by Toni Aleo
Then all that remained was the sound of their heavy breathing and the feel of his naked skin against her.
Chapter Four
Kyle figured he wasn’t going to get to sleep next to her tonight. He figured she wouldn’t let him.
Besides, he had practice in the morning that he couldn’t miss and a game the following night. It’d be his first start since coming back and he planned to make it a good one.
But when she shifted to his side and quietly said, “Stay,” there was no way in hell he was going to say no.
Which was how he woke up wrapped around her the next morning at six-thirty when her phone rang.
She groaned a little as she leaned over to grab her phone off the table but then shot straight up as she answered.
“Char? What’s wrong?”
He couldn’t hear the other end of the conversation, but it was obvious from Leah’s expression that something was very wrong.
“I’ll be right there. No, it’s okay. I’ll handle it. It’ll be okay.”
A second later, she rang off the call then sat there staring at her phone, looking a little dazed. And not in a good way.
“Leah. Everything okay?”
She shook her head and sighed. “No. Water pipes burst at the studio. A neighbor noticed water seeping out the front door and called Charlotte, but she’s at her in-laws’ house in Pittsburgh. She’s on her way back but it’ll take her at least four hours and there was snow overnight—”
“Then we better get over there.” He swung his legs over the side of the bed and reached for his jeans. “That’s gonna be a mess.”
He didn’t realize until a few seconds later that Leah still sat on the bed, looking at him like he’d grown a second head.
“What’s wrong?”
She blinked. “Don’t you have practice?”
He shrugged. “Yeah. Not ’til ten. I got a few hours. Let’s go.”
He wasn’t happy about her disbelieving expression, but he ignored it. She needed help. He’d give it.
Three hours later, Kyle wanted to forcibly make Leah take a break.
They’d worked nonstop since they’d gotten to the studio. He’d taken one look at the damage and realized they were looking at a disaster.
Yes, the building was still standing, but the pipes had been spraying water all over the main studio for hours, soaking the walls and the floor and seeping out into the changing room and the front desk area.
Charlotte had called their insurance agent, but ice on the turnpike had turned it into an accident-strewn parking lot and Charlotte was stuck there for what could be hours.
He and Leah had gotten the water to the building turned off, but the plumber wouldn’t be able to get there for another two hours because of similar problems all over the county.
And he could tell from Leah’s expression that Charlotte’s response to Leah’s question about the insurance wasn’t good. The adjustor wouldn’t be able to get to the studio until later in the day: same problem as the plumber.
The studio wasn’t high on anyone’s list. Except it was Charlotte and Leah’s only source of income so it was high on their list.
Leah’s face showed more stress with every passing minute, and glancing at the clock, he realized he needed to leave for practice in a half hour or he wouldn’t get there in time. If he blew off practice, he wouldn’t start the next game.
“You need to go. I can handle this.”
Kyle looked up from where he was gathering water-logged yoga mats to toss them in a pile near the front door. The insurance agent had said they could start cleaning up but not to throw anything away yet. Which meant the mostly undamaged front room looked like a dumpster.
“You need me.” He shrugged. “I can stay.”
“Don’t you have to be at practice?”
“Coach’ll understand.”
Which he would. He just wouldn’t give Kyle any leeway and he didn’t expect any. But he also wasn’t going to leave her alone with this mess.
Nibbling on her bottom lip, Leah didn’t look convinced. Hell, she looked downright skeptical.
“Kyle, you don’t have to—”
“I know I don’t have to. But I’m staying.”
She blinked several times and took a deep breath. But she didn’t say anything else. And she went back to work.
He took a few seconds to text Coach, to explain the situation and to apologize. But he also made it clear he wasn’t going to leave Leah up the creek and that he understood there’d be consequences and that he fully accepted them.
A few minutes later, he got texts from at least four of the guys on the team, wondering where the hell he was. He answered Nate’s and asked him to tell the others.
Three hours after that, the insurance guy still wasn’t there, and he and Leah had spent an hour on their phones making calls to everyone who took classes, telling them the studio would be closed for the rest of the week and possibly into next week. Kyle was pretty sure they wouldn’t be open next week either.
The floor in the studio had to be torn up and replaced. That was going to take time. And money. The drywall needed to be replaced in the studio and the changing room.
The only good part was that the studio was already scheduled to be closed for five days around Christmas. Still, that wasn’t going to be enough time to find a contractor, tear out the floors and the walls, and make it a usable space again.
Apparently, Leah had realized the same thing.
“This is a losing fight.”
She stood in the doorway to the studio, shaking her head. The defeat in her voice ate at his gut.
“It just seems like it now. Let’s go get some lunch. We’ll be back before Charlotte gets here. You need a break.”
She glanced over her shoulder at him, her expression bleak.
“Sure. A break. I guess I can eat.”
Since they were walking distance from Penn Avenue and four blocks full of restaurants and cafes, they put on their coats and headed out in the cold. Kyle had spent most of his life in ice rinks. The cold didn’t really get to him anymore.
