Page 5

Chapter 5

Piper

I opened the door to my apartment, the smell of fresh bread filling the air. Quinn must have been making her sourdough bread again.

Her head poked out of the kitchen, her blonde hair piled on top of her head and a swipe of flour on her cheek. “Hey, you’re finally home.”

I let out a tired sigh and dropped my bag on the floor. “I had to stay after the game to do a therapy session.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re back.” She motioned for me to come join her in the kitchen. “I didn’t make dinner, but…” She held both her hands out to the loaf of bread on the counter. “I did make bread.”

“Who needs dinner when you have fresh bread?”

“I know, right?” She smiled brightly. “You get the butter. I’ll get a knife.”

I did as she asked and then sat down on one of the stools at the counter.

She set slices of bread in front of us, sitting down next to me. “I saw that the Wolves lost tonight.”

“Yeah,” I sighed, spreading butter on my slice of bread.

“I also saw that they played against the Blue Jays,” she hedged.

I wasn’t surprised she was bringing it up. I was surprised she waited so long—I’d expected her to grill me as soon as I walked in the door.

“Yep,” I said, then took a big bite of bread.

She gave me a pointed stare. “Why do I even have to ask you about this? Why didn’t you come inside and immediately start talking to me about tonight?”

“There’s nothing to talk about.”

That was a lie. There was a lot to talk about. Like how Jordan had shown up in the physical therapy room. But I hated talking about Jordan. I hated having my mistake thrown in my face over and over again. I hated that I had been so naive. I hated that I had messed things up with my job. The whole thing was an episode in my life I wanted to forget.

“You had to have had some feelings, seeing Jordan tonight, having him at your home rink,” she pushed.

“Honestly, Quinn, I didn’t have any feelings,” I paused, setting my piece of bread down. “Until he showed up randomly during a therapy session.”

Quinn almost choked on her bite of bread. “What? You’re not serious?”

I nodded, recalling how shocked I’d felt to see him standing in the doorway.

She turned her body toward me, giving me her full attention. “What did you do? What did he say? Did he look good? Is he still trying to get you back? You aren’t considering getting back with him, are you?”

“Whoa, slow down.” I held up a hand to stop her onslaught of questions. “There is no way I would ever get back together with him. You know that. Going through an embarrassing semi-public breakup is not something I ever want to repeat.” I had thought with my heart and self-esteem once, and I’d been burned. I wasn’t dumb enough to put myself through that pain again. “And yes, he tried apologizing again, saying something about how we were meant to be together.”

Quinn made a throw up motion with her mouth and hand, and I laughed.

“I told him to leave and that I wasn’t interested in being with him.” Unfortunately, he hadn’t seemed to take my words to heart. I had a feeling tonight wouldn’t be the last time I’d have to deal with him. But I kept that to myself.

“Good. He’s a scumbag and doesn’t deserve someone as amazing as you.” She smiled at me like I was the best big sister in the world.

Although she was younger by two years, she had always been my biggest cheerleader in life, and I wasn’t sure what I would do without her. We’d been best friends since we were little, and no matter what life had thrown at us, we’d always been there for each other. The years we’d lived apart while I had been in Chicago had been hard on both of us. We’d texted and called constantly but it hadn’t been the same as living in the same city.

Thankfully, I had moved back home before Dad had passed away. Cancer was stupid.

Now it was just the two of us against the world.

“I wholeheartedly agree.” I picked up my slice of bread and took a bite. I let out a quiet moan. “This is so good,” I said, around a mouthful of heaven. “Maybe you should be a baker.”

“Maybe,” she said, noncommittally.

Quinn had always been a free spirit, moving from one interest to the next. Sometimes I wished I could be more like her. But I liked predictability, plans, and stability too much to live my life on whatever whim I was feeling at the moment. I had always admired my little sister’s ability to be open to new experiences. She wasn’t afraid to take risks and to see where the wind would take her. Right now, she was working as a barista and seemed to be enjoying it. At least for now.

“Why did you have to stay after the game to do a therapy session? Did one of the players get hurt?” she asked.

I didn’t usually stay once the game was over. Most of the players had their own post-game recovery routines they went through with foam rollers, stretching, and targeted muscle work they did for their cool down. But Coach Hill and Raymond wanted Zeke to see me after every game.

“No, nobody got hurt.” I avoided her gaze as I slid the loaf of bread toward me so I could cut another slice. “The coach and team manager just want me working regularly with one specific player.”

“Oh.” She nodded. “What player?” Her tone was conversational, but once I told her who it was, things would change instantly.

I finished cutting, trying to think of a way I could get out of answering but there was no way around it.

I tried to keep my voice as neutral as possible. “Zeke Lawson.”

Silence descended, and I chanced a look at Quinn. A smile spread across her lips that was borderline scary.

