Total pages in book: 133
Estimated words: 128069 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 640(@200wpm)___ 512(@250wpm)___ 427(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128069 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 640(@200wpm)___ 512(@250wpm)___ 427(@300wpm)
Asher smacks my shoulder. “Dude. You have that secret room don’t you? The one under the staircase, right?”
I laugh. “Yeah, it disappears and reappears whenever you need it.”
Asher tips his forehead to me. “Fucking Newman didn’t even know when he bought the place that it had an extra room.”
I hold out my hands wide, shrugging, like it’s no big deal. When I was looking for a place to buy after I was traded, I checked out a bunch of townhomes in Pacific Heights, where most of my friends on the pro teams in the city live. Some had two bedrooms, some had three. I picked the one I liked most, barely paying attention to the details. It’s an investment more than anything. Who knows how long I’m here, but I’d rather own than rent, since I can. Turns out, I own a three-bedroom when I’d thought it was two. But it’s like finding a slice of pizza you didn’t know you had left in the box. “It was like a bonus room when I moved in,” I say, then I meet Christian’s gaze and lift a finger. “Happy to help out.”
Christian breathes the biggest sigh of relief. “Perfect. I’ll send you her contact info, Bryant.” He whips his phone from his pocket. “And I’ll tell her I found her a place and that you’ll be reaching out.” He pauses, then adds, “Now.”
As if I’d do anything else but reach out right away. “Of course,” I say.
“I already told her to come by at the end of the game so I can introduce the two of you. She has some training thing that’s running late at her library.”
Chase whistles at Christian. “You already told her to come by? Before you even asked us? Damn.” The golden-haired former captain turns to the rest of us, arms out wide. “That’s the kind of attitude we all need to manifest on the ice. A winning attitude.”
He’s not wrong. The rest of the guys nod in agreement, and I grab my phone and click on the contact card Christian just fired my way. Jay. I send her a quick text then meet his eyes.
“Done,” I say.
“Suck-up,” Max mutters under his breath.
Christian cocks his head Max’s way. “What did you say?”
Max swallows, then shrugs as nonchalantly as he can. “I said, that was so nice of him to help out.”
“I thought so,” Christian says, then walks to me and offers a hand. “I owe you.” We shake, then he adds, “Just keep your hands off her.”
There’s a collective laugh in the locker room. Then a collective no shit. Like I’d do anything to rock the team boat. “I got you, man.”
“We all know that rule,” Asher adds.
It’s the golden rule of being on a team. You don’t bang a teammate’s sister. Well, unless you plan to marry her.
As Christian heads to his stall to get ready for the game, my phone pings with a text from my new roomie.
10
MY NEW ROOMIE
Josie
Is that a raccoon tapping on the bathroom door while I pee? With my luck, it’ll be a ghost planning to haunt me for the next three months.
The scratching sound feels more corporeal though.
But is there really a raccoon in the library? While I now know they can live in walls, that usually happens in older homes. They’re resourceful little critters who shimmy into chimneys, attics, and crawl spaces. I looked them up when I heard the raccoon story from Thalia. This building is modern and seems less likely for a raccoon home invasion.
So, that leaves me with…yup, a ghost.
Of course.
I pee as fast as I can, flush, and hustle to the sink to wash my hands. I need to get back to the training session anyway. Maybe Christian wrote to me. He should be at the rink by now. He said he’d be in touch before the game started. But when I turn around to check my phone as I leave, I stop in my tracks, startled. That’s not a raccoon. That’s a cat. A big, beautiful seal-point Siamese cat.
He’s parked at the door. And I do mean parked. He’s barn-cat size and it’s like he’s guarding the exit, tail swishing, big blue eyes lasered right at me.
“What’s your name, buddy?” I ask.
He doesn’t move. Just flicks his tail. And stares at me without blinking. “I kinda need to get back to the meeting,” I say.
Yes, this is now my life. Anxiously waiting to hear from my brother about a place to live while negotiating with a giant cat.
The feline is impervious to my dilemma. I advance toward the door he’s guarding like a sentry, but he makes no move to let me by. Am I going to have to pick him up and move him? Right as I’m contemplating my cat removal options, my phone buzzes in my skirt pocket. I grab it like it’s on fire and read the new text from Christian.