“I’m not going to let you guys go in there together anymore if you’re going to fool around,” I warned.

“Liar,” Darla called from a stall at the end of the row.

I paid no attention as the door opened and more women filed in.

“Kacie?” My head snapped to the left at the sound of my name. Kendall was standing there with her mouth open. “Hi! It’s so good to see you here.” She walked over and pulled me into the fakest hug I’d ever had the displeasure of being a part of.

“Hi, Kendall,” I said as nice as I could through clenched teeth.

“We have to stop running into each other in bathrooms like this.” She laughed.

My gut reaction was to punch her right in her fake veneers, but I knew the girls would be out any second.

“What are you doing here anyway?” I asked, not caring how snotty I sounded.

She grinned and threw her hands up in the air innocently. “Season ticket holder, remember?”

I walked over and knocked on the stall door that Lucy and Piper were in. “Come on, you two. I want to get back to the game.”

“Awww, are your girls in there?” Kendall cooed.

Every hair on my mama-bear back rose. I wouldn’t fight her for Brody because I knew there was no competition between the two of us, but if she said one thing in front of my daughters, I would rip her damn head off.

“Yep,” I responded as the door opened. The girls came out and walked over to the sink to wash their hands. Darla came out of her stall at the same time and joined them.

She clapped her hands together as she watched Lucy and Piper at the sink. “Oh my, look at their cute little jerseys.”

“Brody got these for us,” Piper said proudly, whipping around to show Kendall the front of it.

“I have one just like it.” Kendall proudly pulled her hair to the side and turned around to reveal her Murphy #30 jersey.

Lucy frowned at her. “Did Brody give you that one?”

I struggled to contain my laugh.

“Uh, no, I bought it. But I am… friends with him,” she said, putting air quotes around the word friends.

“What are you, some hockey groupie?” Darla snarled as she dried her hands.

“Excuse me. I am not a hockey groupie.” Kendall cocked her hip to the side and crossed her arms over her chest, looking Darla up and down.

“Please, honey. Don’t get defensive with me. Your bony ass can’t handle it. It’s painfully obvious that you’re a Murphy reject. The bitterness is rotting on you like spoiled milk.” Darla tossed her paper towel in the trash. “I can smell it from miles away. There are plenty of other men on the team; go find one. Brody is spoken for.”

Kendall’s mouth fell open and her tarantula eyes, cloaked in too much mascara, grew wide.

“What’s the matter, princess? Cat got your tongue? That’s probably best for both of us.” She waved Kendall toward the doorway. “Go on now. Shoo, shoo.”

Kendall glared at me like she was looking for me to defend her, but I just tipped my head to the side and grinned at her. “I’ll be sure to tell Brody you said hello. You can say what you want about being friends, but I know for a fact you haven’t spoken to him in months.”

Kendall narrowed her eyes at me and huffed toward the bathroom door. She opened it and turned to say something to me one more time, but I didn’t give her the chance.

“Be sure to give Blaire my best and tell her I’m really sorry how things have worked out for her,” I sneered.

The door closed behind her and that was that. I turned to Darla and clutched my chest. “Oh my God, I thought I was going to die of a heart attack just now. I’ve been trying so hard to stand up for myself lately. I’m shaking, but holy crap, that was exciting.”

Darla laughed at me and took the girls’ hands. “Come on, Bambi. Let’s take your wobbly legs back to our seats.”

After we put our first Wild win in the books for the season—and my first shutout—I was ready for a quick shower and a day off with my girls. Coach Collins gave us a good talk in the locker room after the game, and on the way out the door, he patted my shoulder and nodded at me.

“Good game tonight, Murphy.”

“Thanks, Coach.” I nodded back.

There were always a few autograph seekers or kids straggling around in the hallway after the game, hoping for pictures or whatever. I scanned through the crowd, trying to find Kacie. We hadn’t really agreed to meet up after the game and I supposed she could’ve left and just gone straight to my house. I squinted against the lights and saw three Minnesota Wild jerseys halfway up the concourse.

One big one and two little ones. My girls.

Before I went to them, I happily made my way through the sea of waiting kids, signing autographs and taking pictures. When the crowd cleared, I looked up the hallway and Kacie was propped against the wall, smiling at me. Piper and Lucy were sitting on the ground using each other as a crutch, clearly done with all things hockey related.

I walked over, but stopped before I got to Kacie and leaned on the wall just like she was. “Hey, hot mama. You waiting on anyone special?”

She cocked an eyebrow and sighed, looking past me. “Just this hunky hockey player who winked at me during the game tonight.”

“Mom, that was Brody!” Lucy giggled.

“How are you guys? Did you have fun?” I bent down and scooped them up, one in each arm.

Piper squeezed my cheeks with her little hands. “We had so much fun. Bobby was our waiter and he kept going and getting us everything we wanted.”

I paused and glanced at Kacie. “Waiter?”

She laughed. “A very nice stadium attendant who came running every time these two knuckleheads raised their hands.”

“His name was Bobby? I’ll have to look him up and say thanks. Anyway, who’s ready for a sleepover at my house?”

Lucy and Piper both raised their hands. “Me!” they hollered.

“Me too!” said Kacie, throwing her arm up in the air.

I set the girls down and hooked my finger in the collar of Kacie’s jersey. “Get over here.” I pulled her forward and planted a big kiss on her lips. I easily could have devoured her right there, but I knew she would be uncomfortable with a major make out session in front of the girls. I pulled back and leaned my forehead against hers. “I’ve been dying to do that since I first saw you sitting in that seat. Thanks for coming today.”

She peeked up at me from under her long lashes. “Thanks for inviting us. And giving us your parking space. And those seats were amazing.”

I pulled away and started to walk up the ramp, grabbing Kacie’s hand. “They better be. They cost a fortune.”

Kacie’s eyes lit up. “I knew they didn’t give the players seats that good!”

“No way!” I laughed. “Those are top-of-the-line, premium money seats. I was lucky enough to buy them like five years ago and I’ll never give them up as long as I’m on this team.”

My eyes slid over to Kacie when the last part of that sentence stupidly tumbled out of my mouth. We had both been purposely not bringing up my contract at all. Just the hint that I could ever play for another team was stressful on both of us. Thankfully, she smiled at me and that was it.