Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 83358 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 417(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83358 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 417(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
“But…”
“Go,” she says, pushing me toward the woman. “I’ll eat the rest of this pretzel on the way to my car like the classy bitch I am.”
I squeeze her hand and whisper my thanks before following the staffer up the steps to the main concourse, around the arena to a private door that leads into a small hallway with an elevator. Down two floors where she announces as we step out, “This is the basement level. The locker rooms, showers, therapy rooms and coaching offices are down that corridor.”
She takes a left and we head down another hall until we reach a door marked Family Room. Inside, the lighting is warm and the walls are covered in dark paneling and decorated with framed jerseys. There’s a buffet in the corner, juice boxes for kids, and several women in Titans gear chatting on couches.
I instantly feel out of place… an intruder. The staff person steps aside and motions me in. “Lucky will probably be about half an hour. Help yourself to food and drink.”
“Um… okay,” I say, anxiety creeping in. This is not normal. This is not average.
Someone touches my arm and I wheel around to see a tall woman with fiery red hair in a Titans’ jersey, standing there.
“You must be Winnie,” she says, smiling. “I’m Mazzy, Foster’s girlfriend. Foster called me a few minutes ago to say you’d be arriving and to keep you company until Lucky could get here.”
“Hi,” I say, instantly charmed and for some reason, completely at ease in the beautiful woman’s presence. I’m compelled to admit, “Sorry. I didn’t realize there was a whole room for… well, this. It’s a little overwhelming.”
Mazzy laughs. “Yeah, I felt that way too when I first started dating Foster.” She links her arm with mine. “But you’ll soon realize that there’s a little tribe of us who try to keep one another sane. Come on, I’ll introduce you.”
My head spins from a mixture of fear and curiosity as she leads me over to two other women standing in the corner. “Winnie… this is Mila, Penn’s girlfriend.”
A lovely black-haired, blue-eyed waif steps into me for a hug. “It’s so great to finally meet you,” she says.
Finally? What has Lucky been telling everyone?
“And I’m Tempe,” the other woman says and then also hugs me. I’m slightly dazzled by her honey-streaked hair and vivid green eyes. “I claim Rafferty, although sometimes I question my sanity on that.”
I’m immediately put at ease by her teasing. “It’s really nice to meet all of you. And you’re so nice to include me.”
“Girl… please,” Mazzy says with a wave of her hand. “We Titans women are closer than the men. This is where the real power lives.” Tempe and Mila nod in agreement. “I would say tell us all about you, but well… we know quite a bit already.”
I laugh. “TikTok.”
“There’s that,” she replies. “But Lucky talks about you too. We just adore him.”
“He’s quickly become the heart of this team,” Mila says.
“But let’s not discount what we can learn from TikTok,” Tempe chimes in. “I’m not around, so the only way I really know Lucky is through his social media posts. But you can tell… he’s genuine.”
That resonates with me. I don’t see Lucky as a professional hockey player first. No matter his star-studded life, he’s very much just… human.
But I’m curious. “Why aren’t you around?”
“I go to college in Virginia. I’m on spring break right now.”
“A long-distance relationship,” I murmur. “That must be tough.”
“It is… but we totally make it work.”
Mazzy snickers. “And it is work being on the arm of these guys.”
My head turns her way. “Hard work?”
“Fun work,” she counters with a sly grin. “The best kind of work. But I’m sure you’re figuring that out.”
I glance around the room, other women, men and kids hanging around, waiting for the players. They’re all leading unique lives attached to famous, wealthy professional athletes. They’ve all probably felt like me at one time or another.
And I realize… these ladies offer real-world advice. I turn back to Mazzy. “So, um… the team lost. And it kind of feels like I’m going to a funeral.”
Mila nods, her mouth drawn downward. “Everyone takes the losses hard. But the guys usually bounce back by morning. Let them sulk tonight.”
“Not sulking,” Tempe says with a laugh. “Processing.”
“Speak for your man.” Mazzy chortles. “Foster will sulk and I staunchly support his right to do it.”
“Even better,” Mila replies with a saucy grin, “be his distraction.”
Everyone laughs and I feel even more at ease. Mila, Mazzy and Tempe all tell me their origin stories but assure me I have the best meet-cute around. I’m not so sure about that. Rafferty walked up to Tempe as she stocked shelves in a grocery store, grabbed her and kissed her, and asked her to pretend to be his fake girlfriend to save him from some woman stalking him through the aisles. That sounds way funnier than the way Lucky and I met.