Page 25

October

M ost of the guys on the team warm up by juggling a soccer ball together in groups.

Not Bennett, though. No, the captain warms up by riding the stationary bike for ten minutes before jumping rope for another five minutes.

Today, he’s aiming to be extra torturous.

In the corner of the concourse, our captain—my fiancé—is jump roping with his shirt off.

Shamelessly, I watch the sweat droplets trail down his chest, over each rivet of his abs, before disappearing beneath the waistband of his black athletic shorts.

I can’t take my eyes off the way his muscular pecs bounce up and down as he jumps in a steady rhythm.

And his thick thighs are showcased beautifully in his six-inch inseam athletic shorts that are hiked up, stuck on his quads.

My stare is brazen, and I don’t even care when Jax walks up to me and wolf whistles, calling me out for ogling my man.

Shit. Not my man—my fiancé. My fake fiancé, for all intents and purposes.

Is it really fake if you’ve become part of his pregame rituals in the most salacious way?

Shoving my devious inner thoughts aside, I turn and roll my eyes at Jax’s teasing .

“With the way you’re watching my big bro, I feel indecent even as a bystander, Little Red Riding Hood,” he pokes fun at me.

“I didn’t realize you were such a prude, Jax,” I give him right back.

“I can see why he’s been so beside himself over you all these years. Keep giving him hell, yeah?” he suggests as he goes back to juggling the soccer ball with Carson and Griffin. Effectively leaving me to reel over what he just said. Bennett was beside himself over me? For years?

No. Jax must be mistaken. There must be another woman Bennett was hung up on.

Even when I thought you used me all those years ago, I still fucked my fist to thoughts of you time and time again.

Okay, so maybe he got himself off to thoughts of me a few times. So what? It’s not like I didn’t. On the darkest nights, in the far recesses of my mind, he’s never strayed, and the reminder of our one night together often filled me with warmth when I’d realize how lonely I’d otherwise been.

Before Bennett has a chance to spot me, I sneak past the guys warming up and make my way into the locker room.

I pull the laminated photo and crystal from my purse and set them in his locker cubby and then slip back out into the hallway before crashing into a solid chest that smells like sweat mixed with hints of campfire and cedarwood. Bennett.

“Whoa, where you headed in such a hurry, Red?” he asks as he catches me around the shoulders.

“I was just headed to the suites to make sure Gunner and Gemma have everything they need,” I tell him honestly.

“Well you can’t sneak away without at least giving me a peck on the cheek,” he suggests.

Rolling my eyes, I place a quick kiss over the stubble spotting his jaw, but he holds me in a tight embrace .

“Careful, Scar. You know how I feel about that sassy attitude of yours,” he warns, and heat immediately pools low in my belly.

“And here I thought you liked when I was a brat.”

“Later,” he growls and I squeeze my thighs at the promise in just that one word.

“Only if you play well so you earn more, Cap,” I toss back over my shoulder as I walk away.

I feel so dazed making my way up to the suite level of the arena, that I don’t recognize McKenna Turner until she’s walking toward me with wide open arms asking for a hug.

Kenna and I have chatted quite a bit over the past few weeks since we caught up at the family and friends skate.

She mostly stuck to the stands with their infant son, Rowen, while Griff chased after Cadence on the ice that day, but we exchanged numbers and are hoping to have a playdate for Cadence and Gunner.

It’s hard to believe how big Cadence has grown since I saw her briefly at their wedding.

“Scarlett! Was Griff teasing me or do I really get to watch the game with you tonight?”

“You do! Gunner and Gemma are going to sit with my grandparents during the game and then go home with them tonight.”

Kenna loops her arm through mine and walks me the rest of the way to the suite. Not every organization has a dedicated suite for significant others, but I’m happier now more than ever that we do.

When we walk in, Kenna reintroduces me to Dakota, a petite brunette who I briefly met when Carson introduced me to his family at the family and friend’s skate before he swept her away for hot chocolate. Next to Dakota is Alexa, who I met the other day with Jackson.

We make small talk for a few minutes before I excuse myself to go down the hall to my grandparents’ suite to check on Gunner and Gemma .

“Woah, look at all the lights, Papa!” Gunner squeals to my grandfather.

“I’m glad you like them, Sport,” he tells Gunner before he notices me enter the suite. “Ah, there she is! How’s my Firefly?”

