Trouble : Boston Bolts Hockey

Lake: Hi! It’s me. Your best friend. You ever leaving that sex dungeon?

Me: LOL. It’s not a sex dungeon. Cade just got here this a.m.Belonging to NôvelDrama.Org.

Lake: Are you telling me nothing’s happened with the chief?

Me: I’m not not telling you that.

Lake: Okay, I read that like six times, and this momma brain isn’t sure if you’re confirming or denying that something is going on with Declan.

Lake: Hello?

Lake: Melina?

With a giggle, I pocket my phone, ignoring my best friend. Making her suffer gives me a sick satisfaction, I guess. It’s midmorning, and if we don’t get out of this house, I’m pretty sure we’ll just continue fucking. The idea is beyond tempting, but I’d like to save a little energy for Declan tonight.

If he actually comes home.

Cade pulls me against his chest, the small act of affection warming my body. He’s so good at this—showing me exactly how he feels; kisses, cuddles, catching me in front of his team and spinning me around like I’m all he sees.

“Where are we headed?” he asks as I lead him through town toward the bakery. It’s become my addiction since Declan took me last week.

It’s wild to think it’s only been two weeks since my life turned upside down. Three weeks since I met Declan and Cade. With Christmas around the corner and Jason in the hospital and under surveillance, apparently, I don’t really need to stay at Declan’s anymore.

I shove that thought down. Hopefully, I can enjoy this last weekend with the two of them, in this little haven of a town I’ve found, then figure out my next steps.

Going back to my apartment in New York feels too daunting. But maybe I could get a place in Boston. That way I’d only be an hour from Lake. And I’d still have Cade. If he still wants to hang out, that is. And I could come visit Declan…

God, get out of your head, Mel.

“Donuts, then shopping.”

Cade smiles. “Jules’?”

“You know it?”

He laughs, a white cloud forming in the air in front of him. “I grew up here, remember? I visit pretty often, and since Declan’s only indulgence is food, yeah, I know it.”

Stomach swooping, I bite my lip. “That’s not his only indulgence.”

With a squeeze to my shoulder, he hums but doesn’t say anything.

“Does he know how you feel?” I ask.

From what I’ve seen, Cade’s interest in Declan is so much more than sexual. The way he talked about his fantasies while we were in bed blew my mind, but at the memory of the pain in his eyes, the longing when Declan disappeared, my chest aches.

Oddly, I don’t feel threatened by Cade’s feelings for his best friend. I’ve been known to be a jealous person, and I thrive on attention—of course I do; I love the spotlight, being on stage, having all eyes on me—but I don’t mind sharing that spotlight with Declan. It doesn’t feel like Cade wants him more than he wants me. He wants us both. Together. Like the three of us together would be his ultimate dream.

And though this kind of thing never crossed my mind before I met these men, I can say with certainty that it’s now my dream too.

The question is, where does Declan fit into all of this? There is a longing there, I have no doubt, but I’m not sure he’ll ever allow himself to act on it.

“About you?”

Oh, he’s being cute, trying to evade my question by focusing on me.

Ahead of us, two women walk out of Jules’ with coffees in their hands, bundled up and talking loudly.

I can’t see their faces, but one has blond hair sticking out below her black beanie. Her friend has caramel-colored hair, and when she practically trips down the steps, her friend grabs her, keeping her from falling.

“We need to wrap you in bubble wrap so that my niece survives this pregnancy without too many bruises.”

The woman who tripped splays her hand over her stomach and smiles brightly. “You sound like your brother.”

The girl scoffs. “Please, if I were Jack, I’d say, ‘Sassy, you have to be more careful. I love you too much to see you hurt.’”

My chest fills with warmth at their banter, and as the blonde looks up and spots us, I recognize her immediately. “Amelia Pearson?”

“Mel?” She lunges forward and scoops me into a hug. “Lake told me you were in town. Chief must be keeping you on some serious lockdown. I haven’t seen you at all.”

