Bennett (On the Line Book 2) (21 page)

“I know that. But that’s how Liam is. He cares about very few people, but the ones he loves, he loves with everything.”

“He thinks you’re not good enough for me.”

“You’re his sister. No one’s good enough for you in his eyes. And since your dad split when you guys were young, he probably feels a fatherly responsibility to look out for you.”

I had to ask him the question that was nagging at me. “Does he know something I don’t? Do you see other women on the road?”

“No. There haven’t been any other women since you.”

I exhaled with relief. “So what are you saying? That I should just forget what he did today?”

“No, but you should forgive him for it. He’s my best friend and I know him well. He shoots from the hip. Hell, I kind of like that about him. And life’s too short for holding grudges.”

His expression was earnest. I sensed a deeper meaning to what he was saying, but I didn’t want to push. I liked knowing Bennett was opening up to me because he wanted to, not because I was forcing him to.

“Okay,” I said. “I’ll think about it.”

“How many people in this world do you love?”

“Is that a rhetorical question?”

“Nope. How many? Would you need both hands to count them?”

I thought about it for a second. There was my mom, Liam, the baby, and maybe . . . Bennett. Not that I was ready to admit that. I cared for other people, but love was a strong word. My mom had no family other than me, Liam, and her husband. My circle was small.

“I could count them on one hand,” I admitted.

“Then don’t let this come between you and one of those people. I think we’ve got something great going, and I don’t want this clouding our relationship.”

I smiled and met his eyes. “We have a relationship.”

“I know, right? I can call you my girlfriend now.”

“I’m still calling you my baby daddy.”

“Hey, works for me.”

I leaned down and kissed him gently. “I’ll call my brother tomorrow and make nice.”

“Thanks.”

I switched off my bedside lamp and snuggled my back against Bennett’s chest.

“What a day,” I said. “A marriage proposal, a fistfight, and a trip to the police station. If I didn’t feel weird going to the shooting range while pregnant, I’d have relieved some stress there earlier.”

“And I thought today’s excitement would come from finding out the baby’s sex,” Bennett said, wrapping an arm around my middle.

“We’ll just have to wait a little longer.”

“I like Wren, by the way.”

“Yeah?” I said. “She’s great. A little intimidating at first, but great.”

“Hey, when Riley asked you to marry him, did you tell him you’ve got a man?”

“I did.”

“Good.”

I snuggled closer against him and he made a low groaning sound.

“You keep rubbing your ass against my dick like that and I’m not letting you go to sleep.”

I smiled, my eyes drifting closed. “Tonight, I’m too tired. But I think we should find out if morning sex is our thing in about eight hours.”

“It’ll be our thing.”

“You think?”

“I know.”

Bennett

V
ereshkova was a beast. He played hard but also seemed to take everything in stride.

“Your wrist okay?” he asked during a water break from ice time.

“Yeah, it’s wrapped.”

“Orion’s gonna kick my ass if you hurt it worse than it already is.”

“I won’t.”

He held his water bottle over his face and squeezed, letting the cool liquid run down his cheeks and into his hair.

“Your mechanics are great,” he said. “What’s holding you back?”

I pulled away the towel I was wiping my face with and gave him a confused look. “Isn’t that what you’re supposed to tell me?”

“It’s nothing to do with your game. I think it’s mental.”

“Mental?” I couldn’t keep the defensiveness from my tone. “I’ve never wanted to make it to the next level so much. I’ve got a kid on the way.”

“Maybe that’s it. Too much other stuff on your mind to stay focused on your game.”

“I’m focused.”

He smiled. “Where’s the fire, man?”

“Excuse me?”

“Some motherfucker called me unfocused, I’d clock his ass.”

I scoffed. “Yeah, that’s exactly what I need. I’ll assault an NHL player who happens to be my coach’s best friend.”

“Bah.” Niko waved a hand. “Let’s get back on the ice, then. What gets you going? Makes you want to kick some ass?”

“The only ass I’d like to kick right now is my own.”

He threw back his head and laughed. “Why?”

“You really want to know?”

“Fuck yeah. Hit me.”

I sat down on the bench. The arena was empty other than the two of us. Might as well get it off my chest.

“I got a woman pregnant during a one-night stand, not realizing it was my teammate’s younger sister. My best friend. He hates me now. That’s how I fucked up my wrist—fighting with him. And Charlotte, his sister . . . I’m crazy about her. But I’m torn up over Liam. I get why he’s pissed, but damn, am I really the worst guy in the world for his sister? What if this affects our play? What if he jumps my ass instead of an opponent’s? He’s still seeing red. I don’t want him losing his spot on the team over this.”

Niko sat down next to me and nodded. “Yeah, that’s some heavy stuff. You’ve been good to his sister?”

“I have. And I will.”

“Then I’m not following. Why do you want to kick your own ass over this? Sounds like you need to kick his.”

