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“Yum, who doesn’t like it when they turn out all soft and gooey on the inside.” Paige flashed me a devious smile, and I glared back at her as discreetly as I could. She was really trying to wind me up now. Either she didn’t notice my displeasure or she totally ignored it, because she continued talking to Violet. “When do you work next? I’ll come swing by.”
Despite the intensity of my family, Violet seemed to be taking it all in stride. She especially seemed to be warming to Paige. Though that was hardly a surprise. There was nothing I could do to stop the two of them from chatting, so I concentrated on scowling at my brothers instead. Well, at Parker, mostly. He looked ready to pounce on any opportunity to embarrass me while Grayson seemed quite content to sit back and watch the shitshow unfold before him. That, and he kept getting distracted by the game on TV. He probably wasn’t paying much attention to the rest of us.
When Cammie finally came into the room, there was a look of glee on her face. “Mom burned dinner,” she announced. It wasn’t the first time and probably wouldn’t be the last. My mom was incredible at momming but not so good at cooking. “She’s ordering pizza, but it could be a while.”
“We have to wait?” Parker groaned. “I’m going to eat my hand if I don’t get fed soon.”
“No self-cannibalism on family dinner nights,” Mom shouted from the kitchen.
“Oh, because it’s totally cool any other night of the week,” Parker grumbled.
With dinner delayed, this seemed like the most opportune time for Violet and I to escape. Who knew how long we’d have to wait for a pizza on a Sunday night, and as much as I wanted Violet to meet my family, staying out here felt like tempting fate. I knew it was only a matter of time before one of them said something truly mortifying about me. Or worse, something that might expose my feelings for Violet.
I walked over and grabbed Violet by the hand. “Why don’t I give you a tour of the house while we wait?”
“Ohhh, taking her on a ‘tour,’” Parker trilled.
I raised my middle finger toward him but didn’t take my eyes off Violet. “That okay with you?”
“Sure,” she said, allowing me to help her from the couch.
Keeping hold of her hand, I guided her from the room. I quickly showed her around the downstairs rooms before taking her upstairs to my bedroom. Mom had a rule about keeping the door open when we had girls in our rooms, but I hadn’t needed to follow it for years. I considered leaving the door open for a moment but then decided against it. Parker and the rest of my siblings couldn’t be trusted, and I didn’t need any of them spying on us. Plus, I was already adhering to too many rules when it came to Violet.
Once I’d closed the door, Violet hesitated just inside the entrance. “So, this is where Reed Darling sleeps, huh?”
I peered around the space, wondering how it must look to her. It was relatively clean, and other than a few hockey trophies on my bookshelf, it didn’t have a whole lot of personality to it. The walls were blue, my quilt cover was plaid, and there were a couple of pictures of me and my teammates from years past.
She suddenly gasped and raced over to my bed. “Who’s this?” she cooed as she sat down next to Stanley who was curled up near my pillow.
“Oh.” I laughed, relieved she hadn’t found something incriminating. “That’s Stanley. Like the cup.”
“You named your dog after a tumbler?” She looked confused as she ruffled the dog’s fur and scratched behind his ears. I decided not to correct her. There was no need to go into any more detail about how I’d named our family dog after the NHL’s most coveted trophy, the Stanley Cup. It would only remind her what a big part of my life hockey was.
“Be careful,” I said instead of answering her question. “He’s a shameless attention hog, and once you start petting him, he’s unlikely to leave you alone for the rest of the night.”
“Aw, he sounds just like the rest of you. Only cuter.”
“Much cuter,” I agreed. I cautiously approached the bed and sat down beside her. I was pleasantly surprised she didn’t flinch or stiffen at my presence, but I had left a decent gap between us, and she was probably too distracted by the dog. She started giggling as Stan reached up and licked her cheek.
“Watch out. He’s been known to try and slip unsuspecting petters the tongue.”
“I’m sure I’d survive.” Violet beamed. “Wouldn’t I?” She addressed the dog, who took that as an invitation to lick her once more. She laughed again before she returned to inspecting my room. “This isn’t what I expected from the big bad captain of the Ransom Devils.”
“Really? What exactly did you expect?”
“Well, with your reputation, I was picturing shelves filled with the hearts of your enemies.”
I couldn’t help but smile. Usually I would have been embarrassed or even angry to think about how Violet had to listen to such terrible things about me all the time. But it made me happy to hear her joke about it, like maybe she was learning just how ridiculous some of these rumors were.
“Don’t they know I devour my enemies whole?”
She laughed easily, and the sound made my heart do a small flip. I itched to move closer to her, but I somehow managed to stay put.
“Speaking of enemies.” Her expression grew more serious, and her voice quietened as she continued. “I have another rumor for you. Is it true you were jumped by a group of players from another team last year and you were the only one to walk away?”
I swallowed. It wasn’t a particularly nice memory, and one I didn’t want to recount. But I’d promised I’d be honest with Violet about any rumors she’d heard about me.
“That one’s half true,” I muttered. “A few players from Pinecrest High followed me to my car after our game. They weren’t happy about losing and decided they wanted to take out their anger with their fists. I might be bigger than a lot of guys, but sometimes being known as a Darling Devil puts a target on your back. And although some people might try to tell you otherwise, I can’t take on four guys alone.”
