Chapter 13
GINA
“She’s adorable.” I bend down to lift her little booty-clad feet. “Aren’t you adorable? Yes, you are!”
Her blue eyes are wide, and she blows bubbles at me while she scrubs her little heels against the carrier.
Since we returned from Newhope, I’ve done my best to get back to normal, which means focusing on dog business.
Haddy pulled me in to approve the final proof of the “Hockey Hunks and Hounds” calendar, and I defiantly ignored the burn in my stomach at the sight of Owen shirtless on one knee with Ladybird. Even if it did look like he was staring directly at me through the pages.
“Have you seen the wedding photos?” Haddy stands in front of my armoire mirror applying lip gloss while I tie my hair up in a scrunchy so the Murphy on my back is visible.
“You got them already?”
“Clint sent me an email with the link. I’ll forward it to you. It has the best picture of you and Owen walking down the aisle.”
My eyes slide to hers in the mirror, and I don’t miss the sly glint there. It verifies what I already suspected.
“You did that on purpose, didn’t you?” I put my hand on my hip and turn to face her.
“What?” She blinks wide blue eyes, but I’m not fooled.
“You switched me from Mav to Owen so I’d have to walk down the aisle with him.”
“I didn’t have a choice! Austin bailed at the last minute, which was very uncool of him. I’m tempted to send his gift back. But I really want that espresso machine…”
“Sage would’ve made more sense as an usher. He’s younger.”
“But Mav isn’t hope walking beside you when you’re afraid.” She gives me a little wink, referencing my tarot card.
I tug her ponytail. “That was uncool, Hads. Owen is not interested in starting a romance with me. He’s made it very clear.”
“To who?” Her brow furrows. “From where we’re all standing, there’s nothing but burning chemistry between you two. His daughter adores you, his dog loves yours, his sister practically predicted you’d be together.”
She grabs Lucy’s carrier, and we head down the stairs.
“That tarot reading was so vague it could’ve meant anything. How do you know it wasn’t about Spanky winning Best in Show? Doing my job without any major awards takes a lot of courage.”
“Oh, pooh.” She waves her hand at me when we reach the bottom. “Every single person in LA dog-world knows you’re the leading expert on all things dog.”
“That sentence doesn’t even make sense.” I shake my head, shoving my phone into my pocket. “That’s not how we talk about the circuit.”
“Well, it’s the truth. You’re constantly getting called to train dogs, certify breeds, walk dogs, judge dog shows. Nobody cares that Spanky hasn’t won Best in Show.”
“Like the movie?” Heather skips in from the kitchen to join us. “I love that movie! It’s so funny?”
“What movie?” Maddie bounces on her toes beside her aunt.
They’re both dressed in matching black leggings, turtlenecks, and Number 13 Champions jerseys. Heather’s has Stone on the back, but Maddie’s has Daddy as well. Maddie’s hair is also in pigtails with confetti hair ties of purple, white, and black, the Champions’ official colors.
“I want to watch the doggy movie!” She takes my hand.
“Oh… well…” My nose wrinkles, and I glance at Heather.
She’s very no-nonsense. “It’s a movie for grown-ups, Mads. We’ll find another dog movie for you to watch.”
“I like Isle of Dogs.” I bend down to her level. “Have you seen that one?”
Maddie shakes her head, causing her ponytails to fly around her face, and I give her a little squeeze before straightening. “We’ll watch that one together.”
Her hand is still in mine as we head out to pile into Gavin’s Rover. Lucy’s carrier is snapped into her carseat base, and we’re off.
The guys are on the ice when we arrive, stretching, warming up, and skating around the rink. Music blasts from the Jumbotron, and they toss Champions-logo pucks to the fans crowding around the plexiglass dividers.
My eyes immediately go to Owen gliding up to Maverick. They speak briefly before circling apart, and he turns, looking directly to where we’re standing at our seats near center ice.
“Daddy!” Maddie jumps up and down waving Zander the zebra, and that handsome smile curls his lips… and my toes. “Daddy, Daddy!”
He flies up close to the glass where we’re sitting and blows her a little kiss. She pretends to catch it, and his smile turns into a handsome laugh. Dammit.
Then his blue eyes meet mine, and he gives me a wink. It’s a flash all the way to my toes, and of course, Haddy sees it.
“That was cute.” She pushes her elbow into my side, and I feel my cheeks burning.
“He’s a really great dad.”
“I bet he’s really great at other things, too.”
She has no idea how great.
Gavin skates up to the glass sending kisses to Haddy, who lifts baby Lucy out of her carrier for him to see. She waves her little arm, and he laughs, waving as he skates backwards to the guys.
“Not sure how much of this she even understands.” Haddy quickly wraps her in her blanket again, stowing her in her carrier with a small pair of noise-cancelling headphones on her head.
