35. Bella
Chapter 35
Bella
“ O h wow…” Ingrid murmurs. She instantly stops dancing while she stares at something across the room.
I stop dancing too. “What? What is it?”
“Sam just walked in here practically naked.”
Maya, Sophie, and I all turn to look where Ingrid’s looking and see Sam standing with Braden, Xander, Del, and Theo.
My eyes go wide at the sight of his ripped physique. “Wow. He’s in really good shape.”
Every single woman at this party is drooling over him. I watch as a pretty brunette walks up to him and starts to chat him up. She rakes her gaze down his chest before quickly looking back up at his face, her eyes starry. She twirls her hair in her fingers and giggles.
Maya laughs. “He really is. I mean, they’re all in good shape. They’re professional hockey players. But none of them are flaunting their bodies like Sam is.”
“He looks like the love child between a male model, a hot surfer, and a pro athlete,” Sophie says .
We all nod.
“That’s the perfect way to describe him,” Maya says.
Ingrid raises her glass of champagne. “Flaunt it, Sam. Flaunt it while you’ve got it.”
We walk off the dancefloor and head to the kitchen island, where Ingrid tops off our drinks.
“I thought Dakota and Jake were coming tonight,” she says to Sophie.
“She texted me that she’s running late. Costume issues,” Sophie says.
Ingrid turns to me. “My mom told me this morning that she convinced more of her friends to try your home roasted coffee. She’s been singing your praises.”
I smile. “Your mom is seriously amazing. I’ve been so busy with all the new orders I’ve been getting from her friends.” I turn to Maya and Sophie and thank them for ordering my home roasted coffee too.
“It’s my new favorite,” Sophie says to me. “When I was at the airport last week, I stopped at Starbucks to order a drink and I couldn’t even finish it. It tasted so bland compared to your coffee.”
I gently squeeze her arm. “I love you forever for saying that.”
Maya nods. “I can’t start my day without a cup of your medium roast coffee and oat milk. So good. My mom loves it too.”
I’m beaming. It feels amazing hearing them rave about my coffee. I still can’t believe how supportive they all have been. Ingrid, Maya, Sophie, and Dakota all order my home roasted coffee for themselves and have been recommending it to their friends and family. This week, I made more from my coffee side hustle than at Spanky’s and Sweethearts combined. My savings is starting to recover from all the money I lost when I bought that house with Matt. I won’t be able to open a coffee shop anytime soon, but maybe in a few years. And I have my new friends to thank for that.
“You all are so wonderful. Beyond wonderful,” I say, emotion welling up inside of me.
They all say it’s nothing, but I stop them.
“No, I mean it. I felt hopeless when I first moved back to Denver. I was broke and I thought my savings would never recover from stupidly buying a house with my ex.”
After hosting the coffee tasting for Ingrid’s mom, Ingrid invited me out to a girls’ night with her, Maya, Sophie, and Dakota. I told them all about my ex and how I ended up back in Denver broke and working two jobs.
“Hey.” Ingrid gently pats my hand. “You’re not stupid.”
Maya offers a sweet smile. “Yeah, don’t say that about yourself.”
“We all know what it’s like to put more than we should have into a relationship with a guy who didn’t deserve it,” Sophie says.
I nod at them, appreciating how sweet and supportive they’re being.
Just then I see Lauren walk in with Lance. I wave at them and they walk over. When Ingrid invited me to her Halloween party, she told me to bring whoever I wanted, so I invited Lauren and Lance.
When I see their Bun In The Oven costume, I burst out laughing.
“This is the greatest thing I’ve ever seen,” I say as I try to give Lauren a hug. It’s impossible since she’s wearing a cardboard box around her torso with arm holes cut out on the sides. The front of the box is open and she painted it to look like an oven. She’s wearing a crop top, her adorable bump on display. Her husband Lance is wearing a chef’s hat and white apron with the words “bun maker” stitched on the front.
I introduce Lauren and Lance to Sophie, Ingrid, and Maya, who all greet them with compliments about their costume.
“I gave out the prize for best costume too early,” Ingrid says. “You two totally should have won. I owe you a bottle of champagne.”
Lauren chuckles. “It’s okay. Not like I could enjoy it anyway.” She points to her belly. “We’re just pumped to be out doing something fun tonight instead of holed up at our place assembling furniture for the nursery. Thanks so much for inviting us.”
Ingrid beams. “Of course. I’m so happy you guys could come.”
She points out the alcohol to Lance and offers Lauren sparkling water.
