“I know.” I blow out a big breath. “I’m just over flying,” I say as he leans over and kisses me. It’s not chaste, but also not X-rated. Just a sweet, leisurely kiss that still makes me want to climb him, and my toes curl.
“Just relax,” he says against my lips. “We’ll be there before you know it.”
“I know,” I whine. “And to think, I have to do this all over again in just a couple of weeks.”
“You’ll do just fine.”
“I wish I could stay all summer with you here,” I tell him, my sadness coming through.
“Maybe next summer.” He slides his hand into mine and twines our fingers together. Once laced together, he gives them a few squeezes.
“That’s so far away. Let’s focus on this summer and see where it leads us to.”
“I can get on board with that,” he says. I pull my kindle back out and do my best to get lost in one of the books I downloaded.
“Jules.” Beckett’s smooth voice fills my ear and I startle awake. “We’re here,” he tells me and I look around. It’s then I realize we’ve landed and are taxiing to the gate. I stretch, then collect my personal items and return them to my carryon bag. I can’t believe I fell asleep again and slept through landing.
“How long was I asleep for?” I ask Beckett as we wait for the doors to open so we can get off.
“Probably an hour or so. You knocked out pretty quickly after opening up your kindle.”
“Sorry about that,” I say, as a large yawn hits me.
“Nothing to be sorry about. It allowed the rest of the flight to pass by fairly quickly.”
“That’s the truth!” I say on a laugh. The few people in front of us are finally able to get off the plane and we follow behind them.
It takes us about a half hour to get our bags and make it through the customs process. “Would you calm down?” Beckett laughs as we make our way out of the terminal and towards the exit, where we’re meeting his parents who are picking us up. “Security is going to come to detain us, thinking that you’re wigging out on drugs, if you’re not careful,” he teases.
“I’m just excited!” I tell him, smacking his arm lightly.
“Sötnos, I know you’re excited and we’ll see them very shortly.” We’re each pulling a suitcase, with a carryon strapped to our backs, and our other hands interlaced as we walk out. “There’s my mom,” he says as he looks outside the security checkpoint area.
I attempt to walk just a tad bit faster to get us to them that much quicker, but Beckett laughs and keeps us at the pace we’ve been walking at.
“Mom,” he says a few moments later as we exit, and he walks into the open arms of his mother.
“Beckett!” she exclaims. “I’m so glad you’re finally home. It’s been way too long, son,” she scolds, as she looks him over in a very motherly way.
“I’m here and in the flesh.” He wraps her in a hug. “Mom, this is Julia. Julia, this is my mother, Vera.” He introduces us in person for the first time. It’s now I see just how small she really is, and it shocks me how large Beckett is compared to his mom.
“I’m so glad you’re finally here!” she tells me, pulling me into a hug of my own.
“Likewise. I’ve been driving this one”—I poke Beckett in the side—“crazy since before we left home. Our flight from Chicago was a little brutal with how long it was, but at least we’re here and in one piece.”
“I understand, I don’t do well with those long flights,” she tells me.
“Shall we head out?” Beckett asks, looking around.
“Your father is out in the car. God forbid he park the damn thing and come into the airport.”
“You know Dad. Wouldn’t want him to have to spend a dollar on parking for thirty minutes,” Beckett teases.
“Cheap bastard is what he is,” she says, laughing.
Beckett laughs along with his mom. “One of his charming traits.”
“I apologize in advance for my husband’s cheapness,” Vera says as she links her arm with mine.
“No apologies needed,” I assure her. “I’m just happy to be here. I’ve wanted to see where Beckett grew up and meet those closest to him for a while now.”
I look over her head and straight into Beckett’s eyes. The sincere look in his eyes has me melting right here in the airport. I can see the love he has for his mom, and how relaxed he is just by being back in Sweden, and we haven’t even left the airport.
