That was my first thought when stepping into the locker room deep within the heart of Speed Arena.
No less than a dozen kids were running around, laughing and screaming at the top of their lungs. I’d counted at least five pregnant women. And was that a triple stroller in the corner?
Was this a hockey team or some kind of cult where they felt compelled to single-handedly repopulate the Earth?
I wasn’t sure how long I stood there staring, but I quickly snapped back to reality when a warm voice said, “You must be Gemma.”
Startled, my eyes snapped to find a redheaded man walking our way. Sensing my discomfort, Sasha grabbed my hand, letting me grip it tightly.
Nervous laughter bubbled up from my chest as the man reached us. “That’s me.”
He extended a hand. “Jenner Knight, Goose’s captain. It’s nice to finally meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
I peeked up at Sasha; he gave me an encouraging smile, followed by a light bump with his shoulder to remind me that I’d left Jenner hanging.
My palm clasped Jenner’s, and we shook. “Sorry if I appear a little shell-shocked,” I apologized. “Sasha didn’t give me any warning that I’d be thrown into the deep end today. Still trying to wrap my head around it.”
“Sasha?” Jenner raised an eyebrow, eyes shifting to the man standing beside me.
“That’s my name, isn’t it?” Sasha replied.
“Suppose it is. Just never heard anyone call you that before.” Shaking his head as if to clear it, Jenner leaned toward me conspiratorially, dropping his voice. “If I can offer some advice?” I nodded, so he continued, “Steer clear of Maddox, and you’ll survive your first Speed event just fine.”
Peeking around the room, I asked, “Which one is Maddox?”
Pulling back, Jenner’s grin grew a mile wide. “You can’t miss him. He’s the only one of us who hardly ever smiles.”
Is constant cheer as contagious as pregnancy around here?
Sasha’s booming laughter and Jenner’s gentle snickering alerted me to the fact that I’d said that out loud.
I slapped a hand over my mouth, muffling my resulting, “Oh my God.”
The chatter in the room died down as several sets of eyes zeroed in on me, and I wanted to crawl into a hole and die.
Jenner slapped his thigh. “Damn, I can see why Goose likes you so much.”
Arm dropping to my side, I groaned. “That was so rude. I’m sorry.”
He tossed me a wink. “No apologies needed. Especially when you’ve nailed us. We are in the midst of a baby boom, it would seem. I, myself, have three one-year-olds.”
My eyes about damn near bulged out of my head, and my jaw hit the floor. “Did you saythree?”
Jenner chuckled, clearly not offended by my horrified expression. “Yeah, we get that a lot.” Shrugging, he added, “Came as one hell of a surprise for me and my wife, Evie, too. But we wouldn’t change it for the world.”
“Uh-huh.” The mere thought of having three babies at once was enough to give me nightmares.
“I’ll let the two of you get settled. Should be a fun afternoon.” With a smile, he turned and walked across the room to where a blonde woman sat holding a redheaded toddler in her lap, two more sitting in what had now been confirmed to be a triple stroller.
“You okay?” Sasha’s lips brushed against my ear.
“Undecided.” I was about to use up all the energy in my social batteries this afternoon; I couldn’t afford to waste any on the man who’d dragged me here unknowingly.
“You’ve already won Jenner over. I’m sure everyone else is going to love you too.”
He had no clue that I was out of my depth. Sure, I could chat up customers at the bar, but those were superficial interactions. I didn’t know what it was like to have long-standing friendships—what kind of conversations were acceptable or how I was expected to interact.
These were Sasha’s people, his extended family in a sense, and I didn’t want to fuck this up.
