“So, before we came, I asked Ricky if his name was short for anything,” Thea said, pausing for a moment to let the suspense build. It was true, she had asked. It hadn’t seemed very likely that Ricky was secretly a ‘Frederick’. “It’s Ricardo,” she said, chuckling slightly. “Honestly, I think I’m relieved.” Ricky was fun , but Thea didn’t want to date him.
Not to mention, it would make things even more complicated.
“Oh my God, I hadn’t even thought of that!” Doe exclaimed, making Thea laugh. Her eyes went wide and dramatic. She seemed to think she should have thought of it. Whether it was that Doe hadn’t thought of ‘Ricky’ being short for ‘Frederick’ or just not thought of Thea’s soulmark at all, she didn’t mind.
After a moment’s pause, Doe gave Thea a smile. “He’s very sweet, but yeah, I couldn’t imagine the two of you being... life-connected.”
It just reinforced to Thea how well Doe knew her. Absurdly, she almost wanted to be able to talk to her about Blake. If anyone would’ve understood why Thea’s feelings for him had been so surprising, it would have been Doe.
If only Blake hadn’t been the name of Doe’s soulmate. If it weren’t for that, maybe Thea could have told her. When Doe talked about being married, of her soulmate wearing his mark openly around her, it was Blake she was thinking of. Thea couldn’t ruin that.
“He’s a little too like me, maybe,” Thea suggested, doing her best to swallow her feelings. She and Ricky had, from what she could gather, been raised very differently. Nonetheless, they had personality traits in common.
“In that, you’re both energetic and love video games?” Doe teased. Thea could tell that Doe saw what Thea meant. Doe knew Thea better than anyone, so of course, she would be able to tell how Thea and Ricky very much got on, in the way siblings tended to. Not that Thea had that kind of relationship with her sisters. Maybe if she’d had a brother, it’d be someone like Ricky.
Passing Thea some of the ingredients for the gingerbread, Doe got the box of icing. Presumably, so she could start mixing the different colors for when they decorated. “I don’t know how similar or different soulmates have to be,” Doe drew out thoughtfully. “Ashley and Connor, as we discussed, are a very unexpected match,” she pointed out.
That was true. Thea didn’t have a lot of other soulmate matches in her life to judge from. She didn’t know what her sisters’ soulmarks said. None of them had gone looking for their soulmate.
“Your parents seem quite alike,” Thea pointed out. She had, of course, met them. They were lovely and did have a great deal in common. Then again, they’d also known each other for decades . “Maybe it’s something that happens over time.”
Before she could ask more questions, Thea heard the door of the cabin close. Ricky bounded into the kitchen.
“Speak of the devil,” Thea muttered, sharing a smile with Doe.
“The gym was closed,” Ricky explained. “Can we crash whatever you’re doing?”
“Yes.” Doe laughed, holding an icing bag out to Ricky. “You can start filling this with the white icing,” she informed him. “We’re making gingerbread,” she explained at the puzzled look.
“Oh!” Ricky exclaimed, bumping his shoulder against Blake’s energetically. “We can definitely help with that, right, Blake?”
Blake nodded, tiptoeing to see over the kitchen island so he could peek through the little oven window. “It looks good,” he commented. “It definitely smells really good.” The praise made pride swell in Thea’s chest. She quickly squashed it. She wasn’t meant to respond to... well, anything Blake said or did. She was meant to still feel bad about earlier.
“It’s not ready just yet, but once they’re all done and cooled we can start decorating,” Doe announced.
Gingerbread didn’t take very long to bake, but Ricky insisted on challenging Thea to a match of Apex . By the time they’d finished, everyone else was home. All seven of them crowded around the kitchen table, each decorating their own individual stack of gingerbread men.
“Is this where we’re sitting tomorrow?” Thea asked, glancing at the somewhat crumb-covered table.
“No,” Ashley answered easily. Thea realized she probably should’ve suspected that Ashley already had a plan. “We’ll be more comfortable at the big dining table. Connor and Remy will bring a tablecloth down from the attic tomorrow morning so we can set it up,” she explained. Remy nodded like this was a plan he was aware of. Connor, on the other hand, did not seem like he’d known. He shrugged and carried on decorating his gingerbread.
