“Fuck, yes,” Naese said without the slightest hesitation. I had to respect him for that. “Like you guys said, I’m not going to lie to her. Lies have no place in our relationship.”
Naese’s father had lied to him about Hana, which had nearly destroyed their chance at a relationship. If anyone would be against lies, it was Naese.
Coach Kramer gave a nod of approval.
“You guys! The wives take credit for every one of our relationships. I want this one.” I slammed my fist on my knee to emphasize the point. “And we deserve it.”
“Then you better work fast, because Millie and Ida Jane told Paloma they’re crafting some plan with Keelie, Hana, and Naomi to get Vivian out here,” Coach said as he settled deeper into his chair. “They also think Vivian and Cruz should be together. And that’s based on Hana’s insider knowledge about Vivian’s feelings for Cruz. Plus, Hana knows the story of how they met.”
“What? No,” Maxim said. “Ida Jane said nothing of this to me.”
“They’re taking our plan and enacting it?” Stol gasped. He tugged on his lower lip. “That’s pretty smart. I mean, we all know it’s a good plan.”
“Yeah, but I was the one who realized Vivian’s perfect for Cruz,” Naese said with a pout. “I feel like they’re cheating.”
“They are,” I said. “Don’t get me wrong, we’d use any advantage against our opponents that we could?—”
“Ethically,” Coach Whittaker added firmly.
“Of course ethically.” I scowled at him, and he nodded. All right, we were on the same page. “Still, we can’t let them win this one.” I shook my head. “The gloating would be insane.”
“This is true,” Maxim said, squinting with thought. “And it appears that they have failed to mention their idea of bringing Vivian for a visit. I do not like this…lapse in their honesty.”
“Have you noticed that our wives are all competitive?” Coach Kramer asked. He leaned back against the couch, hands tucked behind his head. “They may not be as obvious about the need to win as we are, but those ladies sure do like being right and getting their way.”
Stolly and Naese, the youngest members of our group, appeared stunned. Slowly, they nodded.
“You’re right,” Naese said. “Hana is always first at work—first to a discovery. Hell, first to get out of bed.”
“It’s the quiet ones you have to watch out for,” Coach Whittaker reminded us. “They’re intense.”
We all knew this from our years on the ice. Sure, the mouthy assholes were a problem, but the guys who kept to themselves were often even more focused on winning.
Maxim narrowed his eyes. His jaw clenched, released, then clenched again. “Ah, that little sneak of mine. She must have heard me talking to Naese about bringing Vivian out for a game. I couldn’t believe she refused to come to your wedding. That’s what got me thinking about forcing the proximity.”
Naese snapped his fingers. “Oh! Yeah. I bet you’re right. Hana was all over having Vivian stay with us.”
“Why didn’t she?” I asked.
Naese shrugged. “She got busy with work or something.”
“Sounds like an excuse. Anyone know why she and Cruz are on the outs?” I asked, looking at the rest of the guys. They shook their heads.
“I bet the women do,” Coach Kramer muttered.
“We need to talk more,” I said. “I mean, among us.”
The guys shook their heads and snorted.
“We’re doing that now. It’s just that our ladies have more practice and experience,” Coach Whittaker said with an indulgent smile.
“I love Ida Jane’s commitment to happiness—ours and others—so much,” Maxim said with a blissful sigh. His icy gaze met each of ours in turn. “That said, our wives have now set the rules of this competition.”
“But I refuse to lose,” I said.
Coach uncrossed his legs and sat up, setting his elbows on his thighs. “You guys think we’re going to matchmake better than our wives?”
“We can,” Stolly said. He swallowed nervously. “Once we set up the right strategy.”
