, been asked to cater more events than I possibly could dream of doing, been roped into volunteering for a charity event, and been invited to the next get-together after Christmas.

My head was spinning with information as we were leaving. Olivia asked me if Brandon and I would be at the Christmas party this year. I told her I’d get back to her. She’d already asked me to cater it, but I told her I couldn’t do it on such short notice. The issue was manpower, and she accepted that. She’d still asked me if I could bring along some things that she would pay for. I told her it wasn’t necessary since I still had no idea if Brandon wanted to attend. But as the captain, I’m sure he would.

“See, they like you more than they like me,” Jill said as we walked to the car. Maddy had been so busy playing with all the other kids that she passed out in her stroller.

“That’s because you hate coming to these things. That vibe oozes off you,” Tangi said.

The two of them argued about that, but I didn’t care. The WAGS had been so nice to me, accepted me, and I was on cloud nine.