Lucky Bounce: Game On, Part 2 by Jennifer Lazaris

26

"Mind if I come in, kitten?"

Holly glanced up from her iPad. Eli stood in the doorway of her bedroom, smiling at her. "Yeah, sure."

Miss gave a sleepy yawn from her position at Holly's feet, then let out a mew.

"Guess I had to get permission from both of you," he joked, sitting down on the edge of the bed and scratching the calico's head.

"Of course." She set her iPad on the nightstand. "What's up?"

"I just wanted to see if you were feeling better," He rubbed her leg, a concerned look on his face. "You left the party so early."

"Sorry," she murmured, unable to meet his eyes. "I just felt weak and exhausted."

"It's been a hell of a few days. I can see why you're wiped, babe."

Guilt stole through her, and she nodded. "True."

"You know, this bedroom is a formality at this point. My room is your room."

Holly frowned. "No, it's not. I don't live here, Eli."

"You've been here for how long? I don't mind making things official."

"No," she blurted, panic stealing through her. "It's one thing to tell each other how we feel. But moving in together is a whole different animal. Besides, I'm due to move into Penn's old apartment. Her other tenant moved out a few days ago."

"You don't need to go somewhere else. I want you here with me."

"And I said no." She crossed her arms. "I'm not ready for that, okay?"

He stared at her, both eyebrows raised. "You're serious."

"Very."

"Okay, if that's what you want." He let out a heavy sigh. "But you better prepare for a lot of sleepovers."

Miss stood and stretched, then climbed on Eli's lap.

"What's up, fuzzball?" Eli wrapped an arm around the cat. "Making yourself comfortable, I see."

Holly stifled a groan. Even her cat had fallen in love with Eli. She hoped Miss would adjust to the new apartment quickly. It was a lot of moving in a short period, and she didn't want her to have an IBD flare.

"Are you ready for the parade tomorrow?" he asked. "I want you on my float."

"I don't know," she hedged. "Maybe you should reserve that for your family."

"Holly, don't be silly. You've been there for me more than anyone, and it would mean a lot to me." He flashed a grin. "I'll beg if I have to. I've got zero shame."

She chewed on her lower lip, then nodded. "Okay, I'll do it. But on one condition."

"Name it."

"You let me turn the feature over to Lyla."

Eli's mouth dropped open. "What?"

Miss jumped off his lap and began cleaning herself, giving him the stink eye between licks.

"You scared her," Holly said, patting the bed. "Come here, Moo."

"Don't dodge the subject," he told her. "Why would I ever let her write the feature?"

"Because I can't do the story in good faith now. Everyone saw you kiss me out on the ice," she argued. "Now they'll think I slept with you to get the byline. That doesn't look good."

He rubbed his forehead. "Shit. I really fucked this up. I'm so sorry. I didn't even think when I kissed you. I was just happy."

"No," she assured him. "Don't think like that. I don't blame you, okay? Not at all."

"What about the money? I wanted you to have that."

Holly shrugged. "I think that ship has sailed. I can't expect to get paid if I don't write it. She'll have to give me something for my notes, but not that much."

"She can write it with whatever notes or interviews you have. But I don't want her writing about my family. That's off limits. I'd let you do it, but no one else."

"Understood," Holly agreed. "I wouldn't give her that information anyway."

Eli gently squeezed her calf. "I know you wouldn't. I trust you, kitten. As long as she knows I'm not sitting down for an interview with her, then I'm fine with it."

Holly battled down another wave of guilt. At least she could relax that Lyla wouldn't run and tell him about her suspicions. And no matter how bad she felt about not telling him about the pregnancy yet, she wouldn't ruin his celebration. It just wouldn't be fair.

"Are you hungry? I was going to order some pizza."

"That sounds wonderful," she admitted. Her nausea was gone, along with the indigestion.

"Want to watch Netflix?"

"Sure," she told him. "I'll meet you in the media room in a few minutes."

He leaned over and gave her a peck on the lips. "Good. Maybe we can Netflix and chill later. If you're up for it."

The way he was looking at her made her tummy flip-in a good way.

