AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Me: I’ll meet you in the city tomorrow.
Elles: Great, I’ll see you there.
The next day, after shopping with Elles and watching her flirt like crazy via DM with her mystery man onMeet-Cupid,she and I headed to the wine bar around the corner. I didn’t get to see her enough, not with how busy we were at the shop.
“So what’s going on with the bakery? When are you moving in?” Elles asked as she brought her wineglass to her lips.
“We’re trying. The kitchen is a disaster.”
“Really?”
I swirled my wine in the glass, the red liquid sloshing up the sides, then trailing down in slow legs. “Yeah. It was my fault. Scar signed the lease without me because I was late. She accepted it as-is.”
“Didn’t you know there were problems?”
“No. On the surface, it looked fine. Until we went in and took possession. Pretty much every single piece of equipment needs replacing.”
“Fuck.”
“Yeah.”
“That sounds expensive.”
“It is. We’re working on it, but it’ll be a few months before we can open.”
“Can you keep it going? The rent and running the shop out of your garage?”
The question made my chest tight. “For now. I need to get things moved over sooner rather than later, though.”
“You know I’ll design it for you, right? No charge.”
I smiled at her. “I know.”
“You can pay me in cupcakes.”
“Perfect.”
TAYLOR
I scrolled through the Meet-Cupid app at Eva’s request, familiarizing myself with everything I was supposed to be representing. Myself, Byrne, Trick, Petrov, and Ruben had all gotten roped into this. And today after practice, Eva strode into the locker room ready to all but hand us our arses. Determination burned in her eyes, and from the set of her jaw, I could hear her voice in my head like a fucking Banshee even before she opened her mouth.
“We won’t keep our sponsorship if you don’t use the app, and I will find myself another team to support. Don’t test me, boys. This is my first big sponsorship opportunity for you guys. You’re as good as brand new to the NHL.”
None of us were fucking new. We’d all been on other teams. Hell, this team wasn’t brand new. We just had a new owner. I almost piped up. Almost told her she needed to simmer down and let us do our thing. But that woman was scary.
As if she knew what was going on in my head, she lasered her gaze on me, and I all but withered. Byrne laughed under his breath.
“What’s so funny, Ethan? You’re just as bad. The only ones here who have even fully set up their profiles are Savage and Reuben. Although, Taylor, your bio is pathetic.”
“What? I’ve just given the ladies what they want.”
She pulled out her phone and began reading. “They don’t call me number 10 for nothing. Taylor 10-inch Savage at your service, lassies.”
Everyone in the locker room snickered. “See? It’s good.” I puffed out my chest in defense of my smart mouth.
“No. It’s something a chauvinist pig would write. You’re representing the Cyclones, especially since you’re using your real name. Unlike others.” She shot a pointed look at Ethan, who simply shrugged. “You’re changing it once we go live. Once the promo is out.”
He shrugged again.
