Page 18 of Secret Pucking Unicorn

“You looking at real estate already?” Brick asks.

I flush. Brick is being friendly, but I don’t want my business out there.

Stone pops up over his seat again. I resist the urge to hug my tablet to my chest. I don’t want my dream to be laughed at.

“Mac is looking too. If you’re looking for a place together, I can swap seats with you to make it easier to compare.”

He is such a sweet man, but I wish he’d shut up and sit down.

“Wait, you’re both looking for places?” Carter asks, hurt in his voice. “What are you looking for? What’s wrong with the barn? Stone, switch with Randi.”

Suppressing a sigh, I get up and switch. Dealing with Carter in a mood is not on today’s agenda. Dec is standing to let Stone out and let me in. He grabs my tea for me and puts it on the table.

“So, what’s going on? Are you guys moving out? When did you plan this?”

Dec and I turn to each other. He raises a dark brow, and I shrug.

“We haven’t,” he says. “After hockey, I want a horse farm. I’m always looking to see if there are properties for sale.”

“In Ireland?” I ask. That was always the plan.

“Sometimes. I’m looking in New Jersey too. What are you looking for?”

He’s looking for a farm here? Would he be willing to stay here after he’s done playing? Would he be willing to stay here with me?

I show him my tablet.

“I’m looking at fixer-uppers with a good size yard. I want to plant flowers and maybe get a dog. I’ve always wanted a dog.”

“When are you planning on moving?” Carter asks.

I laugh. “Not anytime soon. I need to save up for a down payment and work for more than a week to qualify for a mortgage. This is a pipe dream. I’ve always looked at houses and saved pictures since I was a teenager. It’s my hobby.”

“Same,” Dec says, nodding. Our eyes connect and a zing of awareness runs through me. For a moment I fantasize about us being a couple and looking for homes together and planning for our future. But a fantasy is all it is. I need to remember that.

Stone pops up again. I swear the man has a spring in his ass like a jack in the box.

“You guys could pool your resources and buy a property together. It sounds like you want similar things.”

Bedard, bless his heart, changes the subject by talking about the team we’re playing tomorrow night. The rest of the flight is spent discussing the Sasquatch and their strengths and weaknesses.

After we land and get to the hotel, Daphne and I hand out the room keys. I am rooming with Brick. Dec and Stone are in the room next to ours.

Looking around our room after we hand out all the keys, I see there is a connecting door to the guys’ room. I startle when there is a knock on it. I open it to find a grinning Stone standing there.

“Hey neighbor, this feels like home, huh?” he asks.

“I don’t have to share a bathroom here,” I say as I step back to let him in.

“There’s no getting rid of you, is there?” Brick says with a sigh when she sees her brother.

“Nope. Mom wouldn’t let me leave you in the woods.”

My lips quirk. I wish I had something like this in my life. When I was a kid with the Mackenzies, I kind of had it, but with so many of them there were plenty of targets for their teasing and I usually faded into the background. By the time I thought of a zinger, the moment had passed.

Declan comes to the door and peeks his head in. “Their room is like ours and like the rooms we stay in whenever we stay at one of these hotels. They’re part of the Clardmore chain, and we get a deal.”

“Using your family connections to ingratiate you with the team?” I tease.

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