by Toni Aleo
Stacie’s expression held mocking disbelief. “You’re not going to get a second chance. You fucked up royally, now you’re paying. And I’m perfectly content to watch from the sidelines while you swing in the wind.”
“Do you honestly hate me that much?”
He fought back a grin because, even though she clearly wanted to hate him, they’d actually gotten along pretty well before. He’d admired her take-no-prisoners attitude. Actually, they were a lot alike, but she was Leah’s best friend. And he was the guy who’d dumped her.
Stacie shrugged. “Yeah, pretty much.”
“And nothing I can do will fix that?”
Crossing her arms in front of her, Stacie watched him with a calculating look in her eyes. “So you are trying to crawl back into her bed. Not gonna happen, dude.”
“What if I admit that I know how badly I fucked up? That I realize she’s everything I’ve ever wanted, and I’ll do whatever I need to do to get her back?”
“I’d say don’t hold your breath. She’s never gonna trust you again. And I don’t blame her.”
“Then I guess I’ll just have to work on regaining that trust.”
Stacie’s gaze narrowed. “She’s too good for you.”
He held his hands up in front of him. “No argument from me.”
Sighing, Stacie shook her head. “You’re gonna do whatever the hell it is you want anyway.” Her hands went back on her hips. “So why are you talking to me?”
“Because I know how much you mean to Leah, and if you’re gonna block me at every turn, I’m not gonna have a chance with her.”
Stacie’s eyes narrowed even more. “So what do you want?”
“All I’m asking for is a little breathing room. I don’t want to hurt Leah. That was never my intent. But I know I did and I want to make it up to her. Let me show her I can be the guy she needs.”
Stacie fell silent for so long he wasn’t sure she wasn’t going to turn on her heel and walk out the door. But finally, she took a deep breath and let her hands fall to her sides.
“So you’re gonna ask her out?”
“I plan to, yeah. But first I want to make sure she knows I’m not the same guy. That I’ve changed.”
Her brow arched. “Huh. I guess only time will tell about that.” Another pause. “Fine. You want me to keep my mouth shut, I’ll give you a week. But you hurt her, and I’ll cut your balls off.”
Huffing out an amused breath, he shook his head. “I’m not planning to, but if I do, I’ll give you the knife.”
Stacie gave him another one of those looks before she turned and headed for the door. But just before she walked out, she looked over her shoulder at him. “I won’t use a knife, dude. I’ll use your own damn hockey blade.”
Chapter Three
Leah glanced again at the studio’s closed door.
What could they possibly be talking about this long?
She couldn’t believe Kyle and Stacie would be in the same room for this long without Stacie screaming obscenities at him and Kyle leaving with a limp, clutching his groin.
Should she go back in there and see what was up? Or would that make things worse?
Since she honestly had no idea what they could be doing in there for so long, she didn’t know what to do. However, she did have a class starting in three minutes that she should be getting ready for.
And she was ready. She just really wanted to know what Kyle and Stacie were talking—
Finally, the door opened, and Stacie walked out, grinning like she hadn’t just spent the last several minutes with her sworn enemy.
At least Leah didn’t see any blood on her friend. And she could almost convince herself that was a joke.
As Stacie walked toward the desk, Leah told herself not to ask. Told herself she didn’t care what they’d been talking about.
But when Stacie smiled and waved as she walked out the door without saying a word, Leah growled under her breath as she turned to look for Kyle.
Who happened to be only inches away from her.
“Oh!”
She lifted her hands to avoid running into him and wound up pressing them against his broad chest.
Her fingers curled automatically into hard muscle as his hands landed on her shoulders to steady her.
“Whoa. Sorry. Didn’t realize I was so close.”
Oh my god.
It was so not fair that this man still had the ability to make her heart pound like he had the first time he’d kissed her. Not that he was going to get the chance to do that again.
No way. No how. Nope.
With his hands on her shoulders, he tilted her upright. Away from him.
No, no, no. She wanted to be closer.
Jesus, I’m going crazy.
“I… Don’t… That’s okay. Just…I need to get to class.”
Damn him. She wanted to snap at him and smack her hand against his chest and tell him just how much she never wanted to see him again.
Liar.
Ugh.
Instead, she forced a smile, stepped around him, and walked away.
She didn’t get far when she heard him say, “Hey, Leah.”
Pausing, she considered ignoring him. He hadn’t raised his voice, but even though music played over the loudspeakers, she heard him clearly.
With a sigh, she turned her head to look at him over her shoulder, hoping she didn’t look as panicked as she felt.
Because if he asked her out, she was afraid she’d say yes.
“Just wanted to tell you how much I enjoy your class. Never found another instructor who was half as good as you.”
Then he smiled and took her breath away then walked out the door, leaving her staring after him with her mouth hanging open.
“How’s the plan going?”
Kyle pushed up his mask and squirted water in his mouth then all over his face and hair. He and Nate had been paired off with the goalie coach all morning, but they’d just finished their last drill. Most of the team had already left the ice, along with the coaches.
