Page 12 of Pucking Tangled
“Give me that,” Owen yanked the pen back. “Last rule.”
10. This house runs on respect and dirty jokes. Break one rule and you break all.
“I’ll try not to,” Mia whispered.
“What happens if we break the rules?” Waylon asked.
“You don’t want to know.” Casey glared at him.
“If that’s the last rule, can I start dinner now? Maybe whilesomeonewashes their practice gear?” she asked, looking around at each guy. There were several piles in the laundry room, which smelled like the inside of a locker room at the moment.
“Yes,Mom.” Waylon saluted her.
Ugh. She liked it better when they were having decent human conversations over coffee.
Maybe.
SIX
Mia
Someone queuedup a country playlist and Warren Zanders’Relapseplayed across the smart devices downstairs. Mia found herself humming along while she rinsed the last of the dinner plates.
Male laughter echoed from the living room, making her feel an odd sense of warmth and fuzzy vibrations in her belly.
Dinner with the guys went better than expected. Especially considering the fact that she was still trying to convince herself that she wasn’t making a huge mistake by moving in with a bunch of hockey players.
The way they all gathered around the table and feasted on the meal she cooked for them was almost nostalgic of the dinners she had at the Novak house growing up—whenallof Casey’s friends would come over. She should have been used to being the only girl among the boys by now.
“How about I dry?” Owen moved beside her with a towel already in his hand.
Mia wasn’t the least bit surprised. He was always the helper. The one who couldn’t stand still when there was still something left to be done.
“If I had known you did dishes too, I would have waited a little longer before I got started,” she teased.
“What can I say? I try to be a well-rounded guy.” He smiled and playfully swatted at her with the towel. “Besides, Casey’s too busy defending his honor in the living room.”
Mia’s face scrunched in confusion. “Defending his honor?”
“Someonemade the mistake of saying your mashed potatoes were ‘dangerously delicious’. Casey took it as a personal insult.”
She tossed her head back and laughed. “He can be so dramatic sometimes.”
“True,” a familiar voice cut in from behind them. “But I stand by what I said in there.”
Casey leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, lips tipped in a smirk. His curls were a mess from where he had been dragging a hand through them. A gesture she knew well. One he did when he was doing too much thinking.
“Creamy potatoes, perfect garlic chicken, veggies steamedjustright,” he sighed, dramatically. “I’ve been replaced.”
Mia gasped. “You cook for them? You’venevercooked for me.”
“I brought you soup that time you had the flu.”
“From Chick Fil A.”
“It was still damn good chicken noodle soup.”
Owen let out a soft chuckle and dried another plate. “He’s just mad because you impressed the guys in under an hour.”
