Page 205 of Risking the Pucking Defense

The second my lips collide with hers, cheers erupt around us. But as amused as I am, I can’t break our kiss to laugh.

Instead, I drop my arm, wrapping it around her back and pinning her against me as our tongues collide.

It’s way too heated a kiss, considering there are kids around, but I have to trust their parents to make them look the other way for a few seconds.

I need my girl too badly to hold myself back right now.

“Shit,” I hiss when we eventually part. “You came,” I say, still in disbelief.

“For you. For us.”

“And what about everyone around us?” I ask, aware that she’s terrified of having the world know her business.

“I’m learning to trust people, and I think that I can do that with everyone here. What do you think?”

“You absolutely can. They’ve got our backs, one hundred percent.” A laugh erupts out of me, and I shake my head. “You’re really here.” I hold her eyes for a beat before letting them drop down her body.

She might be wearing a shirt and skirt, but I can see what’s beneath.

“And you’re wearing my favorite bikini.”

“Kind of,” she confesses.

“What does that mean?”

“I’m not letting my ass out for your teammates.”

I can’t help but laugh again. “Good. Not that any of them stand a chance. You’re mine, baby.”

She smiles up at me. “Yeah, I am.”

“Come on, let’s get you a drink. I think you’re going to need it.”

As I tow her away from the spot where I met her, I feel eyes follow us.

“What can I get for you, ma’am?” Coach says as we step up to his makeshift bar.

“Uh, vodka Coke? And please, don’t call me ma’am. Hayden already makes me feel old.”

Coach barks out a laugh. “Just you wait until you’ve got a kid in her twenties. Then you’ll feel old.”

“Monroe?”

“Just a soda, thanks.”

“Ready?” I ask once Hailee has had a sip of her drink.

“I’m not sure I could ever be ready for this. But let’s do it.”

We barely make it two steps before the girls are on her. Casey, Parker, Freya, and Bea all pull her in for hugs. I stand on the periphery and watch with a smile.

“So…is now a good time to confess that Bea wasn’t having a nap?”

“Thank you,” I breathe.

“Nah, man. You don’t need to thank me for anything. And I’m not just saying that, because it was all Bea.”

“Oh, sure you’re not.”