Two other women joined us: Bridget and Becca. And no, they didn’t look anything alike. All three were slim and could easily be models, but that was where the similarity ended. Kari was tall and blonde like a gorgeous Scandinavian goddess. Except I didn’t think most Scandinavian goddesses chased around two rambunctious two-year-oldboys.
Bridget could’ve easily been my (slightly) younger sister. Only her red hair was practically down to her waist. Think Disney’s version ofThe Little Mermaid…minus thetail.
Then there was Becca. With her black hair and fair skin, she was a shoo-in if Hollywood ever made a remake of Snow White (okay, make that a remake of two remakes of Snow White). She was also the shortest and curviest of the trio and was rocking an adorable, sleeping six-month-old boy in herarms.
“Kari told us Josh is now a member of HDF,” Bridget said, giving me a pityingsmile.
Becca snickered. “I still can’t believe they went with Hockey Dads Forever. I was only joking when I suggestedit.”
“Why? Is it bad that he joined?” I asked. So far, it didn’t seem too awful, other than the initiation test he’d had to do. Correction.We’dhad todo.
The three women cracked up. Was I the only one who didn’t find that veryreassuring?
“If your boyfriend’s hoping to learn how to be a father, he’s hanging out with the wrong group,” Beccasaid.
“But they do try,” Kari piped in. “So we have to give them credit forthat.”
The two other women nodded, fightinggrins.
“It’s not a bad thing,” Bridget said. “At least they’re making an effort. It’s not easy for them when they’re away a lot. They miss so much when it comes to the developmental milestones of theirkids.”
“That’s why you have to do everything you can to make sure Josh doesn’t miss too much while he’s away,” Becca said. “You’ll get used to Skyping daily, plus videotaping your child practically all the time, just so you can share the videos withJosh.”
“And definitely do that,” Kari added. “There are a lot of temptations on the road. Some players are great at ignoring them, remembering what’s waiting for them athome.”
“But other players aren’t so good at walking past the puck bunnies,” Bridget said. The three women turned to look at her husband, Josh, and another player. Henrik Karlsson, if I rememberedcorrectly.
“His wife—or rather ex-wife—discovered a selfie a bunny had taken with him and then posted on the internet. Both he and the bunny were obviously naked in bed at the time. It had gone viral, so there was no missingit.”
That did soundfamiliar.
Was I nervous after everything they had told me? Not really. I trusted Josh. As long as I was his girlfriend, he wouldn’t stray. I could thank his father forthat.
“Hey, Josh,” Becca said a little too brightly, looking over myshoulder.
I spun around. Josh, Jyri, Mark, and Sean, along with their teammate Travis Hamilton, approached us with beer bottles inhand.
Mark swooped down and kissed the forehead of his sleepingson.
Sean was carrying his giggling one-year-old daughter. He kissed Bridget’s cheek, then asked her, “You four keeping out oftrouble?”
“We could say the same to you,” she said, grinning up at her husband as Josh pulled me back against him, his hand possessively on mybelly.
I looked over my shoulder and was awarded with a tender kiss that melted every part of me. Chocolate left in the sun had nothing onme.
I was vaguely aware of Travis grunting a God-you-guys-are-so-pussy-whipped groan. Laughing to myself, I pulled away from Josh, winked at his teammate, and turned my attention to Sierra, Bridget’sdaughter.
“Who’s that?” I asked her, pointing at the large yellow toy fish in herarms.
Sierra grinned, revealing a few babyteeth.
“Is this Flounder?” Sean asked her, and she giggledagain.
“Why did you call it Flounder?” Josh asked. Maybe it was just my hormones, but was I the only person who thought he looked adorable whenconfused?
Okay, definitely myhormones.
Sean’s eyes widened. “How can you not know who Flounder is? And you’re going to be a father?” He sounded indignantly wounded but the mischief in his eyes saidotherwise.