Even though Kyle knew exactly what Nate meant, he wasn’t sure he was in the mood to talk.
“What plan?”
“Yeah, what plan? And how come I don’t know anything about it?”
Derek skated over, snowing Kyle’s skates as he stopped in front of him. Kyle just shook his head.
“His plan to get back in Leah’s good graces.”
“Ah. So you’re gonna go there. Well, you got balls, I’ll give you that.” Derek shook his head, a wry grin on his lips. “So what’s the plan? You need help? I mean, of course you need help. You fucked up royally last time. You totally need help.”
Kyle sucked in a deep breath and wished Derek into a deep, dark hole somewhere. Except he was a damn good player and the team needed him. Kyle couldn’t slash the asshole.
“You want me to say something to Sophie about inviting Leah to the team party at the bar? Sophie takes classes at the studio sometimes. She knows Leah enough to ask. Jess might, too, come to think of it. That’s Will’s fiancée.”
And this was why Derek still had his teeth. The guy could make you want to punch him and kiss him at the same damn time.
“No, I’ll ask her. I’ll just say the invite came from you, though. That okay?”
Derek’s grin widened. “Whatever I can do to help you out, dude.”
Which was how Kyle found himself standing at the door of her apartment later that night, holding three pizzas.
One was her favorite. White pizza with broccoli from the place down the street. She’d been the one to introduce him to Paolo’s, and he’d missed their pizza when he’d left.
He’d missed her more.
Hopefully she wasn’t going to shove the pizza in his face and send him back to his apartment. More likely, she wouldn’t even open the door when she saw him through the peephole.
Trying to breathe normally while he waited, he finally heard movement. He was pretty sure she’d already checked
to see who it was and was now debating whether to let him in.
Relief flooded through him when he heard the doorknob turn. He made sure to wipe it away with an easy grin.
She didn’t look happy to see him, but she didn’t look pissed either.
“Kyle. What are you doing here?”
Was he imagining that hint of vulnerability in her voice? Looking for something that wasn’t there?
He held up the pizza boxes. “I’ve been jonesing for Paolo’s pizza since I got back. CJ and the other guys are out.” He’d made sure they would be. “Not sure I can eat all of this so I figured I’d see if you were home to give me a hand.”
What he didn’t say was that he’d noticed she hadn’t gotten home until half an hour ago. And he knew that because he’d been watching for her. She’d taught her last class at five p.m. He’d checked on the studio website. It was now eight.
That meant she’d been at the studio for well over ten hours today.
Studying her closer, he realized she looked tired. Instinct made him want to push through the door, set her on the couch, make sure she ate then tuck her in bed, preferably with him beside her.
Don’t get ahead of yourself.
Her gaze dropped to the boxes in his hand then lifted back to his again. She didn’t say anything right away. He figured he had a fifty-fifty shot at being asked inside. And his odds would increase tremendously if he kept his mouth shut.
Several long seconds later, she sucked in a breath and waved him through the door.
Yes!
He walked in before she changed her mind. And stopped when he realized he couldn’t go any farther without walking into a box.
The living room was littered with them, most of them open, the contents spilling out.
It looked like the North Pole had exploded.
“Sorry. There’s so much—”
“I forgot how much you love Christmas.”
But now it all came back in a flash, how much she’d loved the holiday season when they’d been together before. The decorations, the music, the movies.
Like the one playing on the TV right now. A guy and a girl walking through a snow-covered field, talking about—
“Sorry.” She shut the door and crossed to the TV. “Let me turn this off—”
“No, don’t. Leave it.”
Frowning, she stared at him, her hand on the remote. “But I’m sure there’s a game on.”
Shit. Had she done this before? Put him before her? Of course, she had. And he’d taken it.
He shrugged, a wry grin on his lips. “There’s always a game. Doesn’t mean I need to watch it. Besides, you were watching this.”
The look she gave him was equal parts confusion and disbelief.
He stared back at her. “What?”
Her eyebrows arched as she shook her head…and put down the remote without changing the channel.
“Nothing. I just…I know how much you love hockey.”
“And I know how much you love Christmas shows.” He shrugged. “Hey, I’m not the Grinch. I appreciate a good holiday movie.”
He maneuvered around the boxes to get to the couch, where she must have been sitting because there was just enough clear space to fit two people. Side by side. Barely.
It took a few seconds, but her expression began to shift to amused disbelief.
“Really? I believe I once heard you say Christmas was just a nice break in the season to rest and recover before the push for the playoffs.”
Yep, he was sure he’d said something like that. Total douche. Before he could defend himself, or apologize, she continued.
“So what’s your favorite Christmas movie?”
He gave her a challenging look. “You don’t remember?”
She rolled her eyes so hard he had to bite back a laugh. “So it’s still Die Hard?”
“Hey, what’s more romantic than saving your wife from crazed killers? Come on.”
Her smile broke free then and, holy hell, heat lit him up from his toes to his scalp.
Stomping down the lust, he forced himself to turn his attention to moving books and ornaments and a few baby toys aside so he could set the pizza boxes on the table.
