Haddy gave her a return side-eye and told her it would be waiting when she finished washing the dishes.
The two of them went back and forth a few more times,and I started to get the impression it had something to do with washing dishes withme, when Maverick impatiently said he’d help me wash up, which made Haddy relent and do it instead.
Now the kitchen is clean, and I’m standing in the living room behind the sofa watching as the cousins debate which scary movie to watch.
“When I played for the Stingers, they called me Sly,” I answer our big defenseman, who is now making goo-goo eyes at his daughter.
“Like ‘and the family Stone’?” Haddy jumps around to face me from where she’s sitting beside him.
“I guess that’s where it came from.” I shrug. “It’s also because I’m pretty good at slipping the puck past the goal line.”
“Yeah, you are!” Maverick shouts from where he’s swirling his hand in a large, round fishbowl filled with slips of paper. The giant, flatscreen television is open to the Halloween collection on one of the streaming services. “You should’ve seen him working with Gav on our new T-T-T-G.”
He emphasizes the thirdT, and Gigi frowns at him. “What’s that?”
“You’ll see it when we face off against the Cliffs in two weeks.” Her cousin waggles his eyebrows at her.
I’ve learned the Colorado Cliffs are the Champions’ biggest rival, with us alternating wins every season. The guys are eager to beat them every time this year, and I like being part of our best players’ strategy.
“I think if you don’t find a house by next week, you should bring your little girl here.” Haddy shifts into her fiancé’s side, holding the smallest dog I’ve ever seen. “It’s so clear you miss her, it hurts my heart.”
“I don’t know.” I look down. “I do miss her, but I’d haveto bring Heather out as well. I think all those house guests might strain your hospitality.”
“Nonsense!” Haddy cries. “It would only be for a little while, and Gav and I left two rooms vacant upstairs.”
“What does your sister do, Owen?” Gigi turns her pretty green eyes on me, and I remember touching her face, sliding the eyelash off her high cheekbone.
Even struggling with a stray eyelash, she’s so pretty, and she smells really good. Her full lips are glossy, and I wonder if she tastes like cherries…
If Ikissher.
Hermouth. Kiss hermouth.Fuck.
Clearing my throat, I push those intrusive thoughts away and try to remember what she even asked me.
“Ah… Heather?” I frown, trying to think. “She did hair for a while. Then she said it made her back hurt, so she’s been working at her grandmother’s tarot studio for a few months now. She thinks she’s a psychic.”
Internally rolling my eyes, I remember her insistence on her dream.
“What!” Haddy and Gigi cry at the same time, and they hop out of their seats, diving excitedly onto the sofa in front of where I stand.
“She’s a psychic?” Haddy asks, holding Peepee against her chest.
The little dog seems confused and shivers with either excitement or fear.
“Your grandmother has a tarot studio?” Gigi asks, blinking up at me. “Do you have psychic powers, too?”
“No, Gwen’s not my biological grandmother, but she’s always treated me like family.” I don’t get into the way she also drives my dad absolutely nuts with all her premonitions and vibrations and interfering with his cases.
“Now you really have to get them out here.” Haddy stands and walks back to sit beside her husband. “I can’t wait to have her do a reading for me.”
“Halloween H2O!” Maverick cries, holding up a slip of paper. “Joseph Gordon Levitt is a hockey player, and he has the best death.”
“Skate to the face,” Gav chuckles. “It’s got my vote!”
“Yass…” Mav widens his eyes maniacally.
“You’ve got my vote,” Haddy says. “I love all theHalloweenfilms, evenSeason of the Witch.”
