Technically, Gracen is neither of those things.
But still, I bet Lilly would feel more comfortable if her mom was there.
So I smile at Gray. "Yeah...I'll bring both Lilly and Gracen."
And I tell myself that I want to have Gracen come to the party just for Lilly's sake and it has nothing to do with the fact that I'm wanting to spend more time with Gracen.
Chapter 16
Gracen
Coach Pretore's house is massive, and the minute my foot hits the top step of his porch, I can hear the sounds of laughter and music coming from within. My anxiety swells as I'm getting ready to officially enter Marek's professional world. I'm not sure what the hell I'm doing here, and I was caught completely off guard when he invited me to the season opening party earlier in the week. "I want to bring Lilly so everyone can meet her, and I figured she'd feel more comfortable with you along. There will be other kids there, but--"
"Okay," I said softly as I folded a pile of clean laundry I had dumped on the kitchen table.
Marek blinked once as he realized I'd accepted the invitation, then his gaze dropped to the laundry. "You're folding my clothes."
"I washed them first. Don't worry," I replied cheekily.
"You don't have to do my laundry," he said somewhat flatly.
I shrugged. "Had nothing better to do, and you're letting me stay here rent and expense free."
"Gracen, you don't have--" he'd started to say, but I cut him off quickly.
"What kind of party is this we're going to?" I said, and Marek was sufficiently distracted.
It's apparently a hell of a big party, if the long line of cars down the streets of the neighborhood are any indication. Marek said Coach Pretore likes to get all the players, coaches, training staff, and executive management staff--along with their family members--together at the beginning of the season to bolster camaraderie. The first preseason game is in two days.
Marek doesn't even hesitate. Just pushes the front door open and steps inside. I tighten my hand on Lilly's and we follow him in. She was overly excited to come when she realized there'd be other kids here.
I'm immediately overwhelmed with the sheer number of people standing around and the volume of the conversation. I take in all the faces, and my anxiety increases from the fact that I don't know a single soul here other than Marek, who I'm betting is going to dump me within a matter of minutes.
Marek, however, takes just a few steps to the left to enter what looks like a formal sitting room, where he walks toward a couple standing there with a few people congregated around them. The petite, dark-haired woman is holding a tiny baby, and everyone is cooing and smiling at it. A tall guy with the most amazing amber eyes I've ever seen hovers right behind her.
I walk a few paces behind Marek as he steps right up to the couple, actually shouldering another guy out of the way that I actually recognize.
Max Fournier, the star goalie of the Cold Fury. I never stopped following hockey after Marek and I broke up. I love the sport, and of course I followed his career, particularly the last two years, since they won back-to-back Stanley Cup championships. Max is one of the stars of the team and is easily recognizable, so of course I know who he is.
Leaning over the baby, Marek strokes its chest with the tip of his finger before looking up to the man with the amber eyes. He grins and says, "Thank God he looks like Kate."
The man merely growls under his breath at Marek before his gaze goes back to the baby and a dopey, sweet, in-love smile takes over his face. Clearly he's the father.
Marek turns to me and to my surprise, holds his hand out to Lilly and me.
Well, to Lilly. Not to me.
I move Lilly in front of me and give her a tiny push toward Marek. He takes her hand and pulls her up to the group.
"This is Lilly," Marek says with so much pride in his voice that I'm both touched over his love of our daughter and ashamed this is his first experience with such an emotion.
Everyone warmly greets Lilly with big smiles on their faces. Marek told me that he told the team about her on Monday at the first day of training camp. The woman with the baby squats down and looks at Lilly. "This is Caleb. He was born just last month."
Lilly's eyes go round as she peers at the baby. She then turns to me and says, "Look, Mommy...a baby. So cute."
What follows feels like slow motion and there's a spotlight on me, and every person in the group now turns to stare at me.
My eyes cut to Marek and he flushes with guilt. To his credit, he sort of jumps at me and pulls me closer by my elbow. "Shit...I'm sorry. Everyone, this is Gracen. Lilly's mom."
To his further credit, he truly sounds sorry he forgot to introduce me, so I let it roll off my back. I smile around at everyone as Marek tells me each person's name one by one.
"That's Zack and Kate Grantham with the cute baby," Marek says as he nods at them. Kate straightens up and offers me a warm smile. I nod back at her.
"And this is Max Fournier and his fiancee, Jules."
I look to the couple that Marek points to and smile. "Hi. Nice to meet you."
Jules is so lovely with caramel-colored hair and the most beautifully warm, brown eyes. She immediately reaches a hand out to shake mine. "It's so great to meet you, Gracen."
"And this is Ben," Marek says more to Lilly than to me as his hand reaches out and ruffles the hair of a little boy whom I had not noticed earlier standing beside Kate. He's a good head taller than Lilly and looks a lot like Zack.
"All the kids are downstairs in the basement," Jules says as she turns to me. "Coach Pretore hired a magician to entertain them this year, as we're at record-breaking numbers for kids on this team."
Kate laughs and nods at baby Caleb in her arms. "No kidding. Gray and Sutton also just had babies, and Stephanie is due in September."
I'm immediately lost and overwhelmed again. So many names, and I don't know any of them.
"How old is Lilly?" Jules asks me, I think in a generous effort to make me feel more included.
"She'll be four in January," I say as my hand goes to Lilly's shoulder.
Jules grins. "My Annabelle is five and a half. She's downstairs with my boys. I can take Lilly down and introduce her."
I start to tell her I'll come with her, but then Josie is standing there hugging me hard. "There you are," she says exuberantly as I hug her back. Then she whispers in my ear, "Don't you dare leave me. I don't know anyone here."
When I pull back, I ask, "Where's Reed?"
"Grabbing some beers," she says, jerking her chin over her shoulder. No one bothers to introduce themselves to Josie, so I'm going to guess she's already met them, which means she definitely knows more people here than I do.
Still, it's nice to have one person I can hang with so I don't look like an idiot.
Jules inclines her head at Lilly. "Can I take her downstairs?"
I squeeze Lilly's shoulder and she looks at me. "Honey, want to go downstairs and play with the other kids? Jules here will take you."
She nods excitedly. "I want to go play."
I look back to Jules. "Are you sure?"
She waves her hand at me in dismissal. "I'm positive. Plus there's a lot of the moms down there. We'll keep a good eye on her."
"Okay then," I say as I bend down and give Lilly a kiss on her cheek. "Be good, and if you need me, Jules will bring you back up."
"Okay, Mommy," she says, and then throws her arms around my legs for a hard hug. I stroke her hair and then I'm floored when she turns to Marek and flings her arms around him.
He's equally as stunned and looks like someone just clobbered him over the head from her spontaneous show of affection. Before he can even get his arms to move to reciprocate, she's released him and slipping her hand in Jules's.
"I'm going with my girl," Max says as he pushes past us and follows Jules and Lilly. "She's better to look at than you lot."
Kate giggles, and Zack doesn't even acknowledge h
im. He merely takes Caleb from his wife, cradling him with such care it makes my heart flutter a bit. "Come on. Let's go show this kid off."
Zack gives me a smile and a nod. Kate gives an even bigger smile, and then they're gone, melting into the crowd.
Marek turns toward me. His eyes cut to Josie briefly, then he asks, "Are you hungry?"
"Not really," I tell him. We'd eaten dinner about an hour ago. Although Marek said there would be all kinds of great food here at this party, I ended up eating dinner with Lilly. I knew she wouldn't be able to last until the party started.
"Want something to drink?" he asks, sounding almost gallant.