Page 150 of Face Off
“This isn’t being recorded, is it?” I ask. “I did a hot yoga class once and it was terrible. I had to pay the lady five thousand dollars to delete the live stream so my downward dog pose wasn’t seen by a million people.”
“You’re going to be fine.” Emmy taps my arm and her fingers drag across my shirt. To anyone watching us, they wouldn’t be able to see the way her touch lingers on my shoulder. But I can feel her reluctance to pull away, and that makes me grin. “You’re probably going to be a pro, just like you are at everything else.”
“Nothing like an ego boost to start the day.”
“Don’t worry, Cap. Pilates is a breeze,” Grant says. He’s decked out in an athleisure outfit and looks like a total tool. “Lots of moms do it.”
Emmy lifts an eyebrow. “So, because moms do it, it’s easy?”
“I didn’t mean it likethat,” he says, backtracking.
“How did you mean it?”
Grant looks at me, panic-stricken, and I shrug. “You did this to yourself, kid,” I say, and his cheeks turn dark red.
“Just… you know. It’s not black belt karate.”
Emmy hums, and I have to fight back my laughter at the wicked gleam in her eye. “We’ll see how you’re doing in thirty minutes. Do you know what pelvic floor muscles are?”
“Um. No. Should I?”
“This is going to be fun,” she says, turning to Piper and diving into a conversation about the pair of socks she’s holding up that look different from what the rest of us have on.
“Is it mean to say I hope Grant gets his ass handed to him?” I ask Hudson, and he grins.
“No. He needs to learn a little respect. You were the same way at that age.”
“I’m better now though, right?”
“Much better, Mavvy. And you didn’t show up in a matching tracksuit. That says something.”
“Hey, I have a question for you,” I say, dropping my voice low. “I want to get Emmy’s dad to the game in Detroit in a few days, and he uses a wheelchair. She said he’ll need some assistance in the arena, and I thought Duke might like to hang out with him. I bought a suite so they would be comfortable with plenty of space to stretch out. I wanted to run the idea by you before Emmy told her dad about the plans.”
“You’re doing all of this so her dad can watch her play?”
“He hasn’t seen her in a Stars jersey yet.”
Hudson rubs his jaw and stares at me. “You like her, don’t you?”
“Of course I like her. She’s our teammate. I like all of you.”
“I don’t mean like that, Maverick.”
I cut my gaze away. How do I tell him Emmy is all I think about? She’s the first thing on my mind when I wake up. At night, when she’s curled up next to me, I’m still thinking about her. I close my eyes, and she’s there.
I like her so much, it hurts when she’s not around. I’d do anything to make her happy, and when she smiles at me, I feel like the luckiest guy in the world.
“Is it that obvious?” I ask.
“To some of the other knuckleheads? Not at all. But we’re best friends, Mav. I know that fight with her ex wasn’t justbecause you wanted to have a dick measuring contest. You were standing up for her because you care about her. More than you care about anyone else.”
“Yeah.” I run my thumb over my bottom lip, a smile starting there. “I like her a lot, and she likes me too.”
“Has Maverick Miller finally become a one-woman man?”
“I never thought this would happen, but here I am. Off the market and happy as fuck. We have a good thing going, and that’s why I’m doing all of this. It’s important to her, which means it’s important to me.”
Hudson grins, and he claps a hand on my shoulder. “No more one-night stands? No more collecting numbers from random women every time we go out? Times have changed. I’m happy for you, man, and I’m sure Duke would love to help. I just have to mention the wordsuiteand he’ll be all for it.”
