Page 100 of Almost Ours
I chuckled. “Kyle’s a great coach.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Shane waved his beer glass at me. “He’s solid. Hell of a player back in the day, too. But let’s be real–he was always more of a defensive forward. You’re the guy with all the offensive plays and highlight reel goals. Without you running that end of things, they’re gonna have to work twice as hard to put pucks in the net.”
I only half-smiled, feeling the truth in his words but not dwelling on it.
My phone buzzed against the table. I glanced down to see a new message.
Harper: Hey, we’re heading to the big hill for sledding with Nina and Liam. Wanna come?
Before I could eventhinkabout replying, Shane returned with two fresh beers and leaned over my shoulder like he owned the place. “Ooh, sledding? Hell yeah. Let’s finish these and go.”
I blinked up at him. “You want to go sledding?”
“Why not? I’m amazing at it,” he said, sliding back into his seat and grabbing his pint. “Besides, any chance to annoy Nina I can get, I take.”
I shook my head, laughing under my breath. “You’re unbelievable.”
I picked up my phone and texted back.
Ryan: Meet you there.
Then I finished my beer.
The parking lot was already dotted with cars when Shane and I pulled up to the hill. The air was alive with the chatter of kids, the crunch of boots on snow, and the occasional whoop of someone zooming down the hill. It was the kind of winter daythat made you forget how damn cold it was–if you were a kid, anyway.
My eyes scanned for Harper almost instantly.
I spotted her by the fire pit, bundled in a puffy jacket, a knit hat pulled low over her ears. Her cheeks were flushed from the cold, her scarf tucked up over her chin as she stood with Nina. They were laughing about something, coffee cups in hand, and it struck me how effortlessly beautiful she looked, even in the freezing weather.
I should have known seeing her would hit me like this.
“Cute setup,” Shane muttered, pulling his gloves on.
“Yeah,” I said absently, too focused on Harper to bother with a proper response.
Off to the side, Connor and Liam were working on what looked like a jump made from packed snow, shouting back and forth with boundless energy.
When Nina noticed us walking over, her smile faltered, eyebrows knitting together in irritation. “Seriously, Harper? You didn’t mentionhewas coming,” she muttered, loud enough for Shane to hear.
Shane, never one to miss an opportunity, flashed her his signature smirk. “Aw, come on, Neens. Don’t act so excited to see me. You say that like I’m not the life of the party.”
Nina rolled her eyes so hard I thought she might strain something. “Yeah, I’mthrilled. Don’t you have anything better to do Shane?”
“Not when I could be gracing you with my presence,” he shot back smoothly, clearly enjoying himself.
Harper hid a grin behind her coffee cup, glancing at me as if to say,this is normal. I fought the urge to laugh. Nina was practically fuming, while Shane looked like he was having the time of his life.
Harper’s gaze found mine again, her smile widening.
Yeah, I was screwed.
“Hey,” she said softly, walking over to me.
“Hey,” I replied, unable to keep the grin off my face.
She tilted her head toward the fire pit. “We’re trying to get a fire going, but neither of us is exactly an expert.”
I raised a brow. “You’re telling me two capable women can’t figure out a little fire?”
