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If it was a trial I had to go through to verify my commitment, I’d do it, but something in my gut told me this wasn’t how it was supposed to be.
I sent my message as it was and put my phone away. Bash was curled up, his head resting on our pile of bags, and Em had molded her body against mine as she slept. I leaned against her, thankful I didn’t have to navigate any of this alone, but wishing they were awake.
I had the right people. They were my soulmates and I would do whatever it took to be with them forever. But why did everything have to keep going wrong?
Chapter Twenty-Two
Emily
“We’re here,” Mac whispered, his hand on my shoulder.
I put my hand over his and smiled. “I was having the best dream—”
He smirked, his eyes darkening. “With me?”
“And him.” I nudged my chin in Bash’s direction.
“Tell me every detail tonight.”
“Promise.”
We leaned over Bash’s seat and his eyes snapped open before we even touched him.
“We’re here.” I pointed out the window at the dense forest that surrounded us.
Bash stretched, his cheeks pink from his nap, his eyes still sleepy. It took all my self-control to grab my bag from him and exit the bus. We could have stayed right there and continued my dream—
McClanahan brushed past us, handing Mac a flyer. “The team’s meeting up in our cabin to go over everything. Here’s the map and itinerary.”
Mac skimmed over the page, his face falling. “We have to sleep apart.”
“That could be kind of exciting, no?” I chewed the corner of my mouth, not at all buying my own words.
He handed me the paper and grabbed his bag. “The two of you are together, with Julie. But the rest of the team is in one big cabin, including the coaches.”
There’d be no fooling around at this retreat. It was for the best, though. We knew going into it, it was a work trip and very necessary for the team to regroup after this season’s loss.
“We’ll be home in a few days,” I assured Mac. “And I’m not letting you out of my sight once we walk through our front door.”
“Me either,” Bash growled, raking his eyes over Mac from head to toe.
Mac tried to respond, but his cheeks flamed red as he walked off the bus in front of Bash, swaying his hips just enough to make sure all three of us would be nice and bothered all night.
We followed a line of hockey players through the woods and down a path the bus couldn’t drive. Everything about being there—minus the nights away from Mac—was exactly what I needed.
Going to the lake house had been what I thought I needed. A few nights in nature, a chance to reconnect with my family. On paper, it sounded great, but that had backfired.
As I watched the guys all joking around and picking on each other, I realized this was way better. Sloan was tossing something to Lightning, keeping it from Strelow, and the three of them were laughing so hard they could barely walk straight.
I smiled at them and laced my fingers through Mac’s. “It’ll go by fast.” I kissed his shoulder and turned to Bash. “I don’t think we should do anything without Mac there—”
“But I’ve always wanted to fool around in front of Julie,” Bash deadpanned.
I snorted, drawing most of the team’s attention to me. I waved them away and pulled out my camera. “Don’t mess with me or I’ll record every second of this.”
“I’ll leave you alone.” Strelow threw his hands up, effectively catching what I realized was a stick of deodorant from Lightning’s last throw. He looked at it, just as surprised as I was.
Mac laughed and reached over, pulling the zipper on Bash’s hoodie jacket up to his chin. “I agree with Pink. I know we just talked about not needing all three of us there, but something about being a cabin away while the two of you—” He looked around and lowered his voice. “Just don’t. Please?”