"There's a good chance I will be," she said, kissing him back.

He grinned. "Well, I know I'll definitely be up for it." Giving the side of her butt a playful smack, he kissed her forehead and stood. "See you out there."

After he left the room, she collapsed back against the pillow and fired off a text to Lyla.

Holly: He agreed to the story, but only if you pay me twenty-five percent of the agreed upon amount in exchange for my notes. And if you let me go from the Lucky Bounce immediately.

She was through dealing with Lyla, even if it meant it would be difficult to find a job without any good references.

Lyla: Fine. Send the stuff now.

Holly: No. Send the money to my account, and then I'll send you what I have. And what we agreed still stands, Lyla. You can't tell Eli anything.

A few minutes later, she got another text.

Lyla: I know what we agreed to, Holly. The money is in your bank account. Now send the freaking notes.

Holly checked her account, and sure enough, it had been deposited. Gathering up her notes, she attached everything to an email and sent it to Lyla.

Holly: Done.

Lyla: These better be good. Goodbye, Holly. And...good luck with how it all turns out for you. :-)

She frowned as she stared down at the screen. Lyla had never said one kind word to her, and she'd sure as hell never sent any emojis before. The nicest thing she had ever done was to help Penn get a job at the veterinarian's office. And she only did that to show Holly how well-connected she was in this town.

Sighing, she got up from the bed and scratched Miss's head. "Come find us when you want, Moo. We're going to relax and eat some pizza."

She desperately needed to get her mind off all this craziness. Whether she could was another matter entirely.

* * *

"I can't believe this," Madison said, staring around in wonder from the top of the double-decker, open air bus. "I've never seen anything like this before. Then again, I've never had a brother who won a Cup before, either."

Holly took a swig from her water bottle and peered out at the screaming, chanting crowd that lined both sides of the Strip. It was ninety-four degrees, but the crowd didn't seem to care, and neither did the players.

"It's pretty wild," she agreed.

Eli was definitely in his element—waving to the crowd, joking around with everyone, and taking photos with his phone.

Eli's other sister, Tabitha, chatted to Shaw Castle's siblings, Sloane and Cade. He'd also invited his father to ride on the float. When she'd asked him about it, he'd just shrugged and said, "Why not?"

Thankfully, her stomach wasn't acting up today, but she came prepared with some peppermints.

The bus was stocked with freezing cold soda, beer, and water, so no one was suffering too badly in the heat just yet. So far, they'd traveled halfway to the makeshift stage that had been set up near the Nevada Arena so the players could talk to the crowd later this morning.

Ryder was one float behind them with Zoe, West, Penn, and Ryder's family on board, as well as Nic, Fally, and baby Luke. Ryder's float had the most important guest riding along in it—the Cup.

The players, except for Fally, jumped off the floats every so often to take selfies and slap hands with the fans.

Holly squinted out over the crowd, and a shiny object caught her eye—an electric wheelchair decked out with brightly-colored Kingsnakes gear.

Hunter, the little boy from Castle's Cupcakes, was in the front row of the crowd, surrounded by a few of his friends. An older man leaned forward and said something to the little boy. Holly figured it must be his dad.

"Eli!" she yelled, waving at him. "C'mere!"

"Hey, kitten." He grinned as he walked over to her. "How's my favorite girl?"

"Look who it is!" She pointed at the little boy. "Hunter, the kid from Castle's."

"Oh, no way!" His eyes lit up when he saw the little boy. "I can't believe you spotted him. Okay, I've got a plan." He slammed his hand on the side of the bus, a cue for the driver to stop so he could climb down.

Eli motioned for Shaw to follow him, and they hopped off the bus. He ran back to Ryder's float as Shaw ran along the edge of the crowd, slapping hands with fans.

When Eli emerged from the other side of Ryder's float holding the Cup, the fans went crazy.

"What's he doing?" Madison asked Holly, as Tabitha walked over to join them.

"Just watch," she said, smiling. "He's about to make someone's day. Or maybe their whole year."

He pumped the Cup over his head, getting the fans going. Soon, chants of "We've got the Cup!" and "Let's Go Kingsnakes!" rippled through the crowd.

