BrickWall_Kobo (14 page)

Chapter Six

Two months later

“That was a great game, Lissy.
Thanks for bringing me.
Are we going to meet Shane now?”

Mike hadn’t stopped talking all night, at least not since they’d taken their seats in the section just off center ice.

She’d been a little worried the other people sitting around them would get frustrated with the constant chatter.
But she’d realized after about five minutes that their seats were in the middle of a large group of season ticket holders—who’d been just as talkative as her brother.
And as friendly.

They’d set her at ease immediately and that had allowed her to enjoy the game.

And it had been a great game.
The Redtails had scored four goals against the other team, which had only scored once.

Shane had played a great game.

For the past two months, she’d been at every home game.
Sometimes she brought her nephew, Dillon.
Sometimes she brought a girlfriend.
Shane never asked but he made sure she had two tickets.

And at every game, she watched Shane improve.

Not that he won every game.
He had a couple pretty brutal losses.
But those were few and far between.
And he was now on a five-game winning streak.

She didn’t kid herself into believing she had anything to do with it, except allow Shane to use sex to get out of his head between games and blow off steam.
And make her moan his name as she came, sometimes twice a night.

Just thinking about last night made her blush and breathe a little heavier.
But not only because of the sex.

For these past eight weeks, they’d kept things casual.
She didn’t go downstairs to meet him after the games.
They didn’t spend every night together.
They couldn’t, simply because he’d been on the road for probably four of those weeks.

But when they did spend the night together, it was all night.
And for the past two weeks, they’d spent more nights together than they had apart.
Amazingly, no one but Shane’s roommate CJ knew just how much time they spent together.

Then last night, Shane had asked, almost too casually, if she wanted to get something to eat after the game today.

She’d taken a few seconds to think through the buzzing in her head before answering.
“Sure” she’d said in the most nonchalant way she could.

So today, for the first time, she’d brought Mike.
Because

Shane had changed the unspoken rules of their affair without discussing them with her first.

So she’d brought Mike.

But not because introducing Shane to her brother was a test.
One a lot of guys failed.

No, that definitely wasn’t why she’d brought Mike.

Now, she turned to Mike with a smile.
“Yep.
Shane’s going to meet us and then we’re going to go to dinner.”
She looked around to make sure they had everything.
Mike was notoriously forgetful, especially when he was excited.
“We have to go downstairs now.”

Mike kept up a steady flow of conversation as they made their way to the stairs Shane had told her about and gave their names to the guard.
After checking them off his list, he nodded and waved them down.

Heading down the stairs felt like getting a peek behind the curtain, and she couldn’t help but be a little excited.

When they reached the bottom of the stairs, she noticed pockets of people standing around.

Several other girls her age stood in a cluster, all of them checking their phones and talking without looking at each other.
Players’ girlfriends, she assumed.
A girl closer to her age leaned against the wall, gently rocking a baby carriage, alternating her gaze between the baby and the hallway, where Bliss assumed the guys would appear.

A couple who looked like parents talked quietly at the mouth of the hall, and a trio of younger guys leaned against the opposite wall from the new mother, laughing at something and shaking their heads.

Mike’s conversation had stalled as they’d descended but now he couldn’t contain his excitement.

“Is the locker room down here?
Are we gonna meet all the guys?
Is this where they keep that machine that cleans the ice?
I wonder if you can drive that on the street.”

Usually she didn’t mind Mike’s constant stream of questions.
She’d had her entire life to get used to it, but she knew it could drive other people a little crazy.

The player’s mom smiled at Mike then flashed Bliss a smile she recognized.
The commiseration smile.
The father didn’t even glance their way.
She’d bet they had a disabled family member, if not their own child then a niece or nephew or a sibling.

A few of the girls glanced their way but only one of them made eye contact and smiled.
The others dismissed them immediately.

Mike never noticed.
She’d learned to shrug it off over the years.
Mike wasn’t the one with the problem.

“Look, Lissy, they’re coming.”

He’d spoken a little louder than normal and she winced at the volume.

“Yeah, but you don’t need to shout, buddy.
I can hear you.”

Mike made a face.
“Sorry.”
Then he pointed toward the hall.
“Is that Shane?”

“Not yet.
He’s got a lot of equipment to take care of.
He’ll probably be one of the last guys out.
Let’s just wait over here out of the way.”

The guys trickled out a few at a time.
Several left together, a few paired off with the girls and headed out.
Finally Shane and another player walked out together.

He caught sight of her right away and his grin made her body flush with heat.

What the hell do you think you’re doing, introducing your brother to him?

Good question.

His gaze cut to her side, to Mike, and his grin faltered, but only for a second, then it actually seemed to widen.

“Hey.”
Shane stuck his hand out to her brother.
“I’m Shane.”

