Page 257 of Securing the Pucking Rebound

Her cheeks heat, and my curiosity only grows.

“Is it a sex toy?” I ask.

“What?” She balks. “No. No, it’s not.”

“Damn. Well, we definitely need to get you some more of them for us to play with,” I say, taking the wrapped box from her and setting it on the counter. It’s kinda heavy, and despite wanting to shake it, I manage to stop myself.

Sienna watches me, anxiously chewing on her nail as I rip into the paper and open the box.

Inside, there are smaller wrapped gifts.

I pull the first one out and rip the paper off.

I find a framed photo of the guys and me from an event a few months before my injury.

A smile pulls at my lips. That was a great night.

I open the next one and find a framed image of us after our championship win last year. We’re all exhausted and sweaty, but we’re so fucking happy. A pang of grief hits me that I’m not going to feel that incredible adrenaline rush of a win this season.

I keep going, opening two more images of me with the guys, only these include their girls as well.

“Your family,” Sienna breathes, stepping a little closer to me after I’ve laid the four of them on her kitchen island. “Family isn’t always blood. Sometimes it’s the one you make for yourself, and you don’t have any pictures of them in your apartment.”

“I love them. And you’re right. These guys choose me, even when I’m a little bit broken.”

“They’ll always choose you. That’s what a real family does.”

My heart swells in my chest as I gaze into her eyes.

“There are four more,” she says, nodding to the half-empty box.

The gifts that are left are the exact same size and shape as the ones I’ve already opened, so I think I know what they are. The question is, what images do they hold?

I find out the second I rip into the first one and discover one of the pictures that was inside Sienna’s scrapbook. It’s the two of us lying in a field, grass surrounding us and wide smiles on our young faces. The next one is another from our two weeks together that summer. And then the final two are more recent. One is a selfie from one evening when we were hanging out on Sienna’s couch, and the final one is us dancing together in the club only last week. I wasn’t aware that anyone took anything, but I’m so glad they did. We’re gazing at each other with the kind of intensity you only see between two people who are deeply in love.

A lump crawls up my throat as I stare at us. Sienna shuffles beside me, and I turn to look up at her.

“Do you like them?” she asks anxiously.

“Darlin’,” I rasp, pushing to my feet and taking her face in my hands. “I love them. Almost as much as I love you.”

Her smile is blinding.

“I can’t wait to find them a home in my apartment.”

I hate that Sienna has to go back to work the next day, but it gives me a chance to catch up with the guys.

We meet for breakfast before heading back to Rett’s. Bea is at work with Sienna, and Hailee is working, Freya is with her parents, and Casey and Sutton are having a girls’ day, so it’s just the guys—just like it used to be, only better. I can’t really explain why. Something shifted when Kodie and Linc found their girls. I didn’t like it back then. Life as I knew it was changing. Then, Handsy fell for Freya’s charm, leaving me with newly traded Rett as my wingman, and then he crumbled to Bea’s charm. But I couldn’t be too annoyed with that one, because without Bea, there would be no Sienna, and I can’t imagine what life would be like without her.

“Oh, you motherfucker,” Hayden bellows when Rett kills him instead of Cole and Linc, who are on the opposing team. “Do you even know how to play this game?”

“That would be a no,” Linc teases happily. “We all know that Bea is better. You’d have thought Rett would have learned something by now. Did you know he gets Xbox lessons from his girl?”

“Shut the fuck up, asshole,” Rett grunts.

Today is their last day before training resumes. They’ve got their first game the day after tomorrow, and they’re making the most of their freedom. They’re sitting pretty at the top of the division, but we all know everything can change after the holiday break. The trade deadline will be upon us before we know it, then they’ll be heading into the playoffs. I’m excited for them, but also frustrated to have to watch it from the bench. Shit could be worse, though.

“Anyone heard anything from Nash?” Handsy asks, earning himself a scowl from Kodie—not that he notices; his focus is solely on the screen, trying to take advantage of Rett’s uselessness to claim the W.