“Let’s go,” Beckett says, grabbing our luggage as we head for the doors. Vera flags down Beckett’s dad, Filip, and he pulls up to the curb. With his dad’s help, he gets all the luggage loaded up in the back. I slide in the back seat of the SUV and surprisingly, Beckett joins me. I assumed he would’ve sat up front with his dad, but he just smiles at me as he slides his hand along my arm until his fingers are laced with my own. He leaves them resting on my thigh as we pull away from the curb.
Chapter Seventeen
Beckett
“Beckett! Julia! They’re finally here!” I hear my sister’s call out as soon as the front door opens, and we walk across the threshold as they run toward us.
“Hallå! Hello!” I call out first in Swedish and then English when I catch myself. Julia is pulled from my side, first by Alice and then Beatrice.
“Hello, so good to finally meet the two of you in person!” Julia tells both of them as they all start to chatter at once.
I love observing this meeting. Since they’ve all talked many times over the last few months on FaceTime, it’s hard to believe this is their first time ever actually meeting face to face. “What am I, chopped liver?” I finally ask my sisters. They’ve paid absolutely no attention to me since we walked in the door.
“Beck, don’t be a sourpuss,” Alice says as she finally pulls me into a hug. She squeezes my sides. “God, how much muscle have you added to your frame?”
“Just a little,” I tell her with a chuckle. “Kind of comes with the job territory.”
“You’re too hard. You need to soften up just a little bit,” she chides.
I just laugh at my sister’s words. “Well, until I’m no longer paid millions of dollars a year to play professional hockey, this body will stay like this,” I tell her.
“You need some softness for the missus,” she says, motioning her head in Julia’s direction and I laugh at her boldness.
“Julia,” I state my girlfriend’s name, “is perfectly happy with my body. I know how to keep my woman happy.”
Bold, yet subtle questions and comments like this one are status quo when it comes to my sisters. They do not beat around the bush.
“Beckett!” My sister Bea pushes her way in between Alice and me, and wraps me in a hug.
“Hi, Bea,” I greet her, dropping a kiss to the top of her head. She reaches up and runs her hands through my shaggy hair.
“Still insisting on keeping this long mop,” she asks, teasingly.
“I’d never cut the flow off,” I tease right back, shaking my head to get the hair out of my eyes and back into place.
“Shall we move all the way into the house?” my dad asks as he finally comes inside. “No need to stay in the foyer.”
“Yes! We’ve got some food set out if you guys are hungry,” Bea tells us as we start walking, then turns to Julia. “Can I get you something to drink?”
“Yes, that would be wonderful,” she says.
“What would you like? We have beer, wine, sparkling water, juices.”
“I’m good with some ice water for now. I’ll probably take you up on the wine later.”
We make our way into the kitchen and sure enough, the island is covered with finger foods. There’s enough here to feed an entire NHL team. “Were you expecting my entire team?” I tease my sisters as I grab a plate and start filling it with different things. When I make it to the crockpot of meatballs, my mouth starts watering, as I know these are my mormor’s meatballs.
“You have to try these,” I tell Julia as
I place one on her plate. “This is my mormor’s recipe, and you’ll want a little bit of this sauce with it. It’s kind of like gravy, and this Lingonberry sauce. It’s like a cranberry sauce at Thanksgiving.”
“Like what they have at IKEA?” she asks.
“Yeah.” I laugh. “Like IKEA, only a thousand times better,” I tell her as I drop a chaste kiss to the corner of her mouth.
“Oh my God.” Julia moans as she takes her first bite. “You weren’t kidding, these are the best!” she says, her eyes lighting up as she takes another bite.
“Told you,” I say, smiling at her as we stand next to the island, eating.
“Here’s your water,” Bea says, interrupting our moment as she sets the glass down next to Julia.
“How were your flights?” Alice asks as she takes a seat at one of the stools tucked under the other side of the island. Her husband, Karl, enters the kitchen and I set my plate down to give him a hug, while Julia and my sister start up a conversation.
“Nice to see you, man,” he says, slapping me on the back.
