Page 39 of Full Strength

"No, just guys." I had to go with my gut.

"No problem. We'll be over there in an hour."

"Thank you so much Grant. You’re saving me." I paused. "You've been doing that a lot lately."

"And I love doing it. I told you I'm here for you, Addi. Whatever you need."

"Thank you."

We hung up and I dropped to the nearest chair. Crisis averted. Hopefully.

I went back to the floor, this time with much more confidence. Ronny eyed me from across the room and raised an eyebrow in question. I nodded and he beamed before turning back around and watching the photographer I hadn't met yet. I looked around and found Walker so I made my way through the maze of people to him.

"The models will be here in about an hour. We have five males coming, is that enough?"

He nodded coolly. "Perfect. I've got some ideas pinned on the vision board so once they get here, I want to check them out and see who would fit best in each look."

I was sure the guys would love that. Attention from fans was one thing, being analyzed for a men’s fashion magazine was entirely different. Good thing they were used to photoshoots. I was excited to see how they handled this though. Not being interviewed about hockey or in their jerseys. Now that I had the plans made, I couldn't wait to enjoy this experience.

I tried to stay out of the way as the dozens of assistants, photographers, videographer, and our stylists moved around the floor. Thankfully Ronny was more on top of things than me. He’d made sure everything was cleaned and even brought in a few new plants and decor items to really make the salon look great. I was proud of how it looked, and hopefully that came through in the pictures.

Before I had time to check the time, the guys were walking in. All conversations cut off and the room that had a second earlier been buzzing with noise and activity stood in frozen silence.

“Hey Grant.” Ronny was the first to move and it seemed to reset everyone else. A few people watched as Ronny approached Grant and the guys, whispering to whoever was closest.

I watched until they got to the center of the room and moved to greet them.

“Thank you guys so much for coming. I swear I will make it up to you.” Grant pulled me into his arms and gave me a brief hug before stepping back.

“Grant told us there would be lunch involved.” Noah said with a smirk.

“I will get that and anything else you want. I’m seriously so grateful.” I smiled at him then turned to Olli and gave him a hug. “You got out of physical therapy for this?”

He laughed. “It didn’t take much convincing.”

“Yeah, all I had to do was mention that you might need some help and he was already texting Madi that he couldn’t make it.” Erik rolled his eyes.

Olli shrugged. “She understood once I told her it was for you.”

I couldn’t believe I had such great friends. Grant had already proven I could count on him, but now, I knew everyone had my back. It was an amazing feeling after going through this past year by myself. I hadn’t had a really good group of friends since high school. My ex only wanted to spend time alone or with his friends, and I eventually lost track of mine. This was a major step in taking back my life, and it was all because I’d reached out to Emma that day in front of the support group meeting. I never really understood why I did that. It’s not in my nature to be outgoing or talk to a stranger, but I’ll be forever grateful I did.

“Addi, this is Nikolay. I’m not sure if you’ve met yet.” Grant introduced the tall, broad man with short dark hair next to him. I knew his name and face from the games but this was my first time meeting him in person.

“Thank you so much for coming, Nikolay.”

He nodded once. “Of course. I’m glad to finally meet the woman Grant is always talking about.”

I detected a faint Russian accent and I was surprised it wasn’t thicker. I knew this was his first time in the NHL and I’d made an assumption.

Walker approached us, sizing up the guys. “You said the models were coming, Emma. Not Stanley Cup champions.”

I almost laughed at his awed expression. As an editor with a men’s fashion magazine I didn't expect him to be so into sports, but once again in just a few minutes my assumption was proven wrong.

“Walker, this is Grant, Noah, Erik, Olli, and Nikolay. Do you know where you want them?”

He blinked at me before looking back at the imposing men in front of us. I’d gotten pretty used to being around them over the past few months, but now, seeing them through Walker’s eyes I remembered how intimidating they seemed.

He nodded slowly. “I think I do. Do any of you have a problem with getting your haircut today?”