Page 100 of Instigator

I stifle a laugh. “Honey, she’s a grown adult. She’s allowed to have a sex life.”

He grimaces. “I know. Which is why I don’t say anything to her. I’m not trying to stop her. I just don’t need the details of what they get up to.”

“The Grizzlies have the most respectful locker room I’ve ever seen,” Robby adds. “I know it’s not an easy thing to navigate, but I’ve never heard any of the guys cross any lines or be abrasively rude. Well, except Pope.”

“Thank fuck he got traded,” Aidan mutters. “I wanted to punch that asshole in the face.”

I laugh again. “You? Fight? I didn’t take you for an instigator.”

He chuckles. “No, babe, that’s all you.”

Two seasons ago, when Hailey and Ryan first started dating, Aidan got into a fight on the ice with someone who was hassling his best friend. Even though he and Ryan were fighting with each other, he stood up to defend him against the other dude. My man punched him… and then promptly got his bell rung. He’s a lover, not a fighter.

Aidan clears his throat. “I said I wanted to, not that I actually would. He was my teammate.”

“And now he’s fair game,” Robby adds with a devilish smirk.

“He’s on my shit list,” he agrees. “Hastings too.”

The only “good” thing to come out of Hastings’s terrible hit on Nick last season is that Bex decided to move forward with our helmet project. He’s fully recovered now, able to play hockey and live his regular life, but that hit scared her away from staying on as the team’s concussion specialist.

It’s hard to sit by and watch the ones you love hurt themselves, knowing there is nothing you can do to prevent another injury. Protect them, yes. Prevent? Not possible.

Colt clears his throat. “Dinner?”

Robby’s eyebrows dart up into his hairline. “You cooked?”

Let’s just say, Colt is not the best chef. He can prepare food, but he doesn’t cook.

“Ordered in,” he mumbles, his face flaming. “I wanted something nice.”

“Aw, babe.” Robby squeezes Colt’s leg. “You know I’m happy with anything. As long as it’s you and me, I’m good.”

I grab for Aidan’s hand again, holding on for dear life. I’m so happy for my friend I could combust.

He helps me to my feet as Colt and Robby rise. The open floor plan means we can see the dining area from here, where the serving platters are laid out.

When he sold his company, Colt bought a “big boy” apartment. As happy as he was to live in a one-bedroom in Cambridge, it was time to grow up a bit. Of course, the jump from shabby one-bedroom to skyscraper penthouse was a bit extreme, but… we have the money. He’s certainly not hurting for cash.

While other people were learning life skills, like how to cook and take care of themselves, Colt and I were building our businesses from the ground up. We outsourced anything we could because our time was more valuable spent on our projects than on learning how to cook anything more complicated than a bowl of pasta or roasting a chicken.

My ex-husband never forgave me for not being the consummate housewife, and it’s taken the better part of a decade to come to terms with the fact that I’m perfectly fine the way I am. Even when I let work take over my life, sometimes to the detriment of everything else, I’m not broken or lacking because I’m not good in the kitchen.

It’s kind of the same for Aidan. He devoted his life to hockey; it consumes him, and he outsourced what he had to in order to survive. He hires someone for meal preparation, he has Hailey managing his schedule and commitments, and he isn’t afraid to find someone to help him when he needs it.

Robby is the only so-called normal one of us. When he got injured, he had to learn how to function as an adult without hockey dictating his decisions. Sure, he’s still involved with the sport. It still dictates his schedule. But not his life choices.

We’re all a little stunted in one way or another, but we’re moving past it. Moving on.

Colt retrieves the salmon from the oven, where it was keeping warm. I settle in beside Aidan, his hand falling to my thigh. I know the salmon from Olde Boston is one of his safe foods—it’s why I suggested it to Colt in the first place. And not just because I wanted the harvest bowl.

Although, because my friend knows me so well, he ordered two for us all to split as a side dish. This is why I love him so much.

Conversation flows during dinner, and then we linger over dessert. It’s easy to imagine doing this again in the future, maybe with Hailey and Ryan joining us. Our little trio, my two good friends, Aidan’s sister.

We’re making our own bubble with friends who feel like family. An actual community. Sure, I’ve got my book club friends. I’ve got Bex and Vanessa by my side, plus Johanna, Sadie, Viv, and Elsy, and then there’s Audrey, Rachel, and all the other WHAFFLs: wives, husbands, and family, friends, and lovers attached to the team. Knowing they’d support me, they support us, is more than I can possibly say.

Somehow, almost without realizing it, all of my social circle has become entangled with the Grizzlies. When I joined the board four years ago, I never would have expected this would become my life. And I’m so glad it has.