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CHAPTER EIGHT

Once Matty got the all-clear from Antoni that he'd passed the background check with flying colors, he walked through the neighborhood to Dustin and Charlie's place.

He'd texted them to let them know he was coming over and had gotten a reply saying they were out on the patio, but because Matty had learned his lesson the hard way last year, he knocked on the door and covered his eyes before he opened it.

"I'm here!" he called out. "If you're naked, put some fucking pants on!"

Matty would still never forget the sight of them going at it on the couch. There were some things a man just did not need to see his captain doing.

There was no answer though so Matty carefully peeked through his fingers to see that the coast was clear, then jogged down the stairs to the basement. Through the wide glass patio doors, Matty could see Dustin and Charlie cuddled up on a swing. They were both fully dressed so he dropped his hand with a relieved sigh, then stepped outside.

Dustin and Charlie stood.

"Hey, everything okay?" Dustin asked.

Matty smiled because Dustin was such a worrywart about the team but Matty kinda loved that about him. He gave Dustin a big hug. "Yeah, it's all good. Just wanted to run something by you and talk to Charlie about design stuff."

"Okay."

He turned to Dustin's husband, smiling fondly. "Hey, Charlie."

"Hi, Mattykins." Charlie rose on his toes to kiss his cheek and Matty gave him a big squeezy hug that lifted him off his toes because Charlie wasn't tall but he was so feisty and sweet and himself. Matty really loved him for Dustin. For all of them, really.

"How are you?" Charlie asked brightly.

"I'm good," Matty said, stuffing his hands in his back pockets, not quite sure how to start this conversation.

"Well, sit!" Charlie said. "Would you like something to drink?"

"No, I'm okay." Matty took a seat on a nearby chair and when Dustin and Charlie were arranged on the swing again, Matty looked over at Charlie. "So, I want to ask you a favor."

"Me?" Charlie asked, looking surprised. "Sure."

"I know you're busy with other projects and you just remodeled my place over the summer to get it ready to sell but … I might need to hire you to do more work."

Charlie was an amazing interior designer and he'd really made the place look good. Matty had almost been sorry to put it up for sale. That reminded him, he really needed to tell Sharon he'd changed his mind about selling the place.

"Oh." Charlie shot Matty a quizzical glance. "Need me to work my magic on your new home?"

"Well, not quite," Matty admitted. "I changed my mind about moving. I decided to stay and I need you to make a few tweaks. Get it ready for a guy and his four kids to move in with me."

Charlie gaped for a moment. "Okay, I think you need to back up a little bit and start at the beginning."

"So, it started like this," Matty said, telling him about the day he'd met Antoni and some of the stuff that was going on with him and his family.

"Oh, Matty," Charlie said when he was done, his blue eyes swimming with tears. "Those poor kids."

"I know, right?" Matty said. "I just want to help them out."

He glanced nervously over at Dustin, who hadn't said anything yet.

Dustin cleared his throat. "That is nice of you, Matty. Are you sure you aren't rushing things a bit though?"

"Let me guess," Matty said drily. "Dom's already warned you that Antoni's using me?"

Dustin winced. "I wouldn't say that. He's just …"

"Worried about me, I know." Matty sighed. "And look, I get it, okay? But if you'd seen the guy, you'd know he isn't a scammer or anything. I met the kids, I met his parents, I saw the school where he works … this is legit."

"I'm sure it is. It just seems … sudden."

"Okay, but if I don't do this, then he and the kids have nowhere to live and he risks losing them if the courts don't think he can take care of them. And the kids' grandparents are really religious and bigoted and stuff and one of the kids is non-binary and Antoni's worried they'll hurt Eli's spirit if they end up with custody and—"

"Dustin!" Charlie said, eyes wide and worried as he looked at his husband. "That can't happen! You know how bad it gets for vulnerable kids like that. We have to help."

"Okay, okay." Dustin said, smoothing a hand down Charlie's side as if to soothe him. "I understand now, kitten. We won't let that happen."

Charlie softened, relaxing. "Thanks."

Matty smiled at them, glad they were both already on board.

"So they're going to move in," Matty said firmly. "Charlie, I need you to do up the kids' rooms. I know you made them all neutral and stuff for sale but I think they should be fun now. Match their personalities, you know? So they feel at home right away."

"That's lovely, Matty." Charlie shot him a sweet smile. He already had his phone out, taking notes.

