Page 98 of Total Shutdown

“Oh, yeah? What’s that?”

“How long does it take you to apply that liner so perfectly around your eyes?” I pull back and take her in.

She’s mine.

“Maybe thirty seconds per eye?”

I balk. “No way. Surely, it takes multiple attempts to get it that sharp?”

“Actually …” Darcy leans across the bar, her bright smile growing brighter as she takes us in. Archer nowhere to be seen. “When you master the art, it’s one of the easiest parts of a makeup routine.”

I look at Collins, who shrugs, not arguing.

“So, you guys are”—Darcy motions between us—“officially an item?”

“Yep, they are!” Ezra’s voice filters from behind me, and I flip around to face him.

“Where have you been?” I ask.

He pulls out his phone and opens his Pictures app. “Talking to Emmett Richards. He has a Ducati Superleggera and sent me a couple of images. It’s awesome!”

Collins scrunches up her nose, practically offended at the sight of it. “Ugh, superbikes are gross.”

I wrap my hand around her hip, pulling her into me.

“Talking of gross, I’m going to sit with the team.” Ezra shudders and gestures over to a table.

I track to where he’s pointing and find Archer sitting at a table toward the back of the room, talking with a brunette and her friend.

“I can’t be out late tonight; I have an early start at the garage. The pre-holiday rush is in full swing.”

Collins pulls my attention back to her, and I acknowledge her with a kiss right before my attention snags on Darcy.

Taking a sip of her cocktail, she eyes my goalie over the rim of her glass. Her attention on him can’t be for more than a second, but I clock it, and so does Collins.

“I wasn’t expecting to see you tonight,” I say to Darcy.

She flicks her long hair over her shoulder, blue eyes back and focused on us both. “I’ll be moving over in the new year and need to find a place. I love Jon and Mum, but there is no way I am living with them. Jon is in full coach-meets-wedding-planner mode, and I’ve had it up to here already.” She rolls her eyes and brings her hand above her head, indicating she can’t take it anymore.

“Why don’t you just move in with Jenna?” Collins asks. “Oh, or me? We could be roommates!”

I can’t help it when my hand tenses around her hip, and Collins looks at me with a raised brow. I stay quiet, knowing now is not the right time to talk about living together. It’s not lost on me how much my girlfriend has grown—casually asking a friend to move in with her is a big step and something she wouldn’t have done several months ago.

That still doesn’t stop me from feeling some kind of way over her living with anyone but me and Ezra. I’m holding off on confessing how wildly in love I am with her. And suggesting she move into my place?

Yeah, remember to pull the pin out of the hand grenade before throwing it in the center of your brand-new relationship, Sawyer.

Darcy looks like she’s considering Collins’s suggestion for a second, and I hold my breath, praying she declines and feeling like a douche for it too.

“Whatcha talking about?” Jenna sidles up next to Darcy, soda in hand.

Bracing her elbow on the bar, Darcy rests her chin in her palm, looking a touch defeated. “About where the hell I’m going to live when I move here next year. Collins just invited me to live with her, and don’t get me wrong”—she reaches out and rubs an appreciative palm down my girlfriend’s arm—“I would love to have girls’ nights in front of chick flicks. But I just … I don’t know. I kind of want to live on my own. I’m hoping to have a bit of fun dating, and I don’t want to get in anyone’s way.”

“When you say ‘dating,’ I assume you mean one-night dates?” Collins replies, flicking her eyes to mine as we both recall where it all began for us.

Darcy waggles her brows suggestively, pulling a giggle from Jenna. “I’ve heard American boys like to dominate, and I can see the benefits in that.”

“O-kaaay.” Coach approaches Darcy from behind, already turning on his heel with a grimace on his face. “I joined this conversation at the wrong time. I donotneed to know what my stepdaughter will be doing when she arrives stateside.”

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