Page 48 of Pay the Piper

“You boys might be on to something. Next practice, we’ll let him check both of you and see if you think he’s got what it takes.”

Coach slaps Thatcher on the shoulder as we head for the locker room, and based on his smirk, I already know I’m in for it. We’re the last ones in, and every member of the team is here except for Gabri and Teddy, who must have left sometime during practice. That’s not a good sign.

“Full recovery session today. I don’t want to hear that a single muscle on anyone’s body is tight when we come back in for a full game simulation tomorrow. Everyone should cycle through the cold tubs and the infrared sauna at least twice, and the entire physio team is on-site today, so everyone should spend at least twenty minutes with them. Team lunch is in an hour and a half, but grab a shake for now. Sunshine, Cocoa…come with me.”

Following Nikki into a private treatment suite, he and Thatcher cram into a cold tub, then gesture for me to join them.

“Uh, I’m good. These are only meant for two people—”

“Get the fuck in, Cocoa,” Nikki says with a smirk.

Pushing my way into the center of the ice bath, I revel in the cold. Even decades in America can’t erase the fact that the marrow of my bones was forged in the icy depths of Russia. Where other men have to push themselves to make it through the plunge, I could sit here all day. My groan isn’t for the ice, but for one more member of the family adopting my stupid fucking nickname.

“Please tell me that isn’t going to be a thing once I leave the team. Years of respect I’ve earned here, and now I’m fucking ‘Cocoa’?”

“Only to the family, man. Nonna’s already knitting you a Christmas sweater with a mug of hot chocolate on it. You can’t intend to break her heart and deny it, can you?” He knows he’s got me there, relaxing his head on the edge of the tub and closing his eyes.

“The reason we’ve brought you here—”

“Other than to fulfill your touch-starved nature?”

Thatcher ignores me and continues, but stretches both of his legs across my lap. Mila really spoiled him, and now it’s like having a puppy that constantly wants to cuddle.

“Is to discuss the fact that you’ve clearly gotten laid.”

“More than that. You’re under someone’s spell.”

Nikki’s cracked one eye open to deliver that truth bomb, and he fixes me with a long, searching look before winking and closing it again.

“You’re in an amazing mood, man. It doesn’t take much detective work to figure it out. Especially when you look at your phone and smile every two seconds.”

“Yeah, you have that dreamy look on your face, like you’d rather be wherever she is right now. Don’t even try to deny it. I see it in the mirror every morning.” Thatcher’s sad smile convinces me to fess up, if only to give him someone to gossip with about the women we love.

“Alright, alright…You’re both correct.”

Thatcher’s whoop of joy as we move from the tub to the sauna is infectious, and for the first time, I fully realize what it might be like to have someone in my life long-term. Someone to introduce to the family and include in all the dinners and parties that seem to be constant on the Taranov-Santori social calendar.

“You gotta tell us everything, dude. Is this the girl you were thinking about when you asked about love at first sight?”

I am not telling you everything.

“She is. And my gut instinct was right. She’s perfect…so damn funny and smart—”

“A redhead, right? Your own Princess Fiona!”

“That’s enough out of you.” I pinch Thatcher just under his armpit, laughing as he yelps. Nikki’s been quiet, but now he joins Thatcher’s interrogation, and I feel like I’m a new addition to Family Love Island.

“Where’s she from?”

“What’s her name?”

“How old is she?”

“What does she do for work?”

“Have you told her what you do for work?”

“Does she like your piercing? I told Mila this is the perfect time since she’s gone so much, but—”