When they left and I approached Maddox, he evaded my line of questioning, further confirming there was more to the story. But what?
Dakota bumped my shoulder with hers, leaning in to whisper, “What’s with the resting bitch face?”
“What?” I pulled back in shock. “I don’t have that!”
My best friend smirked, tapping on her phone and pulling up a picture she must have taken without my knowledge while I’d been lost in thought. I was definitely giving offdon’t fuck with mevibes.
“What’s wrong?” She eyed me with concern.
“Nothing.” I threw a fake smile on my face. “Just thinking about deadlines. Sorry.”
Pull it together, Bristol. Tonight is her night, even if she doesn’t know it yet. Don’t make it about you.
The music flowing through speakers strategically placed throughout the bar lowered in volume as Hannah’s song came to a close. She jumped down from the stage and collapsed into the seat across the table from mine.
Blue eyes bright and cheeks flushed, she declared, “I fuckinglovethis place!” She gestured to Natalie. “We need to scope out a karaoke bar back home for girls’ night.”
Seated on the other side of Cal, Natalie laughed. “Good luck jailbreaking Amy.” Leaning forward to speak to Dakota, she said, “Did I tell you she’s pregnant again?”
Dakota’s mouth dropped open. “No! How did that not come up? We hung out all day!”
Natalie held up a hand, spreading her fingers wide. “Five kids, Dakota. Five. I can barely think straight most days.” She gave Jaxon a nudge with her elbow. “Thank God he finally got fixed.”
Jaxon shuddered. “Don’t remind me. They didn’t even have the decency to knock me out. I could smell the burning flesh.”
His blonde wife glared at him. “Am I supposed to feel bad for you?”
“Maybe a little.” He gave her puppy-dog eyes.
Natalie snorted. “Fat chance, buddy. I birthed your big-headed children. You don’t get to complain.”
“At least you got a prize at the end,” Jaxon grumbled. “All I got was bruised balls.”
“Okay!” Cal held his hands up, halting the conversation. “That’s enough. We’re trying to have a nice night out, and all you two are doing is turning everyone’s stomachs. Someone pick a new topic.”
Don’t do it. Don’t do it.
The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them. “Hannah, how do you know Maddox? He wouldn’t tell me.”
Dammit.
One of Cal’s blond eyebrows arched as he assessed me. “Maddox?” His tone was that of a disapproving older brother.
Fuck. Way to play it cool, Bristol.
“Coach Sterling,” I corrected.
A devilish gleam entered Hannah’s blue eyes, and she reclined in her chair. “Oh, Maddox and I go waaaaaaaay back.”
Cal’s warning growl was so loud I jumped. He was one big scary dude, and boy was I glad he’d played for my favorite team all those years. I couldn’t imagine going up against him on the ice. How did the opposing team not piss themselves when he was skating straight at them? When he laid a hit, it had to hurt.
Hannah was undeterred. “A few years ago, he bought me a couple of drinks, and we shared a dance. That was until this big lug”—she threw a thumb in Cal’s direction—“went all caveman on him.” She cupped a hand beside her mouth conspiratorially, stage-whispering, “He’s the jealous type.”
From what I’d seen earlier, that wasn’t an over-exaggeration.
Cal’s massive hand shifted from where it rested at the back of her chair, sliding up until the palm spanned the back of her neck. She leaned into the possessive hold, sighing.
Guess that works for some people.
