Page 1 of Center Ice

1

Jake

A knock on my window had me nearly jumping out of my skin. Derek Aston was staring down at me with a raised brow. “You coming in?”

I looked back at Olli Letang’s house and nodded. I’d been parked on the street in front of it for almost ten minutes, debating whether or not I was going to leave my car.

Amelia, Derek’s girlfriend, stepped in front of him. “Hey, Jake!”

I forced my lips to curve into a smile and got out, following as they walked up the driveway.

“They’re going to be really happy to see you,” Amelia whispered as we walked through the front door into the wide entryway.

I glanced into the living room packed with my teammates. A few of them spotted us, and soon they were all staring.

“Jones!” Hartman, our captain, jumped up from his chair and came toward us. “Good to see you, man.” He clapped my shoulder and led me away from Amelia.

“Thanks.” I had a feeling I would be watched all night. It was part of why I didn’t want to come. I knew they were trying to be supportive, but I just didn’t want to be reminded tonight.

He paused and studied my face. “If you don’t want to talk about her tonight, say the word.”

I sighed. “She wanted me to start living my life. That’s what I’m here to do.”

“Got it.” He nodded once and stepped back, leaving me alone to find a place to sit.

“Jones, take a seat!” Jason Dumoulin waved me over. “How are you, man?”

“Good,” I sat next to him and smiled at the other guys. The women seemed to have congregated in the kitchen, and I caught a few of them watching me.

Brandon Cullen was sitting across from me, so I leaned forward. “Hey, I heard you’re a married man now. Congratulations.”

He grinned. “Thanks. We decided there wasn’t a point in waiting, and neither of us wanted a big wedding, so it worked out to just do it at the house.”

“Yeah, shocked me and Taylor.” Jason laughed.

“Speaking of, when are you two getting hitched?” Brandon asked.

Jason shrugged. “There are too many weddings happening right now, so we’ll give everyone a break for a little while.”

“Who else is getting married?” I asked. I tried to stay up with major news like this, but without a connection to the Pride, I was often way behind.

“Wyatt and Kendall have to at some point. That poor woman is going to lose her mind if he doesn’t propose.” Brandon chuckled.

“And Grant and Addison,” Jason added.

“Lucy and Colin,” Olli jumped in to say from the other couch. “Nikolai and Elena too.”

“Leave me out of this,” Colin shouted from the far side of the room.

“Oh, and Jason and Taylor. I bet they’ll be next just to shock everyone,” Brandon said while looking around the room.

“Jake, good to see you.” Emma appeared over my left shoulder. “Food’s in the kitchen and its buffet style, so help yourself whenever. If you need anything, let me know.”

“Okay, thanks.” No mention of my mom? Had Hartman really gotten the word out that fast?

“Have you checked the resort’s website?” Erik asked as he sat on the arm of the couch next to Derek.

“Yeah, it looks amazing,” Brandon replied.