Pike (Sin City Saints Hockey 2)

I squeeze her hand. “I get it. I was raised by a single mom.”

“But from everything I’ve read about you online, you like to go out. And I don’t want to ask a guy who likes to party to change his lifestyle for me, because it’s not fair to ask people to change. I really think it’s important that people like people for who they are, and not who they want them to be.”

“I go out with my teammates for dinner after games, and sometimes I play cards, but you have my word that I’ll never cheat. I’m not that guy, Indie. I was raised by a single mom, and my sister Kylie is pretty much a single mom, too.”

I tell her about Eric’s accident and the life he lives now, and her expression falls with sadness.

“Oh God, poor Kylie,” she says softly. “And poor Jasmine.”

“Yeah, it’s been hard on them. Jasmine doesn’t even remember her dad. And he was always such a good guy. He’d be devastated if he knew things were like this.”

“There’s no hope for him?”

I shake my head. “It would be a miracle. But Kylie gets too wrecked when she considers turning off life support.”

“I can’t imagine.”

More than anything, I wish I didn’t have to tell her about the bet. I do, though. And this conversation is the time to do it.

“You make me want to believe,” Indie says, her eyes bright and hopeful. “Dean betrayed me, but from the first moment we met, you’ve been a stand-up guy. Even when I was so awful to you.”

Fuck. I want to be the man her voice is filled with admiration for. Why did I ever agree to that bet?

I’m trying to figure out how to approach the subject when she surprises me by leaning over and kissing me. Her mouth is soft and sweet, and my heart hammers in response. When I cup her cheek in my hand, she grabs a handful of my shirt at my chest and parts her lips, our tongues meeting tentatively.

It’s everything I imagined it would be and more. Her light vanilla scent and the softness of her hair against the back of my hand. The way she softly groans as she pulls back, brushing her fingertips over her lips.

“I have to go,” she says. “I have to pick Nolan up, but…I couldn’t wait another second to do that.”

“Of course, yeah. And I’m glad you didn’t wait another second.” I cup her face in both of my hands and give her another soft, sweet kiss. “Can we talk more later?”

She nods, her smile radiant. As she leaves my house in her car, I wave at her, wondering if I’ll ever get more than that small taste I just had.

It kills me that she thought her son would be an issue for me, because it sounds like she’s a great mom and I want kids at some point. This might just be a little sooner than expected.

I want to be with her more than ever, but I can’t let myself hope for something real until she knows the whole truth. And unlike her truth, mine is ugly.

Chapter Nineteen

Indie

* * *

“Are you okay?” Rue asks me as I’m chopping vegetables for dinner.

I look up from the cutting board and sigh softly. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

Inwardly, I’m smiling triumphantly, but I keep the low-key forlorn expression on my face. My plan to appear down so my sister doesn’t catch on to how happy I am is working. I don’t want her finding out I kissed Pike today.

I kissed Pike today! It’s all I can do not to start dancing as I dice this cucumber. As much as I’ve warned myself against falling for him, it’s happening. We’ll have to take things slow, and maybe it won’t work out in the end, but right now, I’m happy.

With Dean, I never felt this way. Our relationship was more of a gradual familiarity. The leap I took with Pike today was unlike anything I’ve ever done—and it felt amazing.

“Are you sad that you-know-who is in custody?” Rue asks me in a low tone, refilling my wineglass.

Dean? Dean who? I know Dean is in jail after surrendering to the police, but I couldn’t care less other than for Nolan’s sake. I keep talking with her about it though, trying to divert my thoughts away from my kiss with Pike.

“I know things will work out in the end,” I say, taking a sip of my wine.

“What are you making for dinner?”

“That roasted veggie Greek salad you said you liked when I made it a few weeks ago.”

“Oh, nice.”

“How was your day?” I ask her.

She shrugs. “Just the usual. One of our secretaries quit with no notice so I had to answer phones for half the day, which wasn’t bad. It was a change of pace.”