Page 109 of Good Boy

Jessica Canning, it reads. Role: WAGs (Riley)

“Omigod!” I yelp. “It’s so official. That’s cuckoo.”

My brother waves his card in front of the turnstile, which springs open for him. “All part of the fun.”

I use my card at the turnstile too, and then Jamie leads me along a curved corridor lined with fancy wooden doors, each with a corporate plaque beside it. I see boxes for Canada’s two largest banks and an insurance firm. The fourth one simply says WAGs. Jamie opens the door and ushers me inside.

Katie Hewitt spots us first, waving her tequila bottle in our direction. “You’re late!” she hollers. “Get over here, Cannings.”

I have a sudden thought. “Jamie? Is there going to be hazing?” Since I’ve become a nerd again, my tolerance for alcohol has plummeted. How embarrassing would it be to get plastered and throw up on the WAGs my first night here?

My brother chuckles. “It depends what you mean by hazing. You’ll see.”

“Ladies! Our newest member has arrived. Get the bag,” orders Estrella.

I reach Katie, who grabs me into a hug. “Jessica, you were holding out on us, you Sneaky Pete! Blake told Eriksson who told Luko who told Estrella that his new girlfriend would be here tonight! And I was all, like, what new girlfriend? And then I saw they made you an ID card, so we had to hustle with your welcome packet! Why didn’t you say anything the last time we saw you?”

She puts a hand on her hip, and I’m momentarily distracted by a retina-searing flash of brilliance. It’s the four giant diamond rings on her hand.

Focus, Jess. “Well… It’s a new thing.”

Katie smiles at me, her Toronto-shade lipstick perfect again tonight. “Usually the girlfriends practically do a pole vault to get in here. We’re glad to have you, though. His last girlfriend…” She rolls her eyes. “We called her Velcro. I knew it wouldn’t last, and when he came to his senses, she did not go quietly.” She shakes her head. “Blake deserves someone as sweet as you are. I could not be happier for the two of you!”

“Thank you. This is, uh, a nice place you’ve got here.” I glance around at the rich wood paneling and the candlelit buffet. I wouldn’t even know I was in a hockey arena.

“Well, make yourself comfortable. We spend a lot of time in here. Are you ready for your welcome packet?” She doesn’t wait for a response. “Girls!” she yodels. “Let’s give Jess her party favors!”

“Should be fun,” my brother murmurs under his breath.

“Wait. She needs a drink first,” Estrella says.

“Where are my manners?” Katie yelps. “Champagne? Margarita? Beer?”

“I would love a beer,” I tell her, choosing the simplest option.

Two seconds later, Estrella is pushing one into my hand. “All right. Let’s tell her what she’s won, Johnny!”

Katie reaches behind a leather wingback chair and emerges with a giant shopping bag. Blake would love it—the bag is coated in Toronto-red glitter. “Ta-da! The welcome packet.”

“Wow.”

She slides one hand into the bag and pulls out a sheaf of papers stapled together on the edge. “This is the WAGs booklet of tips and tricks. It’s your basic how-to-sneak-into-a-hotel-on-the-road handbook. How to shake off a pesky reporter, that sort of thing.”

“Um, thanks.” I didn’t know that being Blake’s girlfriend would come with a user’s manual, but what’s one more textbook in my life?

“And now for the fun stuff.” She digs into the bag again and extracts a bottle of Chanel nail polish in—wait for it—Toronto red.

“Oh! I love it.” My poor nails don’t get any attention these days. I’ll have to fix that. “Thank you!” I tuck the bottle into the small handbag I’m carrying tonight.

Estrella shakes her head. “You’re going to need the whole bag, babe. We’re not done here yet.”

Oh.

The next thing Katie removes from the bag is a jersey. And it is not regulation. It looks much tighter than anyone could play in, and it just happens to have a sweeping V-neck. Katie turns it around so everyone can see the back. It reads RILEY IS MINE.

I burst out laughing.

“Cute, right?” she says, draping it over my arm. “We had to get team boxer shorts for your brother instead.” She dips back into the bag. “Next we have the family-size Tums, for those stressful games when your man is struggling.”

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