the ‘family’ vibe Jax is trying to create. Yesterday I picked Mimi up from school and brought her to hockey practice. Lucy had mentioned wanting to talk to me, so I tracked her down and she was sitting over there”—she pointed to the loveseat and chair lounge area in the corner—“with Margene and Connie.”
“Connie the office manager? What had she been doing here that late?”
“I wondered that too. While I was standing there, awkwardly I might add, your co-coach, Anna, bounced in, and said, ‘Oh good, we’re all here, now we can start.’” Edie took another fortifying drink of coffee. “That’s when I noticed a pile of yarn on Lucy’s lap. My first thought was selfish. I’d hoped her knitting baby booties was a clever way of sharing that she and Jax were expecting.”
“Is that why you need my help? To throw a baby shower?”
“Heavens, no. I’d jumped to the wrong conclusion. Then Anna plunked herself right next to Lucy and pulled out her own ball of yarn. In one of those slow-motion ‘I can’t believe what I’m seeing’ moments, I realized everyone held yarn balls. Everyone, Gabi. Then Lucy handed me a bag and welcomed me to the first meeting of the Lakeside Craft Club.”
“Noooo,” I gasped in horror.
“Yes! Lucy started a craft club and she expects me to be in it. Me.” She thumped her chest. “Do I look like I enjoy crafting?” She paused. “No, don’t answer that. I’m not being disrespectful. While I appreciate that women love crafting and kudos to them for being so passionate about it, I am not one of those women.”
“Me neither.”
“I suspected as much. Which is why I’m here.”
My brain scrolled back to something she’d said when she first walked in: “I came to warn you.”
“Oh, hell no.”
“They have a bag like this”—she reached down and pulled out a canvas bag with an iron-on transfer of an ice skating pond, with EDIE in red sequins across the top—“literally with your name on it.”
“You’re joking, right? This is some prank you and Lucy are playing on me since I’m dating Nolan, to see if I have a sense of humor off the ice.”
Those eyes, so much like Nolan’s, widened. “You are dating my son?”
Damn. “I thought you knew.” I forced myself to breathe and my heart to slow down.
“Nolan has been scarce lately on the weekends. Even Archer mentioned they hadn’t played racquetball recently.” She sat back and studied me for a few beats before she smiled. “Now it makes sense. You and Nolan. Interesting.”
What was interesting to me was he hadn’t told his parents about us. Then again, I hadn’t told my parents about him, so we were even on that front.
She said, “How long?”
“We had our first date the day after his LCCO event. But we’d been talking for a few weeks before that.”
“I’m thrilled for both of you, but it’ll be our secret, okay? I’ll wait for him to tell me. Now back to the crisis at hand. When your name came up during crafting club, Connie, Anna and Lucy said they were scared to approach you, but Margene said she’d handle it. Today.”
Scared. I snorted. “A crafting club. Why not a book club or a wine club or a—”
“Strip club,” we said simultaneously.
We both laughed.
“I’m guessing because they all like to craft. And what’s worse? They’re all doing the same craft, so they can—”
“Compare?” I supplied with dread. “Omigod, no freakin’ way.”
“There’s no possible way we can get out of this.”
I could get out of it if Wolf Sports North offered me a position. But that’d leave poor Edie alone—a non-crafter in crafter club. I couldn’t do that to her; hell, I couldn’t do that to anyone, but especially not to Nolan’s mother since I wanted her to adore me.
“What if . . . we got kicked out of the club?”
Edie’s eyes flashed surprise, then hope. “That is brilliant! How would we go about it?”
“My first thought as a hockey player would be to pick a fight.”
“Sorry. My brawling days are over.” She frowned and pulled her phone out of her purse. After reading the screen, her face held an expression of dismay.
“What’s wrong?”
Edie flipped her phone around so I could see it.
It was Connie: 40% off yarn sale at Hobby Lobby! No coupon needed!
My eyes met Edie’s. I whispered, “Are you in a crafting text message group now too?”
“Yes. Lucy gave them my number, Gabi.”
I circled her wrist. “I’m gonna get you out of this, Edie. I