Chapter 4
MATT
OCTOBER
“High sticking!” I yelled from the bench, watching my teammates trying to set up another play on the ice. I squirted water into my mouth and put my mouthguard back in, waiting for the change-up.
Of course the ref missed that call while the Pittsburgh Miners took every chance they could get.
“Simmer down, rookie,” Benny teased as he slid down the pine with me.
Being on the line with the big dude and Hallsy had been a blessing these past couple of weeks. Especially since I was still worried I’d wake up one day and find out I was put on waivers. I had to prove to the Bulldogs that I had earned my spot on the team.
On the change-up, I hopped over the boards, and I took the faceoff against Pittsburgh’s Sanderson. I got possession of the puck and tried to break it out of our zone. I passed to Hallsy, who got it into Pittsburgh’s zone and was looking for the setup.
I was in the corner open for the puck again, but Hallsy passed to Benny, who slapped it back to him. Hallsy deked around a Pittsburgh defenseman and took the shot. I groaned at the pinging of the pipes. I scrambled at the net, trying to get the rebound, but Pittsburgh’s goalie covered it.
I hung my head and spied the scoreboard again. 1-0 us with five minutes left in the period, and we needed this W. While it was still early in the season, we had been in a slump the past week, and sinking a win right now was what the team needed.
I got into position while Benny took the faceoff this time. Pittsburgh got a hold of the puck, and we raced down the ice after it. Riley and Logan were hitting our opponents hard, trying to block the slot in front of Metzy, but Pittsburgh wanted this win, too. I had to do everything in my power not to let that happen.
We went back and forth from end-to-end of the ice, both teams trying to get another puck deep, but it was no use. The hockey gods were on the Bulldogs’ side because even though we didn’t get another puck to the net, we ran the clock out and won the game. Not pretty, but I’d take another point in the win column over another L.
By the time we headed back to the locker room, I was drenched in sweat, but the team was in high spirits. I hoped we could keep this momentum going for the rest of the season.
Noah nudged me as I was stripping off my jersey.
“Nice job today,” he complimented me.
Noah had great hockey sense, so it was nice to hear that from him. I still felt super awkward around him because of what happened at his wedding.
When I got called up to the big leagues last season, Noah offered me a place to stay in the house he and Dinah had just bought. He had taken me under his wing, helping me with my trouble spots in my game, and gave me girl advice when my ex and I were still on and off. There was no way I was repaying him for all that by fucking his little sister behind his back. I didn’t care about ‘the code,’ Maddie could make her own decisions, but I couldn’t do that to my mentor.
“Thanks,” I muttered and finished getting undressed.
I hit the showers before he could say anything else. He noticed something was off with me, but I kept waving him off, petrified I’d blurt it out if he pressed me.
Truth was, try as I might, I hadn’t gotten Maddie Kennedy out of my head. She was gorgeous and bomb at giving head, but she was my teammate’s sister. His virgin sister. It was a relief that she lived in Canada, and I wasn’t likely to ever run into her again. Otherwise, I might have some explaining to do.
Noah was brushing out his beard at his cubby and shooting the shit with TJ when I got out of the shower.
“You coming to the bar later tonight?” TJ asked me.
Today was a rare afternoon game, so we had a free night. If the game was during our regular time, we didn’t get home until well after midnight. Normally, I’d say yes, but I promised my friend Ty I’d meet him at Franklin U. His girlfriend dumped him for the last time, and he needed a drinking buddy.
I shook my head. “Nah.”
“Come on!” TJ whined.
“Leave the kid alone,” Noah told him. “I’m not coming out either.”
“I thought D wasn’t gonna make you a boring married dude.”
“I’m not boring,” Noah argued.
I pretended not to listen to them bicker while I got dressed.
I appreciated that Noah and Dinah let me live with them, but I worried I was cramping their style. I caught them kissing in the kitchen this morning, and Dinah laughed it off, but Noah got that tomato-red shade across his face. I didn’t blame them since they were newlyweds, but it sure made things awkward.
