“Dude, sleeping with Sullivan would be like screwing you,” I shot back, raising an eyebrow. They were twins, after all. “Griff’s got that ‘daddy’ energy, though.”
Ryder stared at me, his jaw hanging open like I'd just slapped him with a wet fish.
I gave him a sympathetic look. “Yeah, it was her.”
For once, I couldn't read him. His expression was a mixture of confusion and disbelief, but beneath it all, I could see something else, something unexpected. In all the years we’d known each other, I was the one who’d always acted first and dealt with the fallout later. Ryder was the steady one, the one who kept me out of trouble. But right now, I didn't want him to pull me from the hole I’d just dove into.
It was a damn good hole too.
Ryder took another long pull from the bottle, stalling as he tried to make sense of what I'd said. He was a thinker, the kind of guy who weighed every word before he spoke. It was part of what made him such a great captain.
“So… um… this is a very ‘Teddy’ thing to do,” he said slowly, his eyes narrowing, studying me.
A laugh bubbled up from deep in my chest, and I yanked Ryder into a hug, pounding him on the back. “I thought you were going to be so mad at me.”
“If you’d let me breathe, I could try to understand what the hell is going on here.” He placed one hand on each of my arms, studying me. His eyes softened slightly. “You seem… happy. Not the usual ‘I’m going to fix everyone’s problems’ Teddy happy. More like… like you’re in love with her. With Coach. The woman who gets more pleasure out of yelling at you than anyone else. The one who can’t stand you. She hates you.”
My breath caught in my throat. Ryder wasn’t wrong. In fact, he was dead on. But admitting it, even to myself, felt like opening up a wound I wasn't ready to face.
"Guess not." I wiggled my eyebrows, my smirk a little too obvious.
Ryder swatted at me, retreating like he couldn’t decide whether to laugh or strangle me. "Do you? Love her?"
The question hit me like a freight train. Did I? For years, I’d wanted her, dreamt about her, longed for her presence in ways I couldn’t explain. But love? That felt like a big word for something so… fragile. "I…" I hesitated. "She’s amazing, Ry." My voice softened as I thought about all she’d endured—her family, Travis, the relentless challenges—and yet, she'd always remained focused on herself, her goals. But love? It was too soon to call it that, wasn’t it? "All I know is that I hated leaving her this morning. I wished, for once, I could be a normal person with a free Saturday—just curled up in bed with my woman."
Ryder’s eyes narrowed, a half-grin tugging at his lips. "Well, you’re fucked."
I let out a dry laugh. "So much."
A sharp yip broke the moment, followed by Guardian trying to climb my legs like an overenthusiastic toddler. "Down, boy,"I grumbled, not wanting to sound harsh but knowing Sydney would kill me if I didn’t start getting serious about training him.
He kept jumping, relentless in his excitement. Ryder, without missing a beat, held his hand out above Guardian’s head and delivered a firm, “Down.”
Guardian immediately sank back on his haunches, looking up at us, tongue hanging out in adorable submission.
I looked between Ryder and my now well-behaved dog. "Traitors. Both of you."
Turning on my heel, I marched toward the living room, hoping the guys hadn’t all disappeared. As luck would have it, Julian, Rowan, and Shai were still there, deep in a heated discussion about some call in the Kings game last night. Sasha, our young teammate on his first-ever call-up, had scored—only for it to be taken back because of an offside review.
"I hate that fucking rule," I muttered, squeezing myself between Rowan and Shai on the couch. I draped an arm around both of them. "Who wants to be my snuggle buddy for today’s game-day nap?"
"Coach," Ryder coughed, just as I settled in.
Luckily, his interruption went unnoticed, as the others were too caught up in their conversation. Shai squirmed out from under my arm and stood, stretching. "As fun as that sounds, I’d rather be literally anywhere else."
"I’m heading out for lunch with Mr. Mac," Ryder said, saluting me as he reached the door.
"Yeah, you’re not my type, Valentine," Julian added, throwing a playful wink over his shoulder as he followed Ryder.
"Looks like it’s just you and me, Gonzo," I said, keeping my arm around the lanky goaltender. "Anyone ever tell you your shoulders are amazing?" I wasn’t joking. Every inch of him was sculpted, the kind of physique that came from a lifetime of intense training. His body was built for precision, for power. Nowonder he still had a shot at the NHL. I let my hand linger, feeling the solid muscle under his shirt. "So, big spoon or little spoon?"
Rowan sighed dramatically. "I’ll be the little spoon, but only if I can kill you in your sleep."
"Harsh, bro." I released him, my smile fading slightly. "Très harsh."
He shrugged nonchalantly. "It’s that or pretend I didn’t hear you telling Ryder you’re sleeping with our coach."
Oh, shit.
