AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Mia nods knowingly. “Well, I recommend a heart-to-heart, Harry. You guys need to have a conversation. Tell her how you feel.” Her expression turns stern. “And don’t make it about sex.”
“Why do you assume I’d make it about sex?”
“Because you’re a man. Good women want to know you have feelings for them other than wanting to get them in bed.”
“Yeah, I guess that makes sense.”
“Durand is waving for me to send you over,” she says. “You’d better go.”
“Okay. Please don’t lose my daughter,” I say with a wry look. “And thanks for the advice.”
“Anytime.”
Mia takes Avery over to a group of Blaze wives, and they’re gushing over Avery before she even gets all the way over there. I order a drink from a passing server and make my way over to Olivier Durand, the owner of the Blaze.
Before I get to him, I take out my phone, hoping to see a text from Winter telling me her date was complete shit.
Nothing, though. I swear under my breath and force a smile for Durand.
If I didn’t have Avery with me tonight, I’d probably have more than a few drinks. Instead, I get to be painfully aware of every passing minute Winter spends with her date.
What kind of a loser of a man needs to be set up on a blind date, anyway? And where the hell is he taking her?
“Jesus, Harry, what’s with the scowl?” Durand asks, laughing.
“Must be your ugly fuckin’ mug,” I quip as I shake his hand.
“Nah. That face has female trouble written all over it.”
I scoff and nod my thanks to the server, who returns with my beer. “If you’d describe a woman who’s so stubborn and frustrating she makes me want to break shit as trouble, then yeah, that’s it.”
Durand puts a hand on my shoulder. “The good news is there are plenty of fish in the sea, though.”
“Not like her,” I mutter.
Durand laughs heartily. “Well shit, man. You really are in trouble with this one, aren’t you?”
I take a long drink of my beer and say, “You have no idea.”
“Want to talk about it?”
“No. I want to be in a good headspace when I give my speech and talking about Winter will have the opposite effect.”
“Let’s get dinner soon. You can catch me up then.”
“That’d be good.”
We talk hockey then. Even though he never played professionally, Durand could talk hockey for hours on end. I didn’t play pro for long, but I have fond memories and lifelong friendships from those days.
I check my phone again to see if Winter texted, but she didn’t. I shake my head and stick my phone back in my pocket. She’s the first woman who gets me riled up over the things she doesn’t do and the things she doesn’t say.
She better be back at the apartment when I get home later, or I might actually lose my mind.
Chapter Sixteen
Winter
I walk into the apartment around ten thirty that night and gently close the door behind me. A cooing sound in the dim light makes me look around in question.
When I flip a switch to turn a lamp on, I see Harry in his favorite recliner, Avery snuggled up on his chest and looking content.
“Hey,” I say in greeting.
“Hey.”
“Want me to turn the light off?”
“Nah, it’s fine. She’s just not tired for some reason. Too much excitement tonight, I guess.”
I smile and walk over to the couch, sitting down. “Did everyone love her?”
“Of course they did. She’s the most beautiful baby ever.” Harry kisses the top of Avery’s head and I feel a tug in my chest.
For all his flaws, he loves his daughter, and it only heightens the attraction I don’t want to feel toward him.
“How was your date?” he asks.
“It was good.”
“Was it, though? It’s only ten thirty and you’re home.”
I narrow my eyes. “Not every man tries to sleep with a woman on the first date, Harry. Chivalry isn’t dead.”
“Are you going out with him again?”
I don’t really want to go out with Douglas again. He was nice enough, but the whole evening felt awkward, and we didn’t have much chemistry. He did ask me to go out again, though, and I told him I’d check my schedule and see. I’m not telling Harry any of that, though.
“I am.”
“When do I get to meet him?”
“Never.”
Harry laughs. “This guy doesn’t even exist, does he? You made up a date just to make me jealous.”
“I guess you’ll find out, won’t you? And that reminds me, is my bedroom soundproof, too, or is it only yours?”
Harry’s grin slides away. “You’re not bringing a man here for sex, Winter. Not ever.”
“How would you know?”
He frowns. “Because I forbid it. If I can’t, you can’t.”
“I don’t mind of you bring a man here for sex.”
“Aren’t you the comedian tonight,” he grumbles.
“I’m hungry,” I announce. “I’m going to make an omelet. Do you want one?”
