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“Please don’t break my heart and tell me it’s bad,” I croon because it seriously would. “You will see me cry.”
“It’s good,” he finally says, as if he is in deep thought of something that he’d rather say later. “You’ll like it.”
I don’t waste another second, grabbing my fork and digging into everything. I’m a few bites in when Graham chimes in with questions of his own.
“What do you do for a living, Hollyn? Are you from Boston?”
I bob my head mid-chew and cover my mouth to speak. “Mhm. I’m a graphic designer. I run my own business now, but I used to work for a pretty successful company. I just decided to go my own way and give it a shot myself.”
“That’s bold and highly impressive. How long have you been doing that?”
“About two years now. I work from home and, sometimes, I meet up with clients, but a lot of my stuff is done virtually.”
“So, are you naturally a homebody? Or does that drive you nuts?”
I shake my head as I dip a boneless wing into bleu cheese dressing. “I’m so not a social butterfly. I was invisible most of my childhood, and I found my love for reading at a very early age.”
“Does that get lonely?”
“Sometimes. But my sister is my best friend, so she gets me out of the house once in a while. Her husband got me a side gig for the boys’ hockey team to get me a social life. Probably wasn’t a good idea.”
Graham gives me a grin. “I highly doubt that.” He points at Reid. “With his severe strive for excellence, kids need a feminine figure to balance it out. Plus, you seem like a fast learner.”
“I’m trying. However, I’m not sure I’ll make a career out of it.”
“Reid was thinking about building a tequila brand. Maybe you could design his branding.”
“Oh.” I appreciate Graham trying to get me more business, but I don’t think that’s something Reid is going to want to do. He doesn’t seem like he’d be someone who likes to mix business with...friendship? “Well, he knows where to find me if he ever needs someone.”
“It’s just an idea,” Graham states. “He’s been on the fence and off it again. The man eats, sleeps, dreams, and plays hockey.”
“Sounds awfully loyal to me. A hard trait to find in people these days.”
“You’re the only person outside of the team that he’s brought around. So, we’re impressed that he’s thought of something else besides the sport.”
Why is he talking about Reid like he’s not in the same space as we are?
“Eh, I forced him,” I divulge so that Reid doesn’t feel weird. “He’s helping me with my knowledge of hockey, and I’m talking to the parents of the kids he coaches. The poor man is probably internally suffering with how much assistance I need.”
Graham flicks his gaze at Reid for just a second before returning it to me. “I highly doubt that. You might be exactly what we needed.”
REID
Ididn’t think it was going to be a big deal.
Honestly, the boys know I’ve been with women before, seen me leave with them, but Hollyn’s presence has stirred them up to act like fools in front of her, and it pissed me off that I naively thought it was a fine idea.
She polished the appetizer last night while Graham and Byron talked her ear off about everything under the sun. Hollyn made me a plate of food off her appetizer and didn’t say a word when she slid it over.
I don’t know what to make of her.
Honestly, for as much as she speaks and eats, she rolls with them just fine. She hit them back with any awkward questions and made them smile or shift in their seats. Hollyn might not be the social butterfly that she claims not to be, but the woman can handle herself just fine.
Which makes me wonder how and whether or not she had a big brother who taught her how to do that. How did no one notice her in school when her redhead was like a magnet? She’s fucking beautiful, and Wells rebounded his shot, which was probably the best part of the night.
I know I was being overbearing, which would’ve been construed into more conversations about what it meant, but I’m not sorry for how I played it. It didn’t seem to make Hollyn uncomfortable, and the boys could get out of hand.
Especially Wells.
