AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"That's cool," Nico said with a shrug of indifference. The small gesture caught me off guard. I expected him to start lecturing me again, but he didn't. "Wes, didn't you have something you wanted to ask everyone?"
The conversation drifted away from Juliette and I. We all stared at Wes for a moment as a nervous expression appeared on his face. He glanced around the table, chuckling to himself as he took a sip of his drink. "Okay, so this is a weird thing to ask, but I'm trying to prove something to someone and I kind of need to win."
Lincoln's brows lifted. "We're listening," he answered for all three of us.
"You guys know Charlotte's brother Leo? There's a big figure skating competition in, like, two weeks in Orchid City. I told Charlotte we would all come out to show our support."
"I don't understand what you're winning here," Nico pointed out as he looked up from his menu.
Wes folded his arms on the table, leaning forward like it was something important. "Leo came to one of our games when I first met Charlotte. We talked about it one night and he bet me that if a bunch of hockey players knew about a figure skating competition, they wouldn't show the same support like he was supposed to when he came to my game. I bet him they would. So, we're all going."
"I'll go," Lincoln shrugged. "I've never been to an actual professional competition, only my sister's competitions when we were younger."
Nico smiled. "Harper already beat you to it, bro. I guess she and Charlotte talked about it and she already told her we would go."
"What about you, Mac?" Wes asked me after he turned his attention away from Nico. "Do you think you'd be able to come?"
"Sure, I'll come along," I told him with a smile. I could tell he was a little uncomfortable asking us, especially since he already told Charlotte we would all be there. We had all met Leo a few times when he was in town and hanging out with Charlotte and Wes. He lived a few hours north in Idyll Cove and didn’t visit often. He was also a professional figure skater, so he traveled a lot.
Wes seemed pretty fond of him, though, and he was always cool with me. I had also never gone to an event like that, so it could be fun.
"You should invite Juliette." Lincoln dropped his voice lower so the words were only spoken between the two of us.
I slowly turned my head to the side to look at him. "Why would I do that? You know we can't be seen together."
"It won't be the two of you together. She'll be hanging out with all of us." He paused for a moment, glancing at Wes and Nico who were talking about the menu. "It would really be a safe place for you guys. You know none of us are going to tell anyone and if someone sees all of us together, they would just see a group of friends hanging out."
I considered his words and pondered over the option. It was a way for the two of us to spend time together without having to do it in hiding. While it was fun sneaking around and making sure no one found out, I also hated it. I wanted to be able to walk around with Juliette and not have to worry about the implications of the two of us being together.
“I’ll see what she thinks about it,” I told him before looking up at Wes and Nico. “You don’t think they will judge or say anything about it?”
Lincoln shook his head and smiled. “I told you bro, we’re all your family.” He paused and grabbed my shoulder with his hand. “We might all talk shit, but at the end of the day, we’re only here to support one another and look out for each other.”
Lincoln was right.
At the end of the day, that was exactly what we all were.
Family…
The screen on my phone went black for a moment before Juliette’s face appeared in front of me. Her face was free of makeup with her hair pulled back in a high ponytail. She stared back at me with her dark gray eyes. Damn, I fucking missed her.
“Hey you.”
Juliette smiled, her lips spreading as she flashed her straight white teeth at me. “Hey yourself.”
“How was your day?” I asked her as I adjusted on the bed in my hotel room. Most of the guys were still down at the bar, but I snuck away to come up to my room to talk to her. With the time difference, I didn’t want to be rude and call her later, even though it was already approaching midnight at home. “How was Thor for you today?”
She brushed her hair away from her face and tucked it behind her ear. Thor must have heard me because his nose came pushing around her and his head took up the screen on my phone. The sound of Juliette’s laughter came through the speaker and I saw her face pop up beside Thor’s as he licked the side of her face.
“He’s on the phone, bud,” she told him, scratching the top of his head before he disappeared from my line of sight. “My day went well. It was pretty busy but I got through it. Thor was good. He slept a lot on the floor in my office and then he played with some of the kids at the rink. He was sleeping until he heard the sound of your voice.” She paused for a second and the smile fell from her lips. “I think he misses you.”
I stared at her for a moment, watching her as her tongue darted out to wet her lips. I should have kept my mouth shut, but I couldn’t. Something about Juliette always had me going against my better judgment.
“Is he the only one who misses me?”
Her eyes widened slightly. The shock was evident in her expression. Her throat bobbed as she swallowed hard. There was a pregnant pause and the tension was palpable. I half expected her to change the subject—anything to avoid giving me a real answer.
She gave me exactly what I wanted.
