Page 64 of Off the Post

“Right, Wolf? Gotta protect m’baby sister from guys like us. ’Cause you’re a wolf with the ladies, aren’t you, bro?” Tanner chuckles darkly, like it’s an inside joke.

Soren sighs heavily. “You’re not making any sense, Rossy. It’s time we go.”

Tanner stumbles onto his feet, bumping me in the chest as he does, and then stops as Soren tries to balance them both. Tanner is at least fifty pounds heavier than Soren and taller, too. He raises his finger and points it at me, shaking his head regretfully.

“I wasn’t there for you the last time, Ali-kins,” he says in a remorseful tone. “I don’t ever want to see you hurt like that again.”

Once I dissect his drunken statement, I swallow the lump of pain in my throat and fight back the tears. My eyes dart to Soren’s in alarm, hoping against all hope that he has no idea what Tanner is rambling on about.

Oh my God. I will die from embarrassment if Soren ever finds out about my last breakup and the following breakdown that caused me to lose my job.

I let out a fake, tinny laugh and reach in to hug my brother, my breasts brushing against Soren’s chest as I do.

“You don’t have to worry about me anymore, Tanner. Let’s just get you home safe.” My eyes plead with Soren’s, and he nods briskly. “I’ll be right behind you.”

32

Soren

I don’t catch half of what Rossy said during the twenty-minute car ride back to his apartment. The few things I manage to decipher are wild tales around Ali’s previous job and some ex-boyfriend who duped her. Things I hadn’t known and that she may have wanted to keep secret.

Based on how Rossy describes it, the experience caused her some serious heartbreak and emotional upheaval.

“That motherfucking asshole,” he mutters, throwing out a sloppy air punch and then stomping his foot into the passenger floorboard with so much anger that I think he might blow a hole right through it.

“Whoa there, big guy.” I place a firm hand on his thigh to calm him down. I’ve never seen him this heated off the ice. On the ice is a different story— he winds up more often in the sin bin than anyone else on the team. But when he’s not in hockey defender mode, he’s generally an affable guy. “You don’t have to take it out on my car just because some guy broke it off with your sister.”

“You don’t understand, man,” he growls. A noise of distress releases from the depths of his core and he backhands my arm with a thwack of his knuckles. “He fucking fucked with her, bro. Dude was married and messed with her head, man. Still want to find that fucker and fuck that guy up.”

Saliva sprays across my dash with all the F bombs he spits out.

Well, shit.

This is new info and only a fraction of what I knew about Ali’s past. On our lunch date, she said she had recently left her previous job and moved to Canada. She also casually mentioned her ex-boyfriend but didn’t expound on the details, quickly asking me about my romantic past. I had found it a bit strange at the time that she asked me if I had a wife back in Austria.

“Of course not,” I had replied, twisting my lips and cocking my head. “Why would I be here with you if I did?”

She had shrugged and said, “Oh, you know. Some guys don’t see a problem with side pieces.”

I think back on the nonchalance she displayed, but now it all makes a lot more sense. My light mood after today’s events has now soured, my own rage boiling to match Rossy’s at the thought of the cheating douchebag who hurt Ali like that. I want a piece of him, too, for being a creep and pulling the wool over Ali’s eyes.

Even so, Ali is still so open and free with people. If I had found out a woman I was dating was married and living a lie, I wouldn’t trust another woman ever again.

Either Ali’s a great actress and puts on a happy face, keeping her pain under a tight lid, or she can process her pain and then move forward.

Which is exactly what Anna has done and has begged me to do as well. I just can’t seem to find the will to do so.

By the time I park in front of Rossy’s apartment building, his cheek is pressed against the window, drool’s dripping from the corner of his mouth, and he’s snoring like a drunken mule.

It takes a lot of prodding and work to get him out of the car, into the condo building, and up to his floor without him taking me down, but when I finally do, he passes out like a starfish across his bed. He just needs to sleep it off, but I use his bathroom to take a leak and bring a waste bin to the side of his bed anyway, just in case he gets sick.

Then I head out into the kitchen, grab him a bottle of water from the fridge, and leave it by his bedside before I stretch out on the couch to wait for Ali.

I can only imagine she will be exhausted after today’s event. The way she worked the crowd, handled all the kids and their parents, ensured the players were prepped on their buddy’s needs—her organizational skills made it all a success. From my perspective, everything went off without a hitch. She’s a true pro in her field and a natural people person. Unlike me, who prefers solitude and only a select few in my midst.

One of whom is on her way home now.

The sound of the code being entered on the keypad has me jumping to my feet and I see the door open. I rush toward her as she enters carrying a large box of leftover supplies in her arms. She smiles gratefully when I take it and set it on the entryway floor.