“Gigi’s,” Luke says. “We were getting the nursery ready.”
“And AJ was there, because...?” I’m trying to wrap my mind around AJ spending time with any of her players outside of official team activities. It’s not like her at all.
“BecauseIwas there,” McCabe practically growls at me, like how dare I question our boss hanging out with the people who work for her.
“We were all there,” Zach says, “and our girlfriends had just come from throwing Eva a baby shower.”
I nod my head like this all makes sense, but mentally I’m trying to reconcile how everything feels so different now. Everyone is so settled, and I’m... the same as I’ve always been.
Images of Morgan flash through my mind. Not just the chemistry we had in Bermuda, but the way we laughed together and how it was so easy to talk to her that I started divulging things I don’t normally discuss, like my dad’s addiction or Max’s Stepford brides. But I push the thoughts of Morgan away because I promised myself, and her dad, that I wouldn’t go after her.
Though, if Colt’s best friend and agent could forgive him secretly dating his baby sister, could Carson ever be okay with Morgan and me?
I don’t even know where that thought comes from. I don’t want a relationship, and she sure as shit doesn’t seem to want anything to do with me after our conversation the other day.But somehow, thinking about her always leads me to wonder if something more serious could develop between us.
The guys are all looking at me like they’re waiting for me to respond, and I’m not sure what they want me to say. “Uhhh, so when was your daughter born?” I ask Luke.
“A few weeks ago, but she and Eva were in the hospital for a while, so they just came home on Labor Day.”
The same day Morgan and I both flew home from Bermuda, separately. She mentioned Eva being one of her best friends, and I wonder if she headed straight there to visit them. It seems like something she’d do—she strikes me as fiercely loyal, and the kind of person who’s always making sure everyone else is okay.
“And you got married over the summer?” I ask.
“Yeah, we eloped in Vegas,” Luke says. So he secretly married his coach’s daughter and lived to tell the tale. If I remember correctly from the social media posts I saw, they were lifelong friends before that, so it’s a very different situation than me and Morgan.
Stop thinking about Morgan,I have to remind myself.
“Surprised the shit out of all of us,” Drew says.
“Nah,” Zach adds. “I wasn’t surprised in the least. We all knew you had it bad for her. Just didn’t know how bad, I guess.”
“Like I said before,” Luke says, and clears his throat. “Game 7 really put some stuff into perspective for me.” I wait for them to give him shit, to say something likeIs ‘perspective’ code for you need to practice more?But they don’t, and Luke adds, “This season will be different. I’ll be ready.”
Colt looks at Hartmann and says, “You already are.”
I wouldn’t want the pressure of stepping into Colt’s position, since he’s the best goalie in the league, but do they honestly believe Hartmann’s ready to replace him, after the way Game 7 went down?
Hartmann just nods, his jaw tight and his light brown hair flopping forward over his forehead.
Drew flips his phone over on the table, chuckles, and says, “Uh oh, I think my fiancée is a little tipsy.”
“Why do you think that?” Zach asks.
“Don’t ask,” Colt groans and presses his thumb and forefinger across his brows.
McCabe chuckles like he knows where this is going.
“Audrey sends very... flirtatious text messages when she’s had more than a single drink,” Drew says with a sly smile. “I think I’m going to go get her and take her home. You guys want to come?”
I’m sitting here wondering why we’d want to go collect his drunk fiancée with him, but the other guys are nodding in agreement and downing the rest of their drinks. That’s when I remember that Audrey is with the rest of their girlfriends, which means these guys all want to get back to their women.
And that’s when it hits me that Morgan said these women were her best friends. Suddenly, I’m setting my glass on the table and shrugging. “Why not?”
As we stand to leave, McCabe says he’s going to get home to AJ and Abby, and Walsh says he’s headed home to his family too. But Walsh falls into step next to me as we head down the brick sidewalk in Beacon Hill toward the Boston Common.
“Did AJ talk to you about the alternate captain position?” Walsh asks quietly.
My brows wrinkle together. “Yeah, did she talk toyouabout it?”
