Page 12 of Pucked and Pregnant

I know I’m on thin ice from the way Max is glaring at me, but I’m too enchanted by the mischief in Liv’s eyes to care all that much.

“I don’t know,” she says coyly. “Someone like me, for example.”

I know I shouldn’t say it but it slips out anyway. “I’m always up for a challenge.”

“Are you fucking serious, man? That’s my sister. She’s beyond off limits, and even if she wasn’t, my parents are right here,” Max growls.

Mr. Winters nods in agreement but an odd little smile plays on his mother’s face.

“I don’t know, Max,” she says. “You and your father are always going on and on about how there’s no one out there good enough for Olivia, but I see three excellent young men at our table right here.

“And if you boys don’t mind me saying so, quite good-looking ones to boot. I know these three almost as well as their parents do and?—”

Apparently, there is something that Max and Liv can agree on because at the exact same moment they cut her off with, “Seriously, Mom?”

She holds her hands up. “I’m not saying you should get married right this instant. I want to do a good bit of traveling before the two of you settle down and start having babies. A lot of hockey players retire in their early thirties.” She makes a point of staring each of us down. “All of you boys should be out there looking for a nice girl before you get your noses broken so many times that no one will want you. You’re young, you go out all the time. I’m sure you’ve met at least one nice girl that you could take home to your parents.”

Liv snickers, then immediately pales when her mother fixes the full force of her attention on her. I might have even felt a little bad for her if I wasn’t overwhelmed with relief that the spotlight wasn’t on me anymore.

“Don’t think I’ve forgotten about you, Missy,” she says sternly. “I’m giving you more time because I know you won't rest until you’re at the top of your field, but seeing that you’re finally covering the pro games, there’s not too much higher for you to go.”

“Mom.”

“Don’t you Mom me. There’s no reason why you can’t start looking for someone to settle down with and what’s wrong with starting with one of these three? You’ve known each other long enough that if you start dating now you can be engaged by the time your father and I get back from our trip.”

Before Max can open his mouth, I jump in. “Okay, well this sounds like an excellent time to bring out dessert. Max, how about you help me find that chocolate mousse pie I know you’ve got squirreled away in the freezer somewhere?”

As Max and I slip out of the room, Liv shoots me a grateful look before taking over the conversation to prevent her mother from hopping back on the baby train. The second the kitchen door shuts, Max is clapping me on the back.

“I owe you one, man. I never know how to stop her once she goes racing off on that horse.”

“My mom is just as bad, trust me. All I did was do for you what you would’ve done for me.” I shrug. “Besides, we all had a rough start to the evening. No sense in having a rocky ending, too.”

Even though the pie is in plain sight, Max still rummages around in the freezer for a few moments.

“How long do you think we can drag this out?” he asks.

“I think you’re already pushing it. I saw her look in your freezer earlier so she knows where that pie is.”

“Damn.”

He opens the box and starts slicing the pie while I grab another round of plates and forks for everyone.

As I’m heading for the door, Max stops me with a hand on my shoulder.

“What did you mean by all of that with my sister?” he asks. “Is there something you need to tell me?”

I should have known he wouldn’t let this go. Just last week, he clocked one of the new guys because he whistled when he saw her picture in Max’s locker.

“Look, when we were kids, she was like one of the guys. Hell, half the time she told filthier jokes than you did. Having her back here just had me falling back into old patterns. I wasn’t trying to cause any trouble with you. I’ll scale back on it a bit since it bothers you, okay? But you’ve got to remember, she was my friend, too.”

“You’re right.” He nods. “It’s just now that she’s back my protective instinct is on fucking steroids. I know you’d never mess with her like that.”

The relief I feel when he lets me head back into the dining room nearly has me buckling at the knees.

Liv’s homecoming has everyone spinning in circles, especially me. Seeing her again has me forgetting which way is up.

The only thing I really know for sure is that my margin for error is even smaller than the one set for the ladies who sewed the first space suits.

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