Chapter 11
DRED
“What are you doing, Ms. Mildred? We have staff ready to help move you in!” Cedrick looks like his head is about to explode. He recoils slightly. “What is that?”
“Dewey isn’t a that. He’s a majestic and adorable hedgehog.” I hold up the cage. “Dewey, meet Cedrick.” Dewey is curled in a ball, hiding in the corner. He isn’t a fan of car rides. “He’s a little shy. He just needs some time to acclimate.” Like me.
I lean in to kiss Cedrick’s cheek, and Connor’s frown deepens as heat rises in his cheeks. I wish I could see inside his head to understand his reaction. Over the past few days, his text messages have been gentler, less terse.
“Boxes of bricks incoming!” Flip appears, carrying a stack so high his eyes are barely visible.
“Those are my special edition hardbacks.” I couldn’t bear the idea of leaving them behind for an entire year. Or my comfort reads. I have a plethora of both. They’re my literary security blankets.
“At least let me get the house dolly,” Cedrick says.
“Probably a good idea since the closest bedroom is half a kilometer away,” I agree.
“There’s an elevator to the second floor,” Connor replies.
“Of course there’s an elevator,” Flip says from behind his box wall.
“You can leave those there.” Connor points across the foyer to the elevator tucked into an alcove.
I somehow missed it the first two times I came here.
“The staff will feel better if they can help.” He turns to me.
“I thought when you said you had it covered you meant you’d already lined up movers. ”
I motion to my friends, who are also his teammates. “Who needs movers when you have hockey players?”
“I would have come to help if I’d realized this was your plan.”
I can’t tell if he’s hurt or embarrassed or some other emotion. I suppose I could have been more forthcoming, but considering our last conversation, this was the preferred option.
“Oh wow! This place is amazing!” Hammer rolls one of my suitcases into the foyer.
“So cool!” Rix follows with another.
“The architecture is unreal.” Hemi adds a box to Flip’s pile by the elevator.
“It’s like a princess’s castle.” Essie sets a tote next to the boxes and bats her lashes at Nate.
He adds his own boxes to the growing pile and whispers something in her ear. I look away as Essie grabs the front of his shirt and pulls his mouth to hers. I never really believed myself capable of the kind of love my friends and their partners share, and now it seems even more out-of-reach.
“Connor, your family has a beautiful home.” Lexi offers him a smile.
“My grandfather built it.” Connor rubs the back of his neck, clearly uncomfortable as more people pile into the grand foyer, including Tristan, Dallas, Roman, and Hollis.
My friend invasion is intentional. I knew I’d have to move in eventually, but I figured we’d be married first. If I don’t get time to find my equilibrium, neither does Connor. My friends and I are a package deal, and he needs to get used to them being around.
“You want to give us the grand tour?” Flip asks.
“It’s more than twenty-thousand square feet. It would be a long tour,” Connor mutters.
“Right.” Flip gives me a look that says, one of us is trying. “I’ll just grab some more boxes.”
Before Flip can make good on that, several men appear out of nowhere, wearing polo shirts with name tags that bear the same logo that adorns the front gate. They’re carrying more of my things.
“Do all of these people work for you?” Rix asks.
“This is the grounds and maintenance crew. The property spans several acres, so we have a full staff.” Connor’s eyes slide my way, maybe assessing my reaction to how extra his life is.
“That’s wild,” Rix muses.
“It’s definitely next-level,” I murmur.
“You’ll adjust,” he replies.
I make a noncommittal noise. That’s an honest concern.
“I believe there may be perishables in here, Mr. Grace.” Two men appear in the doorway, each holding one handle of a massive cooler.
“I brought lunch!” Rix exclaims. “I hope that’s okay.”
“That’s amazing, thank you,” I assure her before Connor can jump in with one of his blunt replies. “Maybe we should take the food to the kitchen. I’m sure Rix would love to see it.”
“That would be great!” Rix is vibrating with excitement.
“I’ll join you.” Essie bounces over to Rix.
“We’ll all join you.” Connor seems resigned to being roped into the tour he didn’t want to give. He leads the pack, the staff behind him with the coolers. I shouldn’t be surprised that he doesn’t wait for me, but the prick of disappointment is interesting.
Flip falls into step beside me. “It’s a good thing we have the Find My Friends app, huh? You could get lost in this place.”
“I hope there’s a way to send a distress signal,” I half-joke. “I wonder if there’s a map.”