“What about the food?” Doe asked. “Do we have... Christmas food?”
“We should go to the store, buy a bunch of things but...” There Ashley shrugged, looking around the room. “Do you know how to cook? I mean, I can cook some things, but I don’t know if I trust myself to cook a Christmas dinner ,” she commented.
“Yeah, I am definitely out,” Ricky announced shaking his head. “I wouldn’t want to poison you all at Christmas,” he said.
“Or at all, I hope,” Blake chirped, making Ricky shrug like he couldn’t promise it wouldn’t be ever.
“Thea can cook!” Doe announced wide a wide smile, turning to Thea. “She’s great at cooking, aren’t you, Thea?”
Thea’s eyes widened. She could definitely cook Christmas dinner, but she hadn’t quite expected to be volunteered for the job. The first year she and Doe had spent Christmas in Madison, Thea had gone to a cooking class just so she could be sure of preparing Christmas food without fucking it up.
She’d only improved since then, so she didn’t doubt she could do a meal, even for seven. Still. “Well, I’m not going to do it alone,” Thea insisted. She didn’t mind cooking, but she didn’t want to be the only person missing out on whatever Christmas fun everyone else was getting up to.
She was about to insist that Doe would have to help when Connor cut in. “Blake can help,” he promised. “He cooked last time we were all up here, and we survived.”
She saw Blake hesitate and wondered if it was because of what had happened yesterday. If anyone else noticed it, they didn’t say anything. Before Blake could refuse, Ricky was nodding.
“I know you can cook,” he told Blake. “And there’ll be other stuff to do, too, like setting the table and getting firewood. We’ll all be doing something.” If that was to encourage Blake or to give an excuse for the others, Thea didn’t know.
“Yeah, of course, I’ll help,” Blake said, shaking his head. He turned to give Thea a smile. “We can manage to share a kitchen,” he added. Thea felt like there was a small nudge of uncertainty in his tone. Perhaps she was projecting a bit too much.
“That’s decided, then,” Thea agreed. Trying to get out of it would look strange. It wasn’t as if she and Blake were going to do anything. They both clearly regretted the kiss. They would be on their guard not to let it happen again.
Doe’s bright smile did make Thea wish she could have told her. Then Doe wouldn’t be so encouraging of Blake and Thea spending time together. Of course, then Doe probably wouldn’t be speaking to either of them.
“What time do people want to eat?”
It was decided that they’d eat earlyish. That way, they could have time for games in the evening. Remy had volunteered himself (and Ricky and Connor) to help clean up. Thea appreciated that she wouldn’t have to worry about washing dishes at the end of it.
A treacherous part of her was quite looking forward to cooking with Blake. It would be interesting to see how they worked together as a team. It was a part of her Thea did her very best to ignore.
Thea woke up far earlier the next morning than she ever had on Christmas Day as a kid. A host of nervous butterflies filled her stomach. No matter how she tossed and turned, they wouldn’t leave her in peace.
Careful not to wake Doe, Thea tiptoed down to the kitchen. No one else was up. It was oddly peaceful just puttering around looking at the ingredients and jotting down a few timings.
She’d ju
st started peeling the potatoes when she heard the sound of the door opening. She turned. Blake stood in the doorway, looking remarkably awake. Thea wondered if he felt as nervous as she did.
“Morning,” she said softly. “I didn’t wake you, did I?”
“You didn’t,” Blake shook his head, joining her in the kitchen. “We’re cooking, aren’t we?” he said a little teasingly. “Will you be telling me what to do?” Before she could answer, Blake was already reaching for another peeler so he could start on the carrots. They did need doing, so she would hardly discourage that. “Merry Christmas, by the way,” Blake added, giving Thea a smile.
Thea could feel her cheeks go warm. Honestly, in the combined excitement and awkwardness of trying to work out what to say to Blake, she’d sort of forgotten that most people wished each other Merry Christmas.
