Page 12 of If You Love Me

“I’m not surprised Madden and Grace got into it already,” Hemi muses.

Shilpa hums. “Those two are always a problem when they’re on the ice together. It would be good if they could settle whatever it is between them.”

“I wonder if Rix will have any insight,” Hammer says.

“Who’s Rix again?” The name is familiar, but I’ve learned so many recently.

“Tristan Stiles’s fiancée,” Hemi says. “She’s also Flip Madden’s sister. Tristan calls her Bea because her name is Beatrix, but the rest of us call her Rix. There are a lot of nicknames in this group, so don’t feel bad if you need us to create a spreadsheet.”

I can’t tell if she’s kidding. I might need one.

“The team calls me Hammer, my dad calls me Peggy, and Hollis calls me Aurora,” Hammer adds.

“Or Princess,” Hemi adds.

“That’s sweet,” I say.

“You’d think, wouldn’t you?” Hammer’s grin turns sly.

I’m trying to keep track of the dynamics of this group, but I feel weird about cozying up to Roman’s daughter. I’m keeping this secret from her, and everyone else.

We arrive at the Watering Hole as the first drops of rain fall. The second I step inside I fall in love. One wall consists of massive TV screens, all playing sports. The floors are wide hardwood planks. Booths with plush cushions line the walls, and in the center are long, wide tables with bar chairs. The bar is dotted with businesspeople and casually dressed locals.

Four women wave at us. Three look to be in their mid-twenties, and the other looks closer to Ophelia’s age. One I recognize from Tristan’s social media.

“Come on.” Hemi touches my arm. “Let me introduce you.”

“Sure. Yeah. That would be great.”

“Ladies, this is Alexandria Forrester, the Terror’s new assistant coach and a hundred percent badass,” Hemi announces.

“Outside of work, I usually go by Lexi.” I lift my hand in a wave. I’m so out of practice with socializing off the ice.

“Tristan told me about the Connor-Flip debacle. Impressive metaphorical balls you’ve got.” She extends her hand. “I’m Rix, Tristan’s fiancée and Flip’s sister.”

“You’re in school for nutrition, right?” I overheard Tristan talking about it to Dallas during warm-up before all hell broke loose.

“That’s right. I just went back.” She touches the shoulder of the girl beside her. “And this is Essie, my childhood best friend and our resident makeup artist.”

Essie smiles and waves. She looks runway ready with her long black hair and perfect makeup.

“And next to Essie is Tally,” Rix says.

“Hi.” Tally gives me a wry smile. “Vander Zee is my dad.”

Is it weird to be hanging out with my boss’s daughter? Why is navigating a new workplace so treacherous? “It’s nice to meet you, Tally.”

“And I’m Dred,” the woman to my left says. “Short for Mildred. I’m related to none of these wonderful women by blood or boyfriend, but Flip is my neighbor, and these ladies took it upon themselves to fold me into their crew.”

“We have no regrets about that, and we hope you don’t either.” Hemi smiles fondly at her.

“Having a hockey player as a friend has turned out to be the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” Dred replies. “Have a seat and join the party.” She pats the spot beside her.

I slide onto the chair, envious of their tight bonds and easyconversation. For the last year I’ve been trying to keep my head above water as I managed two grieving kids, my own grief, learned how to parent my siblings, and oh yeah, did my job. At the end of the day, I was too exhausted to entertain going out with friends.

Dallas sets a pitcher of margaritas on the table and another of water, Flip following with glasses. The rest of the guys from the team line one side of the bar. Roman’s gaze shifts toward me for a second, so I quickly look away. Pulling him aside to talk won’t be easy in this intimate environment.

“Sorry about today, Coach,” Flip says. He doesn’t look like the fuck boy without a care in the world. This is the man who cares about his team.

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