Attached to You (Carolina Rebels 4)

Fucking women.

No. One fucking woman is the problem.

Once the kitchen is clean, I plop down onto the couch and turn on the TV, not really caring what’s on. The peace and quiet relaxes me a little. Thank goodness I’ve been using a banquet hall for party. Otherwise, my house would be full of people right now.

It takes two hours before my door opens.

“Knock, knock,” Deanna says.

“In here.”

She’s changed her clothes, now wearing yoga pants and a tank top. She doesn’t hesitate at all as she rounds the couch and lies on top of me, her head over my sternum.

“You changed your mind?” If she’s here, then it seems she did. However, I can’t help but ask. The conversation from earlier cannot be swept under a rug.

“Not really. I only decided that I’d rather be here with you than at home without you.” As an afterthought, she adds, “I’m sorry.”

“I’d rather hear that you know what you want.”

She groans. “I don’t know.”

“What are you afraid of? A relationship? We aren’t going to have that.” At this, she sits up with surprise on her face. “For one, as long as you have your fuck buddy, there can be no relationship. At the most, we’re friends. What’s so bad about having a friend?”

Deanna’s entire body suddenly relaxes. “You’re right.”

“No shit.”

She grins. “So, problem solved.” All it takes for her to feel better is telling her to keep fucking her other buddy and whatever strings are formed won’t matter. Which is more fucked up? That it’s what makes her feel better or that I’m okay that it makes her feel better? As she relaxes over my body, I find I don’t care because I’m too relieved that she’s still here.

“You missed your own party to be a snowman?” The incredulous tone comes from Bruiser.

That fucking taxi driver.

A phone is shoved in my face for me to see the photo he took and I look as pissed as I feel. The driver is grinning like he just won the lottery, though. I shove the arm away.

“Why in the hell were you a snowman?” This time, it’s EJ.

“Can’t you guys leave me alone?”

“No,” Marco answers. “We’re officially worried about you.”

“Because I dressed up for Halloween?”

“Because you didn’t hang with us and you were a snowman!” Marco rests a hand on my shoulder like things are suddenly serious. “We want to meet her, son.”

I sigh and shove his hand away. “We have a game to focus on. Leave me alone.” I level a glare at all of them until they walk away. Everyone but EJ.

“Why are you being secretive?” he asks curiously.

“Because she’s not important.” His eyebrows jump up and the sentence sounds odd to me. “It’s not serious, I mean. Can I come over to see Bree when we get back?”

“Yeah, sure thing.” That’s all it takes for him to start talking about his daughter. “Hey, we have a family room near the locker room back at the arena. Why is it never used? The family always stays up in the box.”

“Ah.” I glance around to see if Liam Irving is anywhere around, but he’s playing soccer with the guys. Lowering my voice, I answer EJ. “One of the guys was married. All I’ll say is that he did something his wife was not happy about and she found out about it while she was in the family room. She blew up at him and reporters were nearby. The reporters didn’t keep the moment private. After that, they decided to basically sequester the family and let the players go meet them.”

EJ’s eyes widen. “Got it. I was just curious.”

It was years ago, but the organization hasn’t changed things since. The story about Liam was the headline of too many sites for months. His hockey has bounced back, but I’m not sure he has.