Total pages in book: 153
Estimated words: 147021 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 735(@200wpm)___ 588(@250wpm)___ 490(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 147021 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 735(@200wpm)___ 588(@250wpm)___ 490(@300wpm)
“Peggy probably feels a bit differently about that.”
Hemi and Rix flank Peggy, each holding one arm as they drag her forward. Her eyes are wide, and the color has drained from her face.
Scarlet slides out of the booth and grabs my hand, pulling me with her. “Introduce me!”
I wipe my damp hands on my pants. “Scarlet, this is Hemi Reddi-Grinst, our team PR liaison.”
“It’s so lovely to meet you!” They shake hands.
“I love all the charities you support! I’m such a fan of your team promotion,” Scarlet gushes.
Hemi, forever poised, graciously accepts the compliment.
“This is Beatrix Madden, Flip’s sister. She’s a financial planner, but she also preps meals for a few of us on the team. She’s a wizard at creating a balanced diet, and we’re lucky to have her,” I say.
“Oh, I love that! That’s amazing!” Scarlet says.
Rix flushes and waves the compliment away. “It’s something I do for fun on the side. It’s so great to meet you. I’m a huge fan. Like, so huge. I’m trying to keep it together, but it’s a struggle. You’d think having all these hockey stars around would desensitize a girl, but apparently not.”
Scarlet laughs. “Oh, I get it! I almost fainted when I met my unicorn actor last year at the awards.”
“We all have a unicorn, don’t we?” Rix and Scarlet share a laugh.
I swallow past the enormous lump in my throat as I make the final introduction. “And this is Peggy, Roman’s daughter.” I don’t know what’s going on with me, but this whole situation is beyond uncomfortable.
“Hammer. I’m Hammer. Most people call me Hammer except for my dad’s side of the family,” she corrects.
“Oh! Like Hammer, short for Hammerstein, because you grew up surrounded by hockey players?” Scarlet asks.
“Basically, yeah.” Peggy’s eyes dart to where Scarlet is petting my arm. “Didn’t you and Hollis used to date?”
Scarlet’s eyes flare in surprise, but she recovers quickly. “We did.” She slides her arm through mine and leans her cheek on my biceps. “But I was young and stupid and didn’t realize what a good thing I had. He’s the one who got away.”
“And now you’re here. In Toronto. And so is he.” Peggy’s voice is almost robotic.
This couldn’t be more awkward.
“I am.” Her smile turns soft and hopeful. “It feels a lot like fates aligned.”
“Yeah. Definitely.” Peggy keeps nodding, her smile tight in a way only I would notice as she adds, “Especially since you’re both single and ready to mingle.”
“I wouldn’t mind taking this guy off the market again.” Scarlet squeezes my arm.
Or maybe it can get more awkward. I’m about to say something to end this moment when I catch Hemi’s eye.
Hemi looks from me, to Scarlet, to Peggy, whose smile is so stiff it could be super-glued to her lips. “I need to use the ladies’ room. Hammer, come with.” Hemi threads her arm through Peggy’s. “If you’ll excuse us for a moment. It was so nice to meet you, Scarlet. I hope we’ll be seeing you at another game soon.”
“Oh definitely. I plan to attend as many as I can.”
“Great.” Hemi does a finger-curl wave and guides Peggy toward the bathroom.
Rix cringes and turns to Scarlet. “She was really excited to meet you. And nervous. You’re totally her unicorn.” She rushes after the girls.
Scarlet gives me a knowing smile. “I think someone might have a bit of a crush on you.”
I laugh, but I feel like I’m going to vomit. “Peggy’s basically family.”
She pats my chest. “To you, maybe. How old is she?”
“Twenty.” Almost twenty-one. Not that her being twenty-one will change how inappropriate it is for me to have dreams about her. Especially the most recent ones.
She bites her lip. “That’s how old I was when we started dating. I was so stupid to let you go.”
“We were young.” That horrible lump in my throat keeps growing. “And you were right, it couldn’t have worked. We live on opposite ends of the country.”
“Hindsight, though.” Her smile turns soft and apologetic. “I regret the way I handled things.”
“It’s water under the bridge.” It’s not really. What happened with Scarlet had a ripple effect that’s framed my relationships. Only once in the past seven years have I been involved with a woman for more than a handful of months. Like all the rest, that one went up in flames, too. It just hurt a little more.
She tips her head. “Is it, though?”
“It was a long time ago, Scarlet.”
“Maybe we could go for coffee. I’d love a chance to apologize. I know I hurt you.”
“I have away games coming up.” I’m all about avoiding painful conversations, especially with my head all over the place and my career feeling unsteady.
“When you get back, then. I’m here for a few months.” She squeezes my arm. “Just think about it, okay?” She kisses me on the cheek, and she and Candice excuse themselves since they have an early morning on set.