Page 64 of Let Me Love You
“Yup,” we answer in unison.
“You guys ready for this?” she asks. “‘Cause it’s chaos. This is Ryan’s fourth season, and we still don’t have the hang of things. He used to play for the Avalanche before he was traded to the Lions, but we’re super excited to be here.”
“We are too,” I reply.
“Are either of you married or have children?” Melissa asks.
My breath catches in my lungs, but I force myself to let it out slowly.
“No on both counts,” Blakely answers for me, squeezing my knee beneath the table.
“Ah, well then, you’re fine. The chaos doesn’t really start until then. Ryan and I have three kids. Zo, who's a mini adult and is seven; Fin, my four-year-old tornado; and Magnolia, who's two and is my adorable terror.” She ticks each of them off her fingers, then reaches for the glass of water in front of her and takes a sip.
“Sounds like you have your hands full,” Blakely notes with a smile. I can tell she’s jealous. Then again, so am I. It seems like Melissa’s living the dream.
Mydream.
Or at least the dream I had before finding out about Jaxon. My attention flicks back to Colt at the bar. He’s discussing something with Theo and Ryan. He looks happy. In his element. Talking shop and trading stories. My chest twinges.
“Yeah, our hands are definitely full,” Melissa continues. “But trust me. It’s worth it. Be sure you invest in a solid massage gun, and you’ll be golden.”
Blake laughs. “Way ahead of ya.”
Tearing my attention from Colt, I turn back to Melissa. “So what do you do?”
“I’m a nurse practitioner,” she answers.
“Oh, that’s awesome,” Blake gushes. “Our friend recently graduated with her nursing degree.”
“Ah, fun. She’ll love it.”
“Have you found a job here yet?” I ask.
“Actually, yes. Just got a job at Lockwood Heights Medical earlier today.”
“Congrats,” Blake interjects. “Our friend is struggling to find one so far.”
“Well, tell her to stay strong,” Melissa returns. “I’m sure she’ll find something.”
“We hope so,” I reply as the men all approach with a drink in each hand and set them down in front of us. Warm lips press against my cheek, and I lean into them, closing my eyes and savoring the familiar heat.
“Missed you,” Colt murmurs against the shell of my ear.
I peek up at him and smile. “You were gone for five minutes.”
As he sits beside me, he mutters, “Five minutes too long.”
I don’t have a chance to reply because Buchanan takes center stage and clears his throat, the sound echoing from the microphone and through the built-in speakers in the ceiling.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” he starts. “I want to thank you for joining us today. As you all know, we’re excited to hit the ground running this season and want to thank not only our players but also their spouses and significant others for their support. We all know who keeps these men in check, and without you, most of them would still have their heads up their asses.” The crowd laughs. Buchanan waits for everyone to settle and continues. “Since one of them insisted he needed to prove it in front of everyone, let me hand the mic to our new starting Left Wing.”
Theo smirks and pushes his chair away from the table as Blakely’s jaw drops.
“What are you doing?” she seethes, but Theo only winks back at her.
Well, this is a surprise.
I lean closer to Colt, and he wraps his arm around the back of my chair with a shit-eating grin spread across his face.