Center Ice (Boston Rebels Book 1)

“What do you mean, you’re taking Graham for the night?” I ask my brother.

Jameson’s deep voice carries over the phone. “I mean that Drew talked to Lauren and asked her if there was any way we could watch Graham tonight so that he could have you all to himself.”

“I hate that you know exactly what that means,” I tell him. But he travels a lot as an agent, and I know he and Lauren have an active, healthy sex life. So I’m sure he can imagine how we’ll be spending our time tonight, after a week of not seeing each other.

“Let’s pretend I don’t, because I don’t want to think about that. Like, ever.” His voice is so disgusted that it makes me laugh.

“So you’ll be here in an hour?”

“Yeah, and Drew wants me to tell you to pack a bag for yourself, too.”

I reach into my back pocket and take out the note I found this morning in my makeup drawer in my bathroom. Can’t wait to see you tonight!

When I first started receiving these daily notes, I thought maybe he set them up around my house before he left for his trip. But then the new ones started appearing each day in places I would have seen them before, like the refrigerator. So then I assumed he must have given them to Jules to place around the house. Except, she left for Maine two days ago, and I got a message yesterday and another one today. Which means she must have put Graham in charge of them while she’s gone? The thought of our son putting little notes around the house from his dad to me has tears filling my eyes…the good kind, which is funny because I’m not a big crier.

“Uhh, okay,” I say slowly, wondering what, specifically, I’m packing for. I’ll have to ask Drew, though, because there’s no way I’m asking Jameson. “You seem surprisingly okay with this.”

“If he treats you well and is there for Graham, then I’m happy for you. But if he steps out of line even a tiny bit, I’ll fucking kill him, and he knows it.”

“How does he know that?”

“Because we’ve talked.”

“Stop interfering, Jameson.”

“I’m not interfering.”

“Okay, stop overstepping then. You’re not my dad. And even if you were, I’m a grown-ass woman and don’t need you stepping in to protect me. Drew and I can talk through things on our own.”

On the other end of the line, Jameson grunts, “Fine.”

“Okay, I’ll have Graham ready in an hour. Thank you so much for taking him. Let me know if there’s anything I can do to repay you for all the times you guys have watched him recently.”

“I’m hoping to take Lauren away for a weekend, probably between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Maybe you can take the twins for the weekend?”

“Absolutely.” Lauren and Jameson almost never ask me to watch the twins, but they take Graham all the time, so it’s the least I can do.

When we hang up, I text Drew to find out what I should pack.

DREW:

Nothing. I plan to have you naked all night.

AUDREY:

Am I staying at your place, or are we going somewhere else?

DREW:

My place. For real, wear comfy clothes—we’re staying in. Maybe bring a toothbrush and face wash? I don’t know. What do girls need to spend the night somewhere?

AUDREY:

Has a girl never spent the night at your place???

DREW:

Not sure how you want me to respond to that?

AUDREY:

Are you for real? Like, have you never had a girlfriend?

DREW:

I’ve dated, but any spending the night was more of an unplanned thing. I guess I’ve never had a serious relationship. I’ve certainly never wanted to spend every free moment with anyone, until you.

AUDREY:

So what am I? Like a test to see if you like having a girlfriend?

DREW:

Pretty sure I’ve made it clear that you’re my future wife. But sure, you can call yourself my girlfriend if you need to put a label on this.

The mostly empty take-out containers litter the coffee table, and the candles Drew lit when I arrived are burning low. I sit back against the bottom of the couch and rub my stomach.

“Why did you let me eat so much?” I groan, looking around the space.

Drew’s condo isn’t at all what I expected. Instead of being all wood and metal and glass like I’d envisioned, it’s homey and cozy. The couch that serves as a divider between his living and dining room is a beautiful shade of off-white. Two brown leather chairs face the couch on the other side of the big, wooden coffee table, which is currently decorated with candles, two placemats, and the remnants of the dinner that arrived right as I did. There’s a TV hanging above the fireplace, but it’s one of those framed TVs that shows artwork when it’s turned off, so it doesn’t look like a TV at all.

I could live in a place like this. I don’t know where the thought comes from. Except for college, I’ve lived in one house all my life. I thought I’d be raising Graham in that house, too. But somehow, Drew’s place already feels like home.

“I mean, with the sounds you were making each time you tried something new,” Drew says, drawing my eyes back to him, “I felt like I had to keep feeding you different things. You were obviously enjoying it.”

“Oh yeah? What kind of sounds was I making?”

“Let’s just say that it sounded an awful lot like a sexual experience.”

My cheeks heat. “No, it didn’t!”

