by Kat Mizera
“It all boils down to trust, you know?”
“I think it’s yourself you don’t trust,” Kendra said thoughtfully. “You’re afraid you’ll pick another loser so instead of giving guys a chance, you don’t trust yourself so you don’t trust them either.”
“Oh, that’s way too deep for a lazy afternoon drinking wine,” Charli said, shaking her head. “I’m going to put the lasagna in the oven.”
“I’ll pour more wine.”
They talked and drank for the next hour and were starting to giggle when the doorbell rang.
“Are you expecting anyone?” Kendra asked.
“I don’t think so.” Charli walked over to the door, still carrying her wine glass, and found herself face-to-face with Miikka. “Hi! I wasn’t expecting you.”
“Hi.” He smiled at her but it faltered slightly when he spotted the wine glass in her hand. “Are you busy?”
“My friend Kendra is here, but come on in. You can meet her.”
“Hello.” Miikka held his hand out to Kendra. “I’m Miikka Laasonen.”
“Hi. Kendra LaSalle. Nice to meet you.” She shook his hand. “Want a glass of wine?”
“I shouldn’t stay,” he said quickly, glancing at Charli. “You have company.”
“Oh, have a glass of wine with us,” Kendra said, already up and heading to the kitchen. “I’ve heard so much about you.”
Charli resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Kendra couldn’t be more obvious if she tried, but that was okay.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to leave?” he asked softly as Kendra rooted around for something in the kitchen.
“No, I’m happy to see you. I thought you had a dinner meeting?” She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.
He kissed her back, one hand palming her ass before releasing her. “Was cancelled. Coach has a cold and wants to rest. Dinner maybe tomorrow night.”
“Did you eat? Do you want to eat with us?”
“He definitely should eat with us!” Kendra said, coming out with a glass of wine and handing it to him.
“Thank you.” He inclined his head.
“So tell me everything,” Kendra said, sitting on the couch and tucking her legs beneath her.
“Everything…about me?” he asked slowly.
“Sure. You come from Finland, right?”
“Yes.”
“For my parents’ twenty-fifth anniversary, we took a cruise from Copenhagen to Stockholm and we spent one day in Helsinki. I loved Scandinavia.”
“Helsinki is beautiful city.” He nodded. “I live north, in Savonlinna. North and east of Helsinki.”
“Olavinlinna Castle is on my list of European castles to see,” she told him. “I have a thing for castles.”
“I love this castle!” he said, with a grin. He glanced at Charli. “It is very—”
“It’s.” Charli and Kendra spoke at the same time and then dissolved into giggles. It wasn’t that what he’d said was wrong, merely that they were reminding him to use contractions. Since they’d done it in unison, and they’d been drinking, it was probably funnier than it should have been.
“This isn’t fair,” he protested, shaking his head. “Now two against one.”
“It’s for your own good,” Charli said gently. “And Kendra is a librarian, so she’ll be strict like I am.”
“Not fair,” he said again, continuing to shake his head, though he was grinning.
“That’s what happens when you have a girlfriend—you get nagged by her bestie too.”
“Nagged? Bestie?” He frowned.
Charli explained what she meant and he playfully rolled his eyes. “Very unfair. However, I can play this game also.” He fixed Kendra with a poignant stare. “Why is attractive woman like you single?”
Kendra chuckled. “I’ll tell you exactly what happened to me. My fiancé left me at the altar. Legit didn’t show up for our wedding. And now he’s a priest. A Catholic priest, on some kind of mission in Africa.”
“Catholic priest?” Miikka gaped at her. “You had sex?”
“Of course we had sex. We were together three years! I think he’s gay and couldn’t tell his family, so he went the other way. I don’t know for sure, but yeah, so trust me, we all have a story.”
“What’s that smell?” Charli asked, looking around.
“Oh shit!” Kendra sprang to her feet. “The lasagna!” She ran into the kitchen with Charli and Miikka behind her, and pulled it out of the oven.