“Still, it’s adorable.”
Maddie is on her knees beside the baby, lifting her little arm and saying, “Go, Champions!”
The Jumbotron buzzes, and their signature mix of Queen songs “We Are the Champions” and “Another One Bites the Dust” plays loudly as fans blow air horns.
We watch the pictures of the guys in their uniforms and helmets flash by one by one on the screen, and everyone yells loudest for Mav and Gav, who established their reputation last season as the dynamic duo.
The Colorado Cliffs glide out, and a player circles straight around to Mav, bodychecking him into the boards.
“What the fuu…dge?” I yell, realizing just in time we have a seven-year-old with us now, not that it makes a difference.
We’re surrounded by infuriated fans dropping F-bombs, and the guys cluster around, ready to fight. The guy who did it throws his gloves on the ice, and the Champions’ Number 8 skates to the center of the rink.
“Who is that?” Heather leans close, grabbing Haddy’s arm.
“Chris Schultz,” Haddy answers, pointing to the guys. “He’s the enforcer. Price is the captain. Akers is the goalie…”
I duck my head, wondering if I should put my hand over Maddie’s eyes as the guys start punching each other repeatedly. The linemen circle watching them, but not interfering.
“Fight! Fight! Fight!” Maddie yells, and I look over at Heather, confused.
“Is this okay?” I mouth to her, and she grins, nodding.
I bend down to her level. “You’re not scared?”
“Oh, no.” She shakes her head, frowning at me. “Fighting is part of hockey culture. It’s what they do.”
My eyebrow arches. “Who told you that?”
“My daddy.” Maddie lifts her chin, confident in her knowledge. “It’s part of the game, but you only fight on the ice. Never off.”
I mean, she’s not wrong.
“You’re really smart.” I pat her back. “And so grown up! Only very mature people understand that.”
“I read third-grade books.” She blinks her big brown eyes at me.
It makes me grin. “I can tell.”
The two big guys beat each other around the head for a few minutes, a jersey is ripped, but it’s not too bloody. Then they each skate to their respective penalty boxes to do their time, and the game begins as if nothing happened.
The Cliffs are our biggest rival, and they play hard. We watch the guys skating back and forth on the ice at top speeds, slamming into the boards, stealing the puck. Hancock’s stick is broken, and Price tosses him a new one.
Each team gets close to scoring, but the goalies aren’t letting anything past them. Akers catches a puck in his mitt and tosses it to the referee, and Mav skates forward for the face-off.
We jump up and down, holding each other’s hands as he sends the puck “unexpectedly” to Gavin, who slings it to Hancock while Owen skates right up the middle. It’s the Tic-Tac-Tac-Goal combination, and we know where this is going.
Hancock passes to Owen, confusing the Cliffs who were already closing in. Owen shoots it to Gav as he comes around from behind the net. A pass to Mav, and with a slap, it’s a goal.
The crowd goes crazy, and the Jumbotron blasts their score song. We all jump up and down together, cheering for the guys. Fans near us blast air horns, but Baby Lucy sleeps through it all with her ears covered.
I’m breathless as I lean into Haddy. “When did they start with the air horns?”
I notice they’re all striped purple, white, and black with the Champions’ logo on the front.
“I thought it would be a fun thing for the fans. We came up with a logo sketch, and the gift shop stocked them.”
“This was your idea?”
She shrugs, and my eyebrows shoot up. “I’m getting four for the next game!”
“Okay!” She laughs, checking her baby girl before returning her gaze to the rink. “I can’t believe she’s sleeping through this.”
“I can’t believe she’s sleeping at all without Gavin holding her.”
My bestie-cousin gives me a hug. “Why is this so much more fun than football?”
“Because they’re ridiculously fast on those skates?” My nose wrinkles. “Because they wear those suits, and they’re all tall and hot?”
Haddy gives me a naughty grin. “Because they can fight!”
I throw my arms around her, laughing. “It’s true!”
The Champions manage to hold off the Cliffs through the final period. Smaller fights break out as the gameplay intensifies, but neither team manages to score again.
It doesn’t matter, because the boys win, and the fans are stomping and cheering and blasting their horns.
“Halloween is on a Saturday this year.” Mav hangs over the back of the couch studying his phone. “It’s the same day we play Anaheim again.”
“I remember that game last year,” Gav groans from where he sits holding Lucy.
“You played like shit.” Mav shoves his broad shoulder. “I was ready to punch you in the face.”
“Haddy wasn’t speaking to me.”
“Never let girl drama interfere with your game.” Mav points from his cousin-in-law to our new housemate.
“Playing helped me forget all my drama.” Owen’s deep voice is measured.