Page 99 of Don't Fall for the Goalie
Because I’ve missed this. The noise. The people. The way they make room for me like I was always expected.
Ford is eating off Harper’s plate in the living room. Cole and Chloe are arguing over whether pineapple belongs on pizza. Jake’s wearing an apron that says,I Like My Meat Rare and My Hockey Players Rough.
Gram is perched on the couch with a glass of chardonnay, wearing a sparkly pink blouse, leopard print pants, and earrings shaped like tiny flamingos. The woman is a fever dream.
The room goes suspiciously quiet when Daltyn and I step farther inside.
Not fully quiet. This group is physically incapable of silence. But quieter. Like everyone senses the weird energy between us and decides to be nosy about it.
Gram’s eyes sweep over me, then Daltyn. Then she zeros in on the hoodie I’m wearing, and her mouth drops open. “Oh my stars and garters.”
Ford groans. “No.”
She gasps so hard I think she might choke on her wine. “You’re official!”
Daltyn’s brows shoot up. “What? No?—”
Something inside me snaps.
Maybe it’s the week of distance. Maybe it’s the way he kissed me like he was dying, and then spent seven days acting like touching me might destroy him. Maybe it’s the fact that he’s been making me feel like I’m his in every way that matters while refusing to say it out loud.
Whatever it is, I’m suddenly smiling. Sweetly. Dangerously.
“Yes, we are,” I say, clapping my hands once before accepting the drink Harper silently offers me. “Didn’t he tell you?”
The entire room freezes.
Daltyn turns to me like I just kicked him directly in the soul. “What?”
I sip my drink. “Sorry. I suck at keeping secrets.”
Connor makes a strangled sound.
Allie bites her lip.
Harper’s eyes go wide.
Ford looks like he’s trying to decide whether to intervene or grab popcorn.
Gram clasps her hands against her chest like she just witnessed a royal engagement. “FINALLY! You two were radiating so much sexual tension, I had to use my hormone patches.”
Ford closes his eyes. “You’re not on hormone patches.”
“I am now.” Gram lifts her chin. “You think this natural glow just happens?”
Connor sidles closer, eyes bright with pure chaos. “So when did this happen?”
“Connor,” Allie warns.
“What? I’m being supportive.”
“You’re being messy.”
“I contain multitudes.”
Daltyn’s voice is low. “Peyton.”
There it is. That warning tone. The one that used to make my stomach flutter. Now it makes my spine stiffen.