“I’m good, I was just coming to check on the kiddos.”

“Scar! Did you give Bennett our presents?” Gunner asks me.

“I left them in his cubby for him to find before his game,” I answer.

“Do you think he’s gonna like them?”

“I know he is, buddy,” I placate him while sending up a silent prayer that we didn’t throw off his superstitions too badly.

“And what did you get Bennett for a present?” our grandmother asks him.

“We printed a picture of all of us and I gave him my most specialest good luck crystal!” Gunner’s excitement warms my chest like it always does.

“The picture is from when we went to the pumpkin patch the other day—it’s the only picture I had of the four of us.

And then we all wrote him a little note on the back and I laminated it.

The crystal was a great addition that Gunner thought of,” I add, pulling Gunner to me and wrapping my arms around his shoulders in an embrace.

“Oh, that reminds me. I was talking to Sally the other day and she said her granddaughter is a wedding photographer. Have you already booked one? Maybe you could hire her to take your engagement photos and if you like them, you could hire her for the big day,” my grandmother suggests.

My skin feels tight thinking about wedding planning.

Not because I haven’t always dreamt about what my wedding would look like, but because I’m not sure if this particular arrangement calls for planning it down to every last detail I’ve always envisioned.

But I don’t want to upset my grandmother so I ask her, “Could you have Sally send her granddaughter’s contact information to my assistant?

I’ll go over it with Bennett, but I think that sounds like a great idea. Thank you for thinking of us.”

She sends me a soft smile. “Always, sweet girl.”

“Where’s Gemma?” I ask, looking around the suite and not seeing her.

“She ran into a few friends from school so I said she could spend the first period in their suite,” my grandfather cuts in.

“You what? Who? She never mentioned she’d have friends she knew here tonight. Did she get something to eat before she went off? Where is their suite?”

“Ease up, Firefly. Don’t forget we’ve raised kids before,” he says with a practiced patience I only hope to develop over time.

“Gemma ate before she left, and we’ll all get her Dexcom notifications if her sugar levels need attention.

She said their names are Colton and Eva, and they’re two suites down with the rest of the Connelly family.

Take a look for yourself.” He gestures toward the right and I peek my head around the corner of the open seating of our suite to find Gemma standing next to a tall girl with light brown hair next to an even taller boy about Gemma’s age.

“Are those Nathan Connelly’s younger siblings?”

“Yes, his younger brother is a senior at St. Christopher Academy and his sister is in Gemma’s class,” my grandmother explains.

“Wait, isn’t that the captain’s suite?” I ask my grandfather.

“Yeah, but Bennett wanted to make sure Connelly’s family could make it to as many games as possible since they moved across the country to be closer to him.”

My eyebrows lift a moment later when the boy—young man—wraps his arm around Gemma’s shoulder and gives her a side hug .

You’ve got to be kidding me. Now I’m going to need to run interference in her love life when my own is in utter chaos?

My grandmother must see my worries written all over my face because she chuckles at me and shakes her head. “Want some sage advice from an old bat who raised a couple of teenagers?”

“Yes,” I answer with a whine.

“Don’t forget you were once a teenager too.”

“ That’s your sage advice?” I ask in disbelief. “Need I remind you that I was constantly pushing the boundaries my dad set?”

My hysterics earn me another round of laughter, this time my grandfather joins in.

“What I mean to say is, don’t forget what it felt like to be a teenager when you’re having the big discussions with her.

I’ve found it’s best to let them make their own informed choices while giving them guidance and the tools for success. ”

“Great, so basically I’m supposed to try to guide her to make the right choices, but ultimately trust her to take the safest path? That sounds like a recipe for disaster, not success.”

“Nobody said parenting a teenager was easy,” my grandfather murmurs before taking a swig of his fountain soda.

“If you’re too hard on her, she’ll rebel further, trust us,” my gran says in a sorrowful tone, and I can’t help but think of my Aunt Becky who moved out when she was eighteen and didn’t look back.

“These are going to be the longest three years of my life, aren’t they?”

My grandmother looks at me with both sympathy and humor. “Three? Oh, darling, we still worry about you all the time. The worry doesn’t go away once they’ve left the nest.”

I shake my head in disbelief as my gaze catches on Gemma once again. This time she’s standing next to Eva while the two stare down at the players taking the ice for warmups .