Page 9 of Pucking Revenge

He shuts my door, rounds the hood of the truck, and climbs in beside me.

“Coach, on the other hand…” I hedge, keeping my teeth clenched tight to hide my hurt.

Seb was an asshole this morning.

What will Brooks think when he finds out we’re together? It’s going to be difficult enough admitting I lied to him about who I was dating, but when he realizes that he was punished because his uncle is a jealous asshole, he’ll probably be even more upset. He won’t get angry. Brooks never gets angry, but he’ll be hurt. And that’s so much worse.

“That’s on me too. I talked to him after practice. Made sure he knows nothing’s going on.” He grasps my hand again and squeezes. “Don’t worry, your job is safe. We all know you’d never risk it for a man.”

The laugh that bubbles out of me is strained. He’s right, I wouldn’t risk my job for a man. I need this job. Without it…

I shake the thoughts from my mind. It’s not worth stressing about. I’ve got this under control. No one will find out about Seb and me until there is something worth finding out about. We’re new. And I have no doubt that when that time comes, I can talk to Liv. She’ll help me ensure I can have it all. The man, the job, the security I’ve always craved. It’s not about the money, though money does provide security. Only people who have truly lived without it can understand just how much that really matters.

At this moment, I don’t care much about my relationship with Seb anyway. If he keeps acting like a two-year-old, the only people he’ll have left to play with will be the boys he coaches.

When Beckett and Liv’s brownstone comes into view, a bolt of excitement courses through me. Maybe it’s juvenile, but I love watching the two of them together. Beckett was such a grumpy ass before he convinced a drunken Liv to marry him in Vegas. Before that fateful night, he’d secretly pined for her for years, while she’d spent her days rolling her eyes at him.

And now he’s a ball of mush in her presence.

It makes me giddy.

Brooks shakes his head at me and chuckles. He always does that—laughs at my ridiculousness.

But I love making him smile, so I don’t intend to curb my insanity any time soon.

“Come on, Sar. Let’s go watch the show.”

The front door of the brownstone beside Beckett’s opens, and out walks Cortney Miller, his wife, Dylan, and their daughter, Willow.

I wave a hello as I hop out of the truck, and Dylan shoots us a surprised look. The redhead is Liv’s best friend. Until recently, Dylan and Liv, along with their two other best friends, lived together.

From the way Beckett talked about the place, one would think it was a house of horrors, but the house at the end of the block doesn’t look bad to me. It’s beautiful and well-kept, just like the other three brownstones.

“What are you guys doing here?” Cortney shakes Brooks’s hand, then angles in and presses a kiss to my cheek. Cortney Miller, former catcher for the Boston Revs—the baseball team owned by the Langfields, along with the Bolts—is now their general manager. He and Beckett spend far too much time together. Not only do they work side by side every day, but their wives are best friends, and they live next door to one another. I’ve even heard rumors of an interior door from one house to the other, though I haven’t seen it yet.

I’m not sure how Cortney puts up with the grump. He’s a giant with long blond hair, and he’s one of the friendliest people I’ve ever met. Dylan, from what I can tell, is super chill. They’re the antithesis of Beckett, but maybe that’s why they get along so well.

Unable to fight the smile spreading across my face, I peek over at their six-month-old daughter. She’s all rosy cheeks and smiles, with red hair like her mother.

Brooks grins. “Beckett has a surprise for Liv, so he asked us to come by for moral support.”

I laugh. “Pretty sure he thinks that as long as there are witnesses, she won’t kill him. Is that why you’re heading there too?”

Dylan shakes her head, her golden eyes dancing with glee. “No, Liv has something to tell Beckett. She’s worried he might lose it. I guess we’ll be there for moral support too.”

My stomach sinks. What the hell could Liv have done wrong? “Everything okay?”

With a laugh, Dylan runs the pendant she’s wearing back and forth along its chain. “Oh, the universe has this covered. It will be fine, right, baby girl?”

The little girl babbles up at her mama, her lips glistening. God, she’s adorable.

Cortney whisks Willow from her mother’s arms. She snuggles into his shoulder, tugging at the long blond locks that he’s so famous for.

“I’m not sure the universe is ready for Beckett Langfield to get this news, but after what he put me through, I’m dying to watch the events unfold.”

Still confused, I follow the two of them up the steps to the brownstone, but I turn at the sound of a vehicle slowing in the road. A large black limo van pulls up to the curb, but rather than a limo driver behind the wheel, it’s Beckett.

That’s strange. Before he married Liv, he treated his prized Bentley with more love and care than any woman, yet he’s cruising around in an oversized van?

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