“Don’t,” I warned. “Don’t say a word.”

“You know I can’t do that,” she said. “I can’t not hear more about how things are going between you and your celebrity crush.”

I shook my head. “You already teased me enough after I first met him. We don’t need a repeat of that conversation.”

“Oh, I think we do.” Her smile was still wide. “You haven’t given me any updates. It’s been a month, and now you tell me you’ve been seeing him almost every day? I think I should be rewarded for not bugging you about it on the daily.”

“It’s the same as the last time I told you about him,” I reassured her. “He’s a player on the team, and I am his physical therapist. There is nothing else to discuss.”

She gasped. “Wait. Was he in the room when Jordan showed up?” Her excitement clearly showed that she hadn’t heard a word I’d said.

It was no use. We were talking about this whether I wanted to or not.

“Yes.”

“Oh my gosh!” She squealed so loud it made me wince. “I wish I could have been there.”

“It really wasn’t that exciting.” I didn’t know if I completely believed that. The part with Jordan had been awful and slightly embarrassing. But the part with Zeke…well, that had been close to exciting. Which it shouldn’t have been…and I felt guilty about it.

“Doubtful.” Her eyes sparkled, and although I didn’t want to talk about Jordan or Zeke, I was glad my messed up life could at least bring her some joy. “Did Zeke say anything to you about it once Jordan left?”

“Just that he was surprised I’d dated him,” I said. “He didn’t think someone like Jordan would be my type.”

“Did you tell him Jordan’s not your type but that he is?” she teased, waggling her eyebrows.

“Actually, he told me he’s my type.”

Her eyes widened. “He what?” She looked giddy about my response.

“He was just joking.” I waved it off.

She raised one of her perfectly shaped eyebrows. “Joking or flirting?”

“With him, it’s the same thing.”

“So if he’s joking ,” she said, using air quotes around the word joking, “does that mean he is done being upset about the physical evaluation you gave him?”

“Yes. We came to an understanding,” I said. “He’s accepted that I’m here to help him.”

“Maybe he can help you too.”

My brows furrowed. “How so?”

“Maybe he can be the guy to get you to believe in love again.” She looked starry-eyed at the prospect. She splayed her hands out in front of her, as if she were painting the scene. “Girl who had a crush on a hockey player for years from afar, now becomes his physical therapist. Therapy session after therapy session has them getting to know one another, and then the next thing they know, they’re falling in love.”

I gave her a quizzical look. Where was she getting this from? How did she get from me doing my job to falling in love?

“You read too many romance books and watch too many romance movies.” I shook my head at her. “And there is no way I would ever date a hockey player again, especially not one I work with.”

“Fine,” she relented. “But I agree with Zeke. He’s totally your type.”

He totally was.

“Whatever.” This was a pointless conversation.

We ate in silence for a few seconds, a thoughtful look on her face before she said, “Hmm…maybe I should date Zeke.” She turned to look at me. “You can introduce me.”

“What? Don’t be crazy.” The thought alone of her going on a single date with Zeke made my stomach turn. “Hockey players are not to be trusted.” Yes, that was definitely why I didn’t like the idea of her dating Zeke. “And not just hockey players but possibly all men.” Men were not to be trusted, and as her older sister, it was my obligation to watch out for her. It had nothing to do with me not liking the idea of him dating a woman. Jealousy was not what I was feeling right now. Nope.

“Okay, calm down.” She held her hands out to stop my ‘men are horrible’ speech. “Not all men are bad. You just happened to date an egotistical cheating jerk.”

I pursed my lips and let out an annoyed sigh. She was right, but I was still on the men-are-dumb-and-I-don’t-want-to-date bus.

“Dad was a good guy,” Quinn said softly.

A sadness crept over me. “The best.”

She reached over and grabbed my hand. “I’m not saying you need to date Zeke. I was just teasing you. I care more about you keeping your heart open, no matter the guy’s profession. Don’t let a hard learning experience ruin all future life experiences.”

Any resistance I had seeped out of me. She made a good point.

“How did you become so wise?” I teased.

She shrugged. “It comes naturally to me.”

We laughed and my heart felt happy.

See? I didn’t need anything or anyone else in my life. I was happy being single, working my dream job, and living with my sister.

And though I could understand that my sister wanted me to be open minded to a future relationship one day, I wasn’t ready for that. I didn’t know if I’d ever be. If life had taught me anything it was that relationships were tumultuous things that always left you broken-hearted and full of regrets. And it wasn’t just my relationship with Jordan that proved my theory was true. My dad had had to watch my mom walk away from him and his two daughters. I might have been too young to remember her leaving us, but that experience had clung to him like a shadow all his life.

Love was a powerful emotion, and I wouldn’t let it take control of me again. Not even for an attractive, flirty, hockey player who made me smile and made my heart race.