“Sorry,” she said. After only a small hesitation, Thea continued. “The whole Christmas morning thing wasn’t a big deal when I was growing up.” It sounded like an excuse. Thea hated that. Nonetheless, it was true. “We didn’t even do presents until after we’d eaten.”
“Neither did we,” Blake offered. “My dad always insisted that if we were to do presents, they should be done ‘properly’. That usually meant once we had eaten and he had a glass of whiskey in his hand,” he explained with a smile. It didn’t quite meet his eyes. Thea didn’t know why Blake hadn’t gone home for Christmas. She wondered if maybe he just hadn’t wanted to . She could certainly relate to that.
“Sounds like my mom,” she agreed, giving Blake a smile in return which she was sure didn’t meet her eyes. It wasn’t often Thea talked to anyone she felt would understand the way she’d been brought up. Doe had tried, but she’d never truly got it. Her own family was just too different.
“I wasn’t very good at being ‘proper’,” she said, in an attempt to lighten the tone. “I suppose a lot of that was because I chose not to be. Even when I was really little, it didn’t come naturally.” She gave a dramatic sigh and leaned closer to Blake as if she was confiding a secret. “I especially had trouble with not being a sore loser.”
It made Blake laugh just the way Thea had hoped it would. His smile even made his cheeks dimple, which Thea knew meant it was genuine. “Can’t imagine you as a sore loser,” he said. Thea was very sure he could . Blake had been there last night when Ricky had managed to beat her at Pictionary for three rounds in a row. It hadn’t been a pretty sight. Ricky had been delighted .
“I don’t think kids are supposed to be proper,” Blake shrugged after a moment. “I had nannies who tried to teach me, but all I ever wanted was to play hockey. Once my parents learned that for as long as they put a hockey game on, I’d sit there quietly, they stopped trying with the proper.”
It sounded very similar to Thea’s own childhood. Her heart gave a familiar kind of ache. The same one it gave every time she’d tried to tell her parents about some achievement of her own, only for them to look at her like she’d grown an extra head or - worse - used the wrong knife for the fish course.
Reaching out, she put a hand on Blake’s arm, giving it a small squeeze. “How do they feel about you playing hockey now?” she asked. If Blake was still willing to come to a ski resort his parents owned, Thea hoped he was on somewhat good terms. It would be happier to think of that.
He didn’t answer straight away. Instead, his gaze fell on her hand against his arm. It wasn’t until Thea hastily pulled it back, wondering if she’d overstepped the invisible boundary they struggled to keep between them, that Blake spoke again.
“They support me. It’s very difficult not to when I play in the NHL. I don’t know if they’d be as supportive if I had ended playing for one of the minor leagues.” If that was something that Blake found upsetting, Thea struggled to hear it in his tone. Mostly, he seemed quite... accepting. “What did your parents expect you’d do?”
She frowned, focusing her attention on the potatoes as if she were afraid they might escape. Thea always found it difficult to talk to people she hadn’t grown up with about her parents. She’d attempted with Doe, but it had taken her months of friendship before she’d finally opened up.
Some part of her wanted to tell Blake. Both because she wanted to show him she got what he had gone through, and because she trusted he would be able to do the same.
“They wanted me to be successful,” Thea answered honestly. “They just… have a very specific idea of what that means.”
She shot Blake a small smile. “Playing for the NHL would probably count for them, too,” she teased. “Or if I’d been the next Steve Jobs.” She shrugged. “There’s not a lot of money in designing tech for creative industries. I don’t care, but they worry I’ll always struggle to provide the kind of life that’s important to them .”
Feeling oddly vulnerable about having said all that out loud, Thea looked away. She couldn’t see Blake’s face as he absorbed it all.
“I’m not sure I understand what you mean,” Blake told her. She didn’t have to see his face to hear the frown. “Who are you meant to provide this life for?” He asked, turning to look at her. Thea felt like she probably needed to turn to face him, but instead focused on the potatoes.
