Page 10 of The Winning Hat Trick (The Steel City Knights #1)

Celeste

" W hat the actual fuck?" I mutter to myself as the beefy hockey player walks off with my baby girl.

Wren startles me. "I see you and Mac are hitting it off." She's leaning beside me, arms crossed and hip popped, as she looks back and forth between me and Maclan.

"Umm…" I don't even know how to answer her. I'm flustered, which is not a feeling I'm accustomed to.

"Come on. Let's get some food, and I can talk up my future brother-in-law." Wren hooks her arm in mine—which should be awkward with our height difference, but it's not—then guides me to the spread that my mom has laid out.

Ezra has a plate of food for Talon, who is sitting with him by Maclan at the table. My dad has Calla, so I take the kid free moment and load up a plate to enjoy a hot meal for a change.

Once we both have our plates, Wren and I join the rest of our girl gang.

"Is anyone going to bring up how hot the men look with babies in their arms?" Chayse fans her face as she stares at Cash holding one of the twins.

"Mav definitely looks good with his nephew." Spencer smiles at her husband, who is holding Chayse's other son.

"I still can't get over Mac and Layla." Wren wiggles her brows. "Brooks has had me watching his preseason hockey games, and some of his games from last year, so I'm trying to meld his enforcer image with the teddy bear image in front of me. I definitely don't hate it." She bites her lip.

"I get it. I swear Axle's only facial expression is a frown, but then he gets with Penny or the babies, and he melts. My ovaries start releasing eggs as if they're about to have an immaculate conception right there on the spot." Emerson sighs as if she's picturing her husband with their kids.

"Oh my fucking hell. You're ridiculous." Chayse throws a napkin at her sister.

"She really does seem to like him," Daphne adds.

"You're right," I agree. "Layla's never really had stranger danger, but given the choice between being with me or someone else, especially someone new, she rarely picks the other person. I honestly didn't know what to do for a minute."

"You take it for the gift horse that it is and eat your food while it's hot, enjoy time with your girlfriends, and drool over the delicious eye candy who can't take his eyes off of you." Chayse nods towards the guys' table.

My eyes meet Maclan's.

He smirks and kisses the top of Layla's head again, then helps Talon cut up his food before he goes back to eating and feeding Layla.

My eyes get misty seeing someone I just met loving and caring for my kids more than their own father ever has.

A wave of guilt slams into me, but tonight is not the night for it.

I square my shoulders and take a deep breath, then slowly release it. I may not have picked the best partner for a father to my kids, but I took the steps to get someone who is toxic out of their lives. I am enough for them and will prove that to myself by showing up for them every damn day.

A gentle hand slides into mine and gives it a squeeze. Daphne smiles at me.

We've grown close, and her hand in mine is a quiet show of her support for me, without drawing attention that I don't want when I'm feeling too much.

"Wren, how well do you know Brooks's brothers? I'm sure their lives are crazy with their professions." I'm dying to know more about Maclan but don't want to make it too obvious.

"I love them. I didn't know I needed three more brothers in my life, but I'm glad to have them. They're all so different, but the same too. They've got the same core values and are the best kind of men.

"When my mental health was complete shit, they all asked Brooks what they could do to help me. They wanted to know what to do if I had a panic attack, so that if Brooks wasn't available, they could protect me and keep me safe. They each supported me in their own way.

"Cameron and I have our own little book club.

Carson is such a goofball that we have a 'who can send the most ridiculous meme' war going.

Maclan and I have yoga and lunch dates. He only lives about five minutes from here, so it's easier for him to get to Sparrow Falls than for the twins.

He's got this calming effect about him that just puts me at ease, even more so than Brooks can sometimes.

They've been a huge part of my healing, and I wouldn't be here without any of them.

"I'm super excited for their seasons to start but also a little bummed.

I've gotten used to having them around. The twins crash in one of the spare apartments a lot, and Mac lives nearby, so we've seen them a lot.

Their schedules are starting to get crazy, but all of them are so close that I know we'll find a way to get together when we can.

At least the twins' games are only once a week, unlike Mac's. His schedule is insane."

"I can't even imagine. I feel like my schedule managing the foundation and working at the shop is a lot.

