Page 41 of Pucked and Pregnant

I must not have much of a poker face because the goofiest-looking grin forms on Max’s mouth.

“I knew you’d love it.”

He’s right. I do.

I love it right up until I see the listing price. I’m sure the entire restaurant can hear my heart breaking.

“There’s no way I can afford this.”

Max shifts uncomfortably in his chair.

“What did you do?” I demand, narrowing my eyes.

“I knew you’d love it but I also knew you wouldn’t let me help you, so I went ahead and rented it for you. I even called in a few favors so you can move in tonight if you want.”

I’m touched and furious at the same time.

“What happened to promising to let me make my own decisions?”

“I guess that starts tomorrow,” he says, rubbing the back of his neck.

“You—”

“Why don’t you let him explain first? If it’s not good enough, then you can fly off the handle,” Aiden says, cutting me off and trying to reason.

I settle back in my chair and glare at Max. “Go ahead. Try and dig your way out of this hole.”

“I looked at places in your price range, but things are a bit more expensive here, so what you could afford in Minnesota and what you can afford here aren’t the same. I want to be supportive, but I also still feel like I need to look out for you, andnone of the other places felt safe enough, most of them ungated and without a doorman. So, I figured if I found something you loved, I could snag it, and you’d have what you wantandI’d know you were safe. I thought I was doing the right thing, that it was a win-win situation.” He sips his water, looking at me pathetically over the rim of the glass.

He looks so much like a kicked puppy that I can’t stay mad at him. I might have even done the same thing for him if the roles were reversed.

“Okay.”

“Okay?” he asks, surprised.

“Yes, okay. I won’t fight you on it, but you can’t do anything like this ever again,” I state firmly.

“I won’t.”

“And I will be paying you the same rent I paid at my last place so you can recover some of the costs. I’m covering all of the utilities too.”

I can see the struggle between new Max and old Max playing out on his face.

“Fair enough. So do we have a deal?”

I shake his offered hand. “Deal.”

“Good,” he says, relaxing into his chair. “Because last night after the game, the guys and I moved all the furniture you had in storage into the place. It would have been a massive pain in the ass to have to take it all back out again.”

My eyes shift to Aiden. “You were in on this, too?”

He shrugs. “We all were. When you two fight, he becomes an absolute monster and makes practice miserable for everyone. It was a public service to the team helping him find you a place.”

“Great. Seeing as you’re in such a charitablemood, you can help me move the rest of my stuff in tonight.”

“But today’s our rest day,” he protests. “We’ve got plans to check out that club that just opened up.”

“No, you don’t. Not anymore.”

---