CHAPTER22
Justin
“Ares says there’s a beautiful woman in your bed.” Scott offers me a beer despite the fact it’s not after 5pm anywhere in the continental United States.
I nod and accept it, but don’t take a drink.
“So why are you down here in the den while there’s a beautiful woman in your bed?”
“She’s sick. I was up there for a couple hours, but she had her pain meds and crashed. She’s going to be out for a while. I needed to eat and call Athena.”
As though speaking her name summoned her through a portal from another dimension, the door to the house squeaks open and the femme fatale de la Peña appears, the winter sun already setting behind her.
Apollo is in the foyer kicking a soccer ball back and forth with Tate. The siblings look at each other as though they’re both out of place, which is kind of true. Neither of them live here, and while all three of her brothers can often be found in the hockey house, this is one of the few times she’s ever visited.
“Are you looking for me?” Apollo’s confused head-tilt morphs right there in front of me to wide-eyed fear like he’s racking his brain for whatever it is he’s done to deserve a house call from his sister.
She might be the only de la Peña sibling without a peen, and the boys might be beyond protective of her, but she can chill the blood in your veins with only a look.
She barely shakes her head. “Justin.”
I know I’m not in trouble, but my balls shrivel up at her mention of my name all the same. Apollo jerks his chin toward the den and follows his sister toward me.
“Where is she?”
I bounce up to my feet. I dunno why, but standing eye to eye when you’re talking to someone has always been deemed polite where I come from. “She’s upstairs, out cold on pain meds. She had some chicken noodle soup earlier.” For some reason I feel like I need to give props where they’re due and not take the credit here. “Ares picked it up for her.”
Yeah, that twitch of surprise she barely manages to smooth away from her features is exactly why I mentioned his name.
“He did?”
I nod.
“Why didn’t you bring her to my place?” She waves an open palm toward the now six hockey players standing around us both. I bet those fuckers came in ’cause they thought she was going to barbecue my balls for something and they wanted a rink-side seat. “It’s hardly quiet here.”
This was the question I’d been waiting to be asked. I’m not sure if Vannah has told her best friend we’re a thing, and I haven’t yet told the guys. Not for any bad reason, I was just giving us time without inflicting an entire hockey team of protective big brothers on her shoulders. They can be alot.
Why are my palms sweating?
I don’t break eye contact. Athena can smell fear, and when she does she goes straight for the jugular.
“I wanted her close.”
Her eyes narrow.
Heaving out a sigh, I shrug. “I just didn’t want to take my girlfriend all the way across town, okay? I’m worried about her, and I figured we have lots of hands to help here at the hockey house if she needs something. And at least four of us have your number in case we needed to call you.”
No one moves or speaks, I’m pretty sure all my teammates are holding their collective breath. She pulls a business card from her purse. What college kid carries a friggin’ business card?
She hands it to Tate and tells him to put it on the refrigerator in case anyone needs to call about Savannah. Then she makes sure to warn anyone in ear shot that if her number ends up on a bathroom wall, or being used for something that isn’t reporting on her best friend, heads will roll.
Athena folds her arms and takes a measured step toward me. “What are your intentions with my bestie?”
There’s a snort, likely from Apollo or Ares, glad his sister is directing her attention to someone other than him for a change.
What are my intentions? My heart is lying upstairs next to her in bed, but I have no fucking clue how to make it work when the other pieces of my life are so demanding. Her surgery is already slated for game day. How can I tell her that I need to leave her in the hospital by herself to get cut open while I go play a game?
My heart crosschecks my brain and takes the lead. “I love her, Athena. I’m in with both skates.”
