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Ellie laughs and clicks her fingers at one of the waitresses. This is a colleague of hers, but Ellie does what Ellie wants. I know that better than anyone. With a wave of her hand and a cheeky smile, Ellie signals for a cup of coffee and then leans back in the chair as if she’s got all the time in the world.
“Aren’t you getting paid to work right now?” I ask.
“Yeah. Pretty sweet, hey?” Ellie laughs, but when I give her a look, she sits straight again and reaches out for my hand. “Relax. This isn’t New York, babe. Welcome back to Canada.”
She’s right. It is different here… It’s fucking perfect.
The young waitress brings over two mugs of coffee. Ellie grabs one and starts sipping, exhaling a loud ‘ahhhh’ with each slurp. I’ve missed my best friend’s carefree nature. As I sit opposite her, I can literally see her glowing. Her face is alive. She’s smiling. Her head and mind are clear. There’s no pressure to perform or heavy expectations. She doesn’t have a scary CFO to report the less-than-ideal monthly figures to.
Instead, Old Geoff has taken over making coffee’s while she kicks back and drinks one for herself.
“The coffee shop gig is still working out for you then?” I try to hide the jealousy in my voice, but something in the way Ellie has pricked up tells me I’ve failed.
“Yep. It’s perfect here. It’s easy. I pretty much choose my hours and if I want a day off, I just take it.” Ellie throws her dark hair over her shoulder and takes another sip. When she swallows, she looks over the mug with narrowed brows. “As a matter of fact, what are you doing tonight?”
I shrug. All I had planned for my two-day whirlwind trip back home was a quick visit out to my parent’s new place on the outskirts of the city.
“Nothing…” I say.
“Good. Noah is playing at Viking Stadium tonight. Come with me.”
Noah. Shit.
Noah Edwards, Ellie’s twin brother, is the star of the Vancouver Vikings. He’s the biggest, the toughest and the most sought-after hockey player Vancouver has produced in years. He’s already knocked back multiple big money offers from teams in the United States. Like his sister, he’s Canadian through and through.
And he’s fucking gorgeous.
Having a best friend with a hunk of pure Canadian muscle for a twin has always been difficult. For the best part, I found the best way to avoid Noah’s smoky grey eyes and well-cut biceps was to keep as far away as possible from him. As you can imagine, that’s a bit difficult when you’re his sister’s best friend. I’d spend all my free time with Ellie, and their family was so involved with hockey that being with Ellie often meant time at the hockey rink.
But Noah was a gentle giant.
At least, to me he was.
Maybe it was because of my friendship with Ellie, but he always looked out for me at school. I was teased and picked on for my size. Being a bigger girl, the ‘popular’ girls had an issue with me being so friendly with Vancouver’s hottest rising star. He was for their eyes only. Only pretty girls get the sexy hockey players… Not chubby chicks like me.
But Noah didn’t see it that way. He stuck up for me on countless occasions.
A funny fizzling bubbles in my gut at the memories of Noah, but just like I always did, I shove it back down.
“I don’t have a ticket, though…” I say.
Ellie rolls her eyes. “I am the star players sister… I think I can sort you out.”
Just as I begin to nod, I see the two guys stand up. My eyes are instantly pulled to them, and again, without knowing, my tongue is flicking around inside my mouth. They strut past, their powerful aura silencing the café instantly. As they collect their coats, Parker winks at Ellie and she twinkles her fingers in a flirty wave.
Ellie spins back in her seat and looks at me, catching me gawking at the firm asses of the two Viking’s players. I shift awkwardly, shrinking under her judging gaze.
“Love life going well then?” Ellie says, sporting a smug grin as she sips her coffee.
“Yep. Fine, thanks.” I look away, avoiding her amused glare.
“Liar.” Ellie shuffles forward. “Out of all the sexy guys in New York, please tell me you’ve banged at least… I dunno… Like a hundred of them by now?”
Zero. Big fat zero.
I feel the walls of the cafe closing in around me. My mouth dries up and there’s a desire to press myself against the freezing cold window just to cool myself down. I avoid Ellie eyes, doing anything to stop myself from looking at her. I start twiddling my fingers around each other, and I feel about an inch tall as I sink into my chair.
“Babe?” Ellie looks down her nose and I shrink even further. Her eyes widen, and I can see the sudden realisation written in her expression. “Oh. My. God… You’re not… Are you?”
I bite my lip, still looking anywhere except at Ellie. But this is my best friend we’re talking about. She pulls me back in with a snort of her nostrils and a wild slap in the table.
“Please. Not here.” I lean across the table, begging with puppy-dog eyes. But I know it’s useless. When Ellie focuses in on something, she doesn’t let go.
“You’re still a virgin?” Ellie gasps and my jaw clenches, warning her to lower her voice. She leans in close, her heavy breath heating my face. “You told me you’d give it a proper shot in the big city. You promised me you’d put yourself out there more…”
“And I did…”
“Oh, really?” Ellie crosses her arms over her chest. “And how did you do that exactly? Let me guess… Photocopy guy thought your tits were too big for him?”
“No… I just-”
