Page 35 of Scoring Chance

“How did that get in here?” I nodded in the direction the dining room.

“I bought it. My table is bigger, but Mama’s resting in my apartment, and I didn't want to bother her tonight. Elena said we could do it here.”

I nodded. It was good that his mom was taking a break from the hospital for the night. I looked down at the box and back to him. “We should spread these out, I guess?”

I handed him a tray, and he set it down on the island before taking another one and creating a buffet line.

“What’s all this for?” I set the empty box down next to the trash can and looked for napkins and utensils.

“Coach asked a few of us to host a small dinner for different groups of guys from the team.”

“How many are coming?” There was enough food to feed ten men, and Elena was still bringing up the rest.

He shrugged a shoulder. “Four or five. He wants us to get to know each other off the ice.”

“So, it’s not the normal group?”

A knock interrupted before he could respond. I opened the door, and Elena shuffled in. “I locked your car. Hope you have your keys.”

I rolled my eyes. “I have them. Thanks for checking first.”

She smirked and shoved the box on the counter. “Everyone should be here in about ten minutes. We’ll get this set up if you want to change.”

I looked down at my jeans and polo. “Something wrong with this?”

Nikolay shook his head and continued setting out the food. Elena pursed her lips, giving me a look that reminded me so much of our mom I almost laughed. “You look great. You always do. I was just giving you a warning in case you wanted to put on something other than your work uniform.”

I turned away from her and back to Nikolay. “Who’s coming?”

“Josh, Derrek, Jones, and Malkin.”

I only knew two of those guys well. I guessed Coach was really mixing them up. “Is Colby coming?” Malkin’s fiancé was one of my favorite women from the Pride.

“Yeah,” Elena replied while setting out plates.

I nodded and went to my room. I changed into an oversized cream sweater and black leggings. It was one of the rare days my hair wasn’t up in a ponytail so I left it down and called it good.

The doorbell rang as I walked out but Elena answered before I could. Josh, one of the rookies, walked in. He had long blonde hair and a slight Scandinavian accent. I hadn’t spent much time around him, but he seemed nice if a bit young.

“Hi Nikolay. Elena.” He gave Elena a side hug and nodded to his teammate. He stopped when he saw me and smiled. “Hello Amelia.”

I shouldn’t have been surprised he knew my name. The team was terrible with gossip. “Hi Josh. Nice to officially meet you.” I offered my hand, and he shook it while holding my gaze.

He was handsome, in a macho Viking way, but I just wasn’t interested. There was nothing there when he touched me. Not like there was with… I shook the thought away. Just because I felt something didn’t mean he did. So far, we’d kept things in the friend-zone, and I had to be okay with that for now. He had more important things to deal on the team, and I was still adjusting to living here.

The door opened again and Noah Malkin walked in with Colby. They slid off their coats and greeted everyone. Colby noticed me and hurried over. “Hey I missed you this week.”

She pulled me into a hug, and I squeezed her back. “I know. I wish I could get away for practices, but it’s too hard.”

She nodded. “Same with Madi. At least you guys can make it to games.”

“True.” I looked around as Derrek and Jones walked in together. Jones was a defenseman on Nikolay’s line. At least, last time I paid attention he was. He was another large man, but his short brown hair, styled to the side, and his black rimmed glasses made him much less intimidating than Thor, I mean Josh. He looked like Clark Kent, if Clark Kent never missed a gym session.

“Hi, I’m Zach.” I blinked and shook his hand.

“Sorry, I’m so used to people calling you Jones. That caught me off guard. Sometimes I forget you guys have first names.”

He laughed, a deep lovely sound. “I’ll respond to either.”