Page 13 of The Rebound Plan

RUSS

Over the next week, Emery proves herself deeply useful and very annoying at the same time. Peak little sister vibes, although I’m going out of my way to not treat her like that. It’s the least I can do when she’s embraced this party as if she truly is the hostess for it.

She’s the first guest to arrive, with a beat up national team hockey bag and a rental car full of groceries, even though I already did a big food order.

After I introduce her to the off-season trainer who will be working with the team this weekend, Foster Howard, he heads out to the converted garage gym and I help Emery with her groceries.

“How many kinds of peppers did you buy?”

“One can never have too many food platter options, Russell. And you’re going to be working these boys hard, right?”

“Don’t call me Russell when they get here,” I say absently, leading her into the kitchen.

“Just trying things other than Rusty on.”

“Rusty is fine.”

She gives me a look that reminds me of her insane plan. That I agreed to, of course, because I’m desperate.

“Or Russ. Russ is great.” I clear my throat. “Let me show you to your room.”

I have four separate guest spaces in this compound. And we need all of them, because it’s a packed house.

I list a bunch of names for Emery, and we joke that she won’t remember them all, so she records the list on her phone so she has a reference.

Above the garage is a double suite, which is where I’ve put my best friend on the team, future Hall of Fame first rounder Kieran Marsh, along with his new wife Harper, freshly returned from their honeymoon in Italy. In the same suite will be her best friend Kiley Forge—because where Kiley goes, so goes our hotshot centre, Ty Connor, who fell hard for her as soon as he was traded to our team at the end of last season, and their relationship spilled out into being public knowledge at Marshie’s wedding.

The walkout basement bedroom will be for one of last year’s rookies, Hayden Calhoun, and his fiancé, Becca Kincaid.

Our alternate captain, Jenson Hale, and his wife, Ani, are down at the boat house.

And everyone else will be in the main part of the house, which has two primary suites. I’ve got one of them at one end of the upstairs hallway, and Emery pokes her head into that as I give her the run down of where the couples will all be sleeping.

“Our team captain and his wife will be at the far end of the hall, in the so-called Primary Suite No. 2.”

“Is it exactly the same as this one?” She whistles at the size of my en suite, making me grin.

“Pretty much, yeah. It has a different seating arrangement in front of the fireplace, but otherwise furnished exactly the same.”

“And all of this came with the house?”

“Totally turnkey. The only thing I’ve added is hockey memorabilia.”

“Nice.”

I guide her back out into the main hallway.

In between the two deluxe rooms are a string of regular bedrooms, for the single, younger guys on the team, and Emery is in the room closest to mine.

She’s nodding along as I give her the run down of all of those names, but then she gets a little wrinkle between her brows. “Hiro Watanabe, Roan Dodaj, Gregor Sokolov, Malik Zondi, me… what about Talbot?”

“Jamie Mason?” I shake my head. “He’s not coming.”

She pulls out her phone and taps into Instagram, showing me an update from an hour ago where Zondi, one of our incoming rookies, lists the other guys in a story visible to close friends only about being on their best behaviour for the weekend.

“First of all, since when are you on a close friends loop with these guys?”

She looks delighted at my suspicion. “Jealous, Russell?”

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