"Where will you be staying?" Dustin asked. "I mean, I know you have a lot of bedrooms in that place but …"

"The guest house," Matty said. "So Antoni and his family can have the run of the main house. I mean, how much space does one guy like me need, really?"

"Aww. You're just the sweetest," Charlie gushed. "Okay, so you said there's a teenage girl into hockey, a non-binary kid who is ten, a four-year-old girl, and a baby boy, yeah?"

"Yes. And I want all this to be a surprise for them."

"Okay, well, that's a little challenging since I've never met them but let me pull together some ideas. How much time do we have?"

"They're moving in the weekend after this one."

"Oh." Charlie's eyes widened. "Well, a week and a half is not a lot of time but at least it's just cosmetic stuff. I think I can get some painters lined up for later this week and I know some places I can source some furniture and décor fairly quickly. What's your budget?"

"Uh, whatever," Matty said with a shrug.

"Well, that does make my life easier, then," Charlie said with a little laugh. "I won't go too wild though, I promise."

"You should make the main bedroom cozy and relaxing too," Matty said. "Antoni should have a nice place to rest. He's been really stressed, worrying about the kids, and I think he needs some place where he can just go to unwind."

Dustin shook his head a little like he thought Matty was going overboard but he didn't protest and by the time they wrapped up, Matty was confident Charlie would work his magic.

He said as much when they walked him to the front door and Charlie hugged him. "Don't you worry, sweetie. I certainly will do my best." He looked up at Matty with a smile. "Gosh, this is so lovely of you."

Matty shrugged, a little uncomfortable with the praise.

"Kitten, can I talk to Matty alone for a sec?" Dustin asked and Charlie nodded.

"Of course. I'll send some mood boards with ideas to you tomorrow, Matty!" he said before he disappeared.

Dustin followed Matty out into the driveway. "Are you sure you know what you're doing?" he asked, searching Matty's face, a little frown furrowing his forehead.

"I've never been surer of anything in my life," Matty said firmly. "This is the right thing to do."

"Okay, well, we'll be here to help then," Dustin said.

And Matty hugged him because that was one of the things he loved best about the team. No matter what, even when they disagreed, they were always there for one another.

Antoni stacked another box on top of the first two. He'd been up most of the night but he'd nearly finished packing the kitchen.

It had been an exhausting week and a half and his head was still spinning from everything that had happened recently. School started next Monday and today he was moving in with Matt Carlson.

Andrea's thoughts must have gone in the same direction because he shook his head and glanced over at Antoni.

"You're really moving in with Matt Carlson. Fisher Cats defenseman Matt Carlson?" his brother said in an incredulous voice.

"Yes, Andrea," Antoni said with a laugh. "I've told you three times."

"What the fuck?" he said, pushing his dark hair off his forehead. "How in the hell did this happen?"

Antoni shook his head. "Look, he's just helping me out. I don't even know how long we'll stay there. But this will give me some breathing room, you know? Time to save up a little money so we can get a better place of our own and—"

"I know. And that's great. I'm glad you found something that'll work. You know if we'd had space for you guys, we'd have let you move in with us."

"I know that," Antoni said. Andrea and Stephanie had been amazing but they had kids of their own and busy jobs and they could only do so much.

"You know, the fact that you even know an NHL star is weird enough but moving in with him is just …" Andrea shook his head. "That's fucking wild."

"I get it," Antoni said drily. "I'm the least sports-y person ever and this is a weird fit."

"Well …"

Antoni rolled his eyes. The thing was, he didn't hate sports. He'd just been a skinny, awkward kid growing up and way more interested in books than shooting a puck or whatever.

He'd grown into himself in college and started working out regularly. He liked being active. Loved playing tennis with Bethany. He'd just never taken part in organized team sports or followed the pros on TV.

As a kid, when his parents and brother sat down to watch hockey, Antoni had always retreated to his bedroom to read, preferring to get lost in far-off lands and other worlds.

Bethany had been like that too.

She and Andrea were five years older than Antoni. She'd started out as Andrea's friend and become Antoni's babysitter when he was in elementary school.

They'd spent hours reading together and she'd always ruffled his hair and called him the easiest kid she babysat for.

Even when he'd grown out of needing someone to watch him, they'd stayed close. And when she was in grad school at University of Toronto and he'd gone there for his undergrad, she'd offered to let him move into the house she rented with Corey.

