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“Don’t get up. I got her!” I heard Nolan yell from the living room.
I cocked my head at my sister when I heard a Bulldogs hockey game turn on in the living room. It had to be an old game because I swore I heard the announcer mention Claude LaVoie with the puck. LaVoie might be the head coach for the team now, but he had hung up his skates a long time ago.
She shook her head but smiled big. “Norah and Nolan are napping on the couch. She seems to only fall back to sleep if we put on hockey. There was an old game on the hockey network the other night, so Nolan recorded it for her.”
I laughed. My family were such hardcore hockey fans; of course my little niece would already love the sport. “Shut up! She’s so your daughter.”
Avery laughed. “She so is. Dad will be disappointed if she doesn’t like hockey. Hopefully that doesn’t change when she gets older. Anyway, Nol’s got the baby, so why don’t you tell me what’s up? All of it, Gemma.”
“Felix cursed me!” I blurted out.
She raised an eyebrow and got up out of her seat. She walked over to the fridge, looked inside, and pulled out a beer. When she walked back over to the kitchen table, she handed me a 611 Ale. “You need a drink. Now, back that up and explain everything.”
I took a swig of the beer and ran my fingers across the rose quartz pendant at my neck. “Everything’s a mess. Declan wants me to think about my future and be his marketing counterpart.”
Avery put a hand on her chin as she listened to me. “What does that have to do with Felix?”
I curled and uncurled my hands into fists as I thought about Felix. “He cursed me!”
I could tell she was trying to hold in her laughter. I believed so hard in the fate of the universe, but my sister didn’t believe in it. She laughed at me, both to my face and behind my back, about it.
“How?” she asked gently, trying to appease my eccentricities.
I took another swig of my beer. “Do you know why I hate him?”
She shook her head.
I ran a hand down my face. “He stood me up.”
Avery cocked her head at me. “He what?”
“He asked me out and didn’t show up.”
She peered at me suspiciously. “When was that?”
I frowned and looked down at my hands in my lap.
“Is that why you weren’t around when I thought something was wrong with the baby?” she asked.
I nodded solemnly. “I’m sorry. That was the day after he stood me up, and he acted like it was a joke. Now, I can’t seem to get a date, and I slept with him!”
Avery held up her hands. “Wait a second, backup. You slept with him? When?”
I grimaced. “When you had the baby. I’ve been on the apps and not making headway. If they don’t ghost me, they stand me up. Felix cursed me, and now I can’t find love, and I hate him so much. And I don’t want to be the fucking marketing director!” I spewed it all out in a rush.
Nolan walked into the kitchen, rocking Norah in his arms. Avery smiled up at her husband, and he kissed her temple. He cocked an eyebrow at me. “You want me to talk to Dec? I told him not to cut your hours.”
“No,” Avery cut in. “I’m glad Declan did this.”
I glared at her. “You’re supposed to be on my side!”
“I am on your side. Do you want to be a bartender forever?”
“There’s nothing wrong with being a bartender,” Nolan said to her.
Avery shook her head. “I’m not saying there is, but, Gemma, you’re so talented at event planning. And you’re already doing the job Declan’s asking you to do.”
I frowned. “I don’t want it to be like last time.”
