Attacking Zone (Utah Fury Hockey Book 4)

by Brittney Mulliner

  I giggled. “You would never.”

  He shrugged. “I think I have to. He’s going to be family.”

  I narrowed my eyes. We were a couple, but marriage hadn’t been discussed yet.

  He winked. “A man knows these things.”

  He picked up my hand and kissed it. “I love you, Kendall. I’ll be waiting right here for you.”

  “I love you, too. Thank you.”

  He nodded and stepped back so my team could push me along.

  I relaxed and blew out a slow breath. I wasn’t nervous anymore. I knew things were going to be okay. I had too much waiting for me.

  Thank you!

  Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed Wyatt and Kendall’s story!

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  Keep Reading,

  Xoxo B

  Coming in December:

  Colin and Lucy’s Story

  Order Here

  Colin Brassard swore off women when he lost the love of his life, until he runs into her in the most unexpected place. Can he convince her their reunion was fate and to give him another chance or are the old wounds too deep to forget?

  To be notified when this book is released join Brittney’s Reader List.

  Keep reading for a sneak peek into their story.

  Buzzer Beater

  Lucy

  This was a terrible mistake. Gorgeous women surrounded me. Laughing. Talking. Giddy about where they would be by sundown.

  I closed my eyes and reminded myself I was going this for Amber. I could survive five days with these people.

  “Are you excited, Lucy? Five days of sun, sand, and sangria.” Amber, my best friend and the bride-to-be, leaned against me and rested her head on my shoulder. “Thanks for coming. I know it was a lot to ask, but I couldn’t image my bachelorette trip without you.”

  “I would never miss this.”

  She squeezed my arm. “I know. That’s why you’re my best friend.”

  A voice boomed over the intercom before I could respond. “Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to Flight eight-thirty-four with services to Cancun. We’ll be starting the boarding process soon. At this time, we’d like to invite those that will need extra time to board now.”

  “It’s time!” Stephanie, Amber’s friend from work, jumped up and soon the other three women followed.

  I signed and stayed in my seat. There was no point in rushing. They hadn’t started boarding yet, and we were all sitting in first class. We didn’t have to worry about finding space for our carry ons, so why stress?

  I dropped my phone in my purse and counted to three. I needed to calm down. This was supposed to be fun. I was supposed to let loose. Getting frustrated before we even left would lead to an awful week.

  Traveling with strangers wasn’t a good idea. We didn’t understand each other’s personalities and preferences, yet. I couldn’t get frustrated so easily.

  I stood and forced a smile. Fake it ‘til you make it, Lucy.

  “We’d like to invite our priority one guests now.”

  Amber clapped her hands at the end of the announcement. “Are you ladies ready?”

  The other girls cheered as they grabbed their bags and walked toward the door. I followed behind the line of supermodel-worthy women I’d be surrounded by for the next week.

  I shouldn’t compare myself to them. Everybody is different and I’m sure under the perfect exterior they all had their own struggles.

  I smoothed my shirt over my less-than flat stomach. Who cares if I wore tummy control bathing suits while they strutted around in their bikinis? Not me. Good for them. All four genetically bless one.

  Once we got on the plane, they scurried to claim a seat. I fought the urge to roll my eyes. We all had tickets. There was a spot for each of us, it’s not like musical chairs where someone will get kicked out.

  “Lucy, I saved you a spot.” Elena, Amber’s college roommate, patted the seat next to her.

  “Thanks.” I dropped into the surprisingly comfortable chair. No wonder people paid for first class. This was so much better than coach. I wasn’t normally one to splurge but Amber insisted everyone else had bought first class ticket, so I should. She offered to help me pay for it, but I couldn’t let her. I had the money, I just didn’t like to spend it.

  Frugal parents had left their mark. I saved more than I spent and paid off my cards at the end of every month.

  I could break my rule for my best friend though. Fifteen years of friendship had yielded much greater sacrifices.

  “I’m glad there’s a familiar face. I was worried I wouldn’t know anyone.”

  I smiled at Elena and nodded. We’d met a few times at Amber’s birthday parties. “Me too. I know who they are from helping with wedding planning, but I’ve never really met any of them.”

  “We all love Amber. At least we have one thing in common.”

  I met her eyes and nodded. “We’ll survive this week, right?”

  Elena laughed. “We’ll stick together.”

  It was comforting knowing I’d have a partner through this. The other girls had somehow bonded in the hour we’d been at the airport together. We were Amber’s bridal party. I was the maid of honor, and Elena was a bridesmaid with Stephanie and Riley. Riley was a cousin and a few years younger than us. She was the most excited to party in Mexico.

  A flight attendant stopped by and offered us a glass of champagne while we waited for the rest of the plane to board.

