Alex (Cold Fury Hockey #1)(76)

I literally can hear Alex snap his lips shut, on the verge of arguing with me, but I also feel his muscles relax even farther into our post-coital bliss.

"Fine," he grouses, but when I tilt my head up to look at him, I see the smile on his face. "You think we can invite Garrett too?

"Absolutely, although I think having Alex Crossman and Garrett Samuelson in his home is likely to cause Glenn to stroke out."

Chuckling, Alex rolls toward me, dislodging my perch on his body. He brings his free arm around my waist and pulls me into the warmth of his body. Our faces just inches apart, he tells me softly, "I lucked out when I met you, Sutton."



       
         
       
        

I close my eyes briefly, just so I can memorize the look on his face right now and the reverence in his voice. It seems to dispel most of the doubts I was feeling earlier, but I'm still cautious that there is a part of Alex that is locked away tight. I know I didn't imagine the fear on his face earlier, following what was an intensely intimate moment between us.

For now, though … I'll take these words and I'll live off them.





Chapter 21


Alex


"I think I might barf," Jim Murdock says with a groan as he slides his chair back from the dining room table and stretches his legs out. "Is it bad manners to unbutton my pants in front of our guests?"

"It's bad manners to unbutton your pants at the table, regardless if guests are here or not," Penny Murdock says sternly, even though she has mischief dancing in her eyes.

I feel like I'm going to barf too, I ate so much food, but damn, Sutton's mom can fucking cook. I couldn't stop eating, and as Garrett groans across the table from me, I can see he's as miserable as I am.

"Well, the food was amazing, Penny," I tell her as I push my own chair back and stretch out just a bit. "I ate way too much."

"I was just trying to keep up with this little garbage-gut beside me," Garrett says as he nudges Glenn with his elbow.

The kid gives Garrett a starry-eyed look and blushes scarlet. "No way. You're like ten times bigger than me and ate way more than I ever could."

"You are cold trippin', kid," Garrett says with mock anger. "You ate like five plates of food. I only had two."

"Four," Glenn counters.

"Three and we'll call it even."

"Deal," Glenn says with a grin and then pushes away from the table to copy his dad and me. Garrett follows suit.

Sneaking a glance at Sutton, who sits to my right, a flush of warmth goes through me. She's leaning forward in her chair, one elbow propped on the table, her chin resting on the heel of her hand. She's watching the interplay between Glenn and Garrett with such a dreamy look on her face, completely in love with her younger brother and over the moon at the positive attention he's getting. I love seeing how happy that makes her, but at the same time it causes a small pang of hurt to go through me because I never had a family member look at me like that. My dad's gaze was usually too bleary and Cameron was lost in his own world, trying to ignore the fucked- up relationship we all had.

As I watch Sutton, glowing with serenity and peace, I actually feel a bit envious of her. She had a shitty life to start out, same as me. But her life changed and mine didn't. I'm not sure if the things we have in common drew us together, but I'm fearful the differences we have could cause a void because maybe I can't be truly happy for Sutton and the life she's made. 

Shaking my head from those thoughts, and needing a bit of distance, I stand up from the table and grab my plate. "Come on, guys. Let's clean up the kitchen."

Glenn and Garrett stand up at my suggestion and start stacking plates. Penny makes a small attempt to intervene as she stands up. "You're guests, Alex. You boys sit down and I'll get this later."

Before I can even say a word, Garrett says, "With all due respect, Penny, sit your butt down and let us clean up. You've earned the break."

Sutton starts to stand to help but I give her a hard look. "You sit your beautiful butt back down too. You helped your mom cook. Us men will handle the cleaning."

I look over to Jim but he just gives me a smirk. "Hey, my hard-earned money bought all this food. I think I'll just sit back and relax."

"Fair enough," I laugh and then we get to work cleaning.

Okay, so two men in their mid-twenties and an eleven-year-old kid really aren't the best at kitchen duties, but what we don't have in efficiency, we make up for in determination.

It takes us over an hour to clear the dining room table, put the leftover food in containers and wash all the pots and pans. By the time we finish, I'm exhausted and looking forward to maybe some couch snuggle time with Sutton.