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"Ryan's also very talented in the kitchen," Avery nods and then shoots her husband a sly smile. "His countertop skills are second to none."
"Oh Jesus, please tell me you didn't have sex on our countertop,” Holly whisper yells.
"We didn't," Avery laughs before adding, "We did it on Luke's."
"TMI, little sis." Ollie groans, and Ozzy puts his hands over his ears like earmuffs and starts chanting, "La, la, la."
I can't help but laugh. This team is like a big group of squabbling siblings, and I love it. I've never been a part of an organization so tight knit. Even the owners, Monica and Mitchell Starling, enjoy mingling with their players and coaches. The Toronto Northmen is a first-class organization, where everyone from the players to the Zamboni driver feels like they're a valuable part of the team.
"Alright, alright," I holler and motion for everyone to pair up and pick a spot at a cooking station. "We need to get cooking before you need to leave for your pre-game rituals. I'd hate to infringe on your weird superstitions."
It takes a few minutes, but the guys settle in and calm down while Sam and I review the items in front of them along with the safety instructions. The last thing we need is Coach McCall murdering us because one of his players chopped off his thumb dicing onions or suffering third-degree burns from touching a hot element.
We're making two simple dishes. The first is a chicken and vegetable linguine, and the second is a teriyaki beef stir-fry. Both have lots of protein and check off a lot of the nutritional boxes we want the players to cover.
Sam reviews knife skills with the players and the importance of having good, sharp knives in the kitchen while I review how to properly portion and measure all the ingredients. For the most part, the players seem to be enjoying themselves. Even Holly and Avery are participating because, god knows, those two need all the help they can get.
I circulate the room, checking on everyone's dishes and stop at Luke and Chase's station. Holly wasn't kidding, Luke is talented, and Chase isn't half bad either. As I walk by, I wink at Chase with my good eye and Luke grunts.
"Gotta admit," Ollie says, "that black eye makes you look pretty badass, little Valentine."
"Yeah, well, my right hook packs a big punch."
"How do you punch yourself in the face?" Carter Callahan asks. I can't help it when my gaze meets Chase's, and a secretive smile curves my lips. Luke narrows his eyes.
"That's for me to know and you to never find out." The guys chuckle, but Ollie and Ozzy share a look that tells me Ozzy definitely told his brother about the scene he walked in on this morning. I need to grill Riley at the game tonight about this whole Ozzy situation. She's obviously coming to watch the big BWB finale, and then we're watching the boys slaughter Vegas with the rest of the WAGs up in our box. That girl better give me all the juicy details because I want to know if she and Ozzy are finally getting together and what the fuck is going on.
Before long, and with only a few minor mishaps, everyone starts plating their food and digging in. Watching people enjoy food I've had a hand in creating gives me such a serotonin boost, especially when it's a group of guys who, a little over an hour ago, had no clue what they were doing.
"Holy shiitake mushrooms," Tyler Zingle moans from the back corner with his partner Hunter LaRoux. "This is fucking amazing." He's eating some of the teriyaki beef, which ironically has shiitake mushrooms in it. I've always loved a good stir-fry.
"I can't stop eating it," Ollie says, happily shovelling linguine into his face. By all accounts, our cooking class is a grand success. Everyone is focused on enjoying the fruits of their labour, and with any luck, they'll all remember how to replicate the recipes at home. But, even if they forget, we have a step-by-step guide on the player portal where they can get ingredient lists and instructions and watch videos using the team's personalized player app.
The room is quiet for a few blessed minutes as everyone feasts on their pre-game meals. Until phones start buzzing. At first, it's just one or two dings and chimes. Nothing too out of the ordinary. But then Holly and Avery's phones start pinging like they have eleventy-billion text notifications all coming in at once. And in my experience, when everyone's phones start going off simultaneously like a forty-four-piece orchestra, it's never a good sign.
"That fucking cunt," Avery whispers under her breath, but every single one of us hears her. When Avery uses the C-word, I know it's not good news. Her eyes dart between Chase and me, and my gut clenches.
Picking up my phone, I look at the notification:BREAKING NEWS: Superstar Hockey Player & Heartless Son—Has the Wild and Destructive Past of Chase Wilder Finally Caught Up to Him?
Bile rises in my throat as I glance at Chase. His cheeks redden with anger as his eyes scan his phone. Immediately, I open the link to Cassidy Tippett's latest piece of trash reporting.
Chase Wilder, one of the Toronto Northmen's superstar forwards, has been a fan favourite since his arrival several years ago. His high-octane play on the ice often made management and fans turn a blind eye to his antics off it.
It's no secret that Wilder is a ladies' man, and although Lily Valentine's recent effort to make him her own personal reclamation project, one has to wonder if the troubled hockey player is beyond saving.
Before Wilder made his NHL debut, he was already making headlines for all the wrong reasons. His off-ice exploits have been well documented, including his affair with a woman twice his age and her daughter. While playing junior hockey in London, Ontario, Wilder dated his billet family's daughter, only to two-time her with her own mother. And even though the sordid details were well known within hockey circles, Wilder graduated to the NHL and took his womanizing ways to South Florida.
This author has contacted several of Wilder's alleged past conquests, all of whom wished to remain anonymous. But the things these women revealed would make even the most notorious philanders blush. Late-night partying, drunken hookups, and even some risqué bedroom romps involving handcuffs and plenty of other novelties you can purchase at your favourite online sex boutique are just some of the stories coming from Wilder's past. It’s juicer than aFifty Shadesnovel.
It appears that some of his wild ways were curtailed when Wilder joined the Northmen, but with the reappearance of Anna Munro, his very own Mrs. Robinson, one might wonder if he's back to his old tricks.
Wilder is currently participating inThe Blue and White Bachelorette, a dating farce created by Sparks and Avery Sports Specialists, the firm controlling the team's social media. Again, one has to wonder how many scandals the Northmen organization will allow Holly Sparks-Valentine and Emerson Avery-Gunner to cause before cutting them loose. Then again, when you're married to the team's leading defenceman and goal-scorer, standard rules don't apply.
And while most of this is old news, Wilder's childhood might be the most shocking of all. Growing up in a small town just north of Toronto, Wilder's mom died of cancer when he was just ten years old, leaving him in the care of his father, Jeff Wilder.
You'd think that with only one parent left, the bond between father and son would be strong. And as a multimillionaire athlete, he'd ensure his dad had the best care.
That's certainly not the case.