Mike lit up and his smile stretched until she thought his lips would crack.

“Hey, Shane.
I’m Mike.
I’m Lissy’s brother.
Great game.
It was so much fun…”

As Mike continued to ramble on, Shane kept eye contact and managed to keep up with Mike’s conversation.
And she realized, right then, that she could be in really deep trouble.

Shane was the kind of guy a girl wanted to keep.
But he’d leave Reading one day.
And she couldn’t.

No, not couldn’t leave.
She
wouldn’t
.
If she left…

Mike turned to her with a smile that made her heart ache.
For all of Mike’s developmental delays, the one thing he had no trouble with was sensing insincerity in others.
He’d been the first to realize her ex hadn’t been the decent guy he seemed to be.

No one had noticed Mike’s reticence whenever Rich had been around.
Probably because Rich hadn’t been around Mike often.
Looking back, she blamed herself for not seeing the warning signs.

But she’d been blinded by Rich’s smile and by how much attention he’d paid to her.
Luckily, she’d gotten out of the relationship before he’d managed to isolate her from her family and friends and hijack her life.

It’d taken her six months and, finally, the threat of a restraining order to get him to leave her alone.

She’d blamed herself for being gullible and letting that man into her life.
And even though she knew, absolutely
knew
Shane was nothing like her ex, there was always the fear that she was missing something.

All because of one asshole.

Which Shane
definitely
was not.

Continuing his conversation with Mike, Shane got them moving toward the door.

Just before they left the building, Shane grabbed her hand, lacing their fingers together.

Tightening her own fingers around his, she returned the quick grin Shane gave her over his shoulder.

Her heart flip-flopped in her chest.

And she realized she might’ve made a huge error in judgment.

* * * * *

“So, your brother.
He’s a nice guy.”

Shane kept his eyes on Bliss as she walked through her apartment, setting her purse on the counter by the small kitchen then setting her coat on one of the chairs at the island.

“He is.”
She smiled over her shoulder at him.
“One of the best I know.”

“Was he in an accident or was he born disabled?”

She shook her head, her smile dimming a little as he walked closer.
“He developed normally until he was around eighteen months old.
And then my mom noticed certain things he wasn’t doing.
By that time, she was pregnant with me.
All we know is, it’s not genetic.”

When he reached the counter he stopped a few inches away from where she stood, back straight and her eyes sharp on his.

He knew tonight had been a test.
Knew instinctively that she didn’t introduce Mike to most of the men she dated.
And he knew that because Mike had told him when Bliss had gone to the restroom during dinner.

“He seems…pretty self-aware.”

Nodding, her smile reappeared.
“Sometimes I think he’s the smartest person I know.
There’s no pretense with Mike.
What you see is what you get.
He’s definitely the sweetest person I know.
And he’s a great judge of character.”

Something about the way she said that pinged his radar.

Since the wedding that wasn’t, he’d realized that despite her openness, she had a wall around her heart.
A wall she only seemed to let her family behind.

He didn’t know why the wall was there but he could guess.
She’d been hurt before.
Probably pretty badly.

And if he wanted to get closer to her, he’d have to break through that wall.

The question was, did he want to?

He’d thought he’d known the answer.

Yesterday, that answer had been no.
This affair was supposed to be fun.
Not a lifetime commitment.
Hot while it lasted but over and done when it’d run its course.

And yet…

He’d asked her to go to dinner with him tonight.
And she’d brought her brother.

“Shane?”
She frowned up at him.
“Is everything okay?”

It had been.

Until last night when he’d realized he wanted to take her out after the game.
He’d wanted to see her waiting in the hall for him.

And he’d wondered what it would be like seeing her there every night.
No matter what arena he was playing in, what city, what state.
He wanted her face to be the first thing he saw after a game.

He shook his head.

Shit.

“Shane?”
Her head cocked to the side.
“What’s wrong?”

He shook his head.
“How long has Mike lived next door?”

Her smile popped out again.
“Almost a year.
He’s done better than anyone expected him to.
I mean, I knew he’d be fine but my parents…they were worried.”

“You make sure he’s okay, don’t you?”

She shrugged like it was nothing.
“Of course.
That’s what family’s for.
I can’t imagine being so far away from them all the time.
Do you miss your family?”

He nodded.
“But I know they’re just a phone call away if I need them.”

Her chin lifted slightly.
“I like knowing mine are twenty minutes away.”

He leaned his hip against the counter and watched her take a deep breath, as if his nearness affected her.

Good to know.

“Don’t you want to travel?”
he asked.
“Get out and see the world?”

“Sure.
Some day.”

“If I don’t get called up next year, I’ve given some thought to playing overseas.”

She blinked.
“Really?
I guess… I didn’t realize that was an option.
I mean, I’d love to travel but being away from my family that long… How long do you go for?”