“Ready to go?” Noah asked.
I nodded.
“Boring!” TJ teased as the three of us walked out of the locker room together.
“Then come to the house, bro,” Noah tried to convince TJ.
TJ gave him a lopsided smirk. “Nah. Max’s having a day with the twins. I’m not sure she’ll let me out to play anyway.”
Noah shoved his shoulder. “Then stop being so annoying.”
TJ laughed and headed to his sports car while I got in the passenger side of Noah’s SUV. The nice thing about living with Noah was that his house wasn’t that far from the arena in South Philly, so it was never a long drive.
We were both quiet on the drive over. Noah was likely categorizing all the mistakes he made tonight while I was still thinking about his sister.
“You looked good tonight,” he told me as he pulled his car into the garage, tearing me away from my thoughts.
“Not good enough,” I muttered.
I got out of the car before he could argue. He pressed onward toward the door to the steps upstairs, and I followed behind him.
“Don’t be too hard on yourself. You’re doing well on the second line with Benny and Hallsy. Coach wouldn’t put you there if he was trying to get rid of you.”
I knew I should listen to him, but I wasn’t so sure he was right. The Bulldogs drafted me early at eighteen, and I spent a couple of years with the minor affiliate in Reading. Then, last year, I got the call up when our former captain was out with an injury. Pretty sure the only reason I made the team again this year was because G decided to retire last season.
I raised my eyebrow at my teammate when we heard two female voices laughing in Dinah’s office on the second floor. My ears perked up at the other voice that sounded vaguely familiar.
Noah shed his suit jacket across the couch, and that’s when the two women came down the stairs. I felt all the blood rush to my head when I saw the statuesque brunette beside Dinah. Standing next to her was Noah’s sister Maddie. Her crystal blue eyes met mine, and we both froze.
“Cally, you met my sister at the wedding, right?” Noah asked.
“I think so,” I lied.
“Yeah, we danced together until you left because you said you ate something that didn’t agree with you,” Maddie answered for me. She leveled me with an icy glare that pierced me in the chest.
My dick thickened against my leg because I knew exactly what I ate that didn’t agree with me. And we both knew that was a big, fat lie. I had feasted on her until she cried out, the sound a permanent echo every time I closed my eyes.
“What are you doing here?” I snapped more harshly than I meant to. My mouth moved too quick for my brain to scream at me to shut up.
Noah fixed me with a glare, and Maddie arched a perfectly sculpted eyebrow at me as if testing me.
I ran a hand through my hair. “I thought you lived in Canada.”
“Nope,” was all she gave me, but then she turned to Dinah. “I gotta head out. I have lots of studying to do. Work on what we talked about today and let me know how I can help you next week.”
“What would I do without you?” Dinah asked.
“Be terrible at marketing! Your publisher doesn’t do enough for you.”
Noah begrudgingly put his jacket back on.
Maddie shook her head at him. “Noah, put your jacket away. I know how to get back to campus.”
The tall, bearded man glared at his little sister. Compared to his tiny wife, Maddie was an Amazon, but not as tall as Noah. She put her hands on her hips and glared up at her brother.
“Mads,” Noah sighed and scrubbed a hand across his beard. “It’s late at night. Just let me drive you to West Philly.”
“Babe…” Dinah tried to cut in, but the siblings gave her a look that said, ‘Stay out of it.’
Maddie curled and uncurled her fists but then stomped out of the house.
I sighed and slunk away to my room in the basement.
Noah and Dinah said I didn’t have to stay in their finished basement since they had guest rooms upstairs, but I liked having my own space. The basement was fully furnished, complete with a full bath and bedroom, making it feel like my own. There was even a door that led to the garage, so I could come and go as I pleased. They were great about respecting my privacy and never came downstairs unless invited. In truth, it was a kickass living arrangement.
I got out of my suit and changed into a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt before flopping down on my bed.