Corey had been a little bit older, a graduate advisor, and Bethany had still been in school when they'd gotten married and had Alexis. It had helped their budget to have Antoni pay rent and return the favor of babysitting.

Sometimes Antoni missed the dining room they'd turned into a study space, where he, Bethany, and Corey would set up their laptops and work. He missed the smell of the books lining the lopsided shelves they'd picked up at the curb, mismatched and groaning under the weight of the paperbacks and hardcovers.

He missed them taking turns making coffee for one another while they huddled around the table, studying or grading papers late into the night.

God. He missed them.

"Do you think they'd approve of what I'm doing?" Antoni whispered.

Andrea looked up, cheap plastic colander in hand. "Who? Bethany and Corey?"

"Yeah," Antoni whispered. "Of the job I'm doing taking care of their kids."

Andrea set the colander in the box and walked over. "Hey, of course they would. You love them."

"I just … I'm scared I'm not doing enough for them."

"Oh, man." Andrea frowned. "If anything, I think you do more than you should have to. I mean, I know you're the right choice for those kids. I just hate that you're so overwhelmed by it. That you have to do it alone, you know?"

"I am making the right choice, aren't I?" Antoni asked, suddenly fearful he'd made the wrong choice. "Accepting help from a guy I barely know?"

Andrea squeezed his arm. "I think so. And hey, I'm gonna meet him today. If anything doesn't seem right, I'll let you know. And even if we get you moved in and you change your mind, we'll figure it out, okay? You're not alone. I can't do as much as I'd like for you and the kids but—"

The doorbell rang and Antoni's eyes widened. "Shit! I'm not finished packing yet and Matty's here!"

"I'll get it!" Eli shouted, going for the door.

"Check through the window to be sure it's him before you open it!" He reminded Eli because they weren't always good at remembering to do stuff like that.

A moment later, Eli walked into the kitchen, wide-eyed. "Um, Matty's here but there's also a bunch of big dudes I don't recognize."

"Big dudes?" Antoni repeated under his breath as he made a beeline for the door. Sure enough, when he pulled the door open, there was Matty and half a dozen or so guys decked out in black, green, and white gear.

Team colors, Antoni thought. He'd learned that when he'd poked around on the internet to learn more about the guy he was moving in with.

Matty beamed. "Morning!"

"Uh, morning," Antoni said, staring at the sea of curious faces clustered in front of the rental house. "You brought friends?"

"Oh, yeah! My team. Fisher Cats Moving Service at your disposal."

"Right," Antoni said. "Um, hi. Sorry, we're not totally ready."

"Yeah, we're a little early. But we can help you pack!" Matty's happy expression fell. "Unless you don't want us to?"

"No, I mean that would be great," Antoni said, still reeling. "Sorry, I'm just not quite awake yet or something."

"I can help with that," Matty said, thrusting a cardboard cup toward him. "Coffee."

Antoni accepted the cup and took a cautious sip but it was perfect, exactly what he'd ordered at the coffee shop the other day. "Thanks," he managed. "You're a lifesaver."

"Oh for God's sake, let me through," someone said with a huff. The sea of big bodies parted to reveal a shorter, more slender man with big blue eyes and golden-blond hair. "Hi, I'm Charlie," he said with a sunny smile. "These idiots are seriously useless when it comes to social niceties like warning people before they show up or remembering to introduce themselves."

Antoni chuckled.

"So, let me introduce myself," Charlie said, holding out a hand. Antoni shook. "Charlie Monaghan. Former figure skater. Currently an interior designer. I'm married to Dustin there."

A tall, handsome man with dark hair and fair skin smiled and waved. "Team captain, Dustin Fowler."

"Dominic Olson," the man next to him said. He was tall too and had sun-streaked light brown hair and light olive-toned skin. Under his goatee, his mouth was set in a tight line and his brow was furrowed. "Alternate captain."

Antoni nodded, though he had no idea what that meant exactly.

"Nico Arents," a blond guy said with a flirty little smile. "The best looking of the group, obviously. I'm a defenseman."

Antoni chuckled and took a sip of his coffee. "Nice to meet you."

"This is my fiancé, August Manning."

A serious, dark-haired man lifted a hand in greeting. He was physically striking and his face totally transformed when he smiled. "Former referee. Currently coaching a U-13 team."

