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I’ve been pondering running to the grocery store to find ingredients for what looks like a complicated Thai recipe, but I suspect a regular grocery store won’t carry the spices I need. Regardless, the cookbook is forgotten as I make my way to the door.
Looking through the large glass panes, I see four women standing on the porch. They look to be in their mid- to late-twenties and are all fashionably dressed. My first thought would be church ladies but one of the women has two bottles of wine in her hands, so that can’t be quite right. One of the women has a tote bag and another a plastic cake container through which I see some frosted confection. They’re all smiling at me brightly.
I unlock the door without hesitation as there’s nothing menacing about these women. “Hi… can I help you?”
One woman steps forward—a real beauty with long, chocolate-brown hair and blue eyes—and holds out her hand. “Hi, Juniper… My name is Ava Cavanaugh and I’m Cannon West’s girlfriend.”
My mouth parts in surprise as I take in the other women who I now understand are affiliated with the Titans.
This is affirmed when Ava makes other introductions. She points to the lady holding the wine who has the most wonderful curly butterscotch-colored hair. “This is Sophie Winters. She’s engaged to our goalie coach, Baden Oulett.” I smile and nod. Next Ava sweeps her hand to another lovely blond who I know without introduction is the fiancée of one of Callum’s assistant coaches. “Jenna Holland. She’s the teams’ media liaison and is engaged to Gage Heyward.”
We shake hands, but I’d know her anywhere because of the scarring she got from a horrible apartment fire. Callum filled me in on his staff and Jenna came up in conversation, only to the extent of how much he admires her grit and resilience. He had to fire the former head coach for comments he made about Jenna’s scarring, but I’d expect no different from Callum. He’s very principled.
“And finally… this is Danica Brandt. She runs the Adam Norcross Charitable Foundation for Brienne and dates Camden Poe, one of our star defensemen.”
With caramel-colored hair and doe-brown eyes, Danica holds up the cake to indicate she doesn’t have a spare hand. “It’s great to meet you, Juniper.”
It’s more than just Jenna I’d come to learn about this past week. Callum’s taught me a lot about the team during our dinner conversations and I’ve done my research. I know Camden is one of the original team players who wasn’t on the plane when it crashed, and I also know Danica is a Titans widow, her husband, Mitch, having been on the plane. You can’t pull up any article on the Pittsburgh Titans and not read about how Stone Dumelin’s brother died in the crash, how Coen Highsmith had a meltdown, and that Brienne Norcross is engaged to the goalie. It was news when Camden and Danica started dating but I think it’s marvelous. All these stories of pain and redemption and love. My heart might be a little jaded, but it still appreciates when others find their happy ending.
I step back from the door and welcome them in. “It’s nice to meet you all but what’s the occasion?”
“We brought food and wine and thought we would hang out for a bit. Callum said he didn’t think you had any plans this afternoon. He said you normally visit your dad in the morning, so we figured this was a good time to surprise you and welcome you to the team.”
“Welcome me to the team?” I ask with a frown.
“You’re Callum’s longtime friend,” Sophie says with a smile. “That means you’re part of the team.”
I’m a little rattled to have four strangers standing in the living room with me, bearing wine and cake. But it’s not like I can say no.
Actually… I don’t want to say no. This is exactly the type of social contact I’ve been missing for years.
“No plans at all this afternoon,” I say, turning for the kitchen. “Come on in.”
♦
The two bottles they brought weren’t enough, so I raided Callum’s wine stash, and by the time we poured the fourth bottle, we were all beyond tipsy.
These girls are a hoot. They’ve spent the entire afternoon bringing me up to speed on the team, all the love matches, heartbreaks, and crazy antics that have gone on over the last year and a half. I know that Sophie and Baden are getting married in a few weeks and Jenna and Gage in August. There’s a rumor that Stone and Harlow might tie the knot around Christmas, which is when they got engaged, and there’s another rumor that Tillie—Coen Highsmith’s wife—might be moving to New York.
I happen to know from Callum that this is a very real thing and it could have far-reaching implications for the team. He explained that if Tillie leaves, Coen’s going too. It’s why he’s spent so much time working late into the night, trying to come up with a game plan for that circumstance as well as a game plan if Tillie doesn’t go and Coen stays. It’s all very up in the air right now and it’s causing Callum some heartburn.
What I don’t know, however, is if these women know that level of detail and I’m not giving it up. Sophie and Jenna might since they’re engaged to coaches but Danica, probably not. Regardless, these are conversations between me and Callum that will go to the grave, so I ask questions about Tillie’s art instead.
We’re standing around the kitchen island, empty cake plates before us when the spotlight shifts to me.
“How did you and Callum become friends?” Sophie asks.
“Oh, to hell with that,” Ava says, holding her wineglass up so that a little bit sloshes over the edge. “How did you and Callum become more than friends, because you’re absolutely more than friends?”
I blink at Ava in surprise. “Why would you say that?”
She waves around with her free hand. “Because you’re living with him.”
“In a separate bedroom,” I point out with a laugh. My head buzzes, and it feels nice.
“Because Gage said there’s something there,” Jenna pipes in. “He said Callum sort of lights up when he talks about you, and he talks about you a lot.”
“Really?” I ask with guarded interest. “Like what?”
