“You takin’off again this afternoon?” Tisch peeked her encroaching head into my office on Sunday.
I didn’t bother looking up from my laptop. My sister’s concern wasn’t with store coverage, she was hankering on me telling her where I’d been going when I took off early.
“No.”
“Oh good, so you’re closing then?”
Unyielding, this one.
“Not exactly. I’m hoping to be training a new part-timer. I made him an offer to come work here but he’s still thinking about it.” I looked up from my desk with a grin.
She crossed her strong arms as if they intimidated me in the least. They did. “I thought I was handling interviews and new-hires.”
It was true. I wasn’t a people person, and after I realized some were just stopping in and “interviewing” so they could meet the ex-pro hockey player, I put a quick stop to it and put my no B.S. kid sister on it. She could tell a fraud from a mile away.
“Not this one,” I said simply. “It’s Marty.”
“Marty Phillips?”
“Yeah. He’s working at the youth hockey center now—”Crap. As soon as I said it, I knew I’d regret it.
Her head twisted and she stepped further inside my office. “You hangin’ at the YHC inthistown?”
“Yes.Thistown. Anyway, I don’t want him there. Hours are too long and the job is beneath him. Plus now that he’s here, I want to keep an eye on him.”
She nodded, settling against the doorframe. “So you being back at the rink, this wouldn’t happen to be about…” The call bell chimed from outside my office, making her jerk and turn.
I kept one of those up front but not intended for actual use. It was more of a decorative piece. Or a joke since these days it was considered rude to use one.
Especially at a sporting goods store.
I scoffed, nodding at Tisch to take care of the tool who tapped it.
After a quick glance, Tisch huffed a laugh and turned back to me. “You’ve got a customer.”
“You take care of it. I’ve got stuff to do.” Not that I was doing much of anything except replay all the ways last night had gone wrong.
Like how I should have kissed her.
Or how I shouldn’t have even touched her.
But God there was a lot of touching. Her soft fingers trailing down my arm. The silkiness of her palm pressing on my shoulder.
Shaking her off me was the best I could do not to shift her onto my lap and kiss her senseless.
Tisch hadn’t moved. “I’m pretty sure this one is herespecificallyfor you,” Her lip turned up and she didn’t wait for my response. I watched her stroll to the other side of the counter.Awayfrom the customer.
Heavens if it was Bridget again, I was going to be the last sibling standing.
With a grunt, I stood. I was not in the mood today— my arm was especially sore, and I was pretty sure I knew who to blame for it.
Rayne.
Her expression was blank when I found her standing on the other side of the register. She blinked twice and lifted her head slightly. A lack of confidence.
People who had it didn’t need to lift anything. They just spoke.
I looked directly at her and kept my tone even. “Can I help you?”