Out of the corner of his eye, he watched her head for the small kitchen to the left of the front door, where she got plates and napkins then walked over to slide onto the couch next to him.
“So you’ve still never seen It’s A Wonderful Life?”
She left as much room between them as she could, which wasn’t much because of all the stuff strewn around.
“That’s the black-and-white one, right?” He shrugged. “Saw it last year.”
He’d been home for the holidays and his youngest sister, Katie, had been needling him about having no holiday spirit. Katie was high-functioning Asperger’s. She was one of those people you wouldn’t realize was different until you talked to her for a while. Most people thought she was shy. Or aloof. She was neither. She just processed things different. And saw so much more than anyone else.
She’d been the only member of his family to realize he’d been depressed last Christmas and not because of the injury that had benched him. Katie had stayed by his side nearly the entire time. One night, she’d told him to sit down and watch It’s A Wonderful Life with her. He’d been tempted to tell her to give him some space, but he couldn’t do that to her. He couldn’t be that much of an asshole to the one person in his life who never asked for anything from him other than his love.
Now, Leah’s eyes widened in shock. “Really? You watched It’s A Wonderful Life?”
He shrugged. “Yeah. Katie made me.”
Leah’s expression softened, her lips curving in a slight smile. “How is Katie?
“She’s good.” He returned her smile. “She decided on Rutgers. Started in September. She loves it there.”
“Oh, that’s great. I remember her talking about how much she couldn’t wait to go to college.” Leah’s genuine pleasure for a girl she’d met exactly once punched another hole in his gut. “She’s such a sweet soul.”
Of all the girlfriends he’d ever had, only Leah had seen that side of Katie. And Katie had seen Leah’s acceptance and decided Leah was a friend for life. Which was why Katie had seen the underlying cause of his depression at Christmas last year.
“She said to say hi if we met up again.”
Leah’s eyelids flickered before she turned to open the pizza boxes.
He could practically hear her brain working, though she didn’t say anything else. He considered letting her lead the conversation, but he had a feeling she wasn’t going to.
“So, you’re getting kind of a late start on the decorating, aren’t you?”
He figured that was an easy enough question. But when she didn’t answer right away, he slid her a look. Her expression made him pause, his gaze narrowed.
Why the hell did she look close to tears?
What the hell?
“Hey. Is something—”
“Yeah, I’ve been busy at work lately.” She shook her head, as if to shake off whatever was making her sad, and forced a smile. “Planned to finish up tonight.”
He wanted to push because he knew there was something bugging her. Something wearing on her mind.
“You want some help?”
He’d surprised her again, her head snapping around so she could stare at him again.
“You’re going to help me decorate?”
He shrugged, trying not to feel insulted at her shock. “Sure. Why not?”
Her expression turned wry. “Because I distinctly remember you telling me how stupid you thought it was to decorate for the holidays.”
Okay, yeah. He vaguely remembered saying that.
He shrugged. “Maybe I changed my mind.”
Skepticism shone from her blue eyes. “Really? So what changed your mind?”
He wanted to say she had but didn’t want her to roll her eyes and shrug him off. If his plan to win her back was going to
work, he had to show her he was sincere, not tell her.
And he had to be honest about it or she’d call him on it. She’d been able to read him better than any other person in the world, including his mom.
“The past season was rough.”
He stared into her eyes, so blue he wanted to drown in them. Or watch them as he pushed inside her and made her come. He wanted to be back in her bed. Wanted her back in his life. He just flat-out wanted her. And for the first time in his life, he was doubting everything. And god damn, did that suck.
Now, her face softened, but not with pity. No, Leah wouldn’t pity him. She hurt for him.
The old him would’ve taken advantage of that opening. Would’ve taken whatever she’d give him then asked for more.
“Kyle…”
“I had a hell of a lot of time to think about things during rehab and all the time I spent on the bench.”
“I know that must have sucked for you.”
More than he wanted to admit. “It did. I got a little bitter.” Honesty, asshole. Remember? “Okay, I got a lot bitter. And then I ran into Rob Pandelski.”
“Who’s that?”
“Another goalie. We met years ago at a training camp in Canada. Two cocky kids with enough skill to make us rivals. But Rob…he was genuinely decent. You just couldn’t hate the guy for being better than you.”
“Who does he play for?”
“He doesn’t. He was riding his bike in the off-season and some asshole drunk driver clipped him on the side of the road. Rob would’ve died if another cyclist hadn’t noticed his wheel sticking out of the ditch on the side of the road.”
“Oh no. What happened to him?”
“Broken back. Eighteen months later, he could walk but he was never gonna play again. At least, not professionally.” He shook his head and hoped like hell he didn’t come off like a complete douche. “So I was having a really shitty day earlier this season. I’d been on the bench for since the season before and I was barely holding it together.”
And that was being kind to himself.
“You always pushed yourself harder than anyone else ever did.” Leah’s mouth curved in a slight smile. “That can be a strength and a weakness.”
Nodding, he returned her smile, encouraged to continue. “Yeah, it can also make me a dick.”