“And all,” he agrees, kissing her cheek, and I look at Posey, who is beaming.
“You called it.”
“I did,” she reminds me with a wink before reaching for her glass of water. She leans into me with such a satisfied look on her face. I know I put it there from our little shower escapade. And while I really want to marry her, I also really want to take her back home. When she places her lips by my ear, I feel a chill runs down my spine as she says, “They got engaged yesterday too. They haven’t told their parents yet.”
I pull back to look at her. “That’s cool, but we’re better.”
“Of course,” she says, grinning at me, but then I feel someone staring at me.
I don’t have to look far to know that Shea Adler’s gaze is set on me.
I’m not really sure how I messed up. Did we hide our relationship? Sure, but so did Shelli and Aiden. I don’t know what makes me so different from Aiden. I’m a good-looking dude, I am talented, and I love his daughter. So why does he have this permanent look of death on his face whenever it concerns me? When I asked him if I could marry Posey, I did it with a counter and a table between us. Also, with the back door right behind me so I could run out.
What? He’s a scary fucking dude.
I’m pretty sure the only reason he said yes was because Elli was there. He actually didn’t even say it, Elli did, but Shea didn’t disagree with her. I took that and ran with it. I want him to like me, at least. I’m a cool guy, and we both love Posey and hockey. That alone should make us best friends. Alas, we are not. I look down at my empty plate.
I know when we chose the Bluebird Cafe for this dinner, our families were a bit confused. But there is an awesome little park across the road where we can gather for us to be married. It’s going to be amazing. We just gotta make it there.
Without Shea Adler trying to kill me.
From beside me, my mom asks, “How’s the wedding planning going, Shelli? Almost done?”
Shelli beams, wiggling in her seat. Aiden slides his hand across her shoulders to the back of her neck, rubbing her with his thumb. Pretty sure if I did that, Shea would break my thumb, but apparently no one else knows that. “We’re done! Can you believe it? Now, it’s the countdown.”
“Fifty-nine days,” Aiden says on an exhale. “Thank God.”
We all laugh as she smacks him playfully. “We’ll need to finalize some stuff, but really, we’re done.”
My mom smiles at Elli. “I’m sure that’s a load off your shoulders.”
Elli nods. “Yes, especially with the Cup run.”
“But what a blessing. I am so excited to gain a daughter, and you’re gaining two sons.”
Posey’s mom laughs. “We always wanted a huge family!”
Owen, one of Posey’s twin brothers, chuckles. “Don’t worry, Mom. I’ll bring home a smoking-hot daughter-in-law for you.”
Evan gives him a look. “That would involve you actually taking the time to learn a girl’s name.”
“And normal people do that before getting them naked,” the baby of the family, Quinn, says.
“Lord, help me,” Elli moans as the table explodes with laughter. “Boon’s mom is right there!”
My mom doesn’t care; she just laughs. Owen snorts as he smacks his twin brother playfully. It’s crazy how much the twins look alike, but they are wildly different. They are both huge like Shea and identical, with black hair and ice-blue eyes. Owen is all about fucking and leaving them. He isn’t even ashamed. I don’t see that guy getting married. But knocking someone up? Yeah, he could do that for sure. Evan, though, he’ll find a forever kind of girl and worship her.
“Baby, focus on hockey when you get to Carolina. Please,” Elli urges. The boys were drafted to the IceCats, but they have been playing for their AHL team. They could be called up, but it’s doubtful at this point in the season. I’m sure it’s weird since the IceCats are our opponents right now, but the twins keep saying they’re rooting for the Assassins because if we win, there’ll be open spots for them on the team since a load of the IceCats are free agents. They lose, and the players won’t want to stay with a losing team. That way of thinking isn’t wrong. It’s actually genius, and we will take all the good juju.
“I know what I’ll be buying at Costco,” Shea mutters, and I hold back my laughter.
“Get two boxes, Dad,” Owen calls down the table, but Evan rolls his eyes.
“I don’t need a Costco-size box of condoms, thank you.”
With a straight face, Owen replies, “I know. They’re both for me.”