My eyes go to where he’s out there skating, circling around and chatting with the other guys like he’s completely oblivious to the throng of women a few feet away dying for him.
He says something to Owen, and the two have a playful banter we can’t hear. Still, it’s boyishly cute. Then he quickly lifts his jersey and wipes his mouth, and there is nothing boyish about those abs.
Right at that moment, he looks up to where we’re standing, watching, and he gives us a thumbs-up. Haddy and Gina yell as loud as they can. Gina grabs my shoulder, turning me to the side so he can see I’m wearing his number.
His head drops back, and he laughs, and a smile breaks across my cheeks. I lift my hands along with Haddy and Gina, bouncing in place and cheering for him.
He points at us, and my neck gets hot. I lift my hair in my hands, looking back as his eyes hold mine a little longer. It’s too long, but I can’t seem to stop.
Finally, he breaks, looking down at the ice, but Icontinue watching as he glides around the rink. He glances up in my direction once more, and the heat moves down my chest.
He coasts up to where the goalie is on all fours doing some kind of thrusting move, and I lean into Gina’s ear. “What ishedoing?”
She reaches up to pinch her nose, snorting a laugh before leaning into me again. “The goalies have to do a lot of quick moves and blocks. He’s stretching his inner thighs. It’s a warmup.”
“It’s kind of…” I lower my voice, looking over my shoulder to be sure Maddie’s not listening. “Sexual.”
“Why, Dove Rhodes!” Gina makes a shocked face. “I had no idea what a dirty mind you have.”
My jaw drops, and embarrassment floods my cheeks. “I was only saying how it looks. I wasn’t implying…”
She bursts out laughing, and my eyes narrow.
I pinch her arm sharply. “Bitch.”
“Ouch!” Gina pulls away then throws her arm around me, giving me a tight squeeze. “I’m only teasing you. It’stotallysexual. Everybody knows it.”
“What’ssexual?” Maddie hops onto the seat in front of us, reaching for Gina’s arm.
I do the math in my head. Maddie is seven, which means…
“You’ll understand in six years,” I tell her.
Her little face turns pouty, and her shoulders drop. “Everybody always says that. I want to know now.”
“Hey, come here.” I reach for her, thinking about when my little sister Penny was her age. “You’ll be old for the rest of your life. Enjoy being young while you still can, okay?”
The side of her mouth lowers, and she slants her eyes at me. I know she doesn’t understand what I’m saying, and Imake a mental note to limit the adult talk around her going forward.
“Did you hear Uncle Mav might be getting a puppy?” I grab her arm, giving her a big smile.
That turns her frown upside down. “Really? When?”
“I don’t know…” I look over at Gina. “What’s the ETA on that puppy?”
“Kelani?” Gina takes out her phone and quickly taps the face. “I’ll text Carla and find out when exactly.”
“See?” I raise my eyebrows, and Maddie jumps up and down, making a little woo-hoo noise.
My eyes drift to the ice again, and I notice Mav is in a circle with Owen and Gav. The three of them look up in our direction, and his eyes meet mine from under his helmet.
A sexy grin lifts his lips, and that old heat climbs up my neck again, this time all the way to my cheeks. My lips press together, and a fish flips crazily in my stomach.
I don’t know what to make of this response, but the other girls hold up their hands and clap and yell for the guys.
I do the same, because that’s what we do, right? Only seeing the light in Maverick’s eyes at me wearing his jersey and cheering feels like something more.
The Jumbotron goes off, and people around us sound their air horns. Haddy and Gina have air horns as well, and I notice baby Lucy is wearing little noise-cancelling headphones as she now sleeps in her carrier.
