“See? Still a robot.” But Noah is still smiling. “Heather’s great, by the way. Margo talks about her all the time. She’s lucky to have you.”
“I’m the lucky one.” It’s easy to admit because it’s true.
Declan leans against his locker, arms crossed. “Wait, so you’ve been living with her this whole time? That’s what Theo said.”
“She needed a place to stay. I had the space.”
“Uh-huh. And when exactly did ‘needing a place to stay’ turn into you kissing the glass in front of fifteen thousand people?”
This answer isn’t as easy to define, but he’s going to be disappointed if he thinks he’s embarrassing me. “A while ago.”
“And you didn’t tell us because…?” Sawyer prompts.
“Because it wasn’t anyone’s business but ours.” I pull off my skates and stand, grabbing my towel. “Still isn’t, really. But she wanted to stop hiding. So we’re not hiding anymore.”
Theo whistles low. “Man, you’ve got it bad.”
I can only smirk because again, he isn’t wrong.
I finish showering and pull on my post-game suit—charcoal gray with a crisp white shirt, no tie. The locker room has calmed down by the time I’ve finished showering, and most of the guys have already filtered out in groups, whether to head home to their families or out to celebrate.
“You coming out with us, Parker?” Theo calls as he heads for the door.
“Not tonight.”
“Yeah, I didn’t think so.” He grins. “Have fun with your girlfriend.”
I flip him off, but he just laughs. I can tell they’re happy for me. All the jokes aside, they genuinely are.
All this attention on my personal life is going to take some getting used to. I’ve always been private, and my relationships—what few there were—stayed completely outside the public eye. I never brought anyone around the team or even talked about dating.
But it’s different with Heather.
This time, I don’t mind people knowing. Even with all the questions and curiosity and teasing. That shit doesn’t get on my nerves like it normally would. Not when it’s about me and Heather.
I grab my bag and head out to the family and friends lounge. There are kids running around, wives and girlfriends chatting, and the usual post-win chaos all around me, but my eyes go straight to Heather and April.
They’re standing near the far wall, and April breaks into a run the second she sees me.
“Grant! You were so good! Did you see us? We were right there watching you the whole time!”
I drop my bag and catch her as she barrels into me. “I saw you. Hard to miss the two of you.”
“You kissed the glass!” She looks back at her mom and wiggles her eyebrows, then turns to me again. “That was so cool. Everyone was talking about it.”
“Were they?”
“Uh-huh. The lady next to us said you must really like Mom.”
I glance up at Heather, who’s watching us with a soft expression. “She’s right. I do really like your mom.”
April laughs, then squirms out of my arms to run over to where some of the other players’ kids are gathered near the snack table.
Which leaves me alone with Heather. My girlfriend.
I close the distance between us in about three steps, and I don’t give a damn who might be watching.
“Hey, Hurricane.”
