Total pages in book: 124
Estimated words: 115838 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 579(@200wpm)___ 463(@250wpm)___ 386(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 115838 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 579(@200wpm)___ 463(@250wpm)___ 386(@300wpm)
There are bouncy houses for the kids and then, I don’t know how Jill did it, but she found some adult bouncy houses too. There is a pit that has two poles you stand up on and you try to knock the other person off with a stick with foam at both ends.
The area is half full as I make it across to the crowd, stopping to thank everyone I see for coming. I look over to see if Cam is here yet, but I don’t see him. I see Brad and Ken, who are standing side by side. “Gentlemen,” I say, holding out my hand. Ken smirks at me, grabbing my hand and Brad does it just because there could be people looking over at us, and the last thing he wants is negative press. It’s okay for me to get it, which I’ve been getting on the daily, but not the big man in charge. “Quite a turnout,” I say, observing everyone.
“Lots of time and energy went into this,” Brad states. “Let’s hope it transfers to the ice.”
“One can hope,” I say, putting my hands in my pockets. “I’m going to go and make sure I see all the guys.”
I don’t bother waiting for him to answer before walking over to some of the rookies who have arrived. “Hey, guys,” I say and shake hands with each of them. “Spread out, yeah, and get to know each other and their families.”
“It’s almost like speed dating,” one of them mentions, and I look down at my shoes to not laugh at him. “You have five minutes to get to know the other person and then, at the end, if you guys have a connection, you write the name on a paper.”
“No,” I immediately shake my head, “this is not like that at all.” The other guys try not to laugh at him. “Everyone here is a part of the team in one way or another. It’s about meeting who is important to them. It’s who you guys play for.”
I look over and my heart stops in my chest. Or maybe it fucking starts, I don’t know, all I know is it’s becoming harder to breathe when she’s around, even if she isn’t right next to me. My heart knows when she’s even in the fucking room. It’s like my body has Victoria radar built into it, and it comes alive when she’s around.
I take her in, her hair flipped to the side reminding me of the mark I left on her, and I see her eyes light up as she points to the side talking to Jagger, who is in Jaxon’s arms. “I’ll be back,” I say to the guys. “Mingle.” I point to the people.
I zigzag my way through the crowd toward Jaxon, and I’m telling myself it’s the polite thing to do to greet my captain, but the reality is I want to see her. It’s been two weeks since I last saw her, and every single day for the past two weeks I’ve had the intense desire to text her. Every fucking night, without fail, no matter where I was, if I was home or on the road. I would settle down and my heart would feel like it was being crushed when I thought of her about how I wished she was next to me so we could end our day together.
“Hey,” I say once I get to them, and she turns and looks at me. Her blue-gray eyes are flickering. “Thank you for coming.”
“This is great,” Ariella compliments.
“I heard some of the planning,” Jaxon says, looking around, “but this is—”
“It’s all Jill.” I motion to Jill, who is going around taking pictures. “I gave her an idea and she ran with it.”
“Ball,” Jagger says, pointing over to the ball pit.
“Well, that is where we will live for the next hour,” Ariella deadpans.
“I’ll take him,” Victoria volunteers. “You guys do your thing.” She holds her hands out for Jagger. “You want to come with Auntie TT to see the balls?” she asks and he lunges into her arms. “Yeah, who’s your favorite?” She smiles at him.
“TT,” Jagger babbles.
“You all heard him say it,” she jokes with us before she turns and walks away. I watch her for longer than I should, then Kirby and Knox arrive with Lexi and Kylie.
I spend the next forty-five minutes making sure I see all the guys who are there. Looking her way every single chance I get to make sure she is still around. I still don’t see Cam anywhere. Then I see her walking across the field by herself, going inside. My feet are moving before I can stop them. At this point, I’m just torturing myself but it’s a torture, apparently, I can’t stay away from.
I step into the hallway a couple of seconds after her. The halls are quiet compared to outside, where it is filled with yelling and laughing. Kids are chasing other kids, while the picnic tables are filled with people mingling with each other. It’s exactly what I had in my mind when I brought it up. No one is talking the game, no one is concentrating on the stress of the press. It’s just a company party, families mingling.