Total pages in book: 153
Estimated words: 152064 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 760(@200wpm)___ 608(@250wpm)___ 507(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 152064 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 760(@200wpm)___ 608(@250wpm)___ 507(@300wpm)
We run into Cammie and Chase on the way to the elevator.
“I just saw you on the ice last night. How are you here?” Chase asks.
Flip tucks me into his side as we join them in the elevator. “I took an early flight home.”
Cammie grins and hugs Chase’s arm. “That’s so sweet.”
“We’re grabbing a bite to eat off campus, if you want to join us,” Flip offers.
“Oh! We don’t want to impose.” Cammie glances at me, eyes wide.
Chase looks like someone just offered him a contract with the Terror.
“You’re not imposing at all,” I assure Cammie. This feels like kind of a big deal, especially since he called himself my boyfriend while he was in Colorado, and took an early flight home because he missed me. Now he wants to spend time not just with me, but with my friends, too.
“You’re sure?” Chase is already vibrating.
“Totally,” Flip and I say at the same time.
We exit the elevator, and Cammie and I climb into the back seat of Flip’s car, so Chase doesn’t have to eat his knees. Flip drives across town to the Pancake House. It’s a favorite, and they know us here, so Flip won’t be accosted by fans.
Once we’re seated, Rainbow, our usual server, pours us coffees and leaves us to browse the menu.
“That was one hell of an away series. First Colorado, and then Minnesota couldn’t keep their shit together,” Chase says. “They’re having a tough season.”
“Yeah, and Minnesota is up against New York this week.”
“Oof.” Chase shakes his head. “That’s rough. Kodiak Bowman is on fire this season.”
“Right? He beat his own scoring record four games ago,” Flip notes. “Guy is going in the Hall of Fame for sure.”
“I love his wife,” Cammie says. “I want to be like her when I grow up.”
“Oh my God,” I agree. “I love Lavender. She’s hilarious.”
“You have no idea.” Flip’s arm is draped over the back of my chair, and his smile tells an entire story.
I narrow my eyes. “What do you know that we don’t?”
“There was a problem with Tristan’s pants at the wedding,” Flip replies.
“Oh, I heard about this!” Chase’s eyes light up.
Cammie frowns. “Why do you know about this and I don’t?”
“Because Brody is Tristan’s brother,” Chase explains. “And he witnessed it.”
“I need the inside scoop,” Cammie insists.
“It’s cone,” Chase and Flip say at the same time. Then they fist-bump each other.
It makes me giddy. My pro hockey player and my friend’s boyfriend are bonding over wedding shenanigans.
Cammie and I make a lips-zipped, cross-our-hearts motion.
Chase and Flip have a silent conversation, and then Flip nods. “So Tristan’s pants were too small,” he explains.
Tristan is a mammoth of a man. He’s almost six and a half feet tall, and his hands are stupid huge.
“His business was businessing,” Chase blurts.
“And Lavender was called in to fix it,” Flip adds.
“Oh my God.” Cammie splays her hands on the table. I bet she’s planning a scene for one of her fics.
“Did Kodiak lose his mind?” I ask.
Flip nods. “I thought his head might explode when Lavender had to let out the crotch of Tristan’s pants.”
Cammie and I burst out laughing. “The way he loves his wife is goals.”
“He’s loved her his entire life,” Flip says. “Since they were kids. They’re soulmates.”
“Their love seems so endless,” I muse. My stomach twists uncomfortably. I can’t imagine those two without each other. But what if something happened? How devastated would Kodiak be? How broken?
Flip slides his arm along the back of my seat, thumb brushing back and forth along my shoulder blade, maybe sensing my sudden disquiet. I hate how my parents’ divorce has made me question even the strongest of bonds.
Flip asks Chase about the hockey season at Tilton, which sparks an animated conversation about where Chase is hoping to be after graduation. I love that Flip is connecting with my friends like this, that he’s happy to give advice and gentle guidance.
After brunch, we drop Chase and Cammie at her sister’s place and head back to my apartment. Fee is at the art studio, working on a project.
Flip grabs his bag out of the trunk. I’m anxious and excited to have him all to myself as we take the elevator to my apartment. Two guys recognize him, and he signs their hats. It doesn’t seem to faze him at all.
“Does that ever get annoying?” I ask once we’re in my apartment.
“Being recognized by fans?” He takes off his coat while Parsnip scales his leg.
“Yeah.”
“I’m always happy to sign hats and jerseys, but when they get touchy, it can be a lot,” he admits.
He doesn’t need to elaborate. I’ve seen plenty of women hanging off him at bars over the years. People assume they can touch him without asking permission because he’s a public figure.
Flip relocates my cat to his shoulder so he can take off his boots. Parsnip hops to the floor, then follows us down the hall. My stomach is full of butterflies as I lead him to my bedroom. I push the door open, thankful I remembered to hide my body pillow in the closet.