Antoni nodded like he had a clue what U-13 was.

His gaze darted over to a handsome Asian man who gave him a warm smile. "Jonah Brewer."

"And I'm Felix Hale," the strawberry-blond fair-skinned guy next to him said. "We're both defensemen. And engaged."

"To each other," Jonah added.

"Congrats?" Antoni managed.

They both grinned.

"I'm the other alternate," Matty said with a grin. "But you already know me."

"Yeah." Antoni smiled, his unease melting away under the brightness of Matty's warm smile. "So, hi, guys. Thanks for coming. This is really nice of you."

Matty looked around. "Oh, this isn't all of us. There are a few more guys on the way."

"I'm not sure we actually have that much stuff for you to move," Antoni admitted. They had the more important, sentimental belongings from Bethany and Corey's place stashed in his parents' attic for when the kids were older but for the most part, their furniture had been cheap pressboard crap or stuff scavenged from the side of the road or purchased from thrift stores. His own belongings had pretty much been the same.

When Matty's face fell, Antoni hastily added, "But I guess that means it'll go quickly. Uh, come on in, everyone."

"It's cool." Matty flashed him a relieved smile. "Team bonding and good exercise and all that."

"Well, I really appreciate it." Antoni stepped back, allowing the guys to filter into the house.

"Where are the kids?" Matty asked. "I need baby snuggles before I do some heavy lifting."

Antoni smiled. "Let me grab Reese. Just, uh, make yourselves at home, everyone." He waved his hand toward the living room.

This house was way too small for that many big men but there was nothing Antoni could do about that so he fled for the kitchen and found Andrea bouncing a fussy-looking Reese.

"Hey. Uh, Matty brought half his team," Antoni said under his breath. "So, I think this move should go pretty quick."

"Holy shit," Andrea said, handing Reese over. "I've gotta see this."

Chuckling, Antoni followed Andrea into the living room where guys had already started carrying the stacked boxes outside.

"Hey," Antoni said. "This is my brother Andrea. Unlike me, he's a big hockey fan so I apologize if he makes an ass of himself."

Andrea sputtered, "Look, our dad is like eight times worse," as the guys laughed and greeted him.

"It's true," Antoni agreed, grinning as he handed Reese over to Matty.

"Hi, baby," Matty said happily. "You're coming to live with me. Did you know that?"

Squirming, Reese smacked him on the chin and babbled something.

Antoni glanced around, wondering where the other kids were. "Eli? River? Alexis?" he called out.

Eli slipped out from behind the crowd. "Hi," they said, sounding a little shy as their gaze darted around the room. "I'm Eli."

Charlie smiled brightly. "Oh, I love your skirt! That's so cute! I almost wore one today too but I decided on this romper instead."

"Yeah?" Eli looked Charlie over, their eyes lighting up. Presumably at the flower print outfit and the makeup and jewelry. "Oh wow, you look so nice though."

"Thanks," Charlie said. "I go by he/him pronouns, what are yours?"

"They/them," Eli said with a small smile. "But it's okay if you mess up."

"We'll do our best," Charlie promised. "But if any of these big lugs do mess up, you just remind them. They might look scary but they're softies on the inside, I promise."

"Okay." Eli beamed. "Do you wanna come help me finish packing, Charlie?"

"Sure!" Charlie said, holding out a hand. "Lead the way."

And with that, Eli was off, towing Charlie after them.

"Let me go find the other two kids," Antoni said with a laugh, a little amazed by how quickly Eli had made a friend.

Antoni walked down the hallway and found Alexis standing around the corner, wide-eyed.

"Oh my God," she whispered. "Dude … is that half the Fisher Cats team in there?"

"Yup," Antoni said although he actually had no idea how big a hockey team was. "And I guess a few more guys are on their way."

Her eyes bugged out. "How? What is even happening?"

"Well, we are moving in with one of them today," Antoni reminded her.

He'd finally gotten a chance to sit down and talk with her last week. He'd assured her that Matty had merely misspoken and that Antoni wasn't trying to take her dad's place. She'd seemed better since then, and when he'd casually mentioned that Matty had an artificial ice surface in the basement, she'd suddenly been very on board for the move.

He didn't love resorting to bribery but in this case, he'd take it.

"Do you want me to introduce you to the guys?" Antoni asked. "I've probably already forgotten half of their names but I remember yours at least."