“That’s not edible,” Charli murmured.
“Not good,” Miikka said, examining the black, charred block of food in Kendra’s hand. “We go out.”
“Oh, no, I can—” Charli began.
“No,” Miikka spoke firmly. “We go out.”
“I can go home,” Kendra began. “It’s fine if—”
“I take both of you,” he interrupted, winking at her. “It’s fun for you to embarrass me and now I can also embarrass you.”
“Are you sure, Miikka?” Charli asked.
“Yes. Also, I drive because you are both drinking. I only have half a glass.”
“Let me put on socks and shoes,” Charli said, heading for the stairs.
“And lipstick!” Kendra called after her.
Miikka watched as Kendra cleaned up the kitchen and disposed of the burned lasagna. She put the wine away and rinsed out the wine glasses as though she spent a lot of time here.
“You and Charli, you’re good friends?” he asked after a moment.
“Yeah. She’s really great. A little shy, but so am I, so we get each other.”
“She’s amazing.”
“Be good to her, Miikka. She’s been through a lot and if you hurt her, you also hurt me. If you think I’m bad when I’m teasing, you don’t want to see how upset I would be if you hurt her.”
He frowned. “She thinks this also, but that’s not the man I am. I wouldn’t hurt her or anyone else.”
“I don’t know if she’s told you about what happened to her, with her parents and everything, but she’s kind of fragile. She doesn’t trust easily and she’s finally gotten to a place where she’s happy with her life. It’s okay if you don’t get serious or anything like that, but please be kind. That’s all I ask.”
Before he could answer, Charli came in and they got ready to go.
Kendra’s words stuck with him and he wanted to know what had happened with Charli and her parents. They wouldn’t have any time alone together tonight, so it would have to wait, but he’d keep it in mind because it felt important. Kindness was never optional in his book, so he wondered what kind of jerks had been unkind to her.
Dinner was fun and Charli and Kendra drank way too much wine, but Kendra and Miikka seemed to get along well, which made Charli happy. They made it an early night since he had a full day of hockey tomorrow, and Kendra spent the night at Charli’s since she’d been too drunk to drive home.
Charli’s optometrist appointment was the following morning and since it was a weekend, Kendra went to the mall with her for her appointment.
“Oh, look at your eyes,” Kendra breathed as Charli put in the contacts the optometrist was letting her try for a week. “Miikka is going to lose his mind when he sees you at the game. You absolutely can’t put your hair in a braid.”
“No.” Charli gazed in the mirror as if seeing herself for the first time in a long time. Kendra was right that her eyes looked huge without glasses covering them, and she imagined they would look even better with mascara.
“Let’s get makeovers,” Kendra suggested when they were done, pulling her towards a makeup store in the mall.
“I don’t wear a lot of makeup.”
“That’s not the point of a makeover. Geez, would you let loose a little?”
They wandered into a cosmetics store and within minutes were sitting on stools as an employee started showing them different creams, foundations and bronzers. Kendra went all out, experimenting with eyebrow fillers, different
shades of lipstick and even that smokey eye shadow look that Charli had never been able to create on her own face.
Kendra was one of those women who could go without makeup because she was beautiful. However, she was also the type of woman who was stunning with a full face of makeup. Charli had never seen her made up before and stared at her wistfully, wondering why someone so gorgeous was not just single, but a nerdy, introverted librarian who never spoke up at staff meetings and seemed to fade into the background. She wasn’t that way with Charli, of course, but it seemed like they both had inner demons they kept buried.
Two hours later, they headed back to Charli’s house with more makeup than Charli thought she’d ever use. It had been fun, though, and later, after Kendra had left, she stared in the mirror for the second time that day. She remembered the heartbroken, abandoned teenager she’d been during her senior year of high school, but the woman staring back at her had grown up. The sadness that had been there for years had faded when she wasn’t looking. Maybe her glasses had masked the change or being surrounded by children all day distracted her from it, but whatever the case, it had faded. She still sensed glimmers of that terrified teenager, but mostly the past just made her sad.
