Chapter 20
“No.” I stared at her black VW bug and shook my head. “Absolutely not.”
Taryn patted the roof affectionately. “She’s bigger on the inside. You’ll be fine.”
“This is not the Tardis. You can have my top half or my bottom half, but both won’t fit in this joke of a car.” Truthfully, I’d much rather carry her inside and finish what we started in the side yard, but Reece had already taken Andrew to the park.
“Hey,” her brows drew together. “This car is a classic.”
I held up both hands trying to appease her, one holding Sunny in her carrier, which I’d stashed by the fence. “You’re right. I shouldn’t have called it a joke, but I’m still not riding in it. Don’t blame me. Blame physics. We can take my truck. You can hold Sunny.”
She sighed and closed the door. “Your truck it is, but only because I want Sunny to be comfortable.”
I laid my hand on my chest. “What about me?”
Taryn eyed me up and down, setting off the fireworks in my blood all over again. “I’m sure we can find a way to make you comfortable later.”
With her promise at the forefront of my mind, I watched her saunter to my truck at the curb.
Andrew had been right—was right—I was an idiot for trying to push Taryn away.
He’d been the one to insist on her presence after I’d told Reece no.
They’d both looked at me like I was crazy, and when I explained my weak reasoning about keeping her safe from my dad, they told me in no uncertain terms what they thought of the plan.
The damage was already done. Dad believed Taryn was important to me and involved with Andrew. Whatever he was going to pull, leaving her alone and unprotected wouldn’t help cushion the blow. I’d be better off spending every minute with her instead.
That had been yesterday. After almost two weeks of trying to stop obsessing over her, I didn’t have the willpower to keep resisting. I took their reasoning and ran with it. They probably didn’t mean for me to jump into bed with her, but if I was going to commit, I was going all the way.
I was protecting her. With my dick. The logic was flawless.
She glanced over her shoulder when she reached the unlocked door, and her brows drew together as she spotted me standing on the lawn. “I thought we were late?”
I blew out a breath and caught up, handing her Sunny to hold for the drive. “We are.”
“Why couldn’t we do this in my backyard?” she asked once we were buckled in.
I shrugged and glanced at her profile. “No idea. Reece insists they need neutral ground. He still hasn’t explained what a duck off is, but it sounds like a cross between one of those pet races and a trivia game.”
She cooed at the duck sitting quietly in her carrier. “Why are they doing this?”
“Because they want to establish once and for all who Sunny likes the second best.”
“Right. Because clearly she likes her daddy the best.”
I sighed. “Actually, I think she likes Eva the best, but I refuse to participate in a battle to win the love of my duck.”
Taryn’s eyes flashed to me. “You don’t like declaring your affections?”
The question felt weighted, but I wasn’t afraid of the truth this time. “I don’t like the idea I need to prove myself to feel worthy of her. She loves me. That’s good enough. I don’t have to be number one.”
Her face softened. “I haven’t met Eva, but it sure seems like you’re number one where I’m sitting.”
Sunny quacked from inside her blanket nest, and a weird warmth filled my chest.
When we pulled up to the park, there was a small crowd gathered around the picnic table. I groaned when I spotted Sellers and Rafe along with half the d-men surrounding Andrew.
“What the hell?” I muttered.
Taryn burst out laughing. “I didn’t realize this would be a team outing.”
I turned off the engine and sent her a frown. “How do you know this is the team?”
She rolled her eyes. “Thanks to my mom, we watch hockey every week now. TU is savvy enough to let locals enjoy their livestream. Also, Reece looks extremely pleased with himself.”
She pointed out Reece barking orders to some of the rookies as they set up an obstacle course on the grass. He had his hands propped on his hips as if surveying his domain, and damned if he didn’t look smug.
After the last couple of months, I was secretly glad to see him finally living up to his leadership role.
He’d worked hard to become captain this year.
A flare of pride surprised me. Previously, I’d have laughed at the idea of Reece taking responsibility, but he was a good captain and a good friend.
Kenzie strolled up to him, and he wrapped his arms around her, kissing her temple. They were such an unexpected couple I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. But Kenzie was as loyal as they came, and Reece would crawl over broken glass before he’d hurt her.
I hadn’t understood… before. I’d thought he was letting his dick get in the way of his goals, letting her have too much control over him. She smiled up at him, and I saw it. The love. The absolute devotion.
