Page 19 of Full Strength

I nodded and headed straight for the mild area. Since getting pregnant, heartburn was a daily part of life and I wasn’t going to make things worse with spicy food. After I loaded up a plate with rice and Chicken Tikka Masala, I found a spot at the table with Madeline and Emma.

“Hey guys.” I sat down and had the perfect view into the living room where the guys had congregated in front of the TV to watch a football game. It was funny to me to see professional hockey players booing and cheering in front of a TV. It felt out of place and a little wrong, like they should be out on the field.

“He’s not here.” Emma said, unprompted.

“Who?” I glanced around and spotted Olli sitting with Jackson asleep in his arms.

“Grant,” she replied.

“Oh.” I took a bite of the chicken and sighed. It was perfect. Work had been so busy I hadn’t had a chance to eat lunch. So, besides a protein shake this morning, this was all I’d eaten.

“Isn’t that who you were looking for?” Madi asked before taking a bite from her plate.

I shrugged and swallowed. “I wasn’t really looking for anyone.”

Emma nodded dramatically like she didn’t believe me. “Chloe said she invited him, but he wouldn’t say whether he could come or not. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”

I’d tried my best not to involve the Pride on everything that was going on between me and Grant, or in this case what wasn’t going on. They were his friends first and I wanted to respect his privacy.

Hartman, who had been walking to the kitchen stopped. “It’s probably because she turned him down when he asked her out.”

Madi turned to face me. “What?”

“Why did you turn him down?” Emma asked at the same time.

I shot a glare at Hartman but he was already walking away. That snitch.

I eyed my food but I knew they wouldn’t tolerate my attempt at diversion. “Guys, things are complicated right now.”

Emma’s left eyebrow darted up. “What’s going on?”

Madi leaned forward as if I would only whisper the answer to Emma.

“Please, just drop it.”

Emma shook her head. “Tell us what’s going on.”

I sighed. “I found some things out and it broke my trust.”

Madi gasped. “What did he do?”

“That’s not important. But that, plus the fact that he’s a famous hockey player…” I trailed off. I couldn’t say anything without it possibly offending them. I mean, they’re all with famous hockey players.

“What is it?” Madi pried.

“I’m worried about the media. I don’t want Eli getting involved either.”

Emma nodded slowly. “That is something to think about, but it’s really not that bad. I mean, we never get followed.”

Madi cringed. “Erik does sometimes, but for the most part they leave us alone. Hartman is the only one that has to constantly worry about it.”

“I just…” I debated whether or not to tell them about my concerns with my ex. They would sit here and drill into things until I came clean. “I just don’t want to attract any attention from my ex. He’s left me alone for over a year and I want to keep it that way. I don’t want him to find out I’m dating Grant and have him come try to find us.”

Emma and Madi shared a look. “You don’t want him to come for Eli?” Emma asked.

I shook my head. “Or money, or anything. I just want him to stay away and so far, he has.”

Madi nodded. “You think he would come looking for you?”