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I groaned when I saw the first headline waiting for me. I really needed to turn off Evergreens’ notifications during the off-season.
Mac’s eyes snapped open, and he sat up, stretching and running his hands through his messy curls.
“Good morning,” he rasped, kissing my cheek.
I kissed him back and hesitated, wondering if it was worth ruining these cozy morning vibes with the maliciousness I had just read.
“Morning,” Bash murmured, kissing me before stretching across to kiss Mac.
It was a good morning. A calm morning. But could I keep the headlines away from them? And had protecting them gotten me anywhere last time?
Nope.
“There are more articles.” I held up my phone before I could chicken out.
Bash scanned the headline on my screen and kissed the top of my head. “You came to us first—”
“What a good girl,” Mac purred, running his fingers along my back until I shivered.
“You’re not mad?”
I turned my phone, the headline glaring for Mac to read it.
Hockey Star Marries Two: Is This the End of His Career?
“That you came to us? I quite prefer it,” Mac said, smirking and dragging his hand across my chest, sneaking a feel inside my shirt.
I moaned and leaned into both of them. “Turns out it’s exhausting carrying everyone’s opinions by myself.”
“It’s all speculation about our wedding.” Bash frowned and scrolled until he reached the bottom. “Nothing of substance. All rumors.”
“Are you okay?” I asked Mac, knowing the assumptions could hurt him the worst.
He nodded. “A few weeks ago, it would have eaten at me, but the team knows we’re in it for the right reasons and they’re like family now.”
“They really are,” I said, thinking about how I didn’t feel out of place or like a burden at all during the retreat.
When all the guys huddled around and asked us about how things were going, it was obvious they actually cared. They were more invested in everything we had to say than our own families had been. Instead of adding to our stress, they were in problem-solving mode.
“I say we have the biggest, baddest wedding in town.” Mac kissed my neck and then Bash’s. “We show them that their words don’t matter.”
My stomach twisted, and I froze, Roxie’s suggestion coming back to me. No longer an abstract statement while the guys were gone, but something I would need to face head on.
“What is it, Pink?”
I sucked in a huge breath and twisted my hands together. “What about canceling the wedding?”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Sebastian
“Is that what you want, Pink?” Mac asked, holding onto Em’s hands so tightly his knuckles turned white.
“Kind of,” she whispered.
I wrapped my arm around her, drawing her against my chest. “Is it?”
“If it’s a decision all three of us want, yes.” Her voice was stronger. Her jaw set squarely, like she was challenging us.
