Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 101505 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 508(@200wpm)___ 406(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101505 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 508(@200wpm)___ 406(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
“I mean, no,” I say. “It’s not like I want to get knocked up today or anything. But I have always wanted a family some day. And I’m not getting any younger…”
“Oh, stop,” Andi laughs. She pretends to examine me, touching my hips and then holding her hands in front of my breasts as if she’s weighing them. “You could pop out so many babies, dude. Like you could be the next octomom, if you wanted.”
“I said a family, not an army.”
“What’s so funny?” Jesse asks as he throws an arm around Andi’s shoulders and pulls her into a gentle hug. He’s breathless and still shirtless. The ink on his stomach and back is slightly smeared because all the other guys took their shirts off too and were chest bumping each other.
Andi kisses his neck, hugging herself into him like he’s the world’s biggest pillow. “Your idea of a pregnancy announcement, for one. I don’t think the guys know what you just celebrated.”
“What?” Jesse asks. “Hey!” he says, projecting his voice with impressive ease. All the guys look up. They’re hoisting a bear rug over their heads right now and doing a kind of stomping dance in a circle like some kind of ritual. “What are we celebrating?”
They all pause for a moment. Maddox is the first to speak. “Right now? How sick this rug is.”
“Hell yeah!” Carter shouts. He pumps one fist and all the guys start hopping and circling again with the rug over their heads. They’re hooting now, too, like a group of owls.
“Stanley Cup next season!” Jake shouts.
The guys all roar, pumping fists and jumping until I can feel the floor shaking.
What the hell?
Jesse winces. “Okay. Maybe they didn’t get it,” he says to Andi. “Guys!” he shouts again, pausing the ritual once more. “Read my chest!”
He spreads his arms and all four guys stop to squint in his direction.
“We regent?” Jake asks, struggling to read the smeared ink.
“Isn’t that like an oldschool word for king?” Carter asks. “Hell yeah, dude, we’re fucking kings! We regents! Bow down, fucking peasants!”
Maddox falls to his knees, bowing and laughing.
I put my face in my palms, shaking my head.
11
NOLAN
Ishow up to Jesse’s cabin with handfuls of supplies to cook. It’s Sunday, and the restaurant has a full week ahead of it starting tomorrow. Today was going to be my day to chill and clear my head before the big week. Instead, Jesse had to go and announce he’s going to have a baby with Andi. And then he had to ask me a favor he knew I couldn’t say “no” to, given the circumstances.
Asshole.
Mia is apparently still pissed with me, too. When I tried to bring up the topic of sharing her bed like she suggested on Friday night, she slammed the door on me.
Jesse meets me at the door and pulls me into a quick hug, slapping my back. “Thanks, man. I was a little worried you wouldn’t show.”
“Seriously?” I ask.
He shrugs. I see the team behind him and then I tense when I also see Mia in the kitchen with Andi and Caroline. I know I’m losing it, because she looks more frustratingly gorgeous every time I see her. It’s as if every step she takes away from me just makes me want her even more. Every sign that I can’t have her is that much more temptation. It’s maddening.
“To be honest,” Jesse says. “I don’t think I’ve seen you cook for us in a couple years. I thought you were going to tell me to fuck off when I asked.”
I grimace. “Nah,” I say, hating that he thinks I’d turn him down on a day like this. Maybe this will be the wakeup call I need to get my head out of my ass and stop letting my teammates down. “I got you, Jesse. This meal is going to kick ass. And we’re going to make sure your pregnant wife is eating like a queen for her and that baby. That little guy is going to come out with a six pack when we’re done with him.”
Jesse grins. “What if he’s a she?”
“Then she’ll have a six pack and muscles. We’ll teach her to play hockey until she’s kicking the boys’ asses on the ice.”
He nods, and I can tell there’s something he wants to say.
“What?” I ask.
“I’m not trying to get sappy, or some shit, but it’s good to see a little of the old you. Maybe you should try to cook more often. It seems like it’s bringing you back from wherever you’ve been.”
My lightness evaporates, but I try not to let it show. I force a smile. “Yeah. Maybe.”
“Oh,” Jesse says, stopping me before I can take the bags into the kitchen. “Don’t get pissed, but I wasn’t sure if you were going to stand me up. So I kind of asked Mia to cook, too. I figured if you did show, you could just team up on it. You’re both working together at Taste, so you should be a good team and all. And you’ve been sharing a cabin for a few days now, right? You guys have to have worked through whatever shit went down.”