“Because you drive like a grandmother,” Ollie groaned. “What’s the point of borrowing Damien’s car if you’re going to drive it under the speed limit?”
“I’m trying to be safe,” Brianna said.
“Boring,” Ollie mouthed to me.
Glancing over at Chelsea, I nodded over my shoulder, “I’m going to run to the bathroom, and then we can head out.”
She nodded, and I rushed into the other room, taking a few minutes to check in at home before rejoining the party. I paddeddown the hallway, taking in as much of the house as I could. Pictures lined the walls, black and white candid shots of Cam, Hadley, and Emilia, his daughter. There were plenty of other people in some of the frames, other teammates and friends who seemed to be more like family. At the end of the hall, one picture stood out the most—an image of Cam on the field with the rest of his team.
While Cam was the focus of the image, someone else pulled all my attention. Jace stood to his right, his face hard with concentration. He only had that expression when he was on the field, using everything to get the win. It was a far cry from the friendly guy I’d met, the one who ordered me pancakes with the works and watched me as the sun set over Lake Erie. Two sides of the same coin.
“There you are,” Hadley called out from the opening by the kitchen. When I stepped to her side, she pulled me into a hug. “I’m glad you came out tonight.”
“Me too,” I admitted, shocked that it rang true. “I had a lot of fun.”
“Well, you better get used to it,” Hadley teased. “We’re pulling you into our group. Chelsea too. Afraid you’re stuck with us now.”
My lip tucked between my teeth; I was unsure what to say to that. When was the last time someone accepted me so easily? Never. Even in school, I’d never made a ton of friends, keeping my distance as long as possible. The only one who made the cut was Chelsea, but that was more because of her determination than anything else. Kind of like Hadley, she’d declared we were best friends, and I went along with it. That had worked out pretty well for me, so I smiled at Hadley.
“I like the sound of that.”
As she packed up leftovers for all of us to take home, a deep voice broke out from the front door. “Menace? You here?”
“Where else would I be, sarge? We’re in the kitchen.” She rolled her eyes and then leaned in toward me. “Get ready for the invasion.”
There was no time to ask what she meant when several sets of footsteps hurried up the stairs into the living room. No. My face flushed as I shifted, looking over my shoulder at the men who’d invaded Hadley’s home.
The Erie City Hawks.
Brianna squealed as one man came over, lifting her up into his arms. As she smacked his shoulder, lecturing him about some injury, my jaw dropped. Damien Ramos. Connections and names flashed in my mind as five other guys shuffled over to us, stealing the leftover platters of food from the kitchen island.
My heart didn’t stop racing until the door slammed shut and all the visitors were accounted for. No Jace. Thank God. It was one thing to watch him on TV, to see his picture hanging on the wall, but seeing him in person… I shuddered at the thought.
Hadley rolled her eyes as she stepped to my side. “If you want to hang out, you’re more than welcome, but I get it if you want to head home. Love these guys, but some of them can’t shut off their baseball brains, especially coming off a big win.”
“Are you leaving?”
Victoria came in from the living room with Chelsea on her heels. My best friend gave me a look, probably thinking the same thing as me. Maybe I’d spoken too soon when I agreed to keep hanging out with these girls. While they were great, the risk of running into Jace was too much. I didn’t know what would be worse—seeing him again and having to relive his cold dismissal, or knowing that while I’d been thinking about him for years, he might not remember me at all.
“Need a break from all the testosterone?” Hadley teased.
Victoria shook her head. “I thought Adam and my brother were bad. These guys are next level. Between shoveling food intotheir mouths and all the sports talk, I might as well be home with my boys.”
I turned to Victoria. “Is it always like this when they get together?”
“Yup,” she said as she passed me a bottle of water. “You’d think they hadn’t seen each other in years when it’s only been an hour. They all changed out of their uniforms and came straight over here.”
Hadley shrugged. “We have an open door policy, so I’m pretty used to it by now. Parker used to host everyone, but after a few too many stains, he put his foot down. We’d just bought this place, and Cam offered to take over for a while, so there’s always a few guys hanging out during the season.”
Ah, so note to self—nevercome back here.
“You don’t mind?” I asked.
“Nah,” Hadley shrugged. “I like taking care of them. They’ve become my family almost as much as Cam.”
“Don’t let her fool you,” Victoria teased. “She has her favorites.”
“Oh, like you’re one to talk.” Hadley leaned in. “She already admitted Anna is her favorite baby at school.”
