“He loves hockey, Lisa. He’ll probably step down and he can’t do that. Aaron needs it in his life too much.” Holly told her stubbornly, her hand dropping to her stomach. “This little one is going to have two awesome moms here and my family will love the time that they get too. There will be holidays and all of that fun stuff.”
There was a lot that Lisa wanted to say, but this was new to her friend and she allowed her to keep thinking that was for the moment. She walked into her room to pull out her clothes and hang them up as she pictured Aaron in her mind. She had been jealous seeing Holly with him in a good way, because the man was gorgeous. He’d be snatched up in no time if Holly kept being insistent about not wanting all of this and she’d be really hurt. Lisa was aware that they both said it wasn’t that serious but they were clearly in love when seen together. Not to mention how happy his family would be about the baby.
The next day at work, Holly stepped into her therapy room as she sipped the orange juice that she seemed to depend on to get her through the day. One of the guys was having some leg pains that she was working on. Every step in this place made her think about Aaron and her body ran with the thoughts as she heated up uncomfortably. She pulled her loose curls up into a ponytail and wiped down the chair that she used quickly before he came in. Holly heard the door open and glanced up to see Walter enter as she forced a smile on her face. “I saw you come in. Shoulder?”
“Sit down.” He’d pulled it during the last game and she watching him sit down as she took another sip of the organic juice. He was dressed in a tee shirt for a workout and she pressed into his skin with her fingers. “You see Todd about this?” She worked closely with the team medical staff and all of the guys knew that nothing would get by either of them.
“It’s mild. Just a little muscle pull and it will heal. Don’t even suggest my staying out of the game because it isn’t happening.” Walter told her, making her laugh as she massaged him hard and deep.
“Such the cocky center you are.” She teased him back comfortable as her stomach rolled, realizing how hungry she was. He did too, chuckling.
“Did you forget to eat?” Walter teased her and she grimaced as she thought back to how she was throwing up nothing over eating.
“I was sleeping too late.” Holly glanced at the clock on the wall. “Mike should be here in about fifteen minutes. I can grab something after that.”
“Want some company?” Walter offered and she accepted easily. Despite his arrogance on the ice, she really liked him as a friend. She finished him up before grabbing a banana from her bag to eat before Mike came inside. Walter stayed in to chat as she pressed against his leg, laughing sadly inside as she realized that she was surrounded by hot guys every day and not tempted by any of them. That was reserved for Aaron. She checked on the intensity of it, choosing to ice it today after she was done with the intense massage. “We’re going to grab some grub at The Diner. Want to join us?” Walter asked Mike, who agreed as she glanced up with a frown on her face. “Is that cool, Holly?”
“Yeah, of course. I was just thinking about something.” She smiled at them to make it seem like everything was fine even as her head started to hurt as the thoughts invaded her mind.
An hour later, Mike was ready for the day’s practice and she was starving. They headed out onto the street to walk the short distance to the diner as Holly felt her mood rapidly changing, hating this part of pregnancy. Holly remained quiet knowing that she’d let loose on her roommate a few times in this state before she’d fed herself. It wasn’t pretty.
It took a few minutes with fans stopping them to get autographs from Walter and she stood back and watched as she sighed softly. They finally made it into the glass doors and she felt eyes on her as she stepped up to the hostess and asked for a table.
Aaron stood outside and across the street, watching her go inside with two of his teammates. He frowned, not blind to the fact that Holly was getting closer to Walter as time passed. Aaron couldn’t tell her not to spend any time with the players even as he was constantly aware of how beautiful she was and how they might want to get involved with her at levels that she might not be able to handle.
CHAPTER TWO
Holly pushed away her plate with a happy sigh, seeing the absence of all of the food that she’d ordered. The guys were done as well, wiping their faces with napkins as Walter observed her with an intent gaze. He offered to pay for all of them as she shook her head and he insisted, laughing as Mike instantly accepted.