Page 8 of Undeniable Love

What the hell. They’d already had their laughs. I could take more. “Only if you let me buy you another drink.”

“You got it.”

By the time we got back downstairs, there was a fresh bucket of beers on the table. I helped myself to one as Caleb bumped his shoulder into mine. “You good?”

“You didn’t tell me your family was a bunch of wackos.”

He grinned, looking like the psycho Meredith claimed she wasn’t. “I figured that was a given.”

Maybe it should have been, given the stories I’d heard from him about growing up on his farm. According to Caleb, his family was practically royalty in their town. Ninety percent of the stories ended up with one of the boys naked in public, being able to ride their horses to school, and there were more than a few mishaps with their cattle walking down the town’s main street. A far cry from my young childhood getting bounced around city after city, while my mom pretended to be happy in a marriage to a pro hockey player who was probably the one who started the cliché of having a woman in every city when athletes traveled.

Which took effort, considering it was before the age of online dating and Tinder hookups.

“You ready to head back to Colorado?”

We’d been drafted together. Had spent years playing on the same team, chasing our dreams, and now we were twenty-two, heading off to different teams. Me, called up to Tennessee, but Caleb was traded to Colorado’s NHL team. Both of us were starting new chapters.

“I thought we already agreed we are.”

I chuckled and readjusted my ball cap. “Yeah, but my first practice is tomorrow. Hell, I shouldn’t even be here.”

Not that I was planning on getting wasted, but I should have been home sleeping, headed to the arena bright and early to meet my new teammates. I’d met a few already, but tomorrow would be my first morning skate. The Avengers’ roster was littered with injuries, the only reason they needed me immediately. If I couldn’t pull this off and leave an impressive mark with the team, there was a high probability I could be sent back to Virginia at the end of the season.

“Nervous, eh?” He chuckled. “Me too, but I get a week to worry about it. You’ll do great, though. Keep playing like you have been and the town will love you.”

“Right.” I took a pull from my drink and tipped my chin up. “Tell me about this sister of yours and her gift you failed to mention.”

“Can’t explain it, but we can show you.”

“Show me?” I imagined her walking around tables telling girls to ditch the assholes or telling men to walk away from a mom. “How?”

“Easy.” Caleb flashed me a Joker-like grin. “Meredith!”

“I’m right here,” she muttered, leaning forward from where she was perched on the other side of Caleb.

“Sorry, shrimp. Didn’t see you.”

I hid my chuckle behind my beer, poorly, and a flush of warmth swept through me as Meredith caught my gaze and rolled her eyes.

She really was beautiful. Shiny, long, red hair. Large doe-like eyes and pouty lips with a sharp bow at the top. Her skin was porcelain, creamy, and only made me wonder what color the hidden parts of her were. I cleared my throat and shifted in my chair to hide the semi I was sporting.

“What do you need?”

“It’s game time.”

She shook her head but laughed and pointed to me. “You put him up to this?”

“I’m curious.”

“Fine.” Her blue eyes narrowed on me. “Pick a couple.”

“Here?”

“Well, I’m not leaving the bar with a full drink, so yeah.” To prove her point, she brought the flimsy red straw to her lips and took a dainty little sip.

Caleb slapped my shoulder. “I’ll choose first.” He scanned the bar until he found a table with a lone man and a woman. They were sitting on stools at their table facing each other, her knees inside of his legs that were spread wide, boots propped onto the bottom rung of the stool. The guy was running his hands up and down her denim-covered thighs and they were leaning so close to each other they could have been kissing with each word they said. Every few seconds, he reached up and tugged on the pale gray scarf draped around her throat.

From the looks of it, they looked completely taken with each other.