Her laughter carried on the subtle breeze as the house came into view. “Right. No idea at all. You haven’t been staring at her like she’s water and you’re dying of thirst. You haven’t been flirting and going out of your way to be in her vicinity. You didn’t put on animal pajamas for her.”
“We’re not talking about this.” He hastened his step. If there was anything he didn’t want to talk about more than his career, it was Maisie. Especially with his sister.
“Nice. We can open my life up like a bag of cookies but yours gets to stay sealed shut.”
She started to walk past him but he grabbed her arm, stopped her. “I wore the pajamas for Asher.” He wanted to tell her the worry that was digging into his rib cage about Maisie.
Ellie crossed her arms over her chest and stared at him down her nose, which was impressive as hell since she was several inches shorter than him.
“I’m not really a relationship guy, El. The longest one I’ve had is with a sport.”
Ellie closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and let it out before looking at him again. “That’s bullshit, Nick. You can say it but it isn’t true. Just like it isn’t true that you’re fine physically or emotionally. You’ve tried to shield me from things our whole lives but it doesn’t work.” She put a hand on his arm when he dropped his hold. “I know bad things happen and fairy tales aren’t real. You don’t have to pretend everything is perfect. You want me to turn to you, you have to be able to do the same. I’m here, Nick, and I’m not fragile. You can tell me the hard stuff. I see you. The way you look at Maisie, the way you get lost in your own thoughts. I don’t believe you haven’t thought about your future, about what’s next. Maybe you think I can’t handle everything you’re feeling or going through, but that’s not true. Maybe it’s you who can’t. Your life has been about hockey for so long, you’re scared of who and what you are without it. What you need to know is you will always be my brother regardless of your job and the greatest things about you have nothing to do with your skill on the ice. So, when you’re ready, I’m here. Always.”
She turned and walked away, leaving him feeling like the fragile one.
Chapter Ten
LIKE A LOT OFthe choices she made lately—strolling into a bathroom with her head in the clouds, suggesting a muscled right wing put on a skintight onesie—getting out of the house seemed like a good idea. Colton and Jacob were heading into town for a few last-minute things and to explore the festivities. Maisie planned to edit some photos in front of the Christmas tree but her mother had sat beside her and asked why she had to go through that step; why didn’t she just take the photos properly the first time. For someone so smart…
It’d been on the tip of her tongue to tell her family about the artist-in-residence gig but she was nervous. Mostly because she was excited and she didn’t want her mom to dribble seeds of doubt all over the news.
When Colt said they were going out, Maisie jumped at the chance to join. A little space from her mom and a hot hockey player.
But of course, the universe had other plans. It really enjoyed messing with her head. It would have been fine because Asher wanted to come and the little boy was the cutest buffer ever. But he’d fallen asleep on the floor in front of the tree shortly after they’d had some lunch.
How was she supposed to stop thinking about Nick when he wasrightthere? When she got out of bed this morning, her brain had gone to Nick immediately. She’d spent more time than she’d ever admit staring at photos of him in that reindeer onesie. She might have had his measurements, thanks to Colt, but holy hell it was a snug fit. It outlined every muscle and glorious aspect of a body she knew by memory. Maisie was grateful she hadn’t drooled on her camera and would never, in her entire life, acknowledge, not even to Lexi, that Nick King was hot even in novelty pajamas. Because it was somehow wrong and extremely unfair.
Soft flurries hit her windshield and cast a diamond-like glow on the fields they passed. She might as well have been driving through a blizzard on bald tires for the way she white-knuckled the steering wheel. His scent—like fresh air, sharp and crisp—would linger in her Jeep; she just knew it.
Worrying over this, Maisie was only half listening to Colton telling Nick about meeting one of Jake’s more high-maintenance clients for drinks. Nick sat in the passenger seat, his hands curled into fists on his thighs, laughing along, but the sound was somewhat remote. Strained. She glanced at him, saw him watching her before she looked back at the road.
Her spirits lifted when she found a parking spot on Main Street, right in front of Bits and Bites again.Definitely a sign that I deserve sweets.
“I told Asher I’d grab some more cookies,” Maisie said, cutting the engine.
She felt Nick’s gaze so she turned. His lips pursed before he said, “That kid is working everyone. He asked me for some, too.”
An almost smile tilted her mouth.
“I need to grab extra wrapping paper, unless you have some, Maisie,” Jake said, opening one of the back doors.
Maisie shoved her shoulder against the driver’s door but it didn’t budge. She lifted the handle then tried again, really putting her body into it. The cold made it stick worse than usual.
“Why are you shoulder bashing your door?” Nick asked, turning back to look at her, one foot out of the vehicle already.
Giving it one more shove, she held steady so she didn’t fall right out. He met her around the front of the Jeep, scowling at her while Jake and Colton whispered quietly to themselves like a couple of newlyweds.
“It gets a little sticky.”
He arched a brow. “You do that all the time, you’re going to injure yourself.”
“Says the man who races around the ice on sharpened knives, slamming into walls, plexiglass, and other men.”
Jake laughed loudly at something Colton said before the two of them walked hand in hand toward the first shop. The sight of it sent a pang through Maisie’s chest that she had trouble ignoring.
Following after her brother and Colton, she tried not to frown when Nick’s long stride made it easy for him to keep step with her.
“That’s quite the description of my job. However, I’m in gear when I do that. And it’s controlled.”