Leah shivered in her down coat and he put his arm around her shoulders. She stiffened for a second before he felt her relax against him.
When they got to Penn Avenue, she automatically turned left, and he followed her lead to a bar he wasn’t sure he’d ever been in before.
Apparently Leah had, though, because a pretty brunette he didn’t recognize came rushing out from behind bar, heading straight for them.
“Leah! Derek told me what happened. You need a drink, girlfriend. And some food. And oh, hey, sorry, I’m Sophie.” The woman stuck her hand out at Kyle, which he took with a smile. “You must be Kyle. Derek said you were helping Leah. Come on, you guys sit down and I’ll get you some food. What are you hungry for? Dad made some amazing soups today…”
Leah was mostly silent during lunch, but Sophie kept up a running stream of conversation that kept the silence from being noticeable. Or awkward.
But finally they were headed back to the studio, Leah’s head down.
“You okay?”
They were stopped on a corner two blocks from the studio, waiting to cross. Leah hadn’t said a word since they’d left the bar. He felt helpless and it sucked.
After a few seconds, she looked up at him. “Charlotte asked me to become partners with her. A month or so ago. I think she just figured I’d accept.”
Well, shit. If she bought into the studio, what would happen if he moved up? Or got traded again? He’d been counting on the fact that she wasn’t tied down to ask her to be with him. He knew it was asking a lot, to ask someone to always be ready to move, possibly across the country, maybe to another country. Hell, a lot of guys did a few seasons in Europe. He could be traded tomorrow, or he could be here for a few years. Or he could be sent to Philly, which was the ultimate goal.
So, yeah, it meant a possibly huge sacrifice on Leah’s end. And he was assuming a hell of a lot considering he�
��d been back all of a few days and last night had been the first night they’d spent together in more than a year and a half.
But he’d come back here knowing what he wanted. Knowing who he wanted. Now he had to seriously consider that last night may have been Leah just scratching an itch.
“Is that what you want?”
She didn’t answer right away, and his heart thumped hard against his ribs.
“I don’t know.” She shook her head. “I just…I’ve been thinking about it for a month. If I tell her no now, she’ll think it’s because of this. And it wouldn’t be.”
“Are you going to tell her no?”
Leah couldn’t answer Kyle’s question truthfully because she wasn’t sure what the truth was. After last night, she had so much on her mind, she didn’t know which way was up.
Last night had stirred up all the feelings for Kyle she thought she’d successfully purged.
One orgasm and she was considering upending her life for this man.
In his arms, she’d remembered why she’d fallen so hard for him before. He’d been dedicated to her pleasure, more so than any time she could remember. Last night had been different, more intense.
And this morning, when she’d woken to this absolute mess, he hadn’t left her side. Two years ago, he would’ve made sure she had help, but he would’ve gone to practice and left her in someone else’s capable hands.
What was she supposed to think? What was she supposed to do?
With a sigh, she looked both ways and stepped into the empty street, Kyle by her side.
It felt right.
You’re deluding yourself. He hasn’t changed.
“I asked her to give me another week to look over the financials. But it’s not that. I have the money.”
Actually, she had more than enough money. The trust fund her grandparents had started for her years ago had grown, untouched. She’d gotten a full academic scholarship to college and she’d had a job since she was fifteen.
The question was, did she want to tie herself down?
“Then what is it?” Kyle asked.
She shook her head, not ready to go there.
“Hopefully Charlotte will be back soon, and we can figure out what we need to do next.”
Kyle didn’t respond immediately, and when she glanced up at him, she could tell he was practically biting his tongue. She knew how hard it was for him not to take over. It’s what he’d always done. It’s what made him a good hockey player. He saw the play developing and figured out how to counter it.
Two years ago, he would’ve told her what she should do and made sure she followed through. And because she’d loved him, she’d have done it.
When he’d left, she’d realized just how much she’d relied on his input. How much she’d leaned on him. And she’d sworn she wouldn’t allow herself to get into that rut again, allowing a man to make those decisions for her, no matter how well-meaning he was.
“Okay. Good. Just let me know what you need, and I’ll be here to help.”
Damn the man. He made her want to pull him down for a kiss but even though they’d spent last night together, she continued to be wary of him. And that sucked.
She drew in a breath to say something, anything… and another voice chimed in.
“So, we heard you might need some help with cleanup.”
She looked up to find five big, strong men walking across the street toward the studio. Four of the faces were familiar. One was a stranger. All of them hockey players.
Surprise stopped her in her tracks. Then she looked over at Kyle, ready to ask him if he’d called in reinforcements.
But she could tell by the look on his face that he’d had no idea. Then she nearly swallowed her tongue at the smile on his face as he walked over to shake their hands.
“Hey, guys. What’re you doing here?”
“Coach told me what’s going on.” Derek shrugged, his grin infectious. “And Justin’s dad owns a construction company, so he’s got some actual experience with demolition. I’m just here ’cause destroying shit sounds like more fun than working out at the gym. So, just point us in the right direction and we’ll get started.”
