Doubt clouds her eyes, but she nods. “Okay.”
My phone vibrates in my pocket, so I tug it out.
SOPHIE: The roses are gorgeous! Thank you, Luke. And yes, it’s all okay. I’m looking forward to our date!
The mix of emotions rising in me brings a growl deep in my throat.
Kinsley snatches the phone right out of my hand.
“Hey, that’s private.” I make a grab for her wrist but her other hand swoops in for a switch.
“Not if it makes you react like that.” She holds my phone behind her as she twists around in the booth to read it, then meets my gaze. “Roses? Couldn’t you be more original? And one would think this would make you happy. She’s clearly into you. Are you two official?”
I just realized my sister does a similarkind of word spew as Sophie, only hers is cute whereas Kins’ is confrontational and makes my head spin.
“The roses are from one of Mom’s bushes. And no, we are most definitely not official. Nor will we be.” I busy myself with another bite of my meal that’s turning out to be much better than those cheap ramen packages at the store. Maybe Kins will get the hint that I don’t want to talk about it.
She hands my phone back. “Okay, let me get this straight. You went to the trouble to give Sophie roses from Mom’s bushes—nice touch, by the way—and asked her out on a date, but you have no intention of making things serious. That sounds like a bone-headed hockey move to me.”
My appetite walks out the door with the hipster who has no business wearing pants that tight. I toss my chopsticks into my bowl. “I told Sophie at the start of this to not use any shots of my full face because I didn’t want to risk our father finding us. She told me when that first went to print in Sarabella that it was an accident. She didn’t mean to upload that picture to the paper, which, fortunately, has a limited reach in Florida.”
“Okay. If it was an accident, why are you still mad at her?”
“She knew how I felt, yet she goes and lands a feature in a national magazine with the same article and photo. She’s no better than that reporter who dug up the dirt on our father after Mom’s accident. All she ever wanted was her own column, and now she has a byline in a national magazine.”
Her mouth makes a circle with her silent ‘oh.’ “Are you sure she did it on purpose?”
I lean back in my seat and snort. “How else would that happen? And why are you defending her?”
She lifts her shoulders. “It just doesn’t sound like her.”
“You hardly even know her.”
“And you do? Are you sure this is something she’d do? Because I didn’t get that vibe from her.”
A weariness I’m accustomed to feeling after a game settles over me, but without the satisfaction of knowing I played mybest. “You always look for the good in people, Kins. But it’s not always there.”
“Then talk to her. Listen to her side of the story.”
“I did that once. Gave her the benefit of the doubt. You know the saying, fool me once…”
“But what if it’s not what you think, and you miss out on something great?”
“I can’t trust her, Kins. And without that, there can’t be anything between us.” My words settle into my gut, making the contents of my stomach turn sour. Speaking the truth out loud doesn’t make the situation any more palatable, but it does clarify what I need to do.
And I’m not sure what hurts more—feeling betrayed by Sophie or knowing this connection we have can’t go anywhere. It’s not fixable in my playbook. I took a risk that might bring trouble from the past. Best to cut my losses now and be done with it.
Besides, I need to focus on what’s in front of me—getting promoted to an NHL team. That will go a long way in securing mine and Kinsley’s future.
I pick up my phone and shoot Sophie a reply that shreds my soul.
LUKE: Consider the roses a congratulations for your article going national. I have to cancel our date, though. I’m sure you understand why.
My appetite flies away, along with the message I just sent. Now it’s my turn to aimlessly swirl ramen noodles around the bowl with my chopsticks.
Kinsley is quiet again…until she isn’t. “You sure this isn’t about something else?”
Her unexpected question lands somewhere dead center in my heart, but that’s a place I stopped visiting a long time ago. I frown at her. “What are you talking about? What else wouldit be?”
