Page 41 of Goaltender Interference

Annoyed, Connor ripped open a box of crackers and added those to the tray, intently placing every single one just so. There was no fucking way he could look his mother in the eye when he was thinking about screwing his teammate.

Christ alive, what had he gotten himself into?

“Jesse’s very good-looking,” his mother continued. “I can see why he gets in trouble, then out of it again so quickly.”

Connor laughed because it was true and if he wasn’t careful, he’d do the exact same thing.

“Gavin is determined for me to get him on his best behavior.” Connor sighed, his amusement fading when he thought about the work he had ahead of him.

“That sounds challenging,” his mother said.

“Yeah, well, apparently God thinks I haven’t had enough challenges in the past few years,” he muttered. And if he sounded a little bitter about it, well, at least his mother was the only one around to hear it.

The O’Shea family was a fucking riot.

They were loud and gestured a lot with their hands. The Boston accent seemed to get even thicker when they were all together and there wereso manyfucking kids around.

Jesse greeted Connor’s brothers and their wives and kids, then talked to Declan for a bit about the upcoming season. He was starting to wonder where Connor was when he came down the stairs carrying a tray of appetizers, neatly dodging a kid who was underfoot and trying to trip him up.

No wonder he was so good on the ice. He had lots of practice avoiding moving objects.

Jesse sidled over to the wet bar in the finished basement that had been set up like a buffet, pretending to be interested in the food. Okay, so he didn’t have topretend.Everything looked fucking delicious, but he mostly wanted to talk to Connor.

He looked great today, in snug jeans and a black Henley that did sinful things to his chest, shoulders, and arms. Yum-my. Especially that hint of silver chain around his neck and the auburn chest hair peeking out of the collar of the shirt.

Jesse piled a few things on his plate, then paused to look at one of the trays. “So, what’s that?” he asked, pointing to the bowl of dip.

Connor opened his mouth when a doorbell chimed and he gave Jesse a vague wave. “Clam dip. Gotta get the door though.”

Connor was up the stairs before Jesse could blink, and he wondered if he’d done something to annoy him.

With a shrug, Jesse piled some dip on his plate and tossed on some veggies.

A moment later, there was the sound of loud voices and heavy footsteps. Several guys appeared in the doorway. The team had arrived.

“Webber!” one of them shouted. Jesse grinned when Tanner Clayton threw himself in Jesse’s direction.

Jesse grabbed him with one arm, holding the plate of food up and out of the way so it didn’t get knocked over. “Clay!” he shouted happily. “God, I haven’t seen you in fuckingforever.”

They’d played together at the AHL all-star event a few years back. They’d hit it off right away, got drunk, hooked up, won the all-star game together, hooked up a few more times the following season when their teams played, then totally lost touch.

It was cool. Jesse wasn’t mad about it. He hadn’t been anything like in love with Tanner. But Tanner was goofy and fun and holy shit that would beawesomeif he was on this team.

“So, you’re a Harrier now?” Jesse asked.

“Yeah! I got traded to Boston last spring. I spent a little time in Concord but I got a sniff at the big-boy roster when some of the guys were out with injuries. I’m hoping to snag a permanent spot here at training camp though.”

“Fuck yeah,” Jesse said, hugging him close with one arm. “That would be sick.”

“So, not to break up the love fest, but I take it you two know each other already?” Connor asked.

“Yeah,” Jesse said happily. “Clay and I are old buds.”

Tanner squeezed Jesse tighter against his side, his eyes sparkling as he glanced over. “With this dude in net, we’re gonna have aseason.”

Jesse’s grin widened. “Yeah, keep stroking my ego, Clay. I love that shit.”

Tanner shot him a smirk like he knew that wasn’t all Jesse loved. Damn, Jesse had forgotten how cute he was. He had a mop of brown curly hair, dark brown eyes, and an infectious smile.

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