“I’d love some, thank you.” Lauren happily accepts the drink and takes a long sip.
Sophie raises her glass of seltzer water with ice. “I’m on the no alcohol train too. Not because I’m pregnant. I just don’t drink that often.”
Lauren smiles at her. “I’ll happily accept the company.”
We all chat for a few minutes. Del comes over and Ingrid introduces him to Lauren and Lance. Braden walks over a bit later and I introduce him to Lauren and Lance too.
“Awesome costume,” Braden says to them.
Lauren smiles at him and tells him thanks. “I always come up with wild couples costume ideas for Halloween and Lance is sweet enough to go along with them.”
Lance chuckles and kisses her cheek. “I’ll happily do whatever she wants. ”
All the ladies go “aww!”
Braden’s gaze cuts to me. The corner of his mouth quirks up. “I feel the same way.”
My tummy flips. Del asks if Lance wants to meet the rest of the guys. Del, Lance, and Braden walk off to join the guys. I glance over and catch eyes with Braden. He winks at me, the corner of his mouth twitching up into that sexy half-smile I love so much.
“I saw that,” Lauren shouts over the music, offering a teasing smile.
I roll my eyes and laugh.
“So how goes cohabitating with the hot goalie you’re hooking up with?” Lauren asks, her voice loud right as the song ends.
Maya, Ingrid, and Sophie all look at me with wide eyes, surprised.
“You and Blomdahl are hooking up?”
“I knew it!”
“I thought there was something between you two!”
They all speak at once. My face heats as I let out an embarrassed chuckle. Lauren winces. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to spill the beans.”
I wave a hand. “It’s okay.”
“Tell us everything,” Ingrid says.
I tell them how for the past month, Braden and I have been hooking up.
“Theo and I thought there was something up,” Maya says. “The way you two look at each other was a dead giveaway.”
I grin wide, glancing away for a second before looking back at Maya. She points at me. “There. That’s the smile. That’s what gave it away.”
I chuckle, my face heating .
“That’s the smile of a woman who’s having a fantastic time in the bedroom,” Ingrid teases. Sophie gives her a playful pat on the arm.
“Oh she is,” Lauren says. “Definitely an upgrade from your ex in every department.”
“Really?” Sophie, Maya, and Ingrid all say.
I chuckle. “Yes. Braden is very…” I fight yet another giddy smile. “Generous in bed. And bossy. But in a good way.”
They all squeal, then hi-five me. I laugh while hi-fiving them back.
“What are we hi-fiving about it?” Dakota asks. I turn and see her standing next to us, wearing cat-eye glasses, a long blonde wig, pink cardigan, and a floral print sundress.
Sophie pulls her into a hug. “We just found out that Bella and Blomdahl are hooking up.”
Dakota smiles at me. “Nice.”
I laugh and introduce her to Lauren. “Who are you dressed as? You look so cute,” I say to Dakota.
“Bernadette from The Big Bang Theory .”
“Oh, I love it!” I say.
“Thanks,” Dakota says. “But back to the juicy stuff. You and Braden are a thing?” She wiggles her eyebrows.
“They live together too,” Maya says.
“Wow. You guys move fast,” Dakota says.
I explain how my aunt’s tenants moved in early to her apartment, which meant that I had to move out, and that’s when Braden offered up his place.
“Oh, he’s so into you,” Ingrid says, her tone teasing. Maya, Sophie, and Dakota all nod along.
“Well, I mean, yeah. We’re hooking up. I know he likes me.” I chuckle .
Ingrid shakes her head. “No, I’d bet anything he has serious feelings for you.”
“Yeah, Blomdahl isn’t the kind of guy who would do something like that off the cuff,” Sophie says. “I overheard the guys talking about him a few times and he hasn’t been with anyone in a while. Like over a year.”
Maya nods. “So the fact that he wanted you to move in with him means that he must care about you a lot.”
“Yeah, you’re definitely not just a hookup if he wants you to live with him,” Ingrid says. “That’s girlfriend territory.”
My belly flutters at what they’ve all said. That Braden could have feelings for me. That he could care about me more than just a friend with benefits. That he could want me to be his girlfriend.
I wait for my nerves to take over, for the panic to woosh through me at the thought of things getting serious between us. That’s exactly what I didn’t want after all the heartache I went through with Matt.
But it never comes. Instead, a warm, fuzzy feeling pools in my chest.
The thought of things getting serious with Braden doesn’t freak me out. It actually makes me feel giddy. And happy. So happy.
And I’m not sure how to handle that.