She must have made a real mess of explaining. “For myself,” she answered. “My family are… pretty well-off. Not quite rich enough to own a ski resort ,” she teased. “Still. We had maids and a cook. None of us had to lift a finger around the house. My parents want me to have that so that I can focus all my attention on doing the things I like. ” It was sweet, in a way. Thea’s mom was very happy not having to do housework. She struggled to understand that Thea would prefer a different kind of life.
“The career I want is probably never going to pay me enough to have a maid. They worry I’ll be unhappy, doing all the work myself. They don’t get that even if I had all the money in the world, I wouldn’t want a maid.”
“Oh,” Blake said. Thea could tell he was at least a little surprised by her revelation. Thea didn’t tell people about what her family was like, or rather how rich they were. Blake had been honest with her, it felt right to be honest back. “I guess that’s kind of sweet,” he decided. “That they just want you to be happy, even if they don’t realize what might make you happy.”
He paused then, before giving Thea a smile. “I have to admit, I have a lady who comes in once a month to give my house a once over. I try to keep it clean but I’m not always successful. Will you think of me less because of it?” Blake asked. Briefly, Thea wondered if she said ‘yes’ whether he’d stop having a cleaning service over.
It warmed Thea to the core to think Blake cared what she thought of him. It was a dangerous thought. She quickly pushed it away. Still, she couldn’t help her smile at him, or the way her eyes met his. “No, I won’t,” she promised. “I assume you pay her a decent wage and treat her with respect.” She couldn’t imagine Blake treating anyone badly.
“Of course I do,” Blake confirmed, just as she had predicted he would.
A little more shyly, she carried on. “I like taking care of my own house. It took me a while to really learn how, but now that I know… I guess it gives me a sense that it’s home , you know?” She shrugged. “I had to learn to cook, too. Don’t tell anyone, but I could hardly make pasta in college. Doe had to teach me the basics. Then, when I wanted to be able to do more , I signed up for lessons.”
“I won’t tell anyone,” Blake assured. “Especially since I learned to cook from the Cooking Channel,” he admitted. “And a lot of YouTube. I had to watch a video on how to read a recipe,” Blake told her in a dramatic whisper. “But look at us now! Cooking Christmas dinner for seven! Have you ever cooked for this many people?”
Reaching for another carrot, Blake gave Thea another grin. “And we’re not even following a recipe,” he proclaimed before frowning. “Wait, should we be following a recipe?”
Thea laughed at that, forgetting for a moment all about how she shouldn’t be enjoying this as much a
s she was. “I guess that tells me what kind of a cook you are,” she teased.
Reaching for the notebook she’d been using, she showed Blake how she’d worked out when they should put each element into the oven so that it would all be ready on time.
“There’s not much of a recipe involved in just roasting things,” she explained. “It’s about more about bringing lots of things together just right. I expect you to know all about that, playing a team sport.”
Blake still looked a little uncertain. “I know what I’m talking about,” Thea promised. “Doe and I usually host Thanksgiving, so I’ve cooked for seven people before. Though, none of them were athletes.”
“Alright, alright, I’m willing to trust you,” Blake nodded. “I do warn you, we probably eat a great deal more than people who aren’t athletes.” There were four hockey players to account for. Even though Ricky looked slight, Thea had seen him eat the past few days. The guy could definitely put away as much if not more than the others.
They returned to the cooking in companionable silence. It felt surprisingly nice. Every so often, Thea glanced up at Blake. Only once did he catch her. She easily managed to pass it off as looking at how much progress he had made.
Before long, all the vegetables were peeled and ready for chopping.
“Gonna tell me what to do, coach?” Blake asked with a grin. “What is the vegetables’ game plan?”
Playfully, Thea narrowed her eyes at Blake as if sizing up his abilities as a chef. “You’d better do the potatoes,” she said, pushing them across the counter towards him. “They only need to be cut in half. Or quarters, if they’re particularly huge.” She was sure Blake could’ve handled more complicated chopping if she’d asked him to. She might as well handle that herself. “I’ll do the carrots. They need to be quartered into strips.”
Best Shot (Madison Howlers Book 2) Page 11