Eli headed straight for Hunter, and following behind were Shaw, Ryder, and West.

Hunter saw Eli coming toward him with the Cup, and the look on his face was something she would never forget. The pure joy and elation lit up the little boy from the inside, and his eyes shone as Eli waved his teammates over to join him.

The guys posed for a few pictures with Hunter and his friends, then Eli set the Cup down on the front of the wheelchair. Hunter beamed as he wrapped his arms around it, and Shaw took a few pictures with Hunter's phone.

Eli passed the Cup back to Ryder, and he and West headed back to their float. Eli leaned down and said something to Hunter, then he and Shaw fist-bumped him before walking back toward their float.

"We met Hunter about a month back at Sloane's cupcake shop," she explained to the twins, nodding toward Shaw's sister. "Your brother made his day by inviting him to have lunch with us. He got hurt in a car accident and is paralyzed from the waist down. Your brother paid for him to play sled hockey and got him tickets to one of the playoff games."

The girls watched as Eli took a few selfies, laughing and joking around with fans in the crowd.

"He's a good person," Tabitha said, glancing at Holly. "We're very lucky sisters."

"Agreed," Madison said, nodding. "I'm so happy we connected. It was such an odd thing to happen, but here we are."

She glanced down at Hunter as they passed. He got claps on the back from his friends as his father beamed with pride.

It hadn't taken Eli more than a few minutes of his time, but it had meant everything to Hunter.

He was so good with little kids. So genuine. Her heart ached as she put a hand on her stomach, glancing down. When this day was over, she had to tell him about the pregnancy.

As the float crawled along, she took a seat on one of the chairs and enjoyed the happy atmosphere. Twenty minutes later, as they approached the stage, her phone vibrated with a text.

She glanced down at the screen and saw it was from an unknown number. Frowning, she clicked the message.

A screenshot of the Lucky Bounce blog popped up with the headline, "And Baby Makes Three?"

Her heart began to pound as she stared down at the photo collage under the headline. The first was a picture of her at the pharmacy holding the pregnancy test. The next photo was Eli kissing her on the ice after they won the Cup. And the last was a picture of them at the Palisades Hotel & Casino nightclub. Eli had his arm slung around her shoulders, and they were gazing at one another, smiling.

That fucking traitorous bitch.

Lyla's wish of good luck had nothing to do with good will at all. She'd known all along she was going to set this in motion.

To her horror, she realized the photo had been sent to Eli's number as well. Peering around wildly, she finally saw him at the opposite end of the float, clinking beer cans with Shaw. His phone was still in his pocket.

But for how long?

She fired off a text to Lyla.

Holly: What the fuck is wrong with you? We had a deal!

Lyla: I kept my part of the bargain, Holly. I didn't tell Eli you were pregnant.

Holly: No, you just put it on the front page of the blog and sent it to his phone!

Lyla: I didn't send him anything. I have no idea what you're talking about. Have a nice day. :-)

She squeezed her eyes shut and covered her face with her hands. All she could do was pray that Eli had so many messages he wouldn't even notice this one until the parade was over, so she could explain before he saw the text.

Biting down on her lip, she sucked in a deep breath and tried to calm herself, hoping luck would be on her side for the rest of the day.

Sadly, she was fairly certain it was about to run out.

* * *

Eli followed Shaw up onto the stage and glanced out at the massive crowd, who had spilled in from the Strip to surround the stage once the buses had dropped the players off. His family, Holly, and the rest of the players' friends and families were safely cordoned off on the side of the stage.

He saw Holly standing next to Penn and his sisters and breathed a sigh of relief that she looked to be in good shape. After she'd left Ryder's party early, he'd worried about how she'd handle the heat and the crowd today. Heat seemed to make her MG act up, and he didn't want anything happening to her.

Once the team was up on the stage, all wearing their Cup champions t-shirts and hats, Coach Finley grabbed the microphone to address the fans.

