Body Checking (Men of Havoc #3)

19

THE BUZZER sounds and the Havoc men cheer, sticks up in the air and circle around each other. Cade smiles and crosses his arms over his chest, and from here I can see a small cut on his lip that I swear wasn’t there this morning.

He looks over his shoulder at me and smiles with a wink. Butterflies swoop and swirl in my stomach and I feel my cheeks flush.

A pointy elbow nudges my side and I turn to see Sasha smiling at me. “Maren’s in looove,” she sings and pokes at me.

I bat her hands away and shove her shoulder. “Oh hush. I am not.”

“You told Walker you were going to marry Cade one day and if you two keep falling head over heels for each other day after day, I can definitely see it going that way.”

“Whatever,” I continue to clap and cheer until the team leaves the ice, then Sasha and I make our way up the steps and towards the VIP entrance. “Did you see that cut that was on Cade’s lip? It looked like a fresh cut, don’t you think?”

She looks away quickly and says, “I really didn’t notice. Maybe he cut his lip trimming his beard or something.”

The straw she drinks from gurgles as she empties her cup. I narrow my eyes at her strange behavior, but I don’t have time to think too much about it. We reach the entrance doors and are let back to wait for the team.

We chat with some of the ladies we have become friendly with. Jolie Fairchild, Joaquín Santos’ girlfriend and Whirlwind dancer, enters with a red head woman and I can't help but stare at her beauty.

She smiles and greets a few people, then locks eyes with me and starts walking towards me.

“Sasha,” I whisper through my clenched teeth. “Jolie Fairchild is walking over here.” I try to grab her attention but she’s lost in conversation with one of the other player’s girlfriend.

“Hey,” Jolie says, stopping right in front of me. “You’re Maren, right?”

“Umhmm. Yep. That’s me.” I fumble over my words and end up sounding like a starstruck teenager.

It’s not that Jolie is this super famous person, but she and Joaquín Santos are the new it couple of sports. She’s on the cover of the Whirlwind Dancers calendar, and she’s beyond gorgeous. In my book, she’s pretty much a star.

“I’ve been wanting to meet you, but I always seem to miss you after the games.”

“Oh?” I say in response because I can’t imagine why she’d want to meet little ole me.

“Yes. Ever since Cade called Joaquín early that morning after he saw you on the Jumbotron, and then after today, I’ve wanted to meet you because I feel like we could totally be friends.”

“Not best friends. She’s mine. You can be first runner-up,” Sasha cuts in, but only for a moment before returning to her conversation.

“I’m sorry. I apologize for her. She was raised by lovely people with good morals and rules and somehow they passed right over her.” Jolie laughs and squeezes my arm.

“I totally get that. I have one of those, too. Her name is Brooke.”

We chat for another minute until something clicks into place that I really didn’t catch until now.

“Did you say something about what happened today?” I ask and her face turns ghostly white.

“Um…I–”

“Okay. I’m done,” Sasha practically shouts. “I’m Sasha. Oh my gosh, I adore your highlights. Who does your hair? ”

“Hold up. What’s with the shady behavior, Sash?”

Both Sasha and Jolie look at me and then each other, the two of them speaking to each other with just movement of their eyes.

“You two are hiding something and I want to know what it is.”

Jolie takes a deep breath then bites down on her lip while Sasha shuts one eye and scratches her eyebrow. I wait for someone to spill the beans when the door swings open and a few of the guys and Cade come walking though. I swear I hear both Jolie and Sasha breathe a sigh of relief.

Cade makes a beeline straight for me, dismissing everyone who tries to talk to him. His smile is electric and I’m sure mine matches. Without so much as making a noise, Cade grabs me, locks his lips to mine, and kisses me like the fate of the world depends on it.

We separate and I languidly open my eyes, not wanting the moment to be over yet, and he says, “Hello, Sweetheart.”

“Hi Hammer,” I whisper back. “Good game.”

“Thanks baby. I think your cheering helped.”

“I do have a question,” I tell him and he tilts his head to one side, curiously. “What happened to your lip?”

His eyes do the thing that has plagued Jolie and Sasha this evening and, just like them, his mouth stays shut .

“Something very fishy is going on with you three and I’m going to find out what. You three are holding out on me, and I suspect it’s not good.”

“You told her about her douchey ex,” Joaquín says as he joins us.

Cade groans, Sasha smacks her forehead, and Jolie smacks Joaquín.

“What is he talking about, Cade?” My eyes flit between the three of them, Joaquín looking like he’s in pain, and wait for an explanation.

“Thanks a lot, Santos. Line sprints for you tomorrow.” Joaquín’s body sags with disappointment. “Come with me and I’ll explain everything.”

Cade takes my hand and leads me out of the greeting room, down a hall, up some stairs, and into a darkened room. He flips the switch and it illuminates what I assume is his office.

“Have a seat baby.” He kisses my forehead –probably to soften the blow– and sits next to me in the chairs facing his desk.

With a deep breath, he begins spilling the beans about his little ruse he pulled to get Walker alone, and what he did to him once they were alone. My jaw hits the floor listening to what Cade did to him, and my stomach roils a bit .

“Cade! Why did you do that? What if he reports you to the police? You could go to jail and lose your job.”

“I don’t care, Maren. I couldn’t bear the thought of that fucker getting away with how he and his girlfriend treated you. Maybe he didn’t deliver the words, but he lied to her and that, in turn, caused her to say those things to you.”

A big fat tear runs down my cheek and Cade leans forward, kissing it away.

I sniff and ask him, “You did that for me?”He looks at me as if I just asked if Earth was round.

“Of course, Sweetheart. I’d do anything for you. Yes it’s only been weeks of us being together, but I’m crazy about you. It’s a little frightening how completely and utterly obsessed I am with you. Get used to me running when you ask me to walk, and diving head first when you ask me to wade.”

My hands are engulfed by his, and he rubs circles over the backs of them. “I feel the same about you, Cade.”

He practically jumps up from his chair, taking me with him, and plops me on the desk and stepping between my legs. The rough skin of his fingertips run along my jaw and I close my eyes and lean into his touch.

“You’re the only one I want by my side. And if you don’t mind an old man with bad knees and a cranky demeanor, I’m hoping you’ll want me by yours. Always. ”

I scratch his scruffy jaw and let the tears that are still building in my eyes flood over my lids. “I kinda like the cranky old guy just the way he is.”

Wrapping my arms around his neck, I kiss him and my heart flutters. Who would have imagined that one crazy night, drunk on fermented antioxidants, would lead to the man who I’ve been crushing on for years saying he’s obsessed with me. Only in my dreams have I ever imagined a moment like this. I used to think it could only be a fairytale Happily Ever After. But sitting here with this beast who’s more like a prince, I feel like I may need to get fitted for my own princess crown.

I really need to send Sasha’s cousin Beryl a thank you gift.