He looked at Lexi. “You get three.”
Lexi nodded. “Are you going to break her heart?”
Maisie closed her eyes as Nick said, “Not intentionally.”
She opened them again to see Lexi looking uncertain about that response. “Are you married, engaged, living some sort of side life that will slap her in the face after it’s too late?”
“Seems like half a dozen questions in one but no. My life consists of hockey, working out, and when I get a chance, my sister and nephew.”
The glimmer in her friend’s eyes was enough for Maisie to tense up, knowing, the same way she did with her actual sister, Lexi was going to embarrass her somehow. “Are you aware of how very little she knows about hockey?”
“Lexi!” Maisie hid her face in her hands even as her living room was filled with the sound of Nick’s booming laughter. She resisted as much as she could when Nick pulled her hands from her face.
“Is that true?” His tone was ominous but his twitching lips gave him away.
Maisie winced. “I know what a hat trick is.”
He grinned arrogantly. “Yeah, ’cause I showed you last night.”
Lexi burst out laughing while Maisie’s skin heated enough to fry food on. She pushed at Nick’s chest, feeling his laughter against her palms.
“Aw, it’s okay, babe. I don’t mind if you don’t know anything. This way I get to teach you.”
Maisie pointed at her traitorous friend. “She doesn’t know anything about hockey either.”
Lexi grabbed the bag of scones. “Not true. My mom is obsessed with romance books. I know if you wear someone else’s jersey, he’ll go bananas.”
Nick let out a low sound of frustration. “Why the hell would she wear someone else’s jersey?”
Lexi and Maisie locked eyes and burst out laughing.
“Look at that,” Maisie said. “Your mom was right, Lex. What you read in romance novels can be true.”
Nick shook his head and grabbed a scone from the bag. So far, this was better than any audiobook romance she’d listened to. Hopefully, she could count on everything working out in the end.
Chapter Twenty-Two
NICK WONDERED IF HEshould give Maisie some time with her friend—he definitely had some shit he needed to do, including calls to his publicist, manager, and the team physiotherapist. But they didn’t seem to want him to go. He suspected Lexi was scrutinizing every word he said, every action, every look he gave Maisie.
This was new to him for a number of reasons. Ellie’s closest friend growing up was Colt. Nick didn’t have a frame of reference for another woman looking out for her best friend in that sense. He also hadn’t had a steady girlfriend, or even more than a few dates with the same woman, in longer than he could remember.
A gentle buzz of nerves vibrated along his skin. He could even pinpoint some of the sources, as the therapist had taught him to do: his feelings for Maisie, playing at the end of the week, reconnecting with his team, meeting someone who mattered a great deal to Maisie. Plus all the other shit, tangled into a big heap in his brain.
Nick kept Maisie’s hand in his as he listened to them catch up as though they’d been apart years and not a week. It made him smile.
“We should go to Side Tap tonight. Then you can meet Will. How long are you here? Do you have to play soon? Where’s your team?”
Maisie either sensed his unease with the rapid questions or he flinched, because she squeezed his hand tightly and leaned forward, looked at her friend.
“Simmer down, Nancy Drew. He’s on a short break from the team. We haven’t even had breakfast yet so can we let you know about Side Tap later?” She looked at him and he was still stuck on the easy way she used “we,” like they were a given, when she told him, “We do have to eat tonight, and I make amazing cookies, but everything else is sort of hit or miss.”
“Which is still better than me,” Lexi chimed in.
“Though, her real weakness is serving the food, so if she ever tries, don’t let her bring you anything. I’m talking not even water. Definitely nothing hot.”
His head turned side to side, watching them volley barbs almost like siblings. It made him miss the guys. His teammates had all checked on him, a few more than others. He’d been dodging texts and phone calls because he didn’t want to talk about what was going on.
“I want to deny it but I can’t. Fortunately, I’m not waitressing at all anymore so you don’t have to worry about that,” Lexi said.