I shrugged. “Maybe he’s right and I’m not good enough for her. I make shit money, and I’m on the road all the time.”

“So let that drive you. My fire came from a desire to do better for my family, too.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. My parents.” He looked away from me, staring at the wide expanse of ice in front of us. “You know, my wife and I are trying to get pregnant, but we haven’t been able to. You tell anyone that and I’ll slice off your sac.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“We both want a baby really bad. She feels inadequate and I do, too. We’ve had to lean on each other a lot. I’m pretty sure based on how much I want a kid that if I had one, like you will soon, I’d do
anything
for him.”

“I feel that way, man. I really do.”

“So dig hard and find that burn to be their hero. This is your future, you know? All of you.”

I nodded.

“The harder you hit, the harder you’re fighting for your dream, man. That’s how I see it. It isn’t just technical skill in this game. You’ve got to have something in you that you can feed off of.”

“I never thought of it that way. I guess I need to channel my feelings better.”

“Exactly. Often this game comes down to who wants it the most.”

A new sense of calm settled over me. It was laced with an underlying energy I now knew exactly where to focus. I turned to Niko with a wry smile.

“My mechanics are good, like you said. I knew that. Figured this was really about letting Liam cool off after yesterday. But I think Orion sent me here for this talk, didn’t he?”

“He’s a smart dude. He knows you’re right on the edge of making it.”

I took in a deep breath and let it out. “All right.”

Niko clapped me on the shoulder. “We’re gonna go back out there and you’re gonna kick my ass, got it?”

“Yep. Thanks, man.”

“You got it.”

“Hey,” I said. He turned to me. “It’ll happen for you and your wife, one way or another. Keep the faith.”

He smiled, his eyes glassy. “Thanks.”

I slid over the wall and back onto the ice, picturing Charlotte holding our bundled infant in her arms. No more worrying about what might not happen in my career. It was time to just
make it
fucking happen.

Charlotte

A pile of clean, unfolded laundry blocked most of the couch in Bennett and Liam’s apartment. Liam swept it all to the floor.

“Have a seat,” he said.

“Is that Bennett’s laundry?”

“Well, let’s see . . . there’s only one slob living here and it’s him, so yeah.”

I sighed, sat down and reached for a T-shirt from the pile, folding it, and setting it next to me. I folded in silence for a couple minutes.

“You come to clean up after Bennett?” Liam asked.

“You know why I came.”

“To chew my ass out?”

I shook my head. “Much as I wanted to yesterday, no. I came to make peace.”

“There’s always been peace between us, Charlie. It’s Bennett I’ve got issues with.”

“Why?” I picked up a pair of Bennett’s boxer briefs to fold and Liam rolled his eyes.

“You know why. He treated you like a meaningless whore.”

“Liam,” I said in a scolding tone, “how do you know that?”

“He knocked you up
upon meeting you
.”

I shook my head. “You want to hear a tough truth? He wanted to leave that night. It was
me
who persuaded
him
to come home with me and stay.”

“Just stop right there,” Liam said, cringing. “I don’t want the details.”

“We were both irresponsible that night.”

“Did he know?” There was vulnerability in my brother’s eyes when they met mine. “Did he know that night that you’re my sister?”

“No. I wanted a one-night thing, and to be honest, I wasn’t interested in details like what he did for a living.”

“Jesus, Charlie.” Liam ran a hand through his blond hair. “Do you know how fucking stupid that was? He could have had any number of STDs.”

“I thought he used a condom.”

Liam jumped up out of the chair. “He didn’t use a fucking condom? I assumed it broke. This just gets better and better.”

“Look, it was a miscommunication.”

He shook his head. “Stop covering for him.”

“I’m not! And what is your problem with him, anyway? He’s your best friend.”

“We live and travel together. I’ve seen too much. The guy’s never with a woman more than once.”

“He’s been with me more than once.”

He glared at me. “I don’t want to hear it, okay?”

“What? You’d prefer to think I don’t have sex? Aren’t we closer than this? More real with each other?”

“I just don’t want to picture you being one of his many conquests.”

“You’re not being fair to him. He’s been amazing through this whole thing. He’s the kindest, most supportive man I’ve ever been with.”

Liam arched his brows but said nothing.

“You know he’s a good guy. I
know
you do. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be your best friend.”

“I just don’t want to see you get hurt, Charlie.” He sank back into the recliner he’d stood up from. “I know Bennett will do right by his kid, but how can I know he’ll do right by you when I haven’t known him to commit to a woman in the two years I’ve known him?”

“We aren’t getting married or anything. Things are still really early with us.”

Liam’s face fell. “He didn’t even ask you to marry him?”

“No! What, just because I’m pregnant? It’s not 1950, Liam.”

“I just want the best for you.”

“I know you do, and I love you for that. I’m happy, Liam. Happier than I’ve been in a really long time. Bennett and I are good and I’m excited about our baby. Please just be happy for me. For both of us.”