Chapter 5
Arianna
“Where are the mashed potatoes?”
“Happy Thanksgiving to you too.” My mom rolls her eyes but motions to the oven. “Relax, I just finished making them.”
I grin, moving over to inspect the pan. She’s shown me how to make them countless times, and I do make them for myself at least once a month. But I swear it’s like she has some sort of magic touch because when she does them, they taste ten times better.
“I see my pan, but where’s everyone else’s?” I tease, barely dodging the end of the towel that she tries to swat me with. Laughing, I round the kitchen island and step up beside her.
“Happy Thanksgiving, Ma.” I kiss her cheek while she continues to work on what appears to be her stuffing and my mouth waters in anticipation for that as well.
Thanksgiving is hands down the best holiday.
I could eat all day long, then continue to eat the leftovers for the following week and still never tire of the food.
“What can I help with?” I ask, already knowing she won’t accept a hand with any of the food. Aside from letting my dad cook the turkey and occasionally allowing me help with appetizers, the kitchen is fully Mom’s domain. At least until it’s time to do dishes.
Before she can answer, the doorbell rings. Mom smiles at me, nodding in that direction.
“Can you go answer the door and offer whoever it is a drink?”
“Yes, ma’am,” I say, spinning on my heel and taking off.
I pass through the dining room where my parents already have the table set and grin at the number of chairs.
Each year since living here, the holiday dinners only seem to get bigger and bigger.
My parents love to host and hate the idea of anyone missing out.
Most of the time, these gatherings end up being mostly Bobcats hockey players, with my parents’ and my friends occasionally sprinkled in.
Mom makes enough food to feed a small army, and luckily enough, Landon’s teammates are always ready to eat.
It’s a win-win for everyone who shows up.
We get fed. Mom gets to bask in everyone’s praises and mother hen anyone who walks through the front door.
Dad gets to grill or smoke meat while making nonstop dad jokes, and their giant beach house gets filled with laughter.
They’re in their element when they get to be hosts.
Reaching the front door, I run a hand over the skirt of my maroon sundress before plastering on a smile to welcome whoever’s here first. The sight that greets me has me grinning wider.
“Don’t let Mom find out that you rang the doorbell,” I tell Dean while bending down to smush Cora’s face between my hands and kiss her forehead. She licks my chin in response, her tail wagging a mile a minute as I straighten out the bandana she has tied around her neck.
My heart swells at the sight of the cute little cartoon turkeys around the words official turkey tester combined with the way her tongue flops out of the side of her mouth. It’s an adorable combination.
My cheeks flush when I look up at Dean and find him already watching me.
It’s been a month since I bumped into him after dropping off leftovers at Landon’s.
That day seemed to break whatever unspoken rules we had about hanging out alone or texting outside of group chats.
After our impromptu walk and dinner together, Dean sent me a picture of Cora passed out in the middle of his hallway.
That following weekend, I reached out and unabashedly begged to watch the puppy while they were out of town for the four-day stretch of away games.
He brought her to my house the morning they had to leave, and when I went to drop her off after, we spent the whole evening at his place.
I’ve watched Cora for all away games since, which seems to be our excuse to have weekly dinners, just the two of us.
Yet, we still haven’t had sex.
The tension is definitely still there. Or maybe I’m delusional.
It’s impossible to ignore, considering how aware my body is to his presence.
But neither of us has made a move. I can’t tell if he’s waiting for me to act first or if this lingering attraction is one-sided.
Hanging out with Dean these past few weeks has been the highlight of my time.
I’m forced to take work breaks and get out of my house.
Sure, Vivian comes by on the weekends and even some of the nights that I’m watching Cora.
She’s always down for a low-key night of just existing in the same space together.
We’ll talk, scroll social media, watch movies we’ve seen a thousand times while eating junk food.
But even when we’re doing almost exactly the same thing, what I have going on with Dean feels completely different.
This new level of our friendship that we have going on is so nice that I refuse to be the one to say anything that would ruin it.
Clearing my throat, I give Cora one last kiss before pushing to my feet and step aside to let Dean in.
He finally steps through the threshold, those amber eyes shining as he grins down at me.