"We went through hell and back to get here today, but here we stand. These guys laid it all on the line—battling amazing teams, accruing their share of injuries, and sacrificing their bodies and their hearts to bring this trophy home to you. Vegas, this Cup belongs to you!"

Ryder grabbed the Cup and held it over his head as he walked to the front of the stage, and the crowd went wild.

Eli grinned at Shaw. "Are you going to say something when it's your turn?"

Shaw snorted and waved a hand. "Maybe. I'm not too drunk yet."

Ryder took the microphone from Coach Finley. "We love you guys, and we're going to do our best to keep the Cup right here in Vegas."

Eli laughed as the crowd screamed their approval. Damn, they were loud.

Ryder nodded to Fally, who sat off to the side in his wheelchair. "I want everyone here to give it up for this guy. He's a huge part of our team—our beating heart—and one of the best wingers to ever play this game. We wouldn't have gotten this far without him. Fally, here you go man. We love you."

Pride washed over him as Ryder handed the Cup to Fal, and when Fally held it over his head, he knew that he'd played his last game with his friend.

"Fuck," Shaw muttered, pulling the brim of his hat down low as the team whistled and hollered. "He's really retiring, isn't he? It doesn't seem real."

Eli battled back his emotions and walked to the front of the stage, throwing his hands in the air. "Fally! Fally!" he chanted, walking back and forth, pumping up the fans.

Soon, they were all chanting for his friend. He glanced over at Fal, who blinked back tears, a huge smile on his face.

It was the end of an era, but he was going out like a fucking warrior. He pointed at Fally and clapped, and Fally nodded, taking the mic from Ryder.

"I'd be lying if I said winning the Cup wasn't the best moment of my life," Fally told the crowd. "Well, except for meeting my wife, and the birth of my son. But this Cup... it's the culmination of a lifelong dream, starting back when I was a little kid, playing hockey in my parents' driveway back in Toronto, pretending to win the Cup with my friends. But the real thing? It's a hell of a lot better. And winning it with these guys is the absolute best." He paused, glancing over at Eli. "You all know this guy." He pointed at Eli. "Number fifty-two, but number one in your hearts, right?"

The crowd cheered, and Eli laughed, bowing dramatically.

"Eli came to my house after I got hurt, and he promised me that we would win the Cup. That the guys would do whatever it took to make that happen. He's the guy who keeps us all laughing and loose in the locker room, but that day, he was dead serious. And he made good on that promise with the rest of these guys. I love you, D. I love every one of these guys. And Vegas, I love all of you, too."

He handed Eli the Cup, and he lifted it up over his head, soaking in the moment as the fans chanted his name.

After he passed the Cup to Shaw, Eli addressed the crowd. "I'm going to keep this short, because if we all give a speech as long as Fal here, everyone will die of heat exhaustion." He winked at Fally, who shot him the finger.

"I love this team, and I love this town." The fans cheered loudly, and he couldn't help but grin. "Who would have thought the League would put a team in the desert, and we'd not only have the best fans, but win it all? We know you guys never doubted us. You believed in us, and we love you for it. Now let's do it all over again next year."

The crowd went wild as he gave Shaw a clap on the back, then headed to the back of the stage to stand with the rest of the guys.

Winning the Cup had been the best moment of his life, but being here, this close with the fans—getting to interact and talk to them and celebrate with the entire city—well, it was a close second.

Things just kept getting better. He never felt as lucky in his entire life as he did right now.

He dug in his pocket for his phone so he could take a few videos of the crowd. A photo message was front and center on his lock screen, and he pressed the button to open it when he saw pictures of him and Holly.

The headline "And Baby Makes Three?" stopped him in his tracks. He zeroed in on the picture of Holly in a store, holding a pregnancy test box.

What the fuck?

This had to be a joke. A revenge plot from Lyla. Maybe she had altered the picture somehow.

He lifted his head and anxiously scanned the throngs of people, searching for Holly.

When his eyes locked with hers, he knew.

Eli stood, rooted in place as she mouthed, "I'm sorry," then turned and fled, pushing her way through the crowd.

He glanced back down at the phone, then slowly shoved it into his pocket.

This was no joke.

This was as real as it could get.