Five hours later, the guys had left a few minutes ago, and Leah shut and locked the door behind her and Kyle.
She could barely put one foot in front of the other, and Kyle had been biting his tongue for the past half hour against the urge to tell her she needed to go home and get some sleep.
When she’d tripped over a pile of rubble on the way to the door, he’d almost been too late to catch her.
But when she couldn’t pull herself up into his truck, he couldn’t keep his mouth shut any longer.
“You’re going straight to bed. You’re overworked and overtired.”
The minute the words left his mouth, he realized it was the absolute wrong thing to say. The problem was, he wasn’t wrong. She was dead on her feet and they’d never finished their conversation from earlier. The one where she’d said she wasn’t sure she wanted to buy in.
Today, she’d worked like this was her place, even though her name wasn’t on the lease. And she wasn’t sure it ever would be. Or that she wanted it to be.
But that was Leah. She gave and gave and never expected anything in return because she was the sweetest person he knew.
Charlotte hadn’t asked her to stay and do all this work. But Leah had known that a long closure could kill the studio’s bottom line and Charlotte couldn’t afford that.
He expected Leah to say something when he swung into the driver’s seat, but she sat there quietly the entire drive back to their apartment building.
He opened his mouth several times to say something then thought better of it. Probably better to wait until they got home. Which was how he found himself gritting his teeth at her front door.
She’d opened it and stood there, staring up at him.
He knew that look. He’d only ever seen it on her face once before. When he’d told her he was leaving a year and a half ago.
“Thank you for your help today.” She tried for a smile but couldn’t quite make it. “I don’t know what I would’ve done without it.”
Now she paused, and he knew exactly what she was working herself up to say.
“But this isn’t going to work,” she continued. “A relationship between you and me. I don’t know what I’m going to do with my life, but I know I’m not the same person I was two years ago. I’m not the person you think I am.”
“I know who you are, Leah.” He wanted to take her hand and pull her to him, but he was afraid she’d resist and that would crush him. But he had to tell her this. “And you’re the only woman I want in my life. You’re sweet and kind and you give too much of yourself. You’re too good for me.” He knew that for an absolute fact. But it didn’t mean he wasn’t going to try to keep her. “You were too good for me two years ago and I knew it then. I took you for granted and that was the biggest mistake of my life.”
She blinked up at him, her eyes bleary. He couldn’t be sure if her exhaustion had brought that one or if his words had.
“I want you.” He took a step closer, couldn’t help himself. “I want us to be together. And I know what that means for you. I know what you’ll have to give up. My life isn’t easy. But I want you with me.”
Shaking her head, she sighed. “I can’t be the person you want me to be. It’s probably better if we just admit that now.”
“Wait, Leah—”
“No, you were right.” She took a step back. Away from him. “I’m dead on my feet, and I’m going to bed. Please thank the other guys for me again. And thank you. But… Good night.”
Then she shut the door in his face.
Leaving him to wonder if he was ever going to be able to breach those walls of hers again.
Leah had been so tired last night, she’d fallen into bed after taking a quick shower and slept ten hours.
When she got up, every muscle in her body ached. But not as
much as the ache in her heart.
She was pretty sure when she’d shut the door on Kyle last night, she’d shut the door on their relationship.
He’d been wonderful all day. She honestly didn’t know what she would’ve done without him. And Charlotte wouldn’t be able to continue to hate him after this, especially since Kyle and his teammates had basically gutted the studio and given Charlotte’s contractor a head start on the renovation.
Leah had gotten a text from Charlotte this morning that said she was meeting the contractor at the studio later this morning. She really should join them, especially if she was going to become Charlotte’s partner.
But what she really wanted to do was curl into a little ball on the sofa and watch Hallmark Channel Christmas movies all day. They were like the cracker candy her mom made every year at the holidays, so sweet her teeth ached but so good for the soul.
Her gaze lit on the still-undecorated Christmas tree in the corner, and she couldn’t stop thinking about Kyle.
Yesterday had shown her what would happen when he left again. And he would leave.
She didn’t know how she’d deal with that again. The first time had been painful enough. This time…it might break her.
Kyle had texted her this morning, too. Before she’d woken up.
Totally understand if you have too much to do tonight but I got you and Stace tickets for the game. Pick up at will call. Sitting with Sophie. Derek said you sit with her sometimes. Hope you’re able to make it.
She immediately wanted to go. Wanted to watch him play again. She’d missed seeing him on the ice, missed the adrenaline rush of the game while watching the man she loved play a game he loved.
Thought you weren’t in love with him anymore?
She wished she could answer that question truthfully. Hell, she wished she could answer it at all. Her brain had way too much going on to even consider it.
Or maybe you know what your answer is and you’re just too afraid to acknowledge it.
Texting Charlotte, she told her she’d stop by later that afternoon. What she didn’t put in the text was that they needed to talk.