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Wait. She was supposed to stay back and cater to him. Mikah tensed to rise and chase them, but he made himself sit back down.
Mrs. Amvehl picked up the carafe of coffee. When a minimal stream poured from the spout, she twisted the lid. “I’ll grab another pot.”
That left him with the—not socially challenged sister—but not exactly adept either.
Calista chewed on an orange wedge and stared at him consideringly.
Was she slow? Was she going to ask him for tickets? For an autograph?
Calista went for another wedge.
Damn. He should have checked out the Ferrari. But what message did that send? And another cup of Mrs. Amvehl’s coffee sounded good too. How to make this less weird? Dude, he had a sister. Just speak to her like he would to Lily. “Are you all done with school?” Good, that covered a whole range of ground. And she looked in her early twenties, so the question wasn’t insulting.
“No.” She turned back to her computer. He’d bored her.
Contrarily, that made him want to chat. Like when he had to poke his shy sister to get her to open up. Piper’s sister might be simply shy. She wore the number twenty-two on her jersey. “You’re a big fan of Ronan, huh?” Their captain was a decent middle ground. He respected the man, and he wouldn’t have to lie. Like when the press asked about some of the other goofs he teamed with.
Calista looked at him, her wickedly sharp green eyes questioning his intellect, then her face softened. The vicious light in her eyes eased back to a palatable level. “He’s extraordinary.”
Well. Mikah knew where he stood and could shut up now. He nodded toward the kitchen. “At least I got parental approval to hang out with your sister, right?” Not that he was looking for it. Why had he said that?
Calista didn’t look up. “You’d be lucky to date Piper.”
* * *
Mikah, Piper, and Liam made it to the Austin Bergstrom International Airport without incident and sat together at the boarding gate. Country music played overhead. Piper was to his right, jotting off a text.
Piper spoke as she typed. “Dahlia wasn’t clear on your details. We’re flying to the border of Lake Ontario. You’re staying with your family on the south shore then driving an hour to join the team in Canada. And Liam’s going straight in?”
Mikah stretched his arms overhead. They may have been a touch vague with their plans. Liam at every point had been going to his family’s home for the two nights before the game. Mikah was staying one night and driving up to Canada to check into the team hotel for the second. No reason he couldn’t have been clearer. But the organization had enough control of his schedule. With all this talk of who was going where, Piper was setting up a transition to hint she’d like to stay with him. Of course, he knew this was coming. Total woman-ploy. He’d let her stay over. But not until she straight up asked. Mikah gave a half grunt to make her work for it.
Before she caved, the speakers crackled overhead. The gate agent spoke into the microphone. “Please remain seated until your boarding group is called. First class may board at their leisure.”
He and Liam rose.
Piper gesture to the drink kiosk. “See you on the plane.”
He liked that she wasn’t clinging to his side, marking her territory for the other women at the airport. Mikah watched her until they reached the gate agent. He and Liam handed over their boarding passes and passports, paused at her request to take photos, and then hit the jetway.
The plane’s cabin was a two-by-one configuration up front. Liam went for his assigned window seat. That left Mikah the aisle.
Mikah shoved his duffel bag into the overhead compartment. “You’re moving when Piper boards.”
“Bro, love you man, but no chance in hell I’m taking coach for the next four hours. I’m sure the passenger beside her will happily switch with you. Make sure she’s hot before you send her up.”
He could stand coach, his knees eating the backrest, but he’d be signaling to Piper she had him.
Way too soon in this game for a concession.
Mikah sat and hooked on his seatbelt. The passengers started coming on with their groups. He stared at his phone. He wasn’t watching for Piper.
The hint of her lemon soap made his body stiffen. He knew she was near. Mikah reached out and took Piper’s wrist, stopping her from continuing down the aisle. “I didn’t know you were in coach.”
The mom behind Piper shuffled her kid from one hip to the other and leaned forward to make the line go faster.
Piper slid her backpack around to her chest and scooted in front of Mikah, stepping between his knees, letting the aisle traffic continue to the coach cabin. She propped her bag on his thigh. “Nice first class. I’m a little jealous.”
Dodo was a cheap bastard, throwing her in the back. She was essentially a team assistant. How could she help them from thirty rows back? Mikah gripped her hand to anchor her between his legs and massaged his thumb over her skin.
