Page 28 of The Boyfriend Goal

“Same,” Hugo puts in. “I always look out for my family.”

“My point exactly,” Christian says to our top defenseman. “Anyway, I warned my sister against it when she rented it, and now that it’s fallen through she’s finally listening to me.”

“So she’s staying with you?” Max barks out from next to me as he tugs on his chest protector.

Christian scoffs. “Dude. No. Liv and I are just a little bit busy with the twins, we have a baby nurse staying in a guest room, and my mom is coming and staying in another room. There’s no space for Jay.” He points to the group of us filling the locker room. “Which brings me to the great news. Which one of you guys wants to do me the biggest favor ever and let my sister stay with you for the next three months? I want her to live in a safe neighborhood, and I know all you assholes live in Pacific Heights or the Marina District so that’d be perfect. She’s quiet, keeps to herself, and spends most of her time reading or working. You won’t even know she’s there. And you’d be doing me a solid.”

Asher smacks my shoulder. “Dude. You have that secret room don’t you? The one under the staircase, right?”

I laugh. “Yeah, it disappears and reappears whenever you need it.”

Asher tips his forehead to me. “Fucking Newman didn’t even know when he bought the place that it had an extra room.”

I hold out my hands wide, shrugging, like it’s no big deal. When I was looking for a place to buy after I was traded, I checked out a bunch of townhomes in Pacific Heights, where most of my friends on the pro teams in the city live. Some had two bedrooms, some had three. I picked the one I liked most, barely paying attention to the details. It’s an investment more than anything. Who knows how long I’m here, but I’d rather own than rent, since I can. Turns out, I own a three-bedroom when I’d thought it was two. But it’s like finding a slice of pizza you didn’t know you had left in the box. “It was like a bonus room when I moved in,” I say, then I meet Christian’s gaze and lift a finger. “Happy to help out.”

Christian breathes the biggest sigh of relief. “Perfect. I’ll send you her contact info, Bryant.” He whips his phone from his pocket. “And I’ll tell her I found her a place and that you’ll be reaching out.” He pauses, then adds, “Now.”

As if I’d do anything else but reach out right away. “Of course,” I say.

“I already told her to come by at the end of the game so I can introduce the two of you. She has some training thing that’s running late at her library.”

Chase whistles at Christian. “You already told her to come by? Before you even asked us? Damn.” The golden-haired former captain turns to the rest of us, arms out wide. “That’s the kind of attitude we all need to manifest on the ice. A winning attitude.”

He’s not wrong. The rest of the guys nod in agreement, and I grab my phone and click on the contact card Christian just fired my way. Jay. I send her a quick text then meet his eyes.

“Done,” I say.

“Suck-up,” Max mutters under his breath.

Christian cocks his head Max’s way. “What did you say?”

Max swallows, then shrugs as nonchalantly as he can. “I said, that was so nice of him to help out.”

“I thought so,” Christian says, then walks to me and offers a hand. “I owe you.” We shake, then he adds, “Just keep your hands off her.”

There’s a collective laugh in the locker room. Then a collective no shit. Like I’d do anything to rock the team boat. “I got you, man.”

“We all know that rule,” Asher adds.

It’s the golden rule of being on a team. You don’t bang a teammate’s sister. Well, unless you plan to marry her.

As Christian heads to his stall to get ready for the game, my phone pings with a text from my new roomie.

10

MY NEW ROOMIE

Josie

Is that a raccoon tapping on the bathroom door while I pee? With my luck, it’ll be a ghost planning to haunt me for the next three months.

The scratching sound feels more corporeal though.

But is there really a raccoon in the library? While I now know they can live in walls, that usually happens in older homes. They’re resourceful little critters who shimmy into chimneys, attics, and crawl spaces. I looked them up when I heard the raccoon story from Thalia. This building is modern and seems less likely for a raccoon home invasion.

So, that leaves me with…yup, a ghost.

Of course.

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