Goalie Interference (NHL Scorpions) (30 page)

“Did you ever think we’d get here, Zoe? You and me, an eight-year-old girl, and a huge beast of a dog lying at our feet?”

“No, but keep in mind, the dog’s not staying.” She turned and kissed his cheek. “I love you, Vlad Bejsiuk. I know I gave you a lot of grief, but I’m glad you kept interfering in my life.”

“I had to. Sometimes interference gets the girl.”

It was a beautiful sixty-five degrees the day of the wedding. Zoe, Lacey and Crystal were at the courthouse waiting for Vlad and Jody.

“You look gorgeous, as usual, Zoe.” Lacey held her hands and looked her over. “Red is such a fabulous color for you.”

Zoe looked at Lacey’s huge belly and felt a stab of envy. “No,
you
look gorgeous, Lace. Huge, but gorgeous.” Zoe was the only one who could get away with telling Lacey how big she was. “I’m a little jealous.”

“It’ll be your turn soon enough.”

Zoe looked around to make sure Crystal hadn’t heard her. “Shhh, I told you, I’m not sure. I haven’t said anything. I only just missed my period.”

“Go buy a test! What are you waiting for?”

“I just don’t want to be disappointed. I figure this way, it can kind of sneak up on me, you know?”

“Well, I can’t wait to have Addie. I’m tired of being pregnant. Three more weeks. Ugh, I don’t know if I’ll make it.” Lacey looked around the room as if in search of something.

“What are you looking for?”

“I thought I heard Jody’s truck. He always has food on him, and I’m hungry.”

Zoe was laughing as Crystal tugged on her skirt. “Zoe?”

“What is it, sweetheart?”

“I’m hungry, too. When is Daddy going to get here?”

“Well, if you two weren’t so superstitious, he would have come with us. Now, you have to wait.”

“That’s my fault. Jody’s late for everything.”

No sooner had Lacey spoken then Vlad and Jody walked into the waiting room.

Vlad marched right over to Zoe and took her in his arms. “You look beautiful. How did I get so lucky?” He loved that she was wearing red. He couldn’t have even imagined her in a traditional white wedding gown.

Zoe’s vows were very traditional, but said with heartfelt emotion. To Zoe’s surprise though, Vlad had made his own vows.

“Moya lyubov, I’m not good with words, you know that, but I want to try.” He cleared his throat and rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand as he spoke.

“From the first time I saw you through the glass at your front door, I wanted you for my own. I chased you for years. I drove you crazy. I made you angry. I made you happy. I made you sad. I made you laugh, and I’ve even made you cry. But none of those things compare to what you’ve done to me.” He got down on both of his knees before her, taking both of her hands in his.

She looked down at him with tears in her eyes. “What are you doing?”

He smiled up at her. “Shhh. It’s still my turn.”

She obliged and didn’t say another word.

“You’ve made me rethink the way I live my life. You’ve made me rethink what it truly means to be a man. You’ve taught me the right way to love a woman. You’ve shown me that my heart is no longer my own—I share it with you and Crystal. You’ve made me strive to want to be the best husband I can.” He looked over at Crystal and winked at her. “To be the best father I can.” His voice rough with emotion, he finished his vows. “Zoe, I love you with everything I am. I swear to you that I will try each and every day to be worthy of the love you’ve given me. For the rest of my life, I will be thankful that you’re my wife. YA lyublyu tebya.”

Zoe sank down to her knees in front of him. “I love you, too.” She wiped her tears away and kissed him.

“And they lived happily ever after.” Crystal said. “Just like the princes and princesses do.”

Please turn the page for a sneak peek at
Cage’s Misconduct
. It is subject to change.

Cage loved wedding cake. People usually turned their noses up at it, but that was his favorite part of a wedding reception. He had a big sweet tooth, and he was lucky he was an athlete or he’d be one huge man.

He was strolling around the hall at Vlad & Zoe Bejsiuk’s wedding celebration looking for his conquest of the night. He was getting tired of redheads. It wasn’t that he didn’t like them—he’d had a bunch of redheads over the past six months or so—but it was time for a change.

He was just about to stroll up to a leggy blonde standing by the door when he caught a flicker of something ice blue floating by. As he turned to look, a bunch of the guys from the Scorpions walked over to where he was standing. He hardly even noticed them. His gaze was riveted on the blue dress.

Karen was so excited to be there. She hadn’t spent much time in San Diego before. She’d only been there for a couple of quick visits. This time, though, she was there to scope out job opportunities. She was ready for a change and wanted to move to San Diego permanently.

Being surrounded by so many hot hockey guys could be exhilarating, but she’d be cold, dead, and buried before she became just another notch on a bedpost. There was nothing wrong with having a little fun, but she was over that. She was twenty-eight years old and wanted to find Mr. Right. She doubted she’d find him amidst a bunch of rowdy NHLers, although they were fun to hang around with from time to time.

Taking a break from making small talk with everyone, she wandered over to the bar. “Can I have a dirty martini please?”

Keith Lambert, the captain of the Scorpions snapped his fingers in front of Cage’s face. “Yo. What are you looking at? Hello? Booker?” Keith looked over to where Cage was looking. There were too many people standing around to pick out who he was looking at, but then the crowd thinned.

“Booker. Hey man, listen to me. Not her. Do you hear me? Not her. Anyone else in the entire room, but not her.”

“Are you crazy man? Look at the tits on her. And Christ! Her ass is more than a handful. Yeah, I’ll be having me some of that.”

Keith looked behind him and cursed. “Cage, I’m telling you, man, shut your mouth.”

“Too late,” boomed a voice that Cage belatedly recognized.

Jody LaGrange, all six-foot-three, two hundred thirty pounds of him, was the former enforcer for the Scorpions, and he had always hated Cage, but never more than at that moment. He whipped Cage around and planted his fist so hard in his face, the bone breaking sounded like a clap of thunder.

“What the fuck, old man? You broke my fucking nose!”

“Keep your goddamn eyes off my little sister!”

My first acknowledgement goes to Beth MacMullin. She is an awesome beta. She always makes time for me and gives me detailed notes. I can run ideas by her and know that I’ll get an honest answer, even if it’s not what I want to hear. She’s priceless.

I also want to thank my awesome cover designer, David Goldhahn. I think he outdid himself on this cover. It is gorgeous!

Thank you to Madison Seidler for her editing. I still haven’t quite figured out those commas!

And a special shout-out to my Facebook followers. You guys/gals are awesome. You’re so supportive, and I love when you bug me for a release date! Thank you!