My chest ached as I finally admitted to myself I wanted that. I didn’t trust anyone to stay, but I was willing to take a chance and see.
“Mase?” Taryn laid her hand on my arm.
I glanced down at the touch, mildly surprised I didn’t want to shake her loose. She didn’t apologize and pull back as most of them did.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
I cleared my throat and captured her hand to bring it up for a kiss. “I’m fine. Trying to decide how long before I can make an excuse and whisk you back to your house.”
She surveyed the chaos in front of us. The sun warmed the air to a reasonable temperature, and the guys had brought several coolers of drinks.
We were coming off a series of wins with another game tonight, which meant Reece was probably using this as a chance to let the guys blow off steam.
The pressure to replicate our run for the Frozen Four last year increased with every game.
“I don’t think there’s a high likelihood of early escape, so you might as well try to enjoy it.”
I snorted. “I don’t generally enjoy people time.”
“I’ve gathered,” she replied dryly. “Focus on Andrew then. He’s really coming out of his shell, but this is a lot of attention. He’ll need someone to hide behind when it gets too intense.”
I shot her a quick look. “How do you know that?”
She smiled mysteriously. “I know everything. Except what’s going on with the lawyer. You’ll have to fill me in on that situation.”
We joined the others to a chorus of hellos and a smattering of applause. Reece left Kenzie in charge of set up and met me by the picnic table with a big grin.
“Hey, big man. I was starting to think you’d burst into flames the second you stepped out into the sun.”
I slapped him on the back, maybe a little harder than was necessary. “Guess you’ll have to add daywalker to my list of skills.”
Reece barked out a laugh and held out his hand to Taryn. “Nice to finally meet you for real. I’m Reece Tanner.”
Taryn offered him a half-smile as she shook. “Taryn Levine.”
“Thanks for helping with our boy. Both of them. Must be a family thing to need assistance from a beautiful woman.”
I smacked him on the back of his head. “Stop flirting.”
He rubbed the spot, going for extra drama though I’d barely touched him. “You know that’s how I communicate. You’re the one who told me to stop calling her the hot neighbor. I was going for classy.”
Taryn pressed her lips together and stared at the sky to keep from laughing. Reece was always unapologetically himself. I knew—and more importantly Kenzie knew—the flirting didn’t mean anything, but that didn’t stop me from wanting to shove his charming head into the porta potty toilet.
“Shouldn’t we get started on your duck thing before we all need to prep for the game tonight?”
Reece clapped his hands, appropriately distracted, and the crowd quieted down. “Thank you to everyone for coming to the big showdown between Cole and myself. Sunny appreciates it, and I appreciate it. Mase is Mase and probably hates all of us for making him come outside.”
The group laughed, and for once, I smiled along. He was only partially wrong. I didn’t hate any of them, but a duck off in a park full of people wouldn’t have been my chosen way to spend the day. At least these were people I liked.
“There are three components to the duck off,” Reece continued. “Knowledge, dexterity, and Sunny’s choice. Taryn, as an impartial observer, will be the judge and will assign points accordingly.”
Taryn leaned up to whisper at me. “What points? I have no idea what he’s talking about.”
I shrugged. “This isn’t my rodeo. Those definitely aren’t my monkeys.”
She winced. “Your mixed metaphors are painful. Minus five points.”
“See?” I smiled at her. “You’re already getting the hang of it.”
The group clapped as Reece stopped talking. I’d missed the last part, but I assumed it was more nonsense. Sellers walked by and introduced himself to Taryn on the way to get another sports drink. I expected to have to reign in more flirting, but he was strangely subdued.
One by one, the rest of the guys made their way over to show their respects. I didn’t know what Reece had told them, but judging by the congratulatory atmosphere and the careful distance they maintained, they seemed to think Taryn and I were together.
I didn’t hate it. In fact, I leaned into it by wrapping my arm around her waist. She didn’t shy away as we made our way to where Andrew was holding court under the tree.
“She was at least twice as fast as all the other guys. The chat went crazy when the one dude ragequit. It was top tier.”
Taryn narrowed her eyes at him. “Are you talking about me?”
Andrew spun around as the two hockey players across from him excused themselves without taking their eyes off Taryn. I didn’t mind the appreciative looks, but I didn’t need Andrew creating a fan club with my teammates.