She took out her contacts and washed off all the makeup. Then she crawled into bed with her favorite copy of Pride and Prejudice. She didn’t love most classic literature because it was so sad, but Jane Austen made her happy and Pride and Prejudice was her favorite book. She’d read it hundreds of times and it was her go-to before bed, because it made her happy.
Tonight her thoughts strayed to Miikka and she put the book down, wondering what he was up to. Kendra adored him after their evening together, and Charli had to admit it had been a lot of fun. She’d never heard Kendra laugh like she had, and it was one of the best nights she’d had in ages. She didn’t go out much to begin with, and usually, she, Kendra and Stacy stayed home. Stacy had turned into one of those friends who forgot about her girlfriends now that she was dating someone, which left Charli and Kendra to do their own thing. It wound up being totally different than what they usually did, thanks to Miikka and their impromptu dinner.
Her phone buzzed and she looked down to see a text from him.
MIIKKA: Are you awake?
CHARLI: I’m half-awake. Are you ready for tomorrow?
MIIKKA: Yes. Morning skate and then nap before game.
CHARLI: Are we going to study this week?
MIIKKA: Studying isn’t my first choice if I get any free time. I’d rather spend it naked with you.
CHARLI: Me too, but if we’re not together, you still have to read to me before bed every night. The only way to continue to improve is to practice, even if it’s fifteen minutes at night.
MIIKKA: You’re right. Can I read to you now?
CHARLI: Absolutely.
MIIKKA: Can we have phone sex?
CHARLI: If it’s all in English.
MIIKKA: This I can do!
14
Charli and Kendra got to the arena for the next game and headed down to the ice to watch warm-ups. Charli hadn’t done this any of the other times she’d come to games, but Kendra wanted to and it was a little exciting to be close to the ice where they could see the players.
She spotted Miikka right away, his red hair blowing back from his face a little as he skated around and shot a few pucks at the net.
“That’s so hot,” Kendra whispered, nudging her.
Charli looked over at her, squinting. “Who are you and what happened to my librarian friend Kendra who blushes every time she uses a cuss word?”
Kendra flushed but gave her a little shrug. “Maybe it’s time for both of us to stop being shy librarian-types and enjoy life.”
“I don’t even know you.” Charli pretended to groan.
“I’m not the one of us sleeping with a hot, professional hockey player.”
Charli laughed and was about to protest when Ryder skated up to them and tapped on the glass, winking at them. Charli was so shocked she didn’t have time to react before he skated away, but Kendra burst out laughing.
“Make that two hot hockey players.”
“Oh, hush!” Charli looked over to where Miikka was, but he’d just skated off the ice, heading back to the locker room, and disappointment washed over her. Was he already ignoring her?
“Miikka probably doesn’t even realize it’s you,” Kendra said, as if reading her mind. “Has he ever seen you without glasses?”
Charli shook her head. “Well, in bed, but not like I am now.”
“There you have it. He probably didn’t realize it was you.”
Charli followed Kendra back up to the concourse without responding. Hopefully, Kendra was right.
Miikka sank down next to Logan in the locker room once the game was over. They’d pulled out a win by the skin of their teeth so the team was in a rowdy mood, laughing and joking, many making plans to go out even though they had practice tomorrow and another game the day after that.
Coach Saunders came in holding up her hands to get their attention.
“That was a little too close for me, boys,” she said, looking around. “We still have a long way to go to make the playoffs. I want to see you here at ten o’clock tomorrow for practice and then we’ll have a lunch meeting, watching video. Don’t make any plans the next couple of days—we’re going to be busy. And get some rest. You’re going to need it.” She turned and headed out to talk to the press, leaving the rest of the team to deal with a handful of the media who’d lingered behind.
Miikka never talked to the press because of the language barrier, so he headed back to the showers. Ryder, Logan and Donovan were behind him and Ryder was in rare form.
