Page 71 of The Offside Rule
Sadie laughed. “I knew I picked the right weekend to visit.”
“It wasn’t supposed to happen,” I said. “We literally made a pros and cons list.”
Billie blinked. “During the date?”
“It wasn’t a date,” I argued, even if it was a lie.
“Did he light candles with dinner?” Billie asked.
I glared.
Liv’s mouth fell open. “He fully did.”
“He claimed they were to cover the smell of his cooking.” I shrugged.
Taylor pressed her lips together. “That man lit candles and panicked?”
“Yes,” I confirmed.
Sadie smiled. “That’s kind of adorable.”
“It was confusing,” I corrected. “And hot.”
“So what’s the problem?” Sadie asked.
“He’s my dads captain, he’s nine years older, he’s good friends with my parents, my little sister is best friends with his daughter. . . is that enough?”
“Damn,” Sadie said. “That’s rough. My dad would freak the heck out if I dated a player on his team.”
“Tell me about it,” Taylor laughed and rolled her eyes. Liv had a similar reaction. We all somehow had family in the NHL except for Billie Rose.
Max chose that exact moment to laugh loudly at something Leo said.
Liv’s gaze drifted over to Max. She was pining for him, but I wasn’t going to call her out now. The waitress came, and we ordered food. The guys were loud behind us, but not too loud. I could hear Nate talking about training, Ronan saying something dry that made Luca laugh, and Max chirping Leo about being an overprotective big brother even though Max himself was overprotective of his sisters.
Hunter’s voice was low enough that I couldn’t catch most of it. Which was worse. Because instead of listening, I kept imagining it in my ear. Billie kicked me under the table.
“Ow.”
“You’re making funny eyes,” she accused.
“What the hell does that mean?”
“You’re making sad, horny Disney princess eyes at the man,” she explained.
“Billie Rose. You’re lucky I value this friendship so much, or I would want to throttle you.”
“I’m serious,” she added like I offended her and she was just trying to lay it out there for me in a truthful way.
Taylor leaned closer. “You kind of are.”
I groaned and dropped my head on the table.
Sadie tilted her head. “It’s obvious to women. Men are usually oblivious.”
I lifted my head and looked toward the guys again. Hunter was trying to listen to Ronan. His eyes kept cutting to me. My chest tightened.
“Well,” Billie said. “At least he’s making them back.”