“It would be helpful for sure.” Flip drops his voice. “There’s more than a million dollars just in vehicles parked out front.”
“Betty will feel a little out of place when I bring her here.”
Connor looks over his shoulder when Flip laughs, but he doesn’t fall back to walk with us.
We enter the main kitchen, which is a beautiful combination of modern and classic design, but continue through another door to a state-of-the-art industrial chef’s kitchen. This mansion was designed to hold a family, a big one, where entertaining happens frequently.
Rix is about to hyperventilate. She flits around, introducing herself to everyone while Tristan stands back and watches with a smile. The staff fall instantly in love as she helps them unpack the coolers, explaining each dish.
Once Rix is finished with the kitchen tour, we’re ushered into the formal dining room, where I ate dinner with Connor and Meems the other day. Meems is escorted in a minute later by Cedrick.
Her face lights up. “Oh, this is wonderful! It’s been ages since we’ve had a full table!”
I head toward her at the same time as Connor, and her smile widens as he gently skims my arm with his fingers. She takes one of our hands in each of hers and we both bend to kiss her cheek at the same time. Someone snaps a photo.
We guide her to the table, and Connor tries to put her at the head, but she refuses, making him take it. He looks uncomfortable, but also like he belongs there. Meems sits on his left, and I sit to his right.
There are a chorus of hellos and reintroductions.
Meems presses her hand to Connor’s cheek, her smile wide. “Now you know why I wanted you and Dred to move in here.”
“So you could throw dinner parties?”
“And so I can get to know all of your friends, dear.”
He opens his mouth, probably to say something about them being my friends, but I cover his hand with mine and squeeze. “Thank you for opening your home to all of us.”
“Thank you for loving my grandson.”
My heart breaks a little at the tic in Connor’s jaw, and the reminder that none of this is real for anyone but Meems. But she’s happy, and that’s what matters.
The staff brings in platters of food, and we pass them around family style. Flip is seated to my right, watching intently as I interact with Meems, like he’s trying to piece together the reasons that brought me to this decision.
“Some of you went to the Hockey Academy with Connor, didn’t you?” Meems asks.
“Us three.” Dallas points to himself, Tristan, and Flip.
“It’s lovely that you’re all still so close after all these years, and playing on the same team.” Meems looks to Connor. “For a punishment, it certainly turned out to be a good thing for you, didn’t it, dear?”
“Hard to be a bad influence on my sisters when I wasn’t in the country,” he agrees.
Flip’s eyebrows rise. “The Hockey Academy was a punishment for you?”
“There was another program in Europe that I’d been invited to attend that summer, but my parents felt I didn’t deserve the opportunity, so they sent me to the Hockey Academy instead,” Connor explains.
“If they’d known they were giving me exactly what I wanted, they would have made a different choice, I’m sure. ”
I file that away with the other pieces of Connor I’ve collected.
“You didn’t belong behind a desk.” Meems pats his hand. “Now, how did all of you become friends with our Dred?”
Flip raises his hand. “I’ll take credit for that.”
Connor sits back, listening and watching while my friends—our friends—weave a story that pulls us all together, including him. He seems to soften over the course of the meal, especially when Lexi and Roman jump in with praise for him.
He’s accustomed to being the media’s scapegoat for his team when they’ve had a bad game. He’s not used to having friends or being accepted exactly as he is.
Neither was I until Flip came along.
I tentatively cover Connor’s hand with mine.
His eyes dart to me in question. I offer him a reassuring smile, and he returns an uncertain one of his own.
He turns his hand over, curving his fingers around mine.
Warmth works its way up my arm and moves in a slow wave through my body, pooling low in my belly.
That same warmth settles in Connor’s cheeks.
I can feel our friends’ eyes on me, trying to figure it all out.
They’re not alone. It’s the same for me. Maybe for Connor, too. Our goals might not be the same, but they align, and we feel like an unlikely team.
After lunch and a promise to Meems that our friends will be back soon, Connor and I walk them to the front door—I’m doubtful any of us would have found it without him as an escort. All the boxes have disappeared, probably waiting for me in my bedroom, wherever that is.
I collect hugs, tucking them into my heart to keep it full once they leave.
“I’ll call you later,” Lexi promises.
And then it’s just me and Connor and a whole lot of awkward tension with my shields gone.
“Let me show you to your rooms.” He opens the elevator door and ushers me inside.
“Okay.”
Three walls are mirrored, providing an unparalleled view of Connor’s regal face and cut body.