Pucking Strong: An MM Workplace Hockey Romance (Jacksonville Rays Book 4)

The first thing I notice when I arrive at my apartment? Someone—or many someones—have been inside it while I was away. My perfect, quiet apartment. My sanctuary. I own a top-floor corner unit with great views of the St. Johns River and the downtown Jacksonville skyline. The door opens into a spacious living room, walled on one side by glass that leads out to a private balcony. The other two walls are a crisp white.

Unlike my apartment in Stockholm, everything in this space is utilitarian—clean lines, minimal furniture, no decorations. Past the living room is the open-concept kitchen, also walled in on one side by glass.

Being on the top floor, my view is constantly changing, from morning golden light over the river to the colorful evening glow of the downtown skyline. Now, my walls of glass are covered in balloon arches—purple, white, and silver, with pops of bright yellow. There’s a medieval feast’s worth of food in my kitchen emitting a thousand new smells. And a horde of dirty shoes wait by the front door. Kids I don’t know sit in my living room, watching my TV. How the hell did they all get in here? Who gave them a damn key?

“Breathe,” Teddy murmurs, squeezing my hand as he passes. He leaves me by the front door, making his way deeper into the apartment, pushing Karolina in her wheelchair. There’s a bit of commotion in the kitchen as those who weren’t at the airport rush to greet them.

“What can I get you to drink, Karlsson?” one of the wives calls from behind the island.

The door behind me hits my shoulder as Paulie enters without knocking. “Hey, Karlsson. Welcome home, man.” He pats my back as he passes, his Brazilian wife following with their baby asleep on her shoulder. Two more people come in after them.

“Oh wow,” I hear Teddy call from down the hallway. “Henrik, you gotta come see this!”

“It’s perfect,” Karolina squeals in Swedish.

The excitement in her voice is the only thing that gets my feet moving. I cut across the living room and duck down the hall, stopping at the first open doorway. “What the …”

What was my plain-white home office has been transformed into a colorful princess room. The far wall has been painted to look like a mural from the movie with the girl with the long hair. It’s actually quite impressive. There’s a stone tower in one corner and fluffy clouds in the sky. A stream flows across the wall through a field of wildflowers, disappearing behind the bed.

That’s new too. There was no bed in here before. It’s canopied with frilly white curtains, framed by twinkle lights. The bedding is a bright purple, with delicate little flowers on her sheets.

Where the hell is my desk? And the computer? And my exercise bike?

“Look! Pascal!” I glance down to see Karolina clutching a new stuffed animal shaped like the chameleon from the movie. She hugs him tight, holding him like he’s the most precious of treasures. Then she looks up at me, her smile blinding as she says in Swedish, “Thanks, Morbror. I love it.”noveldrama

She looks so happy, I can’t help but smile. Reaching down, I brush my knuckles gently over her cheek. “You’re welcome, mitt lilla lamm.”

Oblivious to our Swedish, Tess’s daughter throws open the doors of the closet to reveal a trove of new clothes, princess gowns, and more toys. “Look over here, Lina. You’ve got a Barbie playhouse! I picked it out!” She roots around inside the walk-in closet, dragging out a large pink-and-yellow Barbie house, much to the delight of Karolina.

Tess and Rachel stand in the corner of the room with Teddy. A few more wives squeeze in the doorway behind me, and then Tess walks us all through the features of the room. I’m most interested in the new corner-mounted nanny camera and the fully automated bed that will fold up and let Karolina sleep in a seated position that won’t strain her ribs.

Feeling deeply moved by this consideration, I cross over to Tess. “You will send me the bill.”

She just waves her hand. “No way. It was too much fun. We were all happy to chip in.”

“I would appreciate being able to pay you back.”

But Tess is firm. “Save your money for when her ballet lessons start again. Trust me, all your paychecks will go to tutus and pointe shoes. Then you’ll be dreaming of the day you got a free room makeover.” Her cheery confidence falters as she takes in my harried expression. “Seriously, it’s okay, Karlsson. I was happy to help.”

“Well … thank you,” I mutter, unable to say more. I offer out my hand, and she shakes it.

“You’re welcome. But really, you should thank Teddy. This was all his idea.”

I stiffen, swallowing the nerves humming in my chest. “I’ll want my apartment key back,” I say before she can move away. The corner of her mouth tips with a smirk. We both know I’ve never given a copy of my key to anyone in this city. “How did you get it?”

She laughs. “Turns out your doorman was easy to bribe. All it took was some of Poppy’s famous salted-caramel chocolate-chunk pretzel cookies and one of Ryan’s old jerseys signed by the team.” She pats my shoulder and walks away, eager to show the other wives the en suite bathroom makeover.

I turn my attention to Teddy. He stands in the corner with a soft smile on his lips, watching the little girls put Barbies in Karro’s lap. They all talk at once, showing her the different dolls and their accessories. She holds Teddy the Bear and Pascal, delighted by all the attention, the little jeweled crown perched crooked on her head.

I step closer to Teddy, lowering my voice. “You did all this.”

He winces, bracing for my anger. Am I really so much of a bear? “I mean, if we wanna get technical, Tess did it. Or she hired the people who did it.”

I cross my arms, mirroring his stance. “But it was your idea, wasn’t it? You told her what to do. You knew what Karro would like best.”

He shrugs. “I just wanted her to come home to a place ready for some good memories. She’s had enough of the bad ones for a while. Don’t you think?”

When I say nothing, too overcome to speak, he steps in closer. “Hey, are you really mad? I can have them put everything back the way it was. I’ll even paint it back myself. I’ll—”

I silence him with a hug, surprising us both with the action.

He sucks in a breath, leaning away.

“Thank you,” I say against his shoulder. “Thank you, Teddy.”

His arm wraps around me. “Wait, so you’re not mad at me?”

“I was,” I admit. “But I’m not anymore.”

With a nervous laugh, he relaxes further, properly hugging me back with both arms. “Well, good. ’Cause that would have been a major dick move. This room is fucking awesome. I might just sleep in here too.”

I chuckle, feeling the rumble of his laugh against my chest. It’s odd to smell my cologne on him. Odd, but not unpleasant. He’s actually wearing one of my sweaters too. He ran out of clean clothes yesterday, but we were both too tired to do any laundry, not with our early flight planned for this morning. I told him to take whatever he wanted from my closet instead. He took my favorite cable-knit sweater. I run my hand down his back, feeling the ridges of the knit design.

One of the women dramatically coughs, and Teddy and I break apart with a jolt.

“Do you two need a minute?” Paulie’s wife teases.

Her friend laughs. Behind her, Tess’s smile falls. She glances between us, her gaze settling on me. All of a sudden, it feels like she’s looking at me like I’m a wolf loose in the room. Next to her, Rachel looks at Teddy like he’s the sheep I intend to eat.

Feeling self-conscious under their weighted stares, I step away from him.