Page 24 of Penalty Kill

“All set?”

“Yeah!” They set out toward the exit when a blond in high heels and a skin-tight Fury shirt walked in. They almost ran into her but stopped in time.

“Hey! Watch it!” she screeched. Then she looked down at them and a fake smile spread across her face. “Oh, hello boys.”

They took a step back from her but didn’t seem scared.

“I haven’t seen you guys in so long.” She bent down a few inches. “How’s your mommy?”

The twins shared an apprehensive look before staring at the ground. Who was this woman? Was she with the Pride? I didn’t recognize her, but the introductions had all been so brief I could have forgotten.

I didn’t like that she was bothering them, though. I hadn’t brought up their mom because they never did. They weren’t shy about saying everything that went through their minds, so until they mentioned her, I wouldn’t.

“Come on, guys.” I tried to move between them and the stranger but she blocked me.

“Who are you?” she asked as if I were about to kidnap the boys. “Boys, you should come with me.”

I stared back at her, stunned by her catty attitude and her bold suggestion.

They took a step back, hitting my legs. “I don’t think so.”

“Sydney, would you mind holding this for me?” Madeline walked into the bathroom holding out a large soda and squeezed past me without paying any attention to the other woman. “I had a craving for a root beer, but as soon as I got it I had to pee. Of course.” She laughed and walked a few steps away before finally turning to face the very disgruntled woman. “Move on, leech.”

I nearly broke out laughing. I’d never seen such an indignant look as when the woman flung her hair over her shoulder and stormed out.

I almost laughed until I saw Madeline’s expression. “Who was that?”

Her eyes dipped to the boys. “One of her friends.”

Oh. Right. That made a lot of sense. Madeline had been nothing but sweet until now. I made a mental note to never cross her. “Got it.”

She went into a stall and we waited for her, dutifully holding her precious root beer. Once we were on our way back, the boys ran down the stairs while I took them slower with Madeline.

“Olivia didn’t sit with us. She never really made an effort to get to know any of the women in the Pride. She sat up in one of the suites with her friends and people she deemed worthy of her time.”

I wanted to ask more but now wasn’t the time. “Thanks for stepping in.”

“Anytime.” She smiled and we scooted through the aisle back to our seats.

“Look, Daddy has the puck!” Finn shouted.

I found him on the ice just in time to see him swing and shoot the puck past the goalie. We all jumped to our feet, screaming and cheering for him. The guys on the ice surrounded him, clapping him on the back and the helmet.

“That was amazing,” I said and the boys clapped. Seeing Brandon in his element was surreal. Sure, I figured he was a good player. You didn't become a professional athlete if you weren’t, but seeing him in action was completely different. He was so smooth, so natural. He made it look effortless, like I could lace up some skates and hit a tiny puck past an enormous man.

I couldn’t believe we almost missed that.

The boys were standing on their seats cheering proudly for their dad. He turned and pointed up at them which only made them cheer louder.

The crowd around us all turned and started staring at them, well, us. I realized then that I was with the boys, cheering like a madwoman in his jersey. Oh no. What did that look like to the outside world?

I quickly sat down and hoped I’d go unnoticed. The last thing I wanted was for rumors to start and add to the stress Brandon carried around every day.

“You’ll get used to it.” Emma squeezed my knee. “Brandon will need to make it known you’re the boys’ nanny, and people will move on.”

I wasn’t sure I believed there would ever come a time when I’d be used to people staring at me. Had I been ignorant to think Brandon’s career wouldn’t affect me? It wasn’t like we were ever together, at least not in public. I spent my time with the boys. People shouldn’t put us together, but that wasn’t how it felt right now. I felt like the entire arena was staring at me. Assuming.

I wasn’t bothered by it, except for the impact it could have on Brandon. He was dealing with enough. I knew how ruthless people could be, especially with celebrities, and Brandon might not act like it, but he was one. I checked his social media accounts. I knew his assistant ran them, but he had over two million followers. People loved him. He’d been a rock in the league for a long time. He was a household hockey name.