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 spend the next hour enticing cats into our arms, laps, and onto our shoulders. Several kittens scale my legs in search of treats, which is apparently endlessly entertaining. There’s also a floppy-eared bunny named Bubbles who believes it’s a cat.
“I want you to pose,” I say to Tally once all the guys have had their time in the limelight.
“I’m not a hockey player, though.”
“I might want my own calendar.” I grab her hand and pull her toward the velvet chaise lounge.
“Hemi, tell him he can’t do this!” Tally calls out.
“He actually came up with this idea, so I’ll let him do whatever he wants.”
I settle Tally on the velvet lounge and pose her like a queen. The cats immediately rush over to her. “You’re like the pied piper of kitties, kitten.”
“Like I’m alone, look at you!” Two kittens are scaling my legs.
“You two need to pose together,” Dallas calls out.
Everyone else agrees.
I join her on the lounge and soon cats are climbing all over us.
I wrap my arm around her, smiling at her delight.
“Thank you for this,” she whispers.
“I love seeing you happy.” I tip her chin up and press my lips gently to hers.
Once the photoshoot is done, we change out of cat-fur-covered Terror shirts and head to Rix and Tristan’s for fajita night.
“I cannot believe how puffy your eyes still are,” Ash says as he assembles the ingredients for Rix’s famous seven-layer dip.
“I had no idea I was this allergic to cats.” Quinn blows his nose for the seven-hundredth time.
“Being in a room full of them is a lot different than just one,” Kellan adds.
“Apparently, yeah.” Quinn plucks another tissue from the box he’s holding, keeping a safe distance from the food.
“Do you need help with that, queen of the kittens?” I press my chest against Tally’s back and curl forward until my chin rests on her shoulder.
“I’ve got it, but you’re welcome to continue your human-cape impression for as long as you’d like,” she says.
I kiss the side of her neck. “You’re staying over tonight.”
“Was that supposed to be a question?” A dimple appears in her cheek, so I kiss that too.
I drop my voice and press my lips to her ear. “I have plans for dessert.” I stayed at her place last night, but yesterday was emotional for her. I want a night where she’s relaxed and everything isn’t steeped in stress and worry.
She tips her head up. “Me? I’m dessert.”
“All right, you two, save it for when you’re alone.” Dallas points the salad tongs at us.
Dred grins as she spoons sauces into bowls.
I give Tally some space and move to stand next to her. Later I’ll have her to myself and we can spend the night taking care of each other. We only have a few days before the next away series, and I want to make the most of our time.
We bring the food to the table, and everyone takes their seats.
Shilpa puts Pavin into his booster seat. He’s positioned between his parents and he bashes his knife and fork against the placemat. The kid is basically outfitted in the equivalent of a raincoat since eating is like a full-contact sport.
Dainty little Ariel is perched in her princess booster between her dad and Hammer. Her eyes are wide and she looks up at Roman like he hung the moon.
Tally hugs my arm and whispers, “They are so cute, aren’t they?”
“Ridiculously adorable,” I agree. We haven’t talked about kids, but she’s so good with Ariel and Pavin. I want a family, though. The picket fence, the babies, a house full of love. Will she stay for that? For me?
“Fajita nights are my favorite,” Kellan declares, pulling me out of my head and back into the moment.
“I second this,” Quinn agrees. “We used to do this in university with my housemates and our friends next door. Lovey always orchestrated it, and at least once a week we’d make a communal meal and hang out like this. Makes me miss those days.”
“Is Lovey coming to visit again?” Rix asks. “I wish I could have spent more time with her when she was here for the special needs hockey dinner.”
“I’m sure she’ll be out this way again soon.” He rubs the back of his neck. “I was going to invite her to the gala, but I wasn’t sure how that would work with the auction.”
“We’re shifting it to a night on the ice, so it isn’t limited to the single guys, since you’re dropping like flies,” Hemi says. “And I mean that in a good way.”
“It has the potential to be just as successful. Each winner will have their own player, dedicated to them. There will be time on the ice with the team, followed by a fancy dinner,” Hammer adds.
“It’s so smart!” Dred says.
“We thought it would be a good way to make use of the whole team. Far more opportunities to make community connections that way,” Hemi adds.