1. Cassi

one

Cassi

I t's been one hell of a week. I'm glad it's finally Friday, and the team actually has a few days off for a change. I expected my Ladies of the Norse friends to bail on me tonight for our weekly get-together since they rarely get to spend alone time with their significant others during hockey season. But they didn't.

"Where's Heidi?" I ask Hadley since they're almost sisters-in-law, with one of Hadley's boyfriends being Heidi's older brother. I figured she would know.

"I'm not sure. She's been really secretive lately, going off by herself during the period breaks during the games. It's impossible to catch her at home. She says she's at a book club meeting, but I've never seen a book club meeting put a smile on someone's face as big as Heidi's."

Hadley's not wrong. Ever since the run-in with the referees at one of the games a couple of weeks ago, Heidi has been way too happy for someone who is only reading books. Hadley told me all about how when the three referees saw Heidi, they asked if she was staying out of trouble, which in itself is weird, but when she called them, Sir, it seemed really weird.

"Okay, enough about Heidi. Have you guys seen the three hot new rookies that got transferred from the Iowa Poseidon team?" Teagan raises her wine glass in a mock salute, causing the rest of us to roll our eyes. "I heard they're single."

"You better not let Fin, Royal, or Coulter hear you talking about how hot some other guys are." I snort, holding back a wave of jealousy I didn't realize I was feeling.

I'm a sports agent for almost all the Minnesota Norse Hockey team players. Teagan is the most notable one. As the first female pro hockey player in an all-male field, she's like the elusive unicorn to a sports agent—everyone wants her to endorse their products. She happens to be dating three of her teammates.

Her best friend Britt is the team's social media manager, and she is dating all three of Teagan's triplet brothers, who also play for the team.

Then there's Gemma. She's the head ice girl, or Valkyrie, as the Minnesota Norse call their cheerleaders. She's dating all three of the team owners.

Next comes Hadley. She's a former child actress who is still deciding on a possible singing career. And yes, you guessed it, she is dating three of the players on the Norse.

I know they say good things come in threes, but this is ridiculous. I want to tell them to save some of that man meat for us single ladies. In our Ladies of the Norse group, it's just Heidi and me, but I'm not sure about Heidi's dating status anymore.

There's a knock on my front door since tonight is my night to host our group. "It must be Heidi." Before I can answer the door, Teagan leaps from the couch, barely missing the various glasses of wine and water on my coffee table, in her haste and dashes to my door.

"I hope you don't mind. I kind of invited the guys over. I promise they'll stay in the basement." Teagan assures me, but it never works that way.

All of my friends and their boyfriends are hopelessly in love and can't stand to be apart for long periods, making it impossible for girls' night to remain only girls' night. The guys are notorious for crashing our get-togethers. My only hope that they wouldn't do that tonight was to have the gathering at my house since I'm not involved with one man, let alone three.

"Fine," I say. "Open the door."

Teagan jerks open the door, letting in a parade of hot guys. All, unfortunately, are taken. Each guy gravitates to his girlfriend until I'm the only one left standing alone—like always. I turn unnoticed and walk through my kitchen door, needing a moment alone.

I love my friends, but watching them and their boyfriends together rips at my heart. A heart that most people don't think I have since I'm known in the sports world as a ruthless shark when it comes to contract negotiations.

I brace my arms on my island counter, debating how long to give them before I return to the living room and interrupt their love fest when my kitchen door swings open, and I find myself face to face with the three newest editions to the Norse hockey team.

"Where do you want it?" The tallest one says. I think his name is Dalton.

My mind conjures up an image of me lying naked on the island counter as each one of them devours me at the same time. I shake my head and blink a few times. There's no way I heard him correctly. "I'm sorry, what?" I say.

"Where do you want it? The keg. Where do you want us to put it?" The tallest one repeats. My eyes fall from their handsome faces to the keg held between the two of them.

Of course, they didn't mean me. They were talking about where to set down the keg. A keg that I don't remember ever having at one of our girls' night parties, and what are these three guys doing here anyway?

"You can just set it over there." I motion to the corner by the wine cabinet.

I expected them to go back to the living room after they set down the keg because why would they be interested in me? I'm probably thirty pounds heavier than the girls they normally date and at least eight years older than any of them. But to my surprise, instead of leaving, they stand around with their hands in their front pockets, looking adorable and sexy as hell.

Maybe I was wrong. Maybe they are interested in me.

Is this it? Will I get my own three guys happily ever after, like the rest of my friends?

"Did you need something?" My voice comes out huskier than usual.

