“None taken. They’re being outskated. Locke especially.”
I snap my eyes to her, physically having to bite my tongue from saying anything. How dare she single him out? It’s a damn team sport!
Or maybe it’s just because I know that’s such a sore subject for him. He doesn’t talk about it often, but I know he’s worried he’s getting too old and slow for the game. At first, it made me laugh. He isn’t even old, but I guess it makes sense when you look at it from the league’s perspective. They don’t want to give long contracts to people over a certain age because what if they can’t live up to them? No sense putting your teammates in a bad spot like that.
Auden probably knows all this, though, which makes me even more annoyed she’s called him out. But I can’t say anything, so I bite my tongue—literally.
“Sorry,” she says out loud, and I don’t miss the way her eyes flick to me. “I didn’t mean that to sound so rude. I’m sure he’s just as frustrated as we all are watching this.”
I drag my eyes back to the TV just as the puck is dropped after yet another icing from the Serpents. It happens so quickly—an exhausted-looking Lawson wins the puck, and it’s picked up by Gavin, who zings it right over the goalie’s glove. The girls jump off the couches, cheering loudly until Auden shushes them, reminding them of the sleeping baby just down the hall.
“Holy smokes!” the commentator shouts. “What a shot! What a goal! Another top shelf back breaker from the veteran defenseman, Gavin Whitlocke!”
Pride swells in my chest, and I want to look right at Auden and say,Ha! See? He can play just as well as anyone else out on that ice.In reality, I just grin to myself, watching as a still-serious-looking Gavin skates down the bench, hitting gloves with hisveryexcited teammates.
Fox throws his arms in the air, hugging him, and if you look closely enough, you can see the defenseman say,We’ve still got work to do, boys.There’s no excitement from him, just determination, like he’s more than ready to prove wrong everyone who thinks he’s too slow for the game.
The sudden urge to have him here so I can kiss him slams into me, and along with it comes sadness because I know that won’t happen for another few days. I try not to pout about it, focusing back on the game. In the end, the Serpents win 7–4 after putting an empty net goal from Lawson up on the board, leaving Rory grinning proudly as she hugs her sister goodbye.
“Thanks for inviting me,” I say to Auden when it’s my turn to say good night.
“Thankyoufor coming. I’m really glad you came. I…” She sighs, then pushes her hair over her shoulder. “I think I might have misjudged you when we first met, and I’m sorry about that.I thought you were everything Reed said you were, and that’s not fair. I’ve talked about it with him a lot, about how he calls you ‘the evil stepsister’ all the time, and it’s not cool. He knows that too, but he’s a little too…well,himto say anything about it. So, I’m saying it to you. Not for him, but for you, because you deserve to hear it. I’m glad you’re here, Vanessa.We’reglad. And I’m so happy I’m getting a chance to get to know you.”
Her words shock me. The first time I met Auden was just a week after The Video. I didn’t tell anyone about it at the time. I held that card close to my chest. I only told people Neal and I were over, didn’t elaborate on anything else, and to be honest, I was a brat that Christmas. I was mean and hateful, and I made it as uncomfortable as possible for Auden and my brother. It was easier that way when seeing them happy and in love. I had just had my heart torn out and didn’t want what I was missing out on to be rubbed in my face.
I realize now how misplaced that anger was. It wasn’t Auden and Reed I was mad at. It was Neal…and myself. How could I have let that happen? After everything I did to make the perfect life, how could I let it slip through my fingers so easily?
I was wrong about that, too. It wasn’t my fault Neal cheated. I know that now. I…I wasn’t too much.
You’re not too much, Nessa. You’re just enough for me.
“Well, since we’re apologizing, I’m sorry too. I was terrible that Christmas and deserved all your ire.”
“You were kind of scary. And a little badass, if I’m being honest.”
I laugh. “I’d say that’s not the real me, but I can be mean. Or a brat, so I’ve been told.”
Her brows rise at that, but she doesn’t say anything. I still get the sense she might know something is up. Not necessarilywhat, but I have a feeling she knows it has to do with Gavin.
Alana’s cries echo through the house, and Auden smiles.
“Duty calls.” She squeezes my arm. “Call me. I want to hang out again.”
“Sure thing,” I promise, and to my surprise, I really mean it.
“Are you still working?”
I smile at the deep voice on the other end of the line. Gavin came home from the short trip, and everything feels right in the world once again. I hate how much his absence affected me, and I try not to read too much into it.
“Sort of?” I say. “I’m off in thirty minutes. Why?”
“Because the guys are going to Top Shelf tonight.”
“What?!”
The Seattle Serpents haven’t been in again since that first time, and I’ve been grateful for it. Not because it means I don’t have to act like I’m not interested in him whenever Gavin finds himself on the other side of the bar, but because it means I don’t have to be with him and my brother in the same room. We haven’t all been together since… Shit, I think since Auden was in the hospital.
“Is that okay?” he asks, and I hear a horn honk in the background. He must be in his car, on his way to the bar.
