Maddox cradled the child gently, blowing out a breath and looking skyward. “For the love of God.” Without another word to me, he turned, skating away as he bellowed, “Jenner! Come get your kid!”
“Some godfather you are!” Jenner shouted back from across the ice. The cheeky, redheaded man held a baby that, from here, appeared identical to the one in Maddox’s arms.
“He’s just protective of the people he loves.”
The feminine voice startled me, and I levitated off the bench, throwing a hand over my racing heart. “Jesus.”
When I finally recovered, daring to discover who had ambushed me this time, I found Bristol staring down at me, hip propped against the half-wall, one hand resting on her belly, which had grown since the last time I’d seen her.
Sliding down the bench, I made room for her. “Please sit.”
Bristol dropped down beside me, groaning as she placed a palm against her lower back. “I need to ditch the heels soon.Maddox gives me hell every time I ask for a back rub. See? Protective.”
Humming in response, I had a few choice words to describe that man, none of them kind.
She huffed out a laugh. “Don’t get me wrong, he can be a stubborn ass too. I’m not blind to his faults. But he’s as loyal as they come.”
“Look, I know you’re married to the guy, but being accused of being a gold-digging bitch doesn’t sit well with me.”
Her big blue eyes bulged. “He saidwhat?!” Her voice rose to a pitch only dogs could hear, and I winced.
Jumping to her feet in a flash—damn, she was spry for a pregnant lady—her yell echoed throughout the arena. “MADDOX STERLING!” Every head turned in our direction, including the one belonging to the man in question. “You get your butt over here and apologize! Right! Now!”
Not gonna lie. Watching the color drain from Maddox’s face was extremely satisfying. He shoved the baby he held into the arms of the blonde woman beside Jenner and skated over like the hounds of Hell were chasing him.
“Bristol,” he hedged, tone wary. “Calm down.”
“Calm down.” She scoffed. “Calm down? After you insulted Goose’s girl?! Oh, I don’t think so.”
Maddox extended his hands toward Bristol but thought better of touching her when she shot him a death glare. Sighing, he tried again. “You getting upset isn’t good for the baby.” He gestured to her protruding stomach.
Hands flew to her hips. “You know what’s not good for the baby? Having a father who’s an asshole. Apologize. Now!”
Flustered, he ran both hands through his hair, tugging on the strands. “Babe, I was only trying to look out for Goose. You know how he—”
“No. You don’t get to fit this under the umbrella of looking out for your players, for yourfriends.”
“Yep,” Maddox agreed. “You’re right.” Peeking at me, he hung his head. “Sorry, Gemma. I was out of line.”
When I opened my mouth to accept his apology, Bristol cut me off. “No. He needs to sit on this one for a bit.” With that, she spun on her heel and rushed down the tunnel that led into the underbelly of the arena.
“Fuck,” Maddox cursed under his breath, taking off after her.
I might’ve felt bad for the guy if he hadn’t been a colossal prick to me only moments ago.
“Look at you, making all kinds of new friends.” I bit back a moan when I turned to find Sasha resting his forearms on the half-wall, face mere inches from mine.
“That was . . . intense.”
He smirked, blue eyes sparkling. “He’s staring down a few days in the doghouse.”
A retort about him having earned that punishment was on the tip of my tongue, but I swallowed it down.
“Wanna get out of here, beautiful?” Sasha rose to his full height, offering me his hand.
Relieved didn’t begin to cover it. The countless interactions with his friends had left me completely drained.
He let me grip his hand tightly as I wobbled along the rubber mats, balancing on the thin metal skate blades down the hallway that led to the locker room. Dropping onto the bench with a sigh, I was more than happy to let his nimble fingers undo the laces and slide them off my feet.