He huffs out a laugh. “It really did. And I quite enjoyed it, so please don’t be embarrassed now. You should enjoy food as much as sex, when it’s that good.” He reaches out and smooths a piece of hair off my face, tucking it behind my ear. His fingers slide through my hair to the back of my head, and he pulls me toward him, dropping a kiss on my forehead. “God, I missed you.”

I melt into his touch. “Missed you too.”

I’m about to roll onto my knees from my sitting position so I can get a better angle to kiss him, when the shrill ringing of my phone cuts through the low music Drew has on in the background.

“Shit, sorry,” I say, grabbing for my purse where it sits on the couch cushion behind Drew. “Let me just make sure this isn’t Jameson or Lauren.”

I fish my phone out of my bag and am horrified when Karl’s name is flashing on the screen, and even more horrified when Drew clearly sees it.

“Why’s he still calling you, Audrey?”

“I don’t know.” I shrug. Ring. “I stopped returning his texts and answering his calls over a month ago.” Right when Drew came back into the picture.

“You haven’t told him you’re seeing someone?” There’s a hard edge to his voice as he narrows his eyes at me.

“No.” Ring. The grating sound makes my whole body tense up. “I just stopped responding.”

“Are you trying to keep that door open, just in case?”

Ring. “What? No!”

Drew holds his hand out, obviously intending to answer my phone. For a half-second, I hesitate, but then I realize there’s no reason not to let him. I’m not going back to sleeping with Karl, ever.

“He’s a colleague. Be cordial, at least,” I say as I hand him the phone.

“Hello?” His tone is annoyed.

“Oh, sorry,” I hear Karl’s voice. Drew doesn’t have the phone pressed against his ear, like he wants me to hear the conversation. “I think I have the wrong number.”

“No, I think you have the right number.”

“Oh. Is this Audrey’s phone?”

“Yeah.”

“Who’s this?” Karl asks.

“Her future husband. So do me a favor and lose her fucking number.”

He ends the call before Karl has a chance to respond. I should probably be bothered, but I can’t find it in me to be—because if that was a girl he used to sleep with when he needed to scratch an itch and she’d been calling him regularly for the last month and he hadn’t told her to go to hell, I’d want to do the same.

“Anyone else going to be calling in the future that I should know about?” he asks, eyebrow quirked. “Because it’d probably be easier for everyone if we just block their numbers now.”

I roll my eyes. “No, you jealous caveman. No one else is going to be calling.”

“Good.”

“Is there anyone I should be worried about calling you?”

Drew huffs out another laugh. “I just moved back to Boston, and I think I made it perfectly clear that I haven’t so much as looked at or talked to another woman since I first saw you again.”

“What about on the road? There must be other women you’ve hooked up with, in various cities, who still have your number?”

“Nah, I only communicated with women via social media DMs, and I’ve blocked every single one of them and closed my DMs down. You have absolutely nothing to worry about.” He sets my phone on the table and reaches his hand to my neck, slipping his fingers under my hair. “But I’m happy to keep reassuring you as often as you need.”

I close my eyes as he pulls me forward, just enough to drop another kiss on my forehead. I hate feeling insecure and needy, and I look forward to the day that I’m so sure of his feelings that I don’t need reassurances. But I’m not there yet, and I’m glad he understands that.

“Thank you.” I swallow roughly. “I’m not normally a jealous person, but I’ve seen the way some professional athletes act when they’re on the road, and I hate to think of all the temptations out there.”

“First of all, no woman is, or could ever be, as tempting as you. And second, the women these guys hook up with on the road are looking for someone who’s available, which I’m not. And aside from going out for a post-game dessert with a few of the married guys”—Drew lets out another little chuckle—“and Zach Reid, it’s not like I’ve even gone out after a game.”

“Why is Zach not going out looking for women on these trips?” I ask curiously.

“He’s a serious relationship-only kind of guy, I guess. Just like me.” Drew winks at me when I glance up at him.

“Just like you now.”

“Now is the only version of me that matters, because it’s the one you’re stuck with. Forever.” He sweeps his hands under me and lifts me from where I sit next to him between the coffee table and couch, depositing me on his lap like I weigh nothing.

I absorb that word as my fingertips trace the line of his cheekbones. I never imagined Drew could be this wonderful, or that being with him would make me feel so complete. “Forever, huh?”

“Yes.” He leans in so his lips brush mine, and then he says, “Forever.”

My lips part for him involuntarily—my body knows exactly what I need from him. And he kisses me back like he knows exactly what I need, too. Which is why I’m shocked when he pulls back and says, “Hang on, I want to show you something.”