Page 115 of Goaltender Interference

“That’s a lie!” Connor said, laughing. He reached out and tickled Jesse’s ribs.

He squealed, not expecting it, and Connor’s eyes gleamed. He went in for the attack again and Jesse shrieked, twisting to try to get away. Unfortunately, it only succeeded in giving Connor better access to the especially ticklish spot under his arms and Jesse howled.

Desperately trying to get the upper hand, Jesse wound a leg around his thigh, trying to get some leverage to keep Connor pinned down.

Connor had some bulk on him though, and despite Jesse’s flexibility and strength, it wasn’t long until Connor had him pressed against the cushions, tickling him mercilessly.

“Ref, ref, help! This is goaltender interference!” Jesse shouted. “Make it stop.”

Connor snorted, burying his face in the crook of Jesse’s neck, the assault on his ticklish spots over. “You’re ridiculous.”

Jesse smiled up at the ceiling, liking the solid weight of Connor over him, the warmth of his body. He liked all of the new sides of Connor he’d been seeing lately. The sweetness of his interactions with the girls, silly moments like this, and maybe biggest of all, his trust in Jesse to handle what was going on with Nolan.

“You like that about me,” Jesse said confidently.

Connor lifted his head, looking down at him. “Yeah, I do.”

Jesse took a moment to really study Connor’s face. He had a little cowlick at the front of his hair that always made it lie more to one side than the other. His beard was as dark auburn as his hair but right around his lips it was a little lighter, strands of almost strawberry blond mingling with the darker red. And his eyes … they really were the most beautiful color Jesse had ever seen. Such a deep blue with that little ring of amber around the pupil.

Connor tilted his head, giving Jesse a quizzical look, and Jesse shrugged because he didn’t really know how to explain how he felt when he looked at Connor. At how right everything in Jesse’s life felt at the moment.

He’d loved his life in Toronto, loved the fun he’d had there. But something about being in Boston feltright. This team wasn’t as tight as Toronto had been but he could see how they might get there.

He liked being here with Connor and the girls. He liked making them breakfast and he liked sleeping in Connor’s bed. He thought about what Connor had said last night about him taking on a role he didn’t want.

But Jessedidwant it.

What it all meant, Jesse wasn’t really sure, but he knew it felt right. It felt like something blossoming inside him, big and warm and real. And all he wanted to do was to hold on to that and let it grow. Let it take over every little inch of him until it was rooted so deep it would never go away.

Still smiling, Jesse reached out and brushed his thumb against Connor’s lip. “We should get to practice,” he reminded Connor, because time was ticking away and if they lingered any longer, they’d be late.

“Yeah, we should,” Connor agreed, but he dipped his head and pressed their lips together for a moment instead.

“Okay,” Jesse said when they got in the SUV to head to HCI. “You totally distracted me earlier but I’m gonna google Thad now.”

“Idistractedyou?” Connor asked, disbelieving. “Pretty sure it was the other way around.”

Connor wasn’t sure exactly what had happened this morning with Jesse but it felt like something had settled for them both.

Jesse seemed happy and Connorfelthappy—despite the ever-present thread of worry about his children—so he decided maybe that was enough right now. He’d focus on his hockey, being there for the kids, and enjoying his time with Jesse.

“Whatever. That part isn’t important. Whatisimportant is that I found a bunch of old articles talking about what promising young hockey players Thad and Gavin Racine both were.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, okay, so it sounds like they both played hockey in Pennsylvania growing up, were doing extremely well, and were drafted in the middle of the first round to separate teams.”

“Who drafted them?”

“Gavin was going to Montreal, Thad to LA.”

“Interesting. That’s quite a distance. I can’t imagine being so far from my brothers.”

“Okay, but like, not everyone gets the O’Shea Family perks. Most brothers don’t get to stay together for their whole careers.”

“Yeah, fair,” Connor admitted.

“Was it weird when Kelly went to Evanston?”

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