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"Can I... uh, would you maybe give me your number?"
Mia hesitated, and her cheeks flushed pink. "Look, Sam, you just broke up with your girlfriend, and I..."
She studied him with those pretty brown eyes, and he swallowed.
Fuck, it was probably a total dick move to ask for her number so soon. But he wasn't ready to walk away and never see her again, either.
"I'm not really dating right now," she continued. "I got out of a bad relationship not that long ago, so..."
"Trust me, I get it. And I'm not looking for a relationship right now, considering I've been single for about thirty minutes," he joked. "But there's no reason we can't be friends. And you were a better friend to me tonight than anyone else. Let me repay the favor."
"Friends?" She paused again, then gave him a little smile. "I guess I can always use another friend."
His stomach unclenched, and he held back a sigh of relief as they exchanged numbers.
"Sorry, I really have to get back down there." She shoved her phone into the pocket of her short white skirt. "Go have fun tonight, okay? Celebrate with your team."
"I will. I'll text you sometime soon."
Mia waved at him as she headed for the stairs. "I'll brush up on my hockey knowledge in the meantime. Take care, Sam."
He watched as she walked down the stairs, her tanned legs on display underneath the short skirt. The first thought that struck him was that she had nice legs, even for being so short. And the second thought was that she kind of bounced on her feet as she walked.
Shay had always looked like she was prancing down the runway at a fashion show. Everything about her, from the clothes, to how she posed in photos... it was all so cultivated.
Mia didn't seem to care about any of that crap. She was just real, and he liked that.
He really,reallyliked that.
He might not be looking for a relationship right now, but he sure as hell wouldn't object if a girl like Mia was around when he was ready for one again.
17
Holly slept in until 10:00 am, hitting the snooze button six times after their late night celebration at Callahan's. She took a quick shower and fed Miss, leaving the bedroom door open so the calico could wander the penthouse while she made peanut butter toast and coffee.
The noise of the TV spilled in from the living room while she got breakfast ready. Eli had probably eaten breakfast already, but she might as well join him to watch a little television.
When she got to the doorway, she stopped short.
He sat on the floor with the stack of letters spread out in front of him on the coffee table. She'd told him where she'd tucked them away in case he'd wanted to read them. He must have grabbed them while she was sleeping.
Eli glanced up at her, and the myriad of emotions on his handsome face made her heart flip in her chest. He looked so lost that she wasn't sure what to do.
"Eli?" she asked softly. "Are you okay?"
"I don't know." He looked back down at the pile. "I don't know what the hell to feel. How I'm supposed to feel."
"Did you read your mother's letter to you?"
He covered his face with his hands before pinching the bridge of his nose. "Yeah. I knew I had to read these letters sometime, for her. I want to give her peace. I know she wants me to have a relationship with my father, but I can’t promise that."
Holly walked over to the opposite couch and sat down. "That’s understandable."
"I have sisters, Holly." His voice broke on her name, and he swallowed. "Little sisters."
"Not so little now," she said, nodding. "But yeah. You have family."
"Troy doesn't say if he told them about me. Maybe they don't know anything. Or maybe they know, and they don't care." He leaned back against the couch. "I lost so much time. These letters... they're representative of wasted years. I can't get any of that time back. If I would have just done what my mother wanted and read them... He shook his head. "But no. Instead, I had to be a fucking hard head and act like I was above it.”
