Maxim (Carolina Reapers 10)

So much for loving me.

The ache in my chest exploded just like it did every time I thought about her. Numb was a way better option than the agony that had its hooks in me, and I sucked in a breath, trying to shove the pain back into the little box that allowed me to function.

“...so is that a yes?” Sterling asked me as I grabbed my keys.

“What?” I faced my brother with a puckered brow.

“You weren’t listening were you?” He sighed.

“Sorry.” I’d been distracted as fuck and he knew it.

Pity flashed through his eyes. “I was asking if you wanted to have dinner with London and me after practice tomorrow. That way you’re not…”

“Going home to an empty house?”

“I was going to say wallowing in self-pity all night, but you pretty much nailed it.”

A smile tugged at the corners of my mouth. “I’ll think about it. Family is in town,” I answered, hesitating for a second with my hand on the locker room door. “You know what?” Looking back over my shoulder, I met his gaze. “Why don’t you both come out with us? Then you can really see just how lucky you were to grow up in another house.”

He blanched. “Yeah, I’m going to take a pass on that one.”

I laughed for the first time since Evie left me, but the sound was hollow, just like me. I felt like I’d been excavated, like someone had walked into my soul and stripped out everything that was good, everything worth something, and left me…empty.

“Maxim!” the first reporter said, walking into our path. “That was a fantastic shot in the first!”

“Thank you.” We kept walking, but the reporter kept pace.

“Do you think you’ll be just as lucky for the rest of the series?” A microphone was shoved into my face and Sterling muttered a swear word under his breath.

“I think luck is what you make of it,” I replied. “And I’ll be relying on my skills for the rest of the series, not superstition.”

“Does that mean no more Dr Pepper before games?”

I cracked a smile. “Now, let’s not get ridiculous.”

“He has a case in there,” Sterling said, thumbing back toward the locker room.

Brogan came out of the swinging doors, and the reporters immediately gave chase, leaving Sterling and I alone to walk down the rest of the empty hall, toward the junction of pathways where families waited behind the guard.

“Baby!” London shouted, rushing past the guard thanks to her staff badge, her arms open wide.

I stepped into her path and scooped her up, just to fuck with my brother. “Honey bunch!”

“You are not the Reaper I was referring to and you know it, Maxim!” London laughed and shoved at my shoulders as I set her back on her feet.

Sterling swept her into his arms and they practically melted into each other. As happy as I was that my brother was over here living out his happily ever after, it also cut me to the quick as a reminder that I wasn’t.

That I’d had the only girl who had ever wanted me for…me, and still hadn’t been enough to keep her.

With his arm around London, Sterling and I walked out into the crowd of waiting family, and found mine…well, ours. Guess Asher had lifted Dad’s ban considering it was playoffs. Then again, explaining his absence would have been more of a headache for Langley than letting Dad have his proud father moment, so I understood.

Mom stood in an elegant suit that would have done Jackie O proud, brushing something out of Mila’s hair, Dad was signing an autograph, and holy shit. He was here.

“David!” I strode across the distance that separated us, barely avoiding stepping on poor Fiona and threw my arms around my older brother. He hugged me back and ruffled my hair like I was ten again. “You came!”

“Well, yeah,” he grinned. “It’s the Stanley Cup. Figured that was worth breaking the no hockey rule.”

The noise in the hallway made conversation nearly impossible, so I led my family outside to the parking lot, following a minute behind Sterling and London into the humid night air. They were already getting into his car when we made our exit.

Sterling threw up his hand in a wave as he closed London’s door and put his hand to his ear in the universal call me sign as he climbed behind the steering wheel.

“Holy shit, that’s him isn’t it?” David asked, his eyes wide as he tracked the movement of the car.

“Our brother? Yeah.” I nodded back to Sterling and he and London pulled out of their parking spot. “You should meet him while you’re in town.”

“He’s not our brother,” he said defensively.

“Don’t be a dick.” I glanced back to see the rest of our family closing in. “There are enough assholes in this family already.”