I scrolled through my phone absent-mindedly and ended up searching through Dinah’s Instagram. Which was mostly stuff for her books until I went far enough back and found the selfie she posted with Maddie at the wedding. Then I scrolled through Maddie’s profile. She posted a lot about books with half-naked dudes on the cover, but every once in a while, there was a rare selfie. She looked amazing in each and every one. But it didn’t explain why she was here tonight.
Dinah knocked on the door to the basement. “Hey! You want something to eat?” she called through it.
“Did you cook?” I yelled up to her.
I heard her loud laughter, and a smile stretched across my face. Despite being from a large Italian family, Dinah wasn’t much of a cook. Noah said he’d worry about her forgetting to eat while he was on the road if it wasn’t for her overprotective older brothers coming over and checking the fridge.
I pocketed my phone and went up the steps into the kitchen. Dinah sat at the kitchen table with her laptop open, nursing a beer. She slid a plate of lasagna over to me when I took my seat. I shoved food in my mouth, but I felt awkward as hell. I was pretty sure she knew I had hooked up with Maddie. Which worried me because the guys ragged on Noah all the time about how he told his wife everything and vice versa.
“What’s up, honey?” she asked but didn’t look up from her work.
“Um. I should find my own place.”
“Why? I thought you were unsure about if they were keeping you on. I know the two-way contract doesn’t pay as well.”
I rubbed the back of my neck. “Well…I don’t want to cramp your style.”
She laughed, shut her laptop lid, and peered at me with her shrewd emerald gaze. “We like having you here. You’re not a burden, okay?”
“I don’t want to get in the way of you two starting a family.”
She stiffened for a second, and then she took a swig of her beer. “That’s not a problem.”
“Oh. I didn’t realize you didn’t want kids.”
She sighed, and I realized I had hit a nerve. “Can’t.”
I cringed. “Shit. Dinah, I didn’t know. ”
“It’s okay, honey. I don’t like to talk about it. I wasn’t sure I ever wanted kids, but I had a surprise pregnancy after my first husband died. I miscarried, and they said there was a slim chance of ever carrying another pregnancy to term.”
I reached across the table to put my hand on hers. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.”
“It’s okay! I made my peace with it. I wanted to try for a little, but…” she trailed off and frowned.
“But what?”
“I almost died during that miscarriage. Noah found me and saved my life. He doesn’t want me to go through that again. Plus, I know how painful it was for him to watch me cry over a negative pregnancy test month after month.”
“Oh, Dinah,” I sighed.
God, I felt like such an asshole for bringing up kids. After everything my parents went through to get me and my sister, I should have known better.
She waved me away. “We talked about it a lot before we got married. We considered adoption and surrogacy. But…he’s my home and all I’ll ever need. Besides, I have a feeling we’ll start taking in more strays. I’ll just adopt a bunch of man-children.”
“Like me?” I asked with a grin.
She gave me a knowing look. “After we bought the house, Noah offered Logan a place here too, but with him having custody of his nephew, he didn’t want to impose. We offered it to McCarthy, too, after he and his girl broke up, but I think he’s rooming with one of the other guys.”
“I shouldn’t have brought up you having kids. I was my parent’s miracle baby.”
She smiled at me. “Matt, it’s okay. You have bigger problems than insulting me.” She got up from the table, grabbed another beer out of the fridge, then placed it in front of me.
“You know?” I asked.
“Yup.”
I took a swig of the beer. “I didn’t know she lived here.”
“She transferred to Franklin this fall. Noah’s been trying to get her to move in with us, but she needs to live her own life. He’s too protective of her.”
“So he doesn’t know?—”
“That you know what her pussy tastes like? No.”
“Jesus, Dinah!”
She grinned. “What?”
“I didn’t know she told you everything!”
She laughed.
Noah wasn’t an open book. He kept things close to the vest, but not his wife. She didn’t give a fuck. Normally, I liked her candor, but right now, not so much.
“You should see your face right now! Don’t worry—that’s between you two. I’m staying out of it.”
I wasn’t sure I believed her on that one.