Page 166 of Slap Shot
“Really?” I glance over at him, watching the way he hugs Emmy tight and kisses her forehead. “I’ve only been around him a few times, but I can’t imagine him being anything other than totally in love with Emmy.”
“Times change, and thank god for that.”
“Are you going to play hide and seek?” I ask.
“Of course I am. I’m pretty sure it’s somewhere in my contract that I have to do anything Maverick says, but even if it wasn’t, I’d join. Why the hell not? That means you’re playing too, Galloway.”
“I can be Lucy’s partner,” Piper volunteers. “Liam adamantly refuses to play anything, and Lucy is going to be much better company than his grumpy ass.”
“I heard that,” Liam says without looking up from his phone.
“That was the point.” Piper pats his thigh and smiles at Lucy.Want to be on my team for hide and seek?
Lucy nods.I’m good at hiding.
“She is,” I add. “When she was younger, I spent twenty minutes looking for her. She was hiding behind the washing machine and scared the heck out of me.”
Genius. Piper grins.We’re so going to win.
Lucy climbs out of my lap and joins Piper on the floor. My heart is full while I watch them talk about the headband Lucy is wearing and her pink sparkly shoes.
Piper must mention something funny, because Lucy lets out a giggle and covers her mouth.
“Looks like she’s having fun,” Hudson says.
“She was happy when we lived in Vegas, but she’s so much brighter here in DC.” I laugh. “It’s probably the dogs.”
“Why do you think I rescued those two? They’re the best kind of therapy.”
Around us, his teammates start to split up into pairs. I glance up at him and bump his shoulder with mine.
“Guess you’re stuck with me as a partner, Hayes,” I tell him.
“It would be an honor, Galloway.”
“If you open a box that says PRIVATE on it, I can’t be held responsible what you find,” Maverick says from the front of the living room. “Emmy girl and I will start, and we’ll count tosixty. Don’t touch any of my shit, and you won’t get hurt. We’re starting now.”
“Where are we going to hide?” I ask, standing while everyone around us scrambles.
“They have a small room in their closet that’s used for extra storage. It’s not very big, but it’s tucked away.” Hudson takes my hand and gives it a squeeze. “We can go in there behind a shelf, and we’ll be good.”
“I’m glad I’m paired with the person who knows the floorplan of this place like the back of his hand.” I wave to Lucy and Piper, who take off in the opposite direction. “Were you an architect in another life?”
“I spent seven days helping them move in. I can tell you about every nook and cranny in this place.”
Hudson leads me down a long hallway, and I smile at the pictures on the wall. There are so many hanging up, ones with a group of guys shirtless and a different one at the beach.
I find one with the same group in front of a wedding chapel. Another after what I’m guessing is a big win, because all the Stars players are in a pile on each other. There’s a huge trophy being presented to them.
“I knew you and Maverick were friends, but I’m realizing howcloseyou two are,” I say, tapping a photo of Maverick and Hudson asleep on the floor of an airport. They’re wrapped around each other, and it might be the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. “Did you know him before you were on the team?”
“Nope. I thought he was the most conceited toolbar when I first met him.” Hudson laughs and nudges open a door with his hip. “He grew on me, though. He’s like my brother. I’d run through fire for him, and he’d do the same for me. When we were younger, our team sucked. We were the laughingstock of the league. People in DC booed us, but we both stuck around. There was an unspoken agreement between us that we were going tobring this team out of the ashes, and we weren’t going to leave until we did. A Stanley Cup win later and hopefully heading toward another one this season, and I’d say we did our job.”
“That love is special. It sounds like Maverick might be your soulmate.”
“Maybe he is, but if that’s the case, then we can have two soulmates. Because Emmy is most definitely his, too.”
He opens another door and tugs me inside. It’s dark, and I pull out my phone to use as a flashlight.
