Adam fired off a snappy salute, making her laugh, and jerked his head at Etienne. “Wanna see my room?”
“Hell yeah,” Etienne said, following him down the hall. A bathroom separated his turret room from the room Adam was currently entering, and Etienne’s stomach eased. It… helped, knowing Adam was only two doors away.
Inside, Adam had flung himself on a twin-size bed, arms and legs splayed. Etienne looked around at the posters on the walls, amusement welling.
“Beliveau, Crosby, Lemieux, Datsyuk… how long have you been building this collection?”
“Since I was old enough to handle a puck,” Adam said, flat on his back.
Etienne stepped farther into the room. On one wall was a shelf holding trophies and ribbons. He’d led his minor and major junior teams in points and assists, named captain several times, and MVP even more. Next to the trophies was a shadow box with several pucks mounted inside. Etienne looked more closely at the signatures scrawled across them.
“Seriously, you got Gretzky to sign a puck for you?”
Adam propped himself on his elbows, looking pleased. “My parents took us to LA when Gretzky was still on the ice—I was just a kid. My dad knows their coach, of course, so we got to meet the players. He’s really nice, by the way.”
“That’s fucking awesome,” Etienne said, running a reverent finger down the maplewood.
Adam beckoned with one finger but Etienne laughed, shaking his head.
“I’m not making out with you in your childhood room, Cary.”
Adam pouted.
“Bed would probably collapse anyway,” Etienne pointed out.
Adam grinned at him, dark and wicked, and heat curled through Etienne’s belly.
“I know how to get you over here,” Adam said, and put a hand down his pants.
Etienne choked on his tongue and nearly brained himself on the door escaping the room. Adam’s laughter floated after him as Etienne dashed down the stairs. He stopped at the bottom, took a deep breath to compose himself, and followed the sound of voices.
Colette and Noemi were in the kitchen. They looked up and smiled at the sight of him, and Etienne smiled back.
“Where’s Adam?” Colette asked.
“Putting his stuff away,” Etienne said, suppressing amusement. “He’ll be right down. Can I help?”
“Check out the manners,” Noemi said admiringly. “Etienne, any chance you can teach my brother a thing or two?”
“Pretty sure no one alive can do that. Although maybe if Lemieux tried, he’d listen,” Etienne told her, and she dissolved in giggles.
“Tenny, would you chop carrots for me?” Colette asked, pushing a cutting board and knife toward him. “You can wash your hands in the sink here.”
“So, Noemi,” Etienne said, settling in with the knife and vegetables. “Adam’s told me a little about you. Tell me about your fiance.”
Noemi’s face lit up. “His name is Eli. He’s a goalie for the Kingfishers. He got traded here two years ago from the Ravens, and he’s got a five year contract here, so we’ll be in the area at least a while longer, I hope.”
“And what do you do?” Etienne asked.
“I’m an assistant coach for a private Seattle college hockey team,” Noemi said.
Etienne blinked. Whatever he’d expected to hear, it hadn’t been that. Noemi blinked at him demurely as if knowing what was going through his head, and he laughed to himself.
“That’s amazing. Do you get a lot of crap for being a woman coaching men?”
“My fair share,” Noemi said. “I’m taking my time. It’s not easy for women in sports in general—convincing a bunch of very large men on knife shoes that I can look like this and still know more about the sport than they do takes some doing.”
Etienne hesitated. “Sorry, ‘look like this’?”
Noemi gestured to her figure but there was something like approval in her eyes.
“But… why does it matter if you’re….” Etienne chewed his lip, looking for the word.
“Zaftig,” Noemi said helpfully. “Curvy, if you want. Plus-size, although I hate that term and will punch you if you use it.”
“Be nice,” Colette murmured without looking up.
“The point,” Noemi said, “is my ability to perform my job well and my knowledge of said job is constantly questioned due to my appearance and gender. It makes me a little twitchy, so thank you for not being a douche.”
Etienne shrugged uncomfortably. “You’re welcome?”
Noemi smiled brilliantly at him. “I like you,” she announced.
Etienne returned the smile. “Likewise.”
Adam clattered down the stairs and into the kitchen, dropping a kiss on his mother’s cheek and stealing a carrot from Etienne.
“What’s for dinner?” he asked, mouth full.
“Adam, wash your hands and start slicing bread,” Colette ordered. “Butter and garlic, please.”
Etienne watched Adam and his family as they moved around each other in the kitchen, movements easy and comfortable. They’d clearly done this dance a thousand times, Etienne thought, smiling as Adam caught Noemi and spun her on the spot before dipping her into a backbend that had her sputtering laughter and threats.
Adam set her back on her feet and caught Etienne’s eye. His smile widened and Etienne cleared his throat, looking away hastily before he did something stupid like kissing him and blew the story open.
Thankfully, the door opened just then.
“We’re home!” William called. He appeared in the doorway as Etienne shot upright.
Head fucking coach for the Kingfishers, he thought. He was definitely taking this out on Adam’s ass later.
William smiled, that same slow, lovely smile Adam had, and held out his hand. “Etienne, how was your flight?”
“Good, sir,” Etienne said, accepting the hand. “Adam is a good traveling companion.”
“Hey Dad,” Adam said, putting the bread down to give him a hug. “He’s lying, I complained the entire time.”
“Of course you did,” William said, lips twitching. “Adam, Etienne, this is Eli McKenna.”
Eli was small and slimly built for a goalie, not even six feet tall, with piercing gray eyes and sandy blond hair. His smile was friendly as he held out a hand to Etienne and then Adam.
“Nice to meet you both,” he said, his voice measured and calm. “Adam, you’re doing some great things out there, and Etienne, I hope you don’t mind—I looked up game tapes of you. Your footwork is incredible.”
“Uh, I’m here too?” Noemi said, popping up beside Eli’s elbow.
Eli laughed and put an arm around her, dropping a kiss on her upturned nose. “Hey there, bad penny.”
Noemi grinned, wriggling as if it was a compliment.
24
There was something odd about Eli and Noemi, Etienne thought, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. He watched them at dinner, curious, as Eli said something to Adam. The affection between him and Noemi was easy and comfortable, their hands laced together on the table. Colette leaned forward and asked Etienne a question.