I couldn't imagine flying all over the country and Canada just to turn around and fly back a few days later.

It would be hard to keep track of." Daphne's brows furrow as if the thought alone is causing her anxiety.

"You get used to it," I try reassuring her.

"When I was modeling, I could have a job in L.A.

one day, one in New York the next, and then be on an overnight flight to Italy to walk in a runway show.

It's a lot when it's your everyday life, for sure, but you don't think about it being too much because you're doing something you love.

"It also helps that you have people telling you where you need to be and when you need to be there. I had a kickass agent who negotiated the best contracts, and they had a killer personal assistant who kept me so organized that I never had to worry about where I needed to be next."

"Are you still thinking about being an agent as your second act?" Daphne turns to me, pulling the attention of all the other women at the table.

"I am. I've been doing a lot of research since we had breakfast together and have a solid plan that I'm working on implementing. I'm still trying to figure some stuff out, but I'm really excited about the possibilities."

"That's fucking awesome. We need more badass boss bitches ruling the world," Wren exclaims.

Blushing, I go back to picking at my food, relieved when the conversation steers away from me. Looking over at the guys' table, I see Layla dosing on Mac's chest, Calla sleeping in Ezra's lap, and Talon valiantly trying to keep his head from dropping onto my dad's shoulder but losing that battle.

"As fun as today has been, it's time for us to head home. Talon has school tomorrow, and he's going to be a bear to get in the shower and into bed when we get home." I stand and say goodbye to the girls.

I knew Daphne would be good for my brother, but I never knew how good she would be for me. She's become one of my closest friends, but she's also brought this amazing group of women into my life. For the first time in forever, I feel like I have a sense of community that I've been greatly missing.

"Hey, bud. It's time to go home. You've got school tomorrow." I run my hand through Talon's hair and brace myself for the fight that I can see building in his eyes.

"I'm not tired. Can't I just stay with Uncle Ezra?"

"Not tonight. It's getting late, and with school tomorrow, you need to sleep in your own bed and get a good night's sleep."

"I have a bed here, and Uncle Ezra can take me to school. I don't want to go home. I'm not a baby," Talon growls, his frustrations growing.

"No, you're not a baby. You're a big kid and old enough to understand that no means no. You can stay over at Uncle Ezra's another time, but tonight is not that night."

"This sucks." Talon shoves his plate, knocking it into his cup and spilling it.

"Hey—"

"Talon."

I whip my head towards Maclan to see him glaring in disappointment at my son.

I'm so shocked silent at the reprimand in his voice that I forget I was mid scold.

Mac levels his eyes at my boy, whose lip is trembling.

"I get that you're frustrated right now and don't want to leave, but taking out your frustrations on your mom is not cool, little man. Do you love your mom?"

"Y-yes." Talon fights off his tears.

"Then you do not raise your voice at her, even when you are upset.

When you love a woman, you need to respect her, even when you're mad or sad.

Your mom just wants the best things in life for you.

If she thinks it's time for you to go home because you have school tomorrow, then it's time to go home. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir." My son nods solemnly.

"Do you think you need to say anything to your mom?"

"Sorry, Mama. I'll go home and listen when we get there."

"Good job, little man." Mac nods in approval as he smiles softly at my son.

I stand back, completely flabbergasted at the interaction I just watched between my son and a man I hardly know.

I want to be pissed at him for interfering when it's not his place, but honestly, I'm relieved.

How can he understand my son and diffuse a situation that would've been like setting off a bomb on our night were I left to handle it on my own?

Is this what it's like to have a partner?

"Hey, Mac?" Talon looks up at Maclan, hope shining in his eyes.

"Yeah, buddy?"

"When can we do our skating lesson?"

"Hmm, I'll have to check with my coach and see when we can use the rink, but I will text your mom tomorrow so we can set up a day, okay?"

"Awesome! Thank you!" Talon gives Mac a huge hug.

It melts my heart as one sexy, tattooed arm wraps around my boy and the other keeps my daughter safely tucked to Mac's chest.

"Why don't you go tell your grandma goodbye, and then we can head out, okay?"

"Okay, Mommy."

"Mac—"

"I'm sorry, Celeste."

We start talking at once.

"I didn't mean to overstep," Mac says.