15. Emma

Chapter 15

Emma

J ust as I'm saying goodnight to the guys, around ten or so, my phone rings. It's Anna.

"Hey, you okay? I expected you before now. Did you get my text?"

"Yes, Mum," she giggles. "How's your three hunky hockey players?"

"Never mind them. How's your one hunky hockey player?"

"Uhm…"

"What does ‘uhm' mean?" I snap when she goes silent, and all I can hear is the chatter from a busy pub near closing time. "Where are you? Are you okay? Do you need me to come and get you?" My questions are increasingly panicked as my heart kicks up a notch, and I reach for my keys and snatch them up.

"Slow your roll, I'm fine. I'm in the Lamb, so I'm seconds away from you."

Relief floods me, and I drop my keys back down. "So, uhm ?"

"Yeah, well, let's just say you're not the only one with half a hockey team sniffing around."

I blink slowly. "Oh no! Poor Jamie! Have you dumped him already?"

"What?" she snaps. "No! He's adorable and amazing, and I swear he worships the ground I walk on. But we bumped into a couple of reserves that he's mates with, and let's just say things are heating up."

"Oh?" I press my lips together to stop the smile. "Really? How so?"

"You want details?"

"Wouldn't mind."

She snickers. "Well… Let's just say the back seat of Jamie's Range Rover might need a good scrubbing down."

"Oooh!" I say, eyes wide. "Go you!"

"I didn't sleep with any of them," she says huffily.

"Who mentioned sleeping?" I ask innocently.

She guffaws loudly in my ear. "You know what I mean. But there were acts involved."

"Like blow jobs?" I ask eagerly.

"And the rest. Jamie has a tongue on him that can drive a woman wild."

"So, who are these other two?"

"Angus and Dylan."

I squint, trying to put faces to names. I think I know who she means, and I catch myself in this ridiculous thought. They're my players. I should know who they are, for fuck's sake,

"Are you sure you don't need me to come down there?" I ask.

"Don't you dare. This is a courtesy call to let you know I'm sober, fine, and will be home… sometime."

"Sometime?"

"Depends what happens on the way home," she says suggestively.

"Please be safe," I murmur.

"You should worry more about them. They're so cute. I like being the older woman, more experienced and worldly. It's going to be fun teaching them stuff." She lets out a happy sigh, so I let go of my concern. She is clearly fine and enjoying herself. And really, who am I to talk? I banged Lachlan within minutes of meeting him. Not my finest hour, but it's worked out so far.

"Okay, well, I'll call you back if you're not here within two minutes of closing time."

"Party pooper," she chuckles and hangs up.

Shaking my head with a grin, I know she'll be fine. Anna always knows how to turn a situation on its head, and she knows when she feels uncomfortable in social situations. Many a time back in London, we had to leave places due to creepy, unwanted attention. I trust her judgement, but I think Jamie knows that if anything happens to even a single hair on her head, Lachlan and Keir will hold him responsible. That should be enough to put the fear of God into him and look after my best mate. But I have a feeling he will anyway.

Pacing up and down, wondering if I should go down there anyway and make sure with my own eyes that Anna is okay, my phone beeps for a text.

Follow up. Lachlan, Taran and Keir are here. They're having words with Jamie! This is so fucking embarrassing!

Snickering, I relax. They will make sure Anna is looked after. Then I frown. Why are they there in the first place? When they left here, they said they were all headed home.

My phone beeps again. It's a message from Lachlan.

Before you ask what we're doing, Fiona texted and said Anna was down here with three of the guys. We had words. She's fine.

I text back quickly.

Fine? Fine is usually bad.

A small pause. Then.

Okay, she's great.

Smiling, I text back.

Okay, thank you for going down there.

No worries, Red. Love you xx

I stare at the two words and wonder what I'm supposed to say back. In the heat of the moment, I told Keir I loved him as well, and I do. I think. But this is all moving a bit fast, considering how many people are involved.

My phone beeping again makes me jump.

You don't have to say anything. Stop overthinking it and just go with it.

Okay. Love you too.

When he sends the eye roll emoji back, I laugh and figure he's right. I am overthinking this. It's silly. Just go with it. I can do that, can't I?

I toss my phone onto the couch and take a deep breath. I need to trust the guys—they've got this. Anna's more than capable of handling herself, and I'm not her mum. I grab a glass of wine and sink back into the cushions, trying to unwind from the evening's excitement. As the minutes tick by and the win disappears faster than I'd like, I make a few decisions. I will go down to Highland Spirits tomorrow first thing and demand to have my say, then I will rally the team after practice, and we can maybe go putting feelers out to see if any local business want to throw a few quid our way for their name in lights, so to speak.

The date for the calendar photo shoot is coming up as well, so that's another revenue stream that I know will do well.

"You've got this, Em. You just need to breathe and stop letting arseholes get in your way."

Buoyed by my pep talk, I nod, place the glass in the dishwasher, and then head to bed. It's been a long, activity-filled day, and tomorrow is going to be a bitch where smiling and peopling has to occur in a big way. Opening my bedroom window a fraction to let the pizza smell out, I stare at the bed. It's too late to strip it and redo it, so I flop down and add it to the mental to-do list for tomorrow, which is growing by the minute.

I hear Anna come in sometime later and call out softly that she is home. I mumble something incoherent and hear her giggle and shuffle around and then hear a man's hushed voice. Grinning in my half-slumber, I'm happy for her. She deserves it.