Jesus. Were we practically holding hands under the table? My heart was pounding a little harder than usual and my chest tightened with excitement. I felt like a teenager who’d just landed the pretty cheerleader and now all my friends were going to be jealous.
I didn’t know what the hell was wrong with me, but somewhere in the back of my mind I recalled a conversation where Ben had confessed he didn’t understand why Hadley was single.
“She’s gorgeous,” he’d told me. “Smart, independent, and has a huge heart. What’s wrong with guys that they don’t want her?”
“Well,” I’d drawled. “If she busts their balls the way she does mine, who has time for that?”
“Did it ever occur to you that she likes you but you’re such a player she doesn’t dare allow herself to get that close?”
I’d rolled my eyes. “Yeah, okay. If you say so. Frankly, she’s hot, but not my type.”
“I think she’s exactly your type. You just need to grow up enough to recognize it.”
Yeah, Ben had figured out there was potential there long before we did. As usual. Had Lauren had similar conversations with Hadley? I wished I could ask her, but we were exploring new territory and I didn’t want to scare her off.
“Hey, guys.” Van Lukather, a young defenseman on the team, came strolling in. He pulled out the chair next to Hadley’s, flipped it backward and straddled it. He was probably the funniest guy on the team, always cracking us up, though he was as serious as a heart attack on the ice. He also could throw a punch, which was convenient sometimes.
Right behind him was Rory Beauchamp and a pretty young woman I’d never seen before. Rory was kind of a wild card on the team. He was young, but not a rookie; talented, but without much discipline; and, a partier without limits. Coach had sat him down a few months back, giving him a talk about all that and now he appeared to have a girlfriend. Maybe we were all growing up?
“Hey, I’m Van.” Van held his hand out to Hadley. “I didn’t realize Wes had a girlfriend.”
“Oh, we’re not—” she began, yanking her hand off of mine.
“She’s not—” I said at the same time.
“Hey, it’s cool. None of my business.” He waved down the waiter and ordered a beer.
Hadley glanced at me and I looked back at her.
Like it or not, we had to talk about that kiss. I hoped like hell I was reading her signals right and she wanted more than just another kiss as much as I did.
Chapter Ten
Hadley
“The look on his face!” Drew threw his head back in laughter. “Ben hated having pranks pulled on him.”
“But he was the first one to laugh at the rest of us when we were on the receiving end,” Nash added.
There was a moment of silence at the table at Giovanna’s. Though there was sadness on many faces, there were also smiles. Hearing the story about the time Van had put a snake in a locker-room cooler and waited for Ben to open it in search of a drink had made me laugh. I liked finding out something I didn’t know about him—it almost made me feel like he was here with us. Or at least, his spirit.
“The rookies had it worse that year,” Wes said, shaking his head. “Van put the snake in bed with each of them, and we videotaped it.”
“Oh shit, that’s right!” Drew said. “Didn’t Rory piss himself?”
Rory glared at the team’s goalie. “I thought I was about to die, motherfucker. You guys are lucky none of us had heart conditions.”
Wes looked at me, his expression relaxed and happy. I was feeling the same way, both of us several drinks in and full of delicious bread and pasta neither of us had cooked or cleaned up after.
“I think the poor snake was more scared than anyone,” he said, giving my hand a little squeeze.
“I took him to the woods behind my parents’ house after,” Van said. “I’m sure he had a good life there.”
“Guys, I hate to do this, but we’ve gotta go,” Drew said, looking at Nina. “Our kids mercilessly wake up hungry and full of energy at six on the dot every morning.”
“Ugh.” Rory cringed. “I’d tell ‘em to grab a protein bar and let me sleep another hour.”
“Hadley,” Nina said as she stood up. “Can I come by tomorrow, early afternoon? I thought we could catch up and hang out with the kids.”
“Actually, I have both our nanny and Ben’s parents helping out right now, so I could do lunch out if you want.”
“That sounds great. Let’s text in the morning about a time and place.”
Wes leaned his face in close to mine and murmured, “Hope you don’t mind, but I texted Tori and told her she can have a few days off, with pay, while Patrick and Susan are here. I want them to get the full experience.”