Page 17

Chapter 17

Piper

I wanted to ask more questions. Lots more. Like, why weren’t his parents in the picture? Where were they now? Why hadn’t his grandma wanted to take him in?

I hadn’t asked any of those questions, though. If he had wanted to share more with me, he would have. All I could do was be grateful he’d been comfortable enough to share what little he had. I was pretty sure none of what he had told me was public knowledge. The little bit of internet stalking I’d done on him in years past had only mentioned his parents’ names and that he’d grown up in Glacier Grove, getting his hockey start playing for the hometown Glacier Gators youth hockey team. Then any information about Zeke jumped to when he’d gotten his first NHL contract after college.

“What about you?” Zeke’s voice brought me back to the present. “Are you bringing a date?”

I nodded, hiding my smirk behind my cup of coffee.

His open expression turned into a scowl, which only made me want to smile more. Was it wrong of me that I was enjoying how much he didn’t like the thought of me bringing a date to the gala?

“Won’t that be weird since we’re supposed to be a couple?” he asked, trying to sound diplomatic, but I could hear the undertone of annoyance.

A twisted part of me wanted to see how far I could play out this scenario just to see if I could get possessive Zeke to come back out, a side of him I highly enjoyed. I’d replayed those moments from the Chicago game weekend too many times to count.

But I told him the truth instead. “I’m bringing my sister,” I clarified. “Not a guy.”

The crease between his brows disappeared, his smile showcasing his relief. “That’s a great idea.”

“I’m glad I have your approval.”

He looked chagrined. “Sorry. You definitely don’t need my approval. Although, I am happy your date is Quinn.”

“Me too,” I said. “I haven’t been a fan of actual dating as of late.” The words had spilled from my mouth without any thought.

Why had I just told him that? Why would he care about my recent dating habits?

“Because of what happened with Jordan?” he asked softly.

I wasn’t surprised by his question. He’d had a front row seat the last few times Jordan had apologized and tried to get me back. But I still didn’t want to talk about Jordan with Zeke. Not because I didn’t feel like I could, but because Jordan was the last person I wanted our conversation to be about. I wanted to leave Jordan in my past, and I didn’t want Zeke to think I was still hurting over what had happened. The only feelings that remained from my relationship with Jordan were annoyance and regret for having been so blind and naive.

I tilted my head from side to side, weighing my answer. “Yes and no,” I said. “What happened with Jordan was more of a reminder of why I shouldn’t have let myself get caught up in a relationship. I knew better than to open myself up to the chaos and uncertainty that being in a relationship with someone can bring. Watching firsthand how detrimental love can be had always helped me keep my heart out of the relationship equation. I just momentarily forgot when it came to Jordan. And I paid for it. Safe to say I won’t be doing that again.”

“What do you mean by watching firsthand?”

I hadn’t planned on saying that, and once it was out, I’d hoped he wouldn’t pick up on it, but no such luck. I guessed this was a coffee get-together where we shared a little about our pasts. If he could share something so personal with me, maybe I could share with him too.

I sighed. “My mom left my dad—all of us—when my sister and I were young. Said she’d fallen out of love with him and didn’t want to be a mom anymore.” I worked to keep the emotion out of my voice, like he had done when he was talking about his childhood. “The hardest part of her walking away wasn’t losing a mom—I barely remember her. It was watching my dad.” I hurried to push away the memories of him crying when he’d thought he was alone, of the hope in his eyes when he’d talk about her like she was coming back, of how he had never removed his wedding ring. “I’m pretty sure he loved her up until the day he died.”

“I’m so sorry.” He sounded both stunned and sad. “That must have been hard to watch.”

I nodded, forcing out a smile. “My dad was amazing, and she didn’t deserve him. He secretly pined for her for the rest of his life.” I shook my head, still not understanding why he could never let her go. “So,” I said as casually as I could, “you can see why falling in love never really appealed to me. I had a momentary lapse with Jordan, and now I am more committed to not going down that path a second time.”

“That’s understandable,” he said and sounded like he meant it.

I gave him a quizzical look. “This is the part where people usually try to talk me out of my beliefs, claiming love is worth the risk.”

He leaned back in his seat, holding up his hands. “You won’t be hearing that from me. I agree with you. I am on the relationships-aren’t-worth-it train with you.”

I laughed. “I didn’t realize there was a train.”

“Oh, yeah,” he nodded, giving me a serious look. “A lot of people hop on the train thinking they can handle the journey, only to hop off at the next stop. But you and me?” He gestured between us. “We know that being on the train is better than getting off at any stop.”

“You’ve really thought this whole train analogy through,” I chuckled.

“I just made it up, but it’s a pretty good analogy, right?”

“It totally is,” I agreed. “So does that make us train buddies?”

An amused expression filled his features as he took a moment to think about it. “Yeah, I guess it does.”

I raised my drink. “To being train buddies.”

He raised his drink to mine. “To being train buddies.”

We each took a sip of our coffees, and I smiled.

Being with Zeke was easy and fun, with no pressure. And now that we were on the same page—or train—I felt even better about our budding friendship. Yes, I was attracted to him, and he was one heck of a kisser, but if we both were anti-relationship, then I didn’t need to worry about him thinking our relationship becoming more than what it was. We were just two people with a therapist and patient relationship who also enjoyed spending time together.

And sometimes flirting.

But that was all in fun because neither of us wanted anything to come of it.

I leaned back in my chair, feeling more relaxed and happy than I had in a long time. I could spend time with Zeke as much as I wanted. Heck, we could even do our fake dating charade at the gala if we needed to without me having to worry about anything.

The freedom in knowing I didn’t have to be careful around Zeke anymore was exhilarating. Although that knowledge also held a touch of allure…because I really didn’t want to be so careful around Zeke.

“Since we’ve established where we stand on relationships,” Zeke said, “does that mean you’ll say yes when I ask you to dance with me at the gala?”

The thought of dancing with Zeke, being in his arms, sent a shiver of excitement through me. A strictly non-relationship-forming shiver.

“Depends,” I said coyly, feeling emboldened by our conversation.

He smirked. “On what?”

“On how good of a dancer you are.” I feigned a haughtiness I hoped he could see as teasing.

He chuckled, the sound deep and warm. “Oh, I’m an excellent dancer.” He leaned forward, his gaze locking onto mine, teasing yet unreadable. “So good,” he added, lowering his voice just enough to send another strictly non-relationship-forming shiver through me, “that I’m afraid you won’t be able to resist me once we’re on the dance floor.”

I was afraid of that now too, but I kept the breathlessness I was feeling out of my voice. “Someone thinks highly of himself.”

His gaze dipped to my lips for the briefest second before meeting my eyes again. “Trust me, Piper. When I have you in my arms, you won’t be thinking about my dancing skills.”

A flash of desire moved through me, and I quickly masked my features, not wanting him to know how much his words had affected me.

It looked like I wasn’t the only one looking forward to our new-found freedom in our relationship.

I leaned forward, matching his stance and demeanor as my gaze swept over him, slow and deliberate. “Big promises. Hope you can deliver.”

His chuckle was low and full of mischief. “Careful, Piper.” His voice was laced with amusement. “Flirting with me might just become your new favorite habit.”

Too late. It already was.