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We ended up in the kitchen where Brooke has a Mexican feast laid out for us Fish tacos, a spicy black bean salad, and sopapillas

Best of all, there are aritas

She starts fixing up a large pitcher as we take seats around the ht

There are only six of us—Brooke, Blue, Pepper, Regan, Nora, and uy’s night

After filling glasses crusted with salt on the edge with the mixed drink, Brooke passes them out to us

Holding hers up, she says, “First toast is to the Arizona Vengeance for taking gaht”

The conference finals have indeed coeance went up 1-0 over the Demons in the race for the Pacific Conference title It went into overtime, which adds an extra twenty-minute period In playoff hockey, there are no shootouts and the tea twenty-minute periods until so the winning goal in just a little over two minutes into the overtime period

We raise our glasses, giving cheers to our tea around with joy

“Ladies,” Brooke says as she waves her hand at the platters of food on the granite countertop “Dishes and silverware are all right there Help yourself”

We pass around plates, load thearitas as we chitchat I was happy for the invitation because Dominik had wanted to invite h he hasn’tanother request on ht free for a planned girls’ night out, I juirlfriends before My career makes it so friends are hard to co bond when I travel soa home is also an impediment, as I normally just stay with my parents in between my travels I’ve never really put down my own roots anywhere, which is sort of a require a community of friends

Regan has become extremely close to these women since she moved to Phoenix to itiroup whether I wanted it or not

The great thing about it, though, is that these woood co, which translates well into her position on the Vengeance cohter, so it has been so in love with one of the teaht attendant for the team, but she also takes care of her adult disabled brother, Billy She has an incredibly hectic schedule, but still es to devote a lot of ti the teaest playboy when Erik fell in love with her

Pepper oalie, Legend, in the hter from a woman he had dated in the past That woman actually dumped little Charlie—when she was just a newborn—on his porch steps one evening with a note Said baby mama turned out to be nutty as hell and she’d actually shot Pepper, who is recovered now Pepper and Legend didn’t waste any tiether afterward They ran off to the courthouse and got married, and now they are a ready-made family And, of course, the ot Tacker to engage in life again after he had spiraled following the death of his fiancée in a plane crash

Like I said… it’s an aroup of women I feel a little dull compared to them

But hey—fish tacos and , especially considering I’ how very serious this thing between us has turned out to be

“Why aren’t you drinking?” Pepper asks Blue, and we collectively turn our heads to focus on her

Sure enough, Blue’s glass is filled to the brim and untouched A pink flush creeps into her cheeks, and her voice pitches high “Oh, no reason Just don’t feel like it”

“But you love ether

Blue’s blush turns from pink to red, and it hits me Her expression is one of excitement, yet she seems a bit uneasy, too