Page 33 of Power Plays & Proposals

"She's been bringing those Right Wing Raspberry Muffins into the break room every morning."

"What?!" Lou asked in outrage. "My own sister is siding with the enemy!"

Matt got a big smile on his face as he asked, "Are you more upset that Hannah is friends with Maria or that Maria named a muffin after me?"

Lou stormed out of the locker room and I couldn't stop my laugh. He hadn't bothered to finish changing or putting on shoes before leaving to give his sister a piece of his mind. For as long as I'd known Lou, Hannah had been the only one who knew what buttons of his to push. Now it seemed, a certain baker had managed to get under his skin.

"It's good to see you laughing man," Matt said as he started pulling off his gear.

"What do you mean? I laugh."

He shrugged. "Sure, but you've been different after getting engaged."

Lia had come to another game and sat with Penelope, Hannah, and Maria in the suite. Much to my surprise Erin hadn't put up a fight in letting Penelope stay with me for a second weekend. Then they'd all come to the karaoke gathering with the team to celebrate the win. Like moths to a flame, the guys had been drawn to Lia. I'd felt a strong sense of satisfaction each time her ring caught the light and announced that she wasn't available. The guys had treated her like a long-lost sister, and gone out of their way to make her feel welcome. But all that had been swamped by how amazing it was to see Penelope and her together.

The pair of them were thick as thieves as they talked about Penelope's classes or different color combinations. Who knew that coloring hair had so much in common with art? Plus she'd done a popular braid with Penelope's hair that Penelope had seen going viral online.

"See there you go smiling. Lia's good for you."

"She really is," I admitted.

We'd managed two more dates since I'd gotten her ring. The first was a cliched night at the movies where we'd watched an action movie and shared a bucket of extra buttery popcorn. Our second date though, I'd been blown away to see her all dressed up for a nice dinner at a high-end restaurant that served the best cooked crab legs. Lia had seemed to enjoy her herb-crusted chicken breast with lemon before I took her back to Maria's.

"There's just one thing..." Matt said as he wrapped his towel around his neck. "Why haven't you kissed her?"

Like being hit by a puck I realized what had been bothering me. On our dates, Lia had smiled and been pleasant, but any time there was a moment like the one at Radiant Diamonds, she disappeared. Literally and figuratively. On our last date, I'd walked her up to the door of Maria's two-bedroom apartment, but before I could say more than how great the night had been, Lia smiled, yawned, and slipped inside. She'd been pulling away just a little bit at a time, not enough that anyone looking at us would realize, but I now saw it for what it was.

"We're engaged, of course, I've kissed her," I told him, bluffing as confidently as I could.

Matt raised an eyebrow, giving me a skeptical look that could rival Coach questioning a penalty call. "If you say so."

"We have. It's the best kissing of my life."

"Really," Matt deadpanned.

Nodding enthusiastically I said, "Yep. One hundred percent awesome. Better than scoring a hat trick."

Matt couldn't contain a smirk. "Because the key to a successful relationship is a good lip lock?"

"Exactly, you gotta aim for the Stanley cup of smooches." I chuckled, playing along.

"In that case, maybe I should find someone to get engaged to so I can understand."

I chuckled. "Better try a kissing booth, Casanova. That's the only way a woman would kiss that ugly mug of yours."

Matt shook his head, and threw his towel at me.

I threw it back at him, and still chuckling the two of us went about changing. But his comments had me thinking. Not just about kissing Lia, I'd wanted to do that for a long time now.

As Dan came in from practice, I struggled to contain my excitement, my grin threatening to give away my prank. With a quick wipe of my face using my towel, I tried to appear nonchalant as he approached his locker, oblivious to the impending hilarity.

Just as he reached for his water bottle, ready to quench his thirst, he noticed Matt.

"Nice slap shot," Dan told Matt. "I thought I wasn't going to stop it in time."

"Thanks," Matt said, before heading off toward the showers.

Finally, Dan lifted the bottle to his lips, only to freeze mid-sip as his eyes landed on the unexpected toy spider I had left for him. With a startled yelp, he dropped the bottle as if it were scorching hot, sending water splashing everywhere as he recoiled in surprise. The sight of his reaction was so comical that I couldn't help but burst into laughter.

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