I should back away, give him space to enter the house, but my feet are glued in place.
His spicy cologne invades my senses, begging me to sway even closer and fill my lungs with his scent.
Dean’s smile grows wider as if he knows just how much he’s affecting me.
“You look beautiful,” he whispers, and my cheeks burn impossibly hotter. There’s no doubt that I’m one shade away from matching my dress.
“Thanks,” I mumble just as motion over Dean’s shoulder catches my attention and I finally find the strength to put distance between us.
“Dad made sure the back gates were closed, so unless she’s gonna jump off the docks, you’re good to let her roam,” I tell Dean just as his teammate Dominik and his fiancée make it to the front door.
“This girl was a fish in her past life, so we will be staying far away from the docks when not on a leash.” Dean laughs, still standing close beside me.
“There’s the perfect angel!” Lilly says, diving to scoop Cora into her arms and pepper her with kisses.
I smirk up at Dean. “Something tells me you will have very little supervising responsibilities today.”
He laughs and I make myself busy, showing Dominik and Lilly into the house and getting them drinks.
By the time they’re settled, Landon shows up at the same time as a few of his other teammates and their partners.
Luckily, my brother takes over making sure his friends all know where the beverages are.
My parents’ downstairs fills up with hockey players and I can’t help but smile at the chaos around me. Most of the guys all seem to gravitate outside with my dad, while their partners hang in the living room.
Dean, however, has somehow managed to charm my mom into letting him help her in the kitchen.
For a moment, I can’t help but watch them, noticing the way he moves with such confidence and hangs onto every word my mom says.
Or the way her eyes soften just a bit every time she looks at him as she hands him a spoon.
I’ll have to ask him what the hell he said to get her to accept help, but for now, I sip my wine and leave them to have a moment together.
I make my way into the living room where Lilly sits on the floor with Cora, playing with the dog toys my mom bought so Dean didn’t have to cart toys back and forth.
Stella and Harper, the girlfriend and daughter of Greyson, another one of Landon’s teammates, sit beside Lilly.
Harper’s giggles echo through the room as she throws a squeaker toy, making Cora spring into action after it.
Leaning against the wall, I watch as everyone fawns over the adorable pup. They all call and coo after her, making her run back and forth between them. If one thing is for certain, Dean will have an exhausted dog at the end of the day.
Just as I’m about to take another sip of my wine, the doorbell rings. With one last glance around the room, I push off the wall and head to let in whatever straggler from Landon’s team arrived. Assuming it’s just another one of the guys from the Bobcats, I plaster on a smirk as I open the door.
“’Bout time you got—” My teasing words die on my tongue at the sight of the two unfamiliar faces.
The woman looks to be around my mom’s age, her graying hair pulled back, laugh lines wrinkling around the corners of her eyes and mouth.
She holds a tray covered with aluminum foil in her hands, but luckily, nothing about her seems to be put off by my abrupt greeting.
“Sorry, I expected one of my brother’s friends. ”
“No problem, dear. I’m Liz, a friend of your mom’s.”
I nod and grin, stepping aside so she can come in. “Of course! She’s told me all about you and your husband.”
My eyes finally move to the man beside her and there’s no stopping my eyes from widening in shock.
He is very clearly much younger than her, probably closer to Landon’s and my age than Liz’s.
And he’s hot. Like, could be on the cover of a Calvin Klein magazine level hot.
His dark hair is shaved close on the sides of his head and slightly longer on the top but still styled perfectly, not a hair out of place.
Bright blue eyes shine back at me from beneath long, dark lashes. Even his smile is perfect.
Goddamn, good for Liz pulling such a catch at her age.
I finally manage to catch myself and fix my smile to greet her husband when Liz laughs.
“Oh no, this isn’t my husband. George had an emergency at the office.” Liz adjusts her hold on the tray in her hand, using her now free one to reach up, because of course he’s tall too, and pinches the man’s cheek. “This is my son, Tanner.”
Instead of batting away his mother’s touch, Tanner grins and holds out a hand. “It’s nice to meet you…”
I blink at him, momentarily dumbfounded as to what I’m supposed to do before it catches up. Clearing my throat, I accept his hand. “Arianna.”