Dear Heart, I Hate You

“Okay,” she said as she wrapped her arms around her midsection.

“Cold?”

She nodded. “It is pretty cold in here.”

“That’s why I brought you these.”

When I held up the sweatshirt, she snatched it and quickly pulled it on. It hung loose on her, all but completely covering her up. She looked adorable.

Grinning, she pulled the neck to her nose and breathed in. “It smells like you,” she said before snuggling into it even more.

As we walked down the stairs and toward our seats, I spotted Katherine’s long brown hair. I pointed at her, and Jules nodded as we made our way to her.

“Katherine,” I called out and she turned, a big smile on her face.

“Cal! It’s so good to see you.” She launched into my arms and squeezed me tight before noticing my hand was still clasped with Jules’s. “No Lucas?” she asked with a pout.

“Not tonight. I want you to meet someone,” I said as I moved to the side.

“Hi. I’m Katherine.” She extended her hand toward Jules, unable to hide her surprise.

I hadn’t warned Katherine that I was bringing a girl. Not that she needed the warning, but I could have at least given her a heads-up since it wasn’t something I normally did.

“Jules. It’s nice to meet you.”

The two girls shook hands politely, but when Jules commented on Katherine’s engagement ring, that apparently broke the ice. They both broke into a fit of giggles and started hugging.

Chicks were weird. Half the time they couldn’t stand each other and the other half they’d kill for one another. You never knew which half you were going to get.

Heading for my seat, I said, “I was going to sit between you two, but seeing as how you’re both from LA, I figured I’d better let you ladies chat.”

And that was all it took from me to get the two of them practically squealing with delight again and talking about all sorts of shit I knew nothing about. They mentioned specific restaurants and hotels and beaches they both knew, all while talking a million miles a minute. How women did that and still understood what the other was saying, I had no idea. But I did manage to pick up on the fact that they had a few mutual friends, which was surprising, but sort of cool.

When the game started, the two of them didn’t slow down for a second. Their voices lowered to whispers, but I could still hear them chatting away like long-lost friends.

I focused my attention on my brother, who was currently tearing up the ice, as usual. Cooper Donovan was a badass. Each time he scored a goal or got an assist, I wanted to announce to the entire arena that he was my brother. I was totally that relative.

Jules leaned over and whispered in my ear, “Hey, she’s really great.”

“I’m glad you like her.”

Since my hand was already on her thigh, of course, I gave it a quick squeeze in agreement and leaned in to kiss her. Instead of pulling away after a quick kiss like I should have, I deepened it, unable to resist her lips the way she seemed unable to resist mine. Our tongues touched briefly and I realized I had to stop. Otherwise, I’d have a woody the size of Canada.

When I pulled away, I noticed Katherine watching us, her attention more focused on Jules and me than on my brother skating around the ice. And I knew why. She’d seen me with other women in the past, but I’d never brought anyone to one of Cooper’s games before. It just never seemed to work out—I was either single whenever he was in town, or wasn’t serious enough about the girl to introduce her to my family.

I refused to read into exactly what it meant that I’d brought Jules here tonight, because it meant nothing. She was leaving tomorrow, and then life could go back to the way it was before I ever knew she existed, and everything would be fine.

I just wished I believed that.

• • •

When the game ended, I asked Katherine where we should meet for food, and she suggested we go to the hotel first so Cooper could decide what he was hungry for. They won the game, so at least he’d be in a good mood. He was a pain in the ass when they lost and typically sulked in his hotel room afterward, so I was thankful we wouldn’t have to deal with that.

Instead of waiting at the locker room for Coop to shower and deal with the press, I wrapped an arm around Jules and headed toward the car. I had offered Katherine a ride back to the hotel but she declined, saying she already had one with one of the other hockey wives.

“That was fun,” Jules said once we were inside the privacy of my car.

“Did you even watch the game?” I asked with a grin.