Page 46 of One Pucking Heart

“For you?”

“Exactly. If I know you’re not lonely, the time will go faster for me, and the sooner I’ll be at your side.”

My hands run down his chest, stopping on his abs. His six-pack is hidden beneath an undershirt, dress shirt, and suit jacket, but I swear I can feel them. Perhaps I’ve felt his abdomen muscles so often as of late, my imagination is running wild. “You’re awfully clingy. You need to work on that before…” Beckett’s face falls, and I don’t finish the thought. My intention was a light-hearted, playful moment, but mentioning the future tends to put an immediate damper on the situation.

Before this is over.

Before I move out.

Before I leave.

Regardless of how I finish that sentence, it wouldn’t have been well received. And I know that is a problem in itself, one that I ignore because life is really good right now, and I’m choosing to relish in it as long as I can.

Beckett quickly recovers, and his charming smile resurfaces. “I won’t be long.” He kisses me again before turning to leave. With a sigh, I watch as he walks over to a beautiful pink rose canopy where Iris and Cade pose for cameras.

Taking his advice, I make my way to the food tent.

“Doc!” A round of cheers explodes when I enter, and I can’t help the smile that crosses my face.

These guys have been wonderful, and I’ve enjoyed working with them over the past few months. They’ve all made an effort to get to know me—not because I’m technically Beckett’s wife but because I’m part of the Cranes. Beckett’s always said they’re his family, and I see that now. Shame over my initial feelings on this job is my daily companion. I’m embarrassed I was so quick to judge them, so sure they’d be like the excuse for men I’ve known in the past. The past four months have been a vivid realization of how badly my past tainted my view of the world. I’ve changed so much over the past several months, and I can’t deny that Beckett has been the catalyst for my transformation.

Max and Jaden, the team’s starting defenders, hold up pink heart-shaped cookies and laugh.

“What’d I miss?” I ask.

Max hands me the cookie. In frosting, it reads, “A heartbreaker no more.”

I stare at the cookie in my hand. “What does it mean?”

The guys tell me about their team tradition of handing out nicknames, and how Cade got his.

“You see,” Bash says, “Iris thinks that a cookie is going to put an end to a nickname as if it ever would.” He laughs.

I look around at the group of men surrounding me. “Do you all have names? And how do you get them?”

“Most of the guys do. They just kind of come on naturally. Sometimes it takes years to spark a name. Other times, the player earns one right off the bat like Feltmore.” Jaden raises a brow.

With a roll of my eyes, I scoff. “I’m very aware of Beckett’s nickname. So are you telling me that name is here to stay?”

“Hell yeah, it’s here to stay,” Bash teases. “It’s a good one, too. It took me two years to get my name. The guys starting calling me Cookie Monster after our bye week vacation in Barbados when I won the chocolate chip cookie baking competition.”

“Cookie Monster is quite tough,” I kid with a chuckle.

“When you taste his cookies, you’ll understand. They’re lethally good,” Jaden says.

“I can’t say I’ve had a cookie taste so good it’s deadly.”

“Then you haven’t had mine.” Bash smirks.

“So what are the other nicknames?” I question.

Max answers, “Well, our beast of a goalie, Gunner Dreven, is fittingly enough called The Beast.”

“Makes sense.” I nod.

He continues, “I’m TJ Maxx.” I cover my mouth in an attempt not to laugh, and Max rolls his eyes. “You can laugh. It’s dumb as fuck.”

I school my features. “So why TJ Maxx?”

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