Amelia and her husband Nate lived in Nashville when Lake and I were there. Though Lake was the first to get her big break, Nate also found fame. Amelia, his girlfriend at the time, has an incredible voice too. They released their first album together a few years ago and are pretty well-known around the country, but they spend the majority of their time here, in the town where they grew up.

Amelia steps back and yanks Cade into a hug as well. “Visiting for the weekend?”

“Yeah.” He steps back and sticks his hands into his pockets. “We don’t have another game until Tuesday.”

Just the idea of Cade leaving on Monday morning has dread sinking in my stomach.

“Staying at Declan’s?”

“Yeah, I’ll have dinner at my mom’s tomorrow.”

Breath catching, I blink at him. How did I not know that his mom lives in Bristol too?

The answer blares loudly in my head, making my gut churn. I didn’t know because we’re only fooling around. This isn’t a date. I’d somehow begun to think the little game we’d been playing of being boyfriend and girlfriend had turned real.

We’re having sex.

Mind-blowing sex. But that’s all we’re really doing.

Amelia steps back and pulls her friend to her side. “This is Charlotte, my sister-in-law. Charlotte, this is Cade Fitzgerald. He was a few years ahead of Jack in school, and this is⁠—”

“Melina Rodriguez,” Charlotte says, nudging her friend in the side. “This woman does not need an introduction. I’m a huge fan.” Her cheeks go rosy as she smiles at me.

I laugh. “Well, thank you. But here, I’m just Mel.”

She blinks several times. Then, out the side of her mouth, she mumbles, “Did you hear that? Melina Rodriguez said I can call her Mel.”

We all laugh again, the simple action relieving the ball of dread sinking in my stomach.

“You going into Jules’?” Amelia asks.

“Yeah.” Cade thumbs over at me. “This one has become obsessed with their donuts. Then we’re going shopping and who knows what else.”

“Make sure you come by the flower shop. I’ll set a bouquet aside for you to take to your mother,” Amelia says with a wink. “And maybe we’ll see you both at the Christmas festival tonight?”

Cade dips his chin. “Thank you.”

“It was good to see you,” I say to Amelia, then turn to Charlotte. “And so nice to meet you.”

Charlotte gives me an awkward wave and giggles—she’s adorable, with her tiny pregnant belly and her fan-girl moment—and then they’re gone.

Cade pulls the door open, and the smell of sugar and espresso almost bowls me over. “Come on, let’s get you your sugar fix.”

The shop is small, but there is a single empty table available. Cade kisses my temple and points to it. “Go save a seat, and I’ll order. What do you want?”

A kaleidoscope of donut options filters through my head, making my mouth water. “What do I want? What do I want?” I hum, scanning the choices behind the glass. When I discover that the special is cinnamon streusel, the choice is an easy one.

Once I’m seated, I allow myself a moment to watch Cade. The young woman behind the counter blushes as she rings him up. How could she not? He is stupidly good-looking. He’s pretty. Blue eyes, dirty-blond hair peeking out of his backward Bolts hat, broad shoulders, thick thighs, a bubble butt, and god, when he turns and smiles at me, laughing at something the girl must have said, my heart flips over.

I like this man.

A lot.

The sound of a chair scraping against the floor breaks the Cade trance I’m in. The woman at the table beside me has pushed her chair so close it’s almost kissing mine. “Is that Cade Fitzgerald?”

She’s got to be in her eighties, with white hair, round cheeks, and a knowing glint in her eye. Her bright blue muumuu is similar to the kind my Vovo wears around the house, though I don’t think she’d be caught dead wearing it in public like this.

Beside her, a gorgeous woman with long jet-black hair leans over and pulls on the woman’s chair, bringing her back to her table. “Leave them be, Carmella.”

I bite my lip on a smile as the older woman—Carmella—swats at her younger friend. “She’s staying with our broody chief. Just trying to figure out the story.”

“Gossip,” the woman chides. She angles forward and gives me an apologetic smile. “She loves to gossip.”

I chuckle. “I am staying with the broody chief. And that is Cade.”

Carmella wiggles in her seat, brows dancing. “Oh, I can’t wait to see how this plays out.”

And I’ve got to be honest, I can’t either.