Page 145 of Defensive Zone

“Whoa. It’s a bit too early for that. So you’re okay with all of this?”

“Absolutely. I get to keep you around a lot longer. I don’t think I want to go back to Chicago. I like it out here and I love having you and Max around for the kids,” she said, looking at Elise sleeping in her travel bassinet and then at Connor and Amelia in the front row of the suite watching the first period get underway.

“I’ll be here as long as you need me, Av. Always,” Gabi said, hugging her friend.

“You don’t know how much that means to me, Gabs. I don’t know how I would’ve gotten through the last few months without you.”

Gabi hated the tears in her best friend’s eyes. “Well, you’re stuck with me. And since I insanely fell in love with your brother, you’re stuck with me for a very long time.”

“I couldn’t ask for anything more,” she said, wiping away her tears. “Now, can we focus on the game and have a little fun?” Ava asked.

“Absolutely.”

“Auntie G, did you tell Uncle Max that I wanted a goal?” Connor asked, breaking through the tension.

Gabi laughed. “Yes, I did. He said he’d do his best.”

“Good,” Connor said; then he was staring out over the ice again.

“That man is so good with kids,” Sophia said, dropping into the seat next to Gabi. “You two will have the cutest babies. I mean, as long as they take after you.”

Gabi chuckled. “Speaking of, your mom mentioned babies when we were at Lanzi’s last time.”

“She always does.” Sophia laughed. “We’re working on it.”

“I bet you are,” Riley said.

“Get it in there,” Amanda yelled, and they turned their attention to the ice just as Cheesy scored the first goal. The buzzer blared and they were on their feet, cheering.

Even with the loud insanity occurring around her, Gabi felt happiness and contentment that she’d wanted all of her life. She was wrong to doubt what she had with Max, and she was grateful that he understood her enough to push her into seeing what was right in front of her.

She loved watching the pure joy on his face when he hugged his teammates. Yes, he was a goofball, but there were sides of him that she hadn’t expected. Even that Harry Potter tattoo about wit and treasure had surprised her.

Of course then he’d told her that in Shakespearean time, another word for a man’s dick was wit, and he’d gotten it for the double meaning. Which was about as Max as possible. But the Always tattoo with the Deathly Hallows symbol made up for the dick joke.

The man had many layers and she loved all of them.

“If you could stop mooning over there, we have a game to watch,” Riley said, jolting Gabi from her thoughts.

Her cheeks heated.

“Yeah. I don’t even want to know what dirty thoughts are happening right now.” Riley smirked.

“Ew. That’s my brother,” Ava interjected from Gabi’s other side.

“Oh look, Harty has the puck,” Gabi said, focusing on the guys below and ignoring her friends’ laughter.

By the end of the first period, the Strikers were leading one to nothing from Cheesy’s first goal. The two teams were evenly matched and there’d been more than a few scuffles, but most of the penalties had landed on Boston’s side. As the guys headed back down the tunnel, Gabi could only imagine the tension in the room.

She was a nervous wreck and she wasn’t even on the ice. She also wanted to be a fly on the wall in that locker room to see if Max had any pranks in store, especially after they’d gotten him right before the game had started.

She was still patting herself on the back for that one. Her mother would probably be horrified that Gabi had sunk to his level, but it didn’t matter to her. She was learning that humor and being comfortable to be yourself in a relationship were the true keys to happiness. She didn’t want to just love her partner, she wanted to like him, too.

“There she goes again. Earth to Gabi,” Amanda said.

“It’s sweet. I love that Baz finally met his match,” Penny said.

“Chicklet,” Connor and Amelia called out, drawing the attention away from Gabi, thank god.

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