"Uh, we were wondering if you would like to…" the tallest one begins to speak, only to stop and clear his throat. This is it. They're going to ask me out. I paste a smile on my face and wait for him to continue. When he finally speaks, I'm left feeling hollow, "If you would like to be our agent."

I feel the smile slip from my face. "I, um, we can sit down on Monday after practice and discuss the possibility of me representing the three of you." I lift my chin, refusing to let them see how much their words hurt me. That little voice I thought I had locked away when I went off to college and became the badass agent has resurfaced.

Hurt you? They were never interested in you, to begin with.

"Are you okay?" The shorter, more muscular one, whose name I think is Maverick, asks.

I blink back the tears, "I'm fine. I have a party to get back to." I breeze past them, giving them my best I don't give a damn vibe, and walk through the kitchen door. All the while, my heart is breaking for the fat little girl locked inside of me who no one will ever love. Didn't my fiancé confirm that when he left me high and dry at the altar all those years ago? It shouldn't matter what these three guys think about me.

Then why does their lack of interest hurt so much?

I head straight for Fin and Tarek, knowing it was their idea for the keg. I'm almost positive they brought some whiskey or tequila—something stronger than the twenty-five-year-old bottle of wine I was planning on drinking tonight.

Twenty-five. The bottle of wine is three years older than the young studs in my kitchen that I want to mount and ride until we all beg for mercy.

"What do you have that's strong? I'm in the mood for shots."

Fin and Tarek give me a wicked smirk. They love getting someone shitfaced drunk—it looks like I'm the lucky or unlucky winner tonight, depending on how you look at it.

I have three extremely hot, single hockey players in my kitchen, and instead of staking my claim on them, I'm sitting in my living room keeping pace with Fin and Talen shot for shot on the best tequila I've ever had slide down my throat.

The thought of what I really want to slide down my throat tonight has me grabbing for the bottle of tequila and taking the biggest drink I can hold in my mouth, making sure to swallow every last drop once again, reminding me of what I really want to swallow tonight.

My girls' night has turned into a co-ed night with everyone hanging out and visiting—all except the three new guys, who I now know as Maverick, Ace, and Dalton. I try not to listen to their conversation, but a part of me can't help wanting to know what they are talking about. It doesn't matter because their voices are so low that I can't make out what they are saying anyway.

It might be my imagination, but every time I glance in their direction, they are all three staring back at me.

Are they talking about me?

I force myself to concentrate on the drinking game I'm pretty sure Fin made up on the fly. None of the rules make any sense, and I seem to be the only one who's drinking.

Before I can confront him about his fake game, Teagan and Britt stride over to where we are sitting with their hands on their hips and a scowl on their faces, ready to give their boyfriends Fin and Talen hell. I lift the bottle to my mouth and take another big drink, getting ready for the entertainment of watching these two cocky bastards get bitched out by their girlfriends.

If you've ever heard that old saying 'mad as a wet hen,' that is exactly how Teagan and Britt look or how imagine a wet hen to look. I've never seen a wet hen in person—or a dry one, for that matter.

"How much did you let her drink?" Teagan kicks Fin's foot off my coffee table with a loud thud.

"And why is she talking about hens?" Britt crosses her arms over her chest and glares at Tarek.

When they don't say anything, Teagan adds, "If you don't answer me, Fin, I'll ban you from sex tonight. You'll have to watch as I suck on Coulter and Royal's cocks and let them fuck me in every hole without you."

"Same goes for you." Brit nods to a shocked-looking Tarek.

"Damn, you two are cruel." Fin reaches for Teagan's arm at the same time Tarek reaches for Britt, pulling them onto their laps.

Ugh, it's so sickening I could puke.

"Is she going to puke? I thought she said something about puking. " Fin's horrified look makes me giggle.

"Seriously, Fin, how much did she have to drink? First, she's talking about hens, and now she's talking about puking."

Wait a minute, how did Teagan know I was talking about hens and throwing up? Is she a mind reader? Is she reading my mind now?

"No, I'm not a mind reader. You keep talking out loud."

With a gasp, I glance around the room and find all eyes on me. My gaze lands on Maverick, Ace, and Dalton, and I'm glad I didn't say anything about how hot I find.

"Still talking out loud." Teagan laughs.

"I've never seen this side of Cassi." Holden joins the conversation. "I think I like it better than the always-in-control badass agent."

Ugh, fuck my life.

"Still talking out loud, Cassi," Teagan repeats. "I think it's time to get you to bed."

"We'll do it." I jerk my head toward the voices to find Maverick, Ace, and Dalton, each one with a hand in the air.

"Yes," I say, taking a shaky step toward them.

"You're still talking out loud," Britt whispers.

"I know." I give her a smirk, not realizing that would be the last thing I remember from the night.