“She’s gonna kill you for this!” Sorrento cackled. “You’re gonna get your floor tiles taken away.”
I chuckled. “Yeah, probably.” I glanced around at my teammates, shocked at how non-plussed they were. “That’s it? No cougar jokes?”
Owen wrinkled his nose. “Do you want us to make cougar jokes? Because I find that term sexist and ageist.”
“Tell ‘em, Owen,” Cap added.
Dottie shrugged. “I like Chef. If she’s happy, I’m happy.”
Some grunts agreed with his statement.
“Thanks, everyone. I would appreciate if you all could let me tell her what happened before it gets around to her?—”
“Oops.” Leroy winced. “Pretty sure Mara’s already planning a parade.”
“Are you done?” Coach sighed.
Cap’s voice boomed from the back of the plane, growing louder as he rushed to where I stood. “No one is allowed to fire Chef, either. Royce’s feelings for her are not her fault.”
“I mean, she likes me too,” I muttered.
“Bro,” Cap said, widening his eyes at me. “I’m trying to help you out here.”
Coach put his hands out. “Will both of you sit down? Olson, go sit in Royce’s seat. We need to sort this out.”
THIRTY-FOUR
EMMA
APRIL
Liamand I were through half of our iced coffees and rocking through the farmland between Columbus and Cincinnati. I cherished these moments with him, times when we got to just go have fun, no hockey, no cooking, no hot plans but a semi-flat stadium soda, a hot dog covered in peppers and onions, and my boy.
Paradise.
“So, how bad did Royce embarrass you last night with the kids night thing?”
“Oh my god,” Liam muttered, burying his face in his hands. “It was nice, though. Owen was nice. I met him out there.”
“Oh, yeah, he’s a sweetheart,” I agreed. “We love Owen.”
“Do you love someone else who was out there?” he asked. “Perhaps a certain goalie with a shutout in a shootout?”
I tipped my head to the side. “Has Cordero had a shutout with us yet?”
“Nice try,” Liam said, but was quickly silenced by my car reading my texts.
MARA LEROY
Emma, I’d like to officially invite you to the Rusties WAGs Group. The hazing ritual will start promptly at 8:30 pm
JEANINE SORRENTO
Hell yeah. Big fan of younger men myself. And doing stuff in parking lots, once upon a time ;)
Whatever this was, it wasn’t good.
Liam spoke first. “Ew.” He paused. “Wait. What are they talking about?”