“Same, how’s life treating you?” I ask.
“Same shit, different day.” He laughs. “And this one,” he says, pausing to point at my oldest sister, “keeps me on my toes.” He walks around the counter and pulls Alice into his side as he drops a kiss to the top of her head.
“I can only imagine,” I say. “Karl, I’d like to introduce you to my girlfriend, Julia. Julia, this is Karl.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” Julia tells him as she accepts his outstretched hand.
“The pleasure is mine. How’d you convince this beauty to date your ugly mug?” he asks in a teasing manner.
“No idea,” I say, looking down at her, a smirk on my lips. I kiss her forehead. “But she chased me until I finally gave in to her, and I haven’t looked back since.”
“Usually how it goes. And the best ones make the fall worth it,” he says, looking at my sister once again. They’ve been married for a few years, and though they’ve known each other since primary school, they didn’t start dating until their first year of University.
“Everyone doing okay?” my mom asks as she joins us in the kitchen.
I pull her into a side hug. “We’re all great.”
“I can’t believe I finally have all of you under one roof again,” Mom gushes.
“Glad to be home, Mom,” I assure her. “Hated not being able to come back last summer, but you’ve got me for a few weeks, at least.”
“Not long enough, but we’ll have to come for a visit this year.”
“We’d love to have you guys visit,” Julia interjects. “I’m sure my parents would be more than happy to host you at their house.”
“How sweet of you to offer,” Mom tells Julia as she pats her hand.
“I’m serious, my parents would be mad at me if I didn’t offer up their house for you to stay at.”
“I’ll keep it in mind for when we plan our trip. We like to come for a few weeks, with how long and expensive the flights are.”
“Mom, I’ll buy your tickets, you know that,” I tell her. My parents have always insisted on paying their own way, but now that I’m in the NHL and making a lot more than they do or ever will, they still hate it when I try and pay for things for them.
“None of that now,” she says, and I drop it. It isn’t worth getting into with her right now.
We end up moving to the living room, where we all sit around and visit, my family getting to know Julia as best as they can. My sisters and mom also do their damnedest to embarrass me as they tell countless stories from my childhood. Alice even pulls out my damn baby book, showing Julia all my baby and childhood pictures.
Chapter Eighteen
Julia
“Your family is so nice,” I tell Beckett as we lay in bed. My head is resting on his chest, his arm cradled around me, and he’s running his fingers through my hair. We had a really long day. After arriving and the drive from the airport to his parents’ house, we spent the rest of the day visiting and taking it easy. Now that I’m finally lying down, the exhaustion has hit me hard.
“They loved you, just as I told you they would,” he says, squeezing me tight. I feel his lips drop a kiss to the top of my head.
“I know,” I say with a yawn. “I can’t believe I’m so tired.”
“We’ve had a busy couple of days. Get some sleep and we can go explore in town tomorrow, if you want.”
“Can we go visit your grandparents? I’d really love to meet your mormor.”
“I’m sure we can, or I’ll ask my mom in the morning if they’re planning on coming here for dinner tomorrow. They usually come on the weekends, so they might already have plans to be here.”
“Do they live far?”
“Nope, just in town at an assisted living place. They aren’t to the point that they need assistance all the time, but the facility checks in on them once a day. If they don’t want to cook for themselves in their apartment, then they can go down to the cafeteria and eat.”
“Sounds like a good place for them.”
“It is. The facility comes in and cleans, delivers their medications, and assists in taking them to the store or appointments, if family members are not available.”
“That’s really wonderful. It’s important to keep people independent as long as possible as they age,” I say as another yawn overtakes me. “I’m sorry. I’m going to go to sleep now. I can’t keep my eyes open any longer.”
“Sleep, sötnos. Jag älskar dig,” Beckett whispers as I fall asleep wrapped up in him.
I wake up, discombobulated, as I stretch and look around at my surroundings. It takes me a few moments to remember I’m in Sweden, in the guest room of Beckett’s parents’ house. I roll over and find the bed empty and the sheets cold, which tells me Beckett has been up for a while.
