Page 87 of Meant for Mayhem

Frankie boomed a laugh at the top of the stairs, arms crossed while he watched us board the plane. “Oh, I like her. Good choice, Meeks.”

Richard stood next to him, busy on his phone, but looked up at the sound of my name.

Shannon boarded first, and I pointed toward the last row in the back corner. “You pick—window or aisle. But that row’s ours.”

“Window.” Shannon pulled her backpack even tighter.

Leena gripped my shirt as we walked through the rows of my teammates toward my row in the back, hiding from all the attention she was getting from everyone.

“She’s cute, man,” Kozy said with a wave. “Looks nothing like you.”

I knocked the hat off his head, then waited while Shannon got settled in her seat. As soon as she sat down, she held her hands out to Leena with a smile, and my daughter practically leaped out of my arms. When Shannon looked at her like that, how could I blame her?

Instantly, the girls snuggled each other, and I was so caught up in how precious this view was, I almost forgot what I was doing.

“Are you going to put your bags up or stare at those pretty girls of yours the entire flight?” Nolan said from the back galley where he was busy mixing drinks.

“Don’t give him too much shit,” Carter said from his side. “The Silent Giant’s finally back. We need that temper on the ice, not on the plane.”

Mixing drinks was about as far from Carter’s job as he could get, and yet almost every flight he helped Nolan in the galley before taking the last seat in the row across from me.

Nolan handed Shannon a Diet Coke before she even asked for one, delivering it with a wink. “For the lady.”

“I knew I liked you.” Shannon grinned before Nolan walked down the aisle to get the rest of the team settled for takeoff.

I sat back in my seat, feeling at ease for the moment. “Have you ever been to New York City?”

Shannon took a sip of her drink, then set it in the cupholder between us. “I’ve never even been on a plane before.”

I looked over at her in surprise. “Seriously?”

“Closest I’ve gotten was watching them land at the regional airport.”

Something about that hit me harder than it probably should have. But after seeing where she grew up and meeting her alcoholic father, it wasn’t hard to piece together.

“Then I’m glad I get to be your first.”

The words left my mouth before my brain approved them.

Shannon slowly turned to look at me, one dark eyebrow lifted.

Logan made a choking sound from the row in front of us, once again abandoning his typical card game to sit by me.

“Oh, damn,” he whispered loudly enough for half the plane to hear. “He doesn’t even know he did it.”

Heat rushed up my neck. “I meant⁠—”

“I know what you meant.” The corners of her mouth twitched, but I could tell she was trying not to laugh.

Logan twisted around in the seat, looking between us. “No, no. Please explain it. I want to hear this.”

Carter slapped Logan on the back of the head. “Leave the poor Finn alone. English is his second language.”

“That wasn’t an English problem,” Logan shot back. “That’s a he’s thinking about boning his wife problem.”

A chorus of “ooohs” echoed from somewhere farther up the cabin.

“Sit down,” Coach Tremblay called without even looking up from the paperwork in his lap.