We’re pulling up to the hotel now. I’ll be in my room in a few minutes. Are you still in my jersey?
Lindy
Maybe.
Easton
Leave it on.
Lindy
Aren’t you sharing a room?
Easton
Boone’s going to the bar. He already asked me if I wanted to go.
Lindy
You should go and make friends.
Easton
I’d rather talk to my wife. In my jersey. And princess . . .
Lock your door.
Holy hotness . . . okay.
I drop my phone down on my nightstand, and decide to lock my door, just to be on the safe side. I mean, it’s not like we can do anything over the phone, right?
Can we?
Of course we can. Crap.
What’s he thinking?
I’ve never even had real sex.
How am I supposed to know how to have phone sex?
I turn off my overhead light and fan, then decide to turn the fan back on. All my years on the ice have trained me to be more comfortable cold than hot. When I sit back down on my bed, I decide to turn on the lamp on my nightstand. It gives off a soft glow, and I wonder if I should shut it off, but before I can decide, Easton’s calling me.
His gorgeous face flashes on my screen, and I take a deep breath and answer, “Hey.”
His sandy-brown hair is still damp from the shower I’m sure he took after the game. A navy-blue Revolution hoodie is stretching across his chest, and a sexy smile sits on that handsome face. “Hey, princess. How was your day?”
I take a deep breath and try to convince myself I can do this.
It’s Easton, and we’re just talking like we’ve done a million times.
Only this time, I’m wearing his jersey and his rings and thinking about very un-friend-like things. I guess that explains why I’m suddenly so nervous, my hands are shaking.
“Well I avoided my mother. That was fun.” I move my pillows around behind myself and get comfortable. “She called twice, then texted, asking me to meet her at Sweet Temptations for coffee tomorrow. So I’ve got that to look forward to. I only had two baby skaters cry through their lessons, which is one less than yesterday, so that’s winning. I officially congratulated my former partner on replacing me. And I watched the Revolution game tonight with Everly and Maddox. Oh, and Everly asked me to wear one of her designs to the New Year’s Eve gala. So there’s that.”
He drops the phone down, so I’m looking up at him as he takes off his hoodie. His gray t-shirt rides up with it, momentarily exposing his delicious abs before he tugs it back down and sits down. “That’s a lot to unpack. Are you going to meet your mom tomorrow?”
“I don’t really want to.”
Easton shrugs. “Maybe she’ll surprise you. I talked to Jules today, and she was pretty good about everything until she heard Jace. Then she went kind of crazy before I ended the call. Jace better be careful. You know how Jules can get.”
“I do.” I snicker. “Big brother better watch himself.”
“What’s this gala thing?”
I fill him in on the event my brother Max’s wife started a few years ago as one of the many fundraisers she holds throughout the years to benefit the kids in our community. Then I listen as he tells me all about the game and my jerkoff brother, getting more comfortable the more we fall back into our old routine.
Eventually I reach over and turn off my lamp and get under my blanket.
“You tired, princess?”
“Yeah.” I yawn. “Aren’t you?”
“I am, baby.” His sexy voice grows gravelly and pulls at something deep within me.
“I wish you were here,” I whisper.
“Me too. Go to sleep, Lindy. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
“Stay with me until I fall asleep?” I ask quietly.
“Always.” He adjusts himself until he’s lying down too, and I close my eyes like I’ve done a hundred times before with this man. “Sleep,” he says softly, and I slowly drift off.
Gracie
I’ve decided decaffeinated coffee is pointless. Kinda like a hooker who only wants to snuggle.
Kenzie
Have you ever snuggled a hooker or did you mean to text that to Callen?
Everly
Seriously. WTF is the point of decaf? Give me the strong stuff or give me nothing. Wasn’t that a line in a movie?
Brynlee
OMG. NO.
Lindy
Well I’m about to walk into Sweet Temptations. Maybe I’ll see if throwing decaf at someone is as effective as full caf.
Bryn
You can’t throw coffee at your mom, Linds.
Lindy
We’ll see about that.
I pull up in front of Sweet Temptations, my sister Amelia’s shop. Once I’m out of my car, I adjust my coat and turn to look at Charles, who tends to give me a little more breathing room when we’re in Kroydon Hills. “I’m pretty sure I’m safe in Amelia’s shop. Why don’t you go get lunch across the street?”
“You know I’m not going to do that, Miss Kingston. I’ll be in the back corner. You won’t even know I’m here,” he tells me with a look of frustration growing on his face.
I shake my head and push through the pink doors. The sugary scent of freshly baked sweets mixes with the spicy smell of coffee and wafts through the shop, making my stomach growl. When I was a little girl, this was my favorite place to go. Mom would pick me up from ballet class at the twins’ mom’s studio next door and bring me here to pick out a cupcake and get a hot chocolate. I always felt so cool because Mom would have her coffee and I’d have my cocoa. That feels like so long ago.
The shop is mostly empty today. I guess the morning rush has died down already because Amelia is sitting at one of her mismatched, Friends-inspired tables, sipping a cup of coffee with Lenny and Scarlet. Great. I didn’t realize this was going to be another full-blown sister thing. At least my brothers aren’t here too.
I walk up to the counter and order a cup of tea and a scone from the woman behind the register, then join my sisters. “Mom’s not here yet?” I ask as I slide into my favorite purple, crushed-velvet chair.
Lenny opens her mouth to answer as the bells chime over the door, then nods. “Jules and she just walked in.”
“Great.”
Mom and Jules co-own an event-planning company with offices across the street. I guess they came right from the office. Mom joins us at the table as Juliette walks over to the counter and grabs two coffees.
“Thanks for coming, honey. I hoped we’d have been able to talk before now, but you don’t seem to want to talk to me, so I thought maybe your sisters could help.”
“Ganging up on me isn’t going to help, Mom.” I tear a piece of my scone and stuff it in my mouth before I can say anything else.
“We’re not here to gang up on you, Lindy. But we need you to talk to us,” Lenny tells me like she’s rehearsed the words.
“Have you spoken to a lawyer yet?” Scarlet asks, and Juliette looks at her like she has five heads.