  “So, this is how the other half lives?” I looked over as Elena smirked and took a sip.

  I shook my head. “I guess. It’s a little bit better than the economy seats.”

  She laughed. “I’m going to be paying off this trip for months, but might as well go big right?”

  “I’ll toast to that.”

  We clinked out glasses and settled in. She adjusted her seat and I reached into my bag for my phone.

  I hadn’t looked at it for just a few minutes and I had nine emails. Great. At this rate I’d be buried by the time I got back to the office next week.

  My assistant was checking my emails while I was gone, and he assured me several times he had a handle on everything. It’s not like we have earth changing jobs, but as a project manager there was a lot I was over. It was like conducting an orchestra, making sure each person was performing how and when they were supposed to.

  “Hey, no more phones. You’re on vacation.”

  “Sorry.” I powered it off without reading a single email and dropped it back in my bag. “Work stuff.”

  She nodded. “I understand. This was the first vacation I’ve taken in over four years, and my boss still had a fit about me leaving.”

  “What do you do?”

  “I’m a meteorologist.”

  “Really?”

  She laughed at my shock. “Yeah, I work for a network in LA.”

  Of course, she did. Amber had always told me how smart her roommate was back in college and Elena was stunning. She was the perfect weather woman.

  “That’s kind of amazing.”

  She smiled. “Thanks. I really like it. I studied atmospheric science in school and no one understood why.” She shrugged. “I liked waiting the weather channel when I was little and growing up in Texas was the best stage for seeing all the crazy, interesting weather patterns.”

  I could picture her in front of a green screen elegantly explaining the sunny weather to Los Angeles. It fit.

  “What about you? Where do you work?”

  “Silicon Valley.”

  She nodded slowly. “Tech company?”

  “Yup. One of the thousands.”

  “I’m sure that’s interesting. Do you like living up north?”

  “Yeah, it’s where I grew up, so I like it.”

  “Right. Of course.”

  Amber popped up in front of us with a wide grin. “Okay girls! Are you ready?”
>
  I looked to Elena and smiled. “To sit here for the next six hours?”

  Amber rolled her eyes. “Yeah and for getting this party started?”

  “What does that mean?” Elena asked the same thing I was wondering.

  “I was going to buy us a few rounds.” Amber looked passed up to the other girls.

  I turned and saw Stephanie covered with a blanket and sleep mask on. Didn’t look like she was going to be partying. Riley was sitting next to Amber, but I couldn’t see her.

  “Why don’t we wait until we get to Mexico before we start getting too wild.”

  Amber slumped now and rested her chin on the seat. “That’s so boring.”

  So was drinking on a plane. I hadn’t touched my champagne and didn’t plan on drinking any. I had a feeling I’d have to be the responsible one on this trip. Ordering a virgin drink for the rest of the girls every so often.

  “Just put on a movie and we’ll be there before you know it.”

  I felt like her mom, but that wasn’t new. Amber was the fun one. The one with the wild stories. The one everyone loved and remembered. I was the one behind her making sure she didn’t get into trouble.

  Boring, responsible Lucy.

  Growing up I’d been too afraid to break rules. I didn’t want to get in trouble. I didn’t want the consequences. Then, my mom died, and I didn’t want to make anything harder for my dad. He had enough to deal with without me adding to it.

  I’d usually gone along with Amber’s plans, but I tamed them. Kept her in check. Stopped things before it ever got out of hand.

  I thought when we went to separate schools, me at Cornell and Amber at UCLA, I’d relax. Not worry so much. But in college there were hundreds of Ambers. Each friend had their own set of boundaries they liked to push. At least with Amber I knew what to expect.

  By my senior year, I kept to myself. It wasn’t worth it to me anymore. The babysitting, the worrying, the calls in the middle of the night from friends that needed a ride.

  I found a few like-minded people that wanted to put their studies first and pressed on.

  I might not have had the greatest social life, but I did graduate at the top of my class and landed a great job.

  I didn’t regret it, but I did wonder if I missed out on too much.

  Did I really live? Was my life what I wanted it to be?

  Safe, boring, repetitive?

  This wasn’t what I had planned when I was younger. I was going to have excitement and travel and one day I was going to fall in love.

  That hadn’t happened like I’d wanted it to either.

  About the Author

  Brittney has been an avid reader for as long as she can remember. Her parents’ form of punishment growing up was taking away her books and making her go outside to play. She loves the beach, exercising, sleeping in, and cookies. Yes, she does know those contradict each other. She’s an obsessive dog lover and is slowly learning to appreciate the mountains she lives in. Nature can be okay, sometimes.

  Find Out More

  Find out more about Brittney and her books at

  www.Brittneymulliner.com