Page 28 of Three Pucks and a Baby

“Whatever.”

“Where is he taking you?”

Shrugging, I replied, “It’s a surprise.”

Her brows furrowed. “Like he isn’t telling you where you’re going?” At my nod, Carlee’s eyes widened in horror. “Viv, that sounds like the start of a True Crime documentary.”

I huffed an indignant breath. “He’s not a creeper.”

“Look, I know it’s been a while for you, but that has glaring red flags written all over it.”

Since I knew I couldn’t explain Theo and Grayson’s superstition to her, I had to find some way to assuage her fears. “Considering he’s a Southeastern hockey player, I doubt he’s going to endanger his career by murdering me.”

Carlee’s squeal caused me to jump out of my skin. “You’re going on a date with a hockey player?” At my nod, she questioned, “Which one?”

“Don’t act like you follow hockey.”

She wrinkled her nose. “You know how much I hate school-sanctioned sports.”

“Then why ask?”

“Because I want to stalk him.”

Well, shit. How was I going to get out of this? With a sigh, I replied, “Fine. His name is Grayson Collins.”

“Good. I want to put a name with the face you might be riding tonight.”

Warmth flooded my face. “Seriously, Carlee?”

“Fine. I want to be able to describe him to the detectives when you go missing.”

Rolling my eyes, I threw my bag over my shoulder. “That’s it. I’m out of here.”

“Whoa, wait a minute. If he didn’t tell you where you were going, how do you know what to wear to this illicit rendezvous?”

“He said to wear something warm and casual.”

Carlee gasped as her hand flew to her chest. “He is going to lead you out into the middle of nowhere and leave you for dead.”

Wriggling my fingers at her, I replied, “Bye, Carlee.”

As I stood in front of my bathroom mirror, I turned left and right to appraise my appearance. Adhering to the warm and casual attire suggestion was harder than I thought. I’d ended up going with black leggings lined with fleece, a red cable knit sweater dress that fitted my curves, and sexy black knee boots.

Even though I was my worst critic, I had to admit I looked damn good. Or I guess I should say good enough to have two extremely hot college hockey players wanting to simultaneously bang me.

Turning around, I saw my fluffy orange girl, Fleur, sitting in the doorway to the bathroom. “Whatcha think?” I asked beforetwirling. After pawing the air, she meowed. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

At the sound of the doorbell, I jumped out of my skin. “Get it together, Viv,” I muttered, as I grabbed my phone and hightailed it out of the bedroom.

When I reached the front door, my heart was pounding out of my chest. It reverberated so loud in my ears that I worried the guys could hear it. With a shaky hand, I reached for the doorknob. Sucking in a harsh breath, I threw open the door.

Just one look at the drop-dead-gorgeous men before me sent air wheezing from my lungs. It wasn’t just how handsome they looked. It was also the fact that both held large bouquets of roses in their hands.

With his usual cheeky grin, Grayson thrust his bouquet of pink roses forward. “Hey, beautiful.”

“Thank you–both for the flowers and the compliment,” I said, as I took them into my hand. “How did you know I like roses?”

“Lucky guess,” Theo replied as he handed me his red ones.

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