“Don’t shame my dog,” I said. I petted Belladonna’s head and gave her a good scratch. “You’re a good girl. Maxim’s just an ass.”
“Blade wouldn’t behave so poorly.”
“Need I remind you of the racoon incident?” I asked.
Maxim’s resting pissed-off face shifted into a darker scowl.
“I bet Naese’s balls still shrivel whenever anyone says racoon,” Cormac said with a snicker.
“Stop talking about my d—er, package,” Naese called. “There’s a lady present.”
I skated over to Vivi, ignoring my teammates. “Want to get those skates off?” I asked.
Vivian surprised me. “Okay, but I’d like a lesson sometime soon, please. So that next time we skate, you don’t have to be so concerned about me.”
I cupped her cheek and kissed her. “There’s nothing I’d rather focus on than you.”
“Er, dude, I think you’re supposed to say a championship,” Stolly said out of the corner of his mouth. “Especially with the captain right behind you.”
I continued to gaze down at Vivi, much more interested in the play of emotions across her face. “Cormac knows I’ll focus on the game. He knows I’m all in for the Cup. But he also knows that Keelie’s his top priority.”
“He’s not wrong,” Cormac mused. “Except you forgot my son. My family is my top priority.”
I kissed Vivi—just a soft buss. “Exactly.” I pulled back and looked at the crew. They’d formed a loose circle around us. “What’s up? Why are you here?”
“Well…mostly to skate,” Cormac said. He fidgeted. That meant something else was going on.
“Wait. Where are your wives?”
If these guys weren’t at practice or at a game, they were with their partners.
“You are shit at this,” Maxim rumbled.
“It’s not easy to deliver subterfuge,” Stolly muttered.
“It’s got, like, subtle in it, and we’re not really known for being subtle,” Naese pointed out. He winked at me.
Cormac threw up his hands, clearly exasperated. “Why don’t you come to the locker room?”
Stol rubbed his hands together. “We have a surprise!”
“Way to ruin it,” Maxim said. He stomped off, grumbling.
“He’s really bad at social interaction.” Naese shook his head.
“And somehow he got a wife before most of us,” Stol said with a shrug.
“You okay with heading off the ice?” I asked. “We’ll do the lesson some other time. I promise.”
Vivi nodded. “We should ice your shoulder.”
I’d worked hard not to wince, but she was correct. My whole side throbbed as we exited the ice and put on our regular shoes. I raised my eyebrows as I heard voices spilling out into the hall from the locker room. When we got there, they transformed into whistles and whoops.
Hana came over and hugged Vivi, who seemed shell-shocked. “What…?”
“This is a surprise engagement party since you surprised us by getting engaged,” Hana said, beaming.
“We’re having it here because we found out you were already here,” Paloma, Coach Whittaker’s wife, said. “I would have preferred to have a gathering at our house, but we’ll do that soon.” She offered me her hand with a friendly smile. “Welcome to the CATS.”
