Page 61 of Pucked and Pregnant

“Obviously, the ‘get things out of our system’ hookup in New York opened a door instead of shutting one. The three of us clearly have some strong feelings where you’re concerned, and from the little bit Aiden said, so do you. We figured it was best to deal with it right away before it impacts our performance on the ice again.”

“You were distracted during the game? Are you out of your fucking minds? Do you have any idea how precarious your position is in the rankings right now? You can’t afford to start having drama over me. You can’t let emotions get involved. It’s bad enough that I have to work with a moron who lets his dick make all the decisions. The three of you are going to end uprunning the team’s rankings straight into the fucking ground if you can’t think logically.”

I have a hornet’s nest’s worth of rage inside me and they’re all just looking at me with a bemused expression.

“What?” I snap.

“Your response was a lot tamer than I expected.” Connor shrugs. “I thought you’d end up hanging us from the balcony by our toes or something.”

“I’m glad you find it so funny.”

“It wasn’t during the game, it was during a scrimmage, one practice, and we got our shit together. Which you would have known had you let me finish my thought. So, can I continue?”

“Go ahead.”

“After we had dinner with the governor last night, we talked things through again, and we all agreed to lay everything out on the table for you.

“The bond the four of us share runs deep. We are too serious about our careers to let something like this get in the way. We figured tonight would be a good time to talk since everyone else would be out celebrating.”

“What exactly do you want from me?”

“Well, to be as straightforward as possible, we want to know what you want, or rather who.”

You and me both.

The weight of their expectations settles in on top of the stress of everything else along with the press conference, and it’s just too much for me to carry in one day.

I drop down onto the edge of the bed like a stone and bury my head in my hands.

“Shit,” Dimitri mutters.

“I told you this was too much,” Aiden hisses.

“What is it, angel?” Connor asks gently.

“You saw the press conference. Do I really have to say anything more?”

“Actually, we didn’t. We weren’t able to catch it and talking to you directly seemed more important at the time.”

Everything that’s happened since I’ve moved back comes pouring out of my mouth. The more rational part of me scrambles to grab the pieces but the emotional dam has already broken.

There’s no saving face at this point.

“I know you mean well. And I want to talk about this. I’m just so confused about my feelings for the three of you and too overwhelmed by everything else. I don’t know which way is up right now. So the only honest answer I can give is that I just want one night where I don’t have to worry about any of it.”

“We can do that.”

I pick my head up off my hands. “Excuse me?”

“I said we can do that for you, angel.”

“So you’re just going to let all this go for tonight?”

They nod. They are so in sync at times it’s unnerving.

“And do what exactly?”

The three of them have an entire conversation in a single look. I swear, one of these days if I listen hard enough, I might be able to hear what they’re saying.

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