He grinned and for the first time in a long time, she grinned back.

She nodded. "I can't believe they're all here," she whispered. "In our house! Do I look okay?"

"You look great," Antoni assured her. "But I bet they'll care way more about your hockey playing than anything else. Now where's River?"

"In her room, I think." Alexis frowned. "She got scared because they're so loud."

"Crap," Antoni said. "Okay, let me grab her."

River mostly hid her face in his neck when he carried her into the living room but Alexis smiled at the guys, looking equal parts shy and excited. They were really sweet to her though and Dustin gave her a warm smile after he'd been introduced.

"Matty said you're into hockey. Would you like to come to one of our practices sometime?" he asked. "Assuming that's okay with your Uncle Antoni, of course."

"Yeah," she said, looking flustered and thrilled. "Oh my God. That would be great. Can we, Uncle Antoni?"

"Of course," he said because shit, he'd bend over backwards to do anything that made her look that happy.

She let out an excited little squeal.

"Okay," Matty said, bouncing Reese a little. "We'll get the rest of these boxes out of the living room then. What's next after that?"

Feeling like he was in some sort of weird dream, Antoni held River while he directed the guys on what to pack in their vehicles. Some of the furniture had come with the house—like the kitchen table and chairs—so that could all stay.

Several more guys showed up partway through and Antoni murmured a greeting to them. There was a freckle-faced kid who introduced himself as Colton Yates, a handsome black guy with a friendly smile who said his name was Jordan Stokes, and a quiet, good-looking Swedish man named Eric Jensen.

"I'm probably not going to remember any of your names," Antoni said helplessly. There were so many of them.

They all laughed.

"It's fine," Matty said with a big grin. "You'll have plenty of time to get to know these guys."

But the one man, the one who had introduced himself as an alternate captain, narrowed his eyes at Antoni, studying him intently.

Antoni wondered about that as he made a final sweep through the house to be sure everything important had been packed. Tomorrow he'd come through and clean but he didn't want to accidentally leave a beloved stuffed animal or something behind.

"Hey," Antoni said when he ran into Matty in the hall. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"The guy who's the other alternate, what's his name?"

"Dominic Olson," Matty said with a smile.

"I get the vibe that he doesn't like me much. Is that my imagination or …"

Matty sighed and leaned against the wall. "It's not you, really. He's annoyed at me. He thinks I … I'm too soft."

Antoni looked Matty over, taking in the silky athletic shorts that clung to the spectacular ass he'd been trying not to stare at too much today and the Fisher Cats T-shirt that hugged every inch of his equally impressive upper body.

Soft around the middle, maybe? But God, it looked good on him.

"Uhh, too soft?" Antoni managed, confused.

Matty smiled. "Too much of a pushover for people in need."

"Ahh," Antoni said, putting it all together. "He thinks I'm using you."

"He's worried about it, yeah. Once he gets to know you, I'm sure he won't think that."

"Mmm," Antoni replied. He wasn't holding his breath on that one. He sorta felt like he was using Matty.

"Dom's a loyal friend," Matty said earnestly. "I love that about him even if it's frustrating sometimes. My ex … she kinda did a number on me. He just wants to be sure that anyone else in my life isn't doing the same."

Antoni blinked because Matty had worded that in a way that made it sound like Antoni and Matty were dating. Like Dominic assumed they were. But that was crazy, right?

Matty was straight.

Sure, Antoni had seen the rumors online that Matty had hooked up with a man once but that was probably either internet bullshit or wishful thinking on the part of fans. That happened all the time.

And any little crush Antoni was developing on Matty was just because he was … well, the total package.

Handsome and kind and generous and …

Okay, maybe Antoni needed to watch it because that little crush could easily turn into a big, inconvenient crush if he wasn't careful.

It could make things awkward between them.

Clearly Matty was comfortable with gay people. He hadn't blinked when they'd caught two of the guys stealing kisses in the kitchen—the blond guy and the referee, Antoni was pretty sure—but that didn't mean he was okay with a guy having a big old crush on him.

Especially when he'd done nothing to encourage it.

"You ready?" Matty asked and Antoni shook himself out of his daze and nodded.

"Yeah. Let's head out," Antoni said. "It hasn't sunk in that I'm moving into your place yet but I'm not sorry to leave this one behind."

It had served its purpose but Antoni was more than ready to move on to bigger and better things.

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