Page 55 of Uniquely in Love

I followed her line of sight to her husband, who was currently stretching out his legs in front of the player’s bench. Everyone in the arena was probably enjoying the view of all these large, beefy men showing off. I knew I was.

A dark-haired girl laughed from my side. “That’s because you always skip out the rest of the game, Lauren.”

She furrowed her brow at the newcomer. “Just because I don’t stay in the stands doesn’t mean I don’t watch the rest.” She turned back to me, explaining. “I watch most of the games from the wives’ room. There’s a tv in there, and it’s a little more comfortable.”

“Is this your first?” I asked. The idea of having kids was still a long way off for me—after all, I was only twenty-two—but I knew I wanted to be a mom one day.

Lauren smiled, a contented sigh sipping from her lips. “Yes. We got married a few years back, but Stef and I were waiting until I finished my degree to have a baby. And, well, I graduated this summer with my master’s in Psychology.”

“Oh, wow. That’s amazing. I’m anelementary school teacher, so I definitely understand that. Post graduate education can be alot.”

“Did you have to do an extra year?” The new girl asked me. She didn’t look too much older than me, and I noticed she didn’t have a wedding ring on. Which was good—at least I wasn’t the only one here who wasn’t someone’s wife. “My sister is a teacher, and I know she had to.”

I shook my head. “No. Thankfully, the university I attended had a program where you could graduate with your teaching certificate as well. It made it a lot easier to get a job after I graduated.” Though mostly, that had come down to chance.”

“Oh. I’m the worst. Should have introduced myself sooner. I’m Harlow. Jonah Campbell’s my boyfriend.” Her words had the slightest southern twang to them, something you didn’t hear as often up here in the PNW. But then I remembered her boyfriend had been traded to the Seals this season from Nashville, and it made more sense.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Ellie.”

“Oh! And this, right here, is our girl Bailey,” Lauren said as a third girl joined us at the railing, all of us paying half of our attention to our guys still warming up on the ice, looking more carefree and relaxed than I knew they would during the game. “Her and Mikhail Sorensen got engaged this past summer.”

Bailey’s hair was light brown, and she gave me a soft smile.

I was treated to a glance of the shiny new ring. “Wow.That’s beautiful.”

Warm-ups finished, and the guys headed back to the locker room and everyone was chatting up in the top section, grabbing food, or had left to use the restroom before the game started. I’d officially met everyone in the suite, even though I knew there was no way I’d remember everyone’s names.

It was a young team, though there were a few older players who had been around for a long time and were in their late twenties and early thirties.

Everyone was in different stages of their life, and somehow I felt like I fit in here. I didn’t feel like I didn’t belong because I wasn’t Owen’s girlfriend or wife. My worries just seemed to melt away.

Leaning on the railing, I pulled out my phone, typing out a quick text. I had no idea if he’d see it, but I still sent it all the same.

Ellie

Good luck tonight, Hockey Boy.

Butterflies fluttered in my stomach, thinking of our situation. I still couldn’t believe that I was living with him. That this morning I’d woken up to an iced coffee on the counter with a note on it.

Gone for morning skate. Will be back later. Have a good morning and try not to work so hard. - O

I had grinned the entire time I drank it, because of course, he knew I was going to work even on the weekends. It was a new school and my first job, and I wanted to prove I was a good fit. So far, I thought I was doing a good job.Hopefully.

Everything felt like it was looking up, and I grinned to myself. A year ago, if someone had told me I’d be living with Owen and at his NHL game, I wasn’t sure I would have believed them. But here I was. Strangely, it felt like I was exactly where I was supposed to be.

“Hi.” A petite blonde, a few shades lighter than mine, and came and stood next to me. Like most of the women in the box, she wasn’t wearing team gear, instead wearing a dark green dress with tights. She had heeled boots on, giving her afew inches of height over me, but I suspected we were around the same height without them.

“Hey.” I smiled at her, wondering who she was. She definitely hadn’t been here for warm-ups, because I didn’t recognize her, but she looked around my age—maybe a year or two older, I wasn’t sure—and considering the total amount of friends I had in Seattle amounted to my ex and a teacher from my school, I was desperate to make more.

“Haven’t seen you around here before,” she said, curling her hands around the rail and then leaning backwards playfully. “I’m Sophia. But my friends call me Soph or Sophie.”

“I’m Ellie.” I slid my necklace pendant across its chain. “This is technically only my second game.” Even if I’d seen Owen play hundreds of times when we were younger.

“Ahhh. I see. We’ve got a newbie.” She smiled. “Whose are you?”

I blinked. “What?”

“Which one of them is yours?” She gestured down to the ice, where the first line was currently playing.

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