Page 120 of Hockey Boy
Beckett merely smirks, then turns his attention on the rest of the room. “Good morning, ladies. Ava, thank you for joining us for this meeting.”
“Nope,” Liv says, turning and pushing him toward the door.
Confusion pulls at Beckett’s brows. “What do you meannope?”
“I can talk to Lennox about the job. You will just get in the way, Mr. Langfield.”
Sara and I eye one another, rolling our lips to keep from laughing. Liv did say that’s what Beckett likes being called in the bedroom. That knowledge instantly turns us into schoolgirls, ready to throw ourselves down on the floor in a fit of giggles.
Ava must be used to this, because she doesn’t blink over their interaction.
“Fine, but you owe me a date night,” he says to his wife.
“We don’t have a sitter,” Liv says, her shoulders deflating.
Beckett turns to the rest of us. “We haven’t had a night out since before the twins were born. She refuses to let any of my brothers watch the kids. Thinks they can’t handle all five of them by themselves.”
Sara straightens. “We’ll do it.”
Every head in the room whips in her direction.
“Right, Len? The guys don’t have a game on Friday. Between the four of us, we can handle them.”
My chest gets a little tight at the prospect. The older kids, maybe. But twin babies? I’vespent almost no time around children, especially babies. This is the definition of being thrown into the deep end.
Then again, Beckett’s words from the other night replay in my mind. Aiden’s need for a place to run and play. He’d be such a good dad. Maybe spending time with his nieces and nephew would help me figure out whether I could ever see myself wanting kids of my own.
“Yeah, we can do it,” I say, my tone firm. Aiden will be thrilled with this idea. And it’ll give me a chance to check out this neighborhood a little more closely.
“I knew hiring you was a good idea,” Beckett says proudly.
I chuff out a laugh. “I haven’t accepted the job offer.”
Beckett adjusts his suit jacket and smirks. “You will. All right, ladies, if Livy has this covered, I’m going to find Cortney. We’ve got a bet going, and I’m totally going to win, so I’ve got to up the ante.” He presses a kiss to his wife’s cheek and mutters in her ear. Whatever he says has her swatting him away and makes her cheeks flush.
“You guys are so freaking adorable,” I say as I settle on the couch again.
Liv rolls her eyes. “He’s incorrigible most of the time.”
“And you love it,” Sara sings.
Ava, who’s still standing, shoulders pulled up to her ears, watches the three of us with a small smile on her face.
I pat the space next to me. “Come over here and tell me why I should accept this job. And what we’ll be doing.”
As she settles beside me, she quietly asks, “You really haven’t accepted yet?”
I give her a wink. “I like to keep the Langfield men on their toes.”
But the truth is, I already know my answer. I’m going all in. With Aiden. With Langfield Corp. With his family.
And maybe with one of our own.
The realization has me excited to share it all with Aiden. But because we never do things easily, through a conversation, my mind isspinning with ideas. With grand gestures—because if anyone deserves an over-the-top gesture, it’s my guy.
“He’s bendinghis ankles too much,” I tell Gavin as we watch Andrew Keegan, the center we just drafted, practice with Camden Snow and Daniel Hall. Switching up lines is never a bad idea. That way, if one of us gets hurt and he has to change things up, the chemistry is already there and the change will be seamless.
My brother doesn’t even glance in my direction before shouting a correction.