Chapter Twenty-Seven
NOAH
“Is it weird to be here?” Piper asks, getting out of the car in the VIP parking lot.
“Would you quit asking me that?” I groan.
When Piper said she would take me to my appointment today and then to the game tonight, I figured she’d be the best option. No nagging like my mom.
“If I could smack you, I would.” Piper rolls her eyes at me. “I have not asked you once. Just because Mom and Dad are being overbearing, doesn’t mean you have to take it out on me.”
“Fuck. I’m sorry, Piper.”
I wrap my arm around her shoulders, and we flash our badges to the security guard and head inside. It’s nice that the security guard looks new and I don’t recognize him. As much as I love the people in this building, I want to make it to the family suite without having to be stopped every few feet.
“You’re lucky I love you, Noah. Otherwise I would not have brought you here and made you ride with everyone else.”
Since the Knights are in town, my dad and all his old playing buddies, plus their spouses, will all be in attendance. I haven’tseen many of them since I got home, opting to hide out in my room under the guise of healing.
Tonight? I’ll be under the microscope, so the less time with them, the better.
By the time we get to the suite, Piper bounds over to greet the host like an old friend. Wearing her fiancé’s jersey, she fits in well here.
A few of the players’ spouses are here, some I recognize and some I don’t.
Angie is already here, walking over to greet me.
“Hey, stranger.”
“Hey.” I wrap her and her growing baby bump in a hug. “How you feeling?”
“Good, but I should be asking you the same thing.”
“Okay.”
“Yeah?” she asks, rubbing a hand over her stomach. “Piper says it’s been a hard few weeks.”
“Just getting used to not playing. That’s all.”
Even though it has been a hard few weeks, and Piper knows more about the why than anyone else—the only other person besides me and Graham—I know she wouldn’t have told anyone else. She’s one of the people I trust most in my life.
“I know your team misses you. Troy and the guys do too. Make sure you call them while you’re home, okay?”
“Yes, Mom.” I laugh.
“Hey. Gotta get some practice while I can.”
“You’ll be a great mom.”
I’ve known Angie as long as I’ve been alive. When Nick came along, she loved showing him off to everyone she met. Babied him within an inch of his life.
She was born to be a mother.
“Thanks. We’re ready.”
“And I’m ready to be an honorary aunt.” Piper walks over to us.
“He’ll be here soon enough.”
