Page 76 of The Closed Off Captain

“Should I let you have a moment with your pickles?”

She opens her eyes and laughs. “Possibly. These are so good. Thank you, Chloe. Seriously.”

“You’re welcome.” Once I’ve put all our snacks with all the other ones on the table, I stuff the plastic bags in one.

“Chloe,” Brielle says right before I leave the kitchen. “I’m glad you’re here. Give Stephanie and my sister a chance; they’ll come around.”

With those ominous words, I leave the comfort of the kitchen behind.Time to face the music.

Chapter 34

Chloe

“All right, are we going to actually play some games or just talk about it?” Sebastian calls out.

Gunner’s eyes meet mine, and he smirks. I’m reminded of what he said about Sebastain and Stephanie always winning. It takes a few moments for everybody to claim a seat, and I take the open one next to Gunner. Thankfully, Brielle is on my left. I have a feeling she did that on purpose. Amber settles across from me, and I watch as she settles Riley on her lap. Rico swoops in and steals her, putting her on his leg and wrapping his other arm around Amber. I feel my lips tug up in a smile. It’s been good watching these guys turn into family men. Gunner’s the last in their tight knit group to fall. My smile slides when I think of him with another woman. I immediately wipe that thought from my mind and focus instead on the game that Stephanie and Sebastian are setting up.

“What is this?” Rico asks, and I take in the bewildered looks around the table.

“We got a new one for tonight,” Stephanie says with a grin.

“It’s a hockey game?” Amber asks.

“Hockey trivia is part of it,” Stephanie says with a grin. “It’s also part strategy.”

Bri groans next to me. “I’m sorry, Babe. This one’s going to be all on you.” Aiden pats her leg.

“This is just a chance for you guys to showboat all you know,” Amber says sitting back in her chair.

“Exactly,” Sebastian says with a grin.

“Is it teams?” Rico asks.

“Yeah. Husbands and wives,” Sebastian says.

I turn to Gunner. “I suppose I’m on your team,” I say dryly.

“Sorry. Husbands and wives and engaged couples are together,” Sebastain corrects with a grin.

“You do know we’re not actually engaged, right?” I feel myself pointing out for the second time tonight.

Sebastian winks at me. “Whatever you say.”

I shake my head but don’t argue with him; it’s useless. “What do we have to do?” Rico asks, thankfully taking the attention from me.

Stephanie explains the rules, and I pay close attention. These guys are all super competitive, and I want to be ready to do my part.

“Okay, sounds easy enough. Let’s do this,” Brielle says as she rubs her hands together.

Not twenty minutes later, Brielle puts her head down on the table. “This is the worst game ever. Seb and Stephanie, you’re fired from picking games.”

Even though they’re losing terribly, Sebastian still grins. “Yeah, this one is kind of a bust.”

“Kind of?” Amber adds. “You guys don’t even know the answers to these questions.”

“Chloe does,” Stephanie points out.

And she’s right. Gunner and I have a solid lead, and it feels really good. I’ve known a lot of them, but Gunner has surprised me as well with his wealth of knowledge of past players, teams, and all that good stuff. The play moves around the table. When it’s Gunner’s and my turn, we take the last 500-point question.

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