I sit up on the bed and swing my legs over the edge, my feet hitting the cold floor. I stretch once more, then grab a sweatshirt to pull over my head as I pad out to the bathroom in the hallway. After taking care of business, I head back into the bedroom and pull some clean leggings out of my suitcase.
After I’m dressed, I follow my nose to the kitchen, where I find Beckett sitting at the island, a cup of coffee in his hands as he chats with his parents.
“Morning, sötnos.” He holds up a hand and beckons me closer.
“Morning.” I greet everyone.
“Did you sleep well?” his mom asks.
“I did, thank you. I think all the exhaustion from traveling finally hit me, and I was out.”
“What are your plans for today?” Filip asks Beckett as I grab a cup and fill it with coffee, adding a splash of cream sitting out next to the pot.
“I was going to take Julia into town and just go explore. Hit up some of the touristy places. That reminds me, are Mormor and Morfar coming over tonight? Julia wanted to meet them today, if possible.”
“They’ll be here, so you’ll get to see them later this afternoon and evening,” Vera tells us.
“Oh good! I can’t wait to meet them in person.” Like the rest of Beckett’s closest family members, I’ve talked to his mormor while on FaceTime with his mom or sisters. So, we’ve met in the digital sense, but like with everyone else, it will be nice to actually meet her in person.
“Can I get you something for breakfast, dear?” Vera offers a few minutes later.
“I can find something; you don’t have to cook and serve me all the time.” I don’t want her to think I expect them to wait on me hand and foot.
“I don’t mind, or we have some bagels with cream cheese. There’s some smoked salmon in the fridge to go with them, as well, if you like that.”
“That sounds perfect.”
She hands me a basket of bagels to choose from, then places a few different cream cheese spreads on the counter. There’s also a plate holding the smoked salmon, or lox, as they refer to it, as well as some pickled onions and capers. I slather the cream cheese onto my
bagel once it pops up from the toaster, then place a few pieces of the thin-sliced smoked salmon on top. I selected a honey nut spread, and after the first bite, I’m sold.
“Do you want to shower before we leave?” Beckett asks after we finish eating and visiting, kissing my shoulder before he pulls back. We’ll need to get moving if we’re going sightseeing today.
“Yes,” I say, nodding my head. “I need to wash all the travel grime off me. I think the water will also help me wake up some more and be ready to take on the day.”
“Okay. You go shower and I’ll go after you, and then we can go into town and play tourists,” Beckett tells me.
“Will do. Anything special I need to know about the shower?”
“Nope,” he says, popping the P.
“I’ll be back soon then.”
I hop off the stool and head for our bedroom, where I grab my shower bag and a towel for my hair, and take it all into the bathroom with me. I pull a bath towel from the cabinet then turn the water on, allowing it a few minutes to warm up while I get undressed and brush my teeth. Once I’m finished, I reach in to make sure the water is at least warm, then step under the spray. I can feel my muscles immediately start to melt as the warm water rolls over them. I stand under the spray, just allowing it to work my muscles for a few minutes, then remember Beckett is waiting on me to take a shower of his own, so I get moving.
A few minutes later, I step out of the shower, wrapping my hair up in the special hair towel I packed with me, then dry off and wrap the towel around my body, tucking the edges in between my breasts. I gather my things, then hurry down the hall and into our room.
“Fuck, sötnos,” Beckett hisses from the other side of the room. “I didn’t expect you to come in here with only a towel wrapped around you.”
“Sorry. I didn’t want to take my clothes in, and then try and get dressed while still damp.”
“You look sexy as fuck in that towel, with water droplets running down your skin,” he says as he steps up next to me. His presses his lips to my neck, and I feel his tongue trace the path a droplet of water just took. I moan when his teeth sink into my skin and he nips at me.
The Hardest Shot: Indianapolis Eagles Series Book 7 Page 15