“Tonight’s my lucky night,” he was saying. “Did you see her? Fucking smokin’.”
“Who are you talking about?” Donovan asked him.
“Didn’t you see her by the glass? The brunette with Miikka’s girlfriend?”
Miikka turned, frowning as Ryder continued to talk.
“She’s not wearing her glasses tonight but I recognized her, and that friend of hers… She’s fucking gorgeous!”
What the hell was Ryder talking about? When had he seen Charli without glasses, and more importantly, why hadn’t Miikka seen her?
“Who is this hottie?” Donovan asked. “Do I know her?”
“I don’t know,” Ryder said, turning to Miikka. “Who’s Charli’s friend?”
“Charli’s friend?” Miikka was blank.
“You didn’t recognize your own girlfriend by the glass during warm-ups?” Ryder gave him a funny look. “She was with another brunette.”
“Kendra?” Miikka was embarrassed to admit he hadn’t noticed Charli.
Shit! Now he felt like an ass. How had he missed her?
“You need to introduce me.”
“Is that who that was?” Donovan asked thoughtfully. “I didn’t realize that was Charli… Something was different.”
“I told you—she wasn’t wearing glasses.” Ryder winked at Miikka. “And she’s pretty hot. You saw something the rest of us didn’t.”
“Apparently, I see nothing,” Miikka muttered. “I did not see her at all.”
“Didn’t.” Logan nudged him.
Miikka groaned.
Miikka got ready in record time and practically flew out of the locker room to get to the family lounge. How had he missed Charli and Kendra by the glass during warm-ups? She hadn’t watched them during the other games she’d attended, so he hadn’t been looking and obviously she hadn’t tried to get his attention.
He walked into the room and he spotted Kendra immediately, talking with Whitney. He scanned the room and would have missed Charli completely if Niko hadn’t chosen that moment to run and throw his arms around her waist.
Holy shit.
What had she done? Ryder hadn’t been kidding about her being hot. She wasn’t wearing her glasses and her eyes were the bluest he’d ever seen. Her hair was down, curling in sof
t waves around her shoulders and she had on pink lipstick that made him want to kiss her.
How the fuck had he missed her at the glass? He was usually pretty relaxed before games, not one of those guys who got worked up or filled with nervous energy. It just wasn’t his personality. Yet he’d been oblivious to Charli tonight.
In some ways, it was a compliment. He was already so caught up in her he didn’t even notice other women, which was funny and sad at the same time.
“Hi.” He walked up to her and patted Niko on the head.
“Uncle Miikka, did you know Miss Charli is my teacher?” Niko called all of his father’s teammates Uncle.
“I did.” Miikka smiled down at him. “She’s my teacher also. She’s teaching me English.”
“She is? Cool!” Niko bounded off to tell his father something and Charli watched him go fondly.
“I’m going to miss him next year,” she said as she looked up at Miikka. “And hi.”
“You look beautiful tonight,” he said softly. “Where are your glasses?”
“I got contacts.”
“Your eyes are very blue. And very beautiful.”
“Thank you.” She dipped her head a little but was leaning closer to him.
Their gazes locked, and he pulled her close. “Can I come home with you tonight?”
“I thought you’d never ask.”
They got to her house in record time and were in bed within minutes of arriving. They were so desperate for each other it was like they hadn’t seen each other in weeks instead of twenty-four hours. They hadn’t even bothered to fully undress, and Charli rolled over laughing. She still had her bra and T-shirt on, and his boxers were down around his ankles, but not completely off.
“I think we were horny,” she chuckled.
“Always,” he agreed, reaching down to kick his boxers the rest of the way off.
She turned and rested her head on his chest, loving how it felt when he wrapped his arms around her. They hadn’t been together long, but Miikka always made her feel safe when they were like this. Not because she was in any danger, but his presence kept her own negative thoughts and underlying sadness at bay. No one had ever made her feel this way, as if she was finally moving beyond the issues in her past.