Page 93 of Double Pucked

He’s so lucky to have a sister like that. I can’t even imagine.

“She told me what she thought was going on when I first saw her before the ceremony,” Ryker adds.

Ah, when he laughed and smirked after that hug. I’m so relieved, I can’t even be mad that he didn’t save me from thewhat ifquestions in my head.

Then, a throat clears, and I turn around and it’s Chase’s mom, all sun-kissed brown hair and a simple yellow dress. I blink, then automatically smooth a hand over my dress even though it’s not messed up.

We step out from the alcove, adopting, I’m sure, overly innocent expressions. “Hi there,” I say, my voice uncertain. Will she hate me for liking another man too?

“You’re the girl with the cute little dog,” she says, and that’s a promising start.

“I am.”

“Join us.”

My pulse spikes. Suddenly, my fake date’s mother is guiding me to her table, and the guys hang back to chat with teammates, and I’m sitting between Ryker’s mom and Chase’s mom. Ivy is across from us, as well as a younger version of the fashionista, who I learn is Ryker’s other sister, Katie. Am I in for the grilling of a lifetime?

“So, I hear you run a bookstore,” Chase’s mom says.

“I just manage it.”

“Well, that would be running it,” Ryker’s mom says in the same laconic tone of her son. She has a tattoo on her wrist. A simple circle of black ink, and the wordstrength.

“That’s so fantastic,” Chase’s mom says. “To spend the day surrounded by stories. To help people find stories. And you run Page Turners Book Club.”

“You know about that?” I ask, surprised she’s aware of my whole CV.

“I might have looked you up,” Ryker’s mom adds playfully. “When Chase called me about the photos you wanted.”

Right. Of course. How could I forget that?

“It’s good to see him on social. I can spy on him more now,” she says dryly, and I know where Ryker gets his sense of humor.

We chat some more, and no one lambastes me. No one gives me the third degree. No one asks when I’ll pop out babies either.

It’s a nice, normal conversation.

I might be foolish but maybethis thingcould work. Perhaps their mothers being so cool is the sign I needed.

Maybe it doesn’t matter if my family doesn’t understand me. I’ve become used to that. But I’ve found my own family with Aubrey and Nacho and my book club, and maybe now with these two guys.

I try to let go of all the noise in my head. All of the questions chasing me. I relax into the moment as we talk about the city, and hockey, and books, and dogs, and weddings, and flowers, and how happy Chase’s cousin is with his teammate.

Every now and then someone else from Ryker’s team or Chase’s team stops by to say hi, and it’s so endearing to see all these players playing nicely with the parents. The women are warm and welcoming and treat them like family too.

With every minute that passes, I’m feeling like maybe the impossible is possible.

When the band begins to play, Chase swoops by and pulls me out to the dance floor. We slow dance, and he looks at me with soulful brown eyes that seem to understand me in a way my own family doesn’t. When he looks at me like that, my heart thumps.

But I’m careful to keep some distance between us.

I want to pull him close—too close. I definitely want to. But I don’t feel right doing thatjustwith him. I don’t feel right doing that unless I can declare myself as theirs.

When Ivy and Ryker swing by, Ivy gives me a friendly nod. “Let’s switch. I need to dance with Chase.”

We trade off, and I’m in Ryker’s arms, and this feels right too. My heart beats hard all over again.

Somehow, a few weeks after my dog ate another woman’s underwear, I’ve fallen deeply for the two men who helped give me sweet revenge.

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