She lifts one shoulder. “I don’t know. I’m just asking a question.”
I lean against the back of the booth. “Okay, besides the fact that I can’t trust her, I don’t have time for a relationship. Gabe told me I may get promoted. That means more traveling.”
Kins smile brings some comfort to the ache in my chest. “Congrats, big bro. That’s amazing!” Her expression turns deadpan. “But no, that’s not it.”
I blurt out a short laugh. More like a snort. “Then you tell me, because you clearly think you know the answer.”
“Maybe.”
“But you’re not going to tell me.”
She shakes her head. “That would defeat the purpose.”
I’m beginning to think Kinsley missed her true calling in psychology. The thing is, she’s dangerously close to a truth I barely acknowledge myself these days. Necessity required I bury that part of me so I could return to hockey.
“Think whatever you want, Kins, but there’s no other reason.”
She points at me with her chopsticks. “Now I know I’m right.”
CHAPTER 23
SOPHIE
Ithink I’ve read Luke’s text at least a dozen times. First, to make sure I didn’t misread it, then out of confusion. I told him the article’s reach was limited to Southwest Florida, so I don’t understand what he’s talking about.
Did he change his mind, deciding he’s mad at me after all? Or did this just become a convenient excuse for him to end whatever this is between us before it turns into something serious?
The worst part? I’m right back in that place again, wondering what it is about me that makes every romantic relationship in my life fail. And each time I try to compose a reply to his message, my fingers freeze and my heart aches.
I’m glad the team isn’t practicing today, so I can finish loading the few items from my temporary office into my car without questions about the tears running down my cheeks. Now that I’ve finished the interviews and have plenty of shots from practices, I don’t need an office space anymore. I only have to come for games and special events.
I should be happy about that, but instead, I’m crumbling inside. Marty tried to warn me, but I convinced myself things would be different this time. But I should have known thisthing with Luke wouldn’t last. Like I said, romance and I don’t mix. Here’s yet another failed relationship to prove it. If it ever was a relationship…
When will I learn my lesson and stop trying or believing I can have something wonderful, like what Mia and Ethan share? We didn’t have an official first date. More like a couple of happenstance meals together.
But those times with Luke were unlike any of my other first dates. We connected on a deep level faster than I thought possible for two people who started off at odds with each other. I went from dreading interacting with him to wanting to be with him all the time.
And I’d hoped he felt the same.
I need to make sense of this because something doesn’t fit. Once I finish loading my car, I drive to the office. Maybe Marty can help me figure out what Luke’s talking about. When I walk through past the sea of cubicles, Charlene waves me over. I hold up my a finger to let her know I’d be there in a minute and walk into Marty’s office.
His grin widens as he stands. “There she is! I have a surprise for you, kiddo. I was waiting for you to get here so I could show you.”
As I reach his desk, he spins a copy of USA Hockey Magazine to face me, then flips it open. Luke’s handsome face stares at me from an image that fills most of the left page. At the top of the right, under the title, my name sits in the byline.
The memory of the team’s owner introducing me to Peter Orion from the magazine flashes front and center. “Oh, no…no, no, no…this can’t be happening.”
Marty’s grin crashes into a frown. “I thought you’d be ecstatic.” He taps the article with his finger. “Soph, this is even better than your own column. This could lead to something much bigger.”
A full understanding of Luke’s wordshits me in the face, and I can tell you, I have no helmet strong enough to shield me from the impact. He most likely assumes I saw an opportunity to vault my journalism to a national level. He must think I’m no better than that reporter who shredded his family after his mother’s death.
And I don’t have a clue of how I can fix this. If I put myself in Luke’s shoes—or rather, skates—I’m not sure I’d believe me either.
I lift tear-filled eyes to the man who’s been like a substitute father to me for five years, who stood by me as I grieved my father’s death while he mourned the loss of his best friend, and who I know only wants to see me succeed. And now I’m going to disappoint him too.
“I made a promise to keep Luke’s full face out of the article, and I blew it, Marty. That photo of Luke wasn’t supposed to be in there. I uploaded it by mistake. He forgave me when I explained the limited reach of our paper, but I never imagined the piece would get picked up.”
Marty lowers himself back into his seat at a snail’s pace. “I’m sorry, Soph. I thought you’d want this. When their editor called about it, I gave them the go ahead.”
