Chapter 15—Wolfe
Wolfe entered the darkenedrestaurant, pausing to peruse the room until he spied the table where his teammates were sitting.
“Gentlemen,” Wolfe greeted his fellow Crush players as he made his way to their location.“And, of course, you, beautiful bambina.”
Mia jumped up from her chair and bound her way around the table to give Wolfe a giant hug, which he savored more than his not-by-blood sister could ever know.
“Hellooo, Uncle Wolfe.”
“Hi, little one,” Wolfe slung his arm around her shoulders and scanned the table.“Where’s the rook?”
“Not coming,” Dante muttered, dipping a soft pretzel into a ramekin of mustard.“Not sure where he is tonight.”
A look of disappointment crossed Mia’s face, which confirmed Wolfe’s suspicion that there was far more going on between the squirt and the rookie than either one of them wanted to confess.
“I’ll be right back,” Mia declared and headed to the door, trying to hide her sadness.
Wolfe filed away that little nugget and sat down at the table.
A perky server came to take his drink order and to deliver another batch of appetizers for the hungry men ready to eat along with their chirping.
“Jax, you’ve been MIA from practice in the last week,” Dante leveled a captain-like stare at the winger.“You will be there tomorrow.”
Dante didn’t wait for a reply.He simply took a sip of his red wine.Wolfe assumed chianti filled the glass, just as he understood the moody winger would get his ass to the rink the next day.Afterall, the Captain had spoken.
“Some of us have shit to do, Dante,” he challenged, swiping his overgrown bangs away from his face.“But yeah, I’ll be there tomorrow.”
“We’re all committed to winning the Cup, Jax.No alternative,” Dante emphasized his point and twisted the stem of the wineglass in his hand.
“I hear you loud and clear, Cap,” Jax said tightly.
Obviously, something percolated beneath the surface.Wolfe had no doubt he’d find out.He always did.Wolfe made it his business to learn everything he could behind the scenes.He may only have an A on his sweater, but by understanding the landscape of the personalities and stories of his teammates, he made Dante’s job as the leader of the team inherently easier.
“Look who’s here, guys,” Mia approached the table, the sadness that swept across her face upon learning Matt wasn’t at the dinner completely gone and replaced by sheer joy.“It’s my boss, but more like a friend, Aspen.”
Wolfe’s steely gaze whipped around to meet Aspen’s face.If he read her correctly, she expressed shock at stumbling across a table of hungry hockey players.
“Hi,” she said weakly.
Mia, however, was just as bubbly as ever.
“Aspen, you know my brother Dante and,of course, Wolfe.This fella here is goalie Anton Sokolov and their teammate Jax Thurmond.”
“Hi,” Aspen echoed her previous greeting with the same gusty, overwhelmed tone.
“Hey, Aspen.So nice you could join us tonight,” Dante stood to greet Mia’s boss.
She could barely avert her gaze from Wolfe to respond to Dante, which was just fine considering Wolfe couldn’t break his connection with her either.
“Yeah, thanks.It’s nice to be here,” she uttered, fumbling with the handle of the small purse she held in a death grip in her hands.“I, uh...Mia said this was a girls’ night out.”
Mia laughed, causing Aspen’s cheeks to redden as deep as tomatoes on the vine in August.
