My Hockey Alpha

Chapter 305

Bonus 5: The Tease

Enzo

Dust and sweat clung to my skin as I wrestled with the new living room furniture.

It was a final touch to the renovations we’d been slogging through for months, transforming our once dull house into a vibrant home. Despite the exhaustion tugging at my muscles, a sense of satisfaction washed over me as I looked around the house. Our house.

Just as I was finishing up on the final bench for our massive dining room table, my phone buzzed in my pocket.

A picture of Nina lit up the screen, her smile making my lips curve in response. “Hey, love,” I answered, using my cleanest elbow to press the speaker button.

“Enzo,” she started, and I could already hear the hesitation in her voice.

“I… uh… had a little run-in with a raccoon. I maybe… sort of… kind of got myself stuck in a ditch.”

The last part of her sentence came out all at once like an avalanche. I could tell immediately that she was embarrassed. And I was a man; it was my job to capitalize on her embarrassment. What good would it be if I didn’t tease my fiancee a little?

burst out laughing. A raccoon?” 1 chortled. “Are you telling me you swerved off of the road because of a

didn’t wanna hit it!” Nina huffed on the

think that Nina Harper, the strong and independent woman who pretty much single-handedly saved the entire

Nina, I don’t know if I should leave you alone anymore,” I continued to tease as I stood and wiped the sawdust off of my hands. “Raccoons today, and

you to come pick me up,” she said, ignoring my jabs. “And we still need cake

to smother my laughter as my voice took on a more serious tone. “I’m on my way. You’re

“Just

the door, however, a glint caught my eye. I frowned as I approached the little hallway table

her smiling face. I missed her. It wasn’t fair that she

I still missed him. I wanted nothing more than to

house; my mother likely would have loved the bright colors and the eclectic furniture. I think that my father would have liked it, too, although he seemed to pick up a fondness

color gray. I think that it was really just a way for him to punish himself, a way to convey the feeling in

mental note

around the nearly finished

headed to the car. Not even ten minutes down the road, I spotted her. As I pulled up next to Nina’s car in the ditch, I found her sitting on the hood with a stubborn

sulky expression struck me as comical, and I couldn’t suppress

truck, but I decided to use it rather than let it sit in the garage and collect dust. It was

way to show their disrespect than anything else. They may as well have spat on his grave. But I supposed that it was a good