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Chapter Twelve

Michele

“H ow in the fucking hell am I going to make it through the entire season like this?” I groan, dropping onto the couch in my condo.

Saying today was rough is an understatement, but it could always have been worse. After my disastrous meeting with Cole in the locker room, I got him set up with some mobility exercises to get him started, and then I went to Parker’s office to go over files. By the time I finished and went back to the weight room, Cole had disappeared. It only took a few minutes for me to find him on the ice with the rest of the team. It took everything in me not to storm out there and drag him off by his ear.

Imhotep hops up in my lap and purrs, “Yeah, Momma had a really tough day.”

There is just something about a cat purring that soothes my nerves, especially when I’m overly stressed. Sometimes, having Imhotep in my lap works better than my anxiety meds, but I’ll never go without them. I googled once about a cat's purrs, and not only does it express their contentment and happiness, but the rhythmic vibrations have the potential to lower their owner's blood pressure and reduce stress levels. His skin feels like warm suede against my hand as I run it down his back before starting the process all over again. Most people would think it would feel weird, but it's surprisingly pleasant.

My head drops to the back of the couch. I can feel the stress leaking from my system the more Imhotep purrs. That is until Stacey drops onto the couch beside me. “Was it really that bad? According to Parker, today was an easy day in the training room.”

“Are you kidding me? If that was easy, I’m so screwed.” I groan, trying to decide if taking this job was a good idea.

Sure, I can handle a group of rowdy hockey players, but Cole is going to be a problem. Judging by what he said about this being his last chance at the Cup, I doubt he’d do anything to jeopardize that, but I have a feeling he’s going to fight me tooth and nail all the way. The only problem is I don’t know if I want to kick his ass for not listening or kiss him. Right now, I’m leaning more toward kicking his ass, but I have a feeling that might change daily.

“Look on the bright side. You didn’t have to deal with moody hockey players and your dad at the same time.”

More like one particular hockey player that I’m worried about. Not only do I need to figure out how to keep my libido under control whenever I’m around Cole, but I also need to be on my best behavior whenever I’m in the general vicinity of Dad. Couldn’t the universe give me something hard to handle? No. No, universe. Please don’t. I’m just kidding. Actually, if you could go a little easier on me for the foreseeable future, I’d appreciate it.

“Thank the Lord for small favors. Now, if I could only get out of family dinner this weekend.”

“Weren’t you just there last Saturday?” Stacey questions.

“Yes, but apparently, my dad and Jessica miss seeing all of their girls.”

Imhotep’s purrs are no longer helping my stress level, which is now through the roof at the mention of spending more time with my family. I love them, but the thought of spending any significant amount of time there makes me want to vomit. If any future family dinners go like the one last weekend, I’m in trouble. Sitting through another lecture about respecting myself and my family by keeping them in the loop while also being told what a disappointment I am has already been checked off my bingo card.

“More like your dad wants a play-by-play of what’s happening in the locker room.” Stacey scratches the cat behind the ear.

“If he wanted that, he could just ask Parker.”

“You know damn well Parker only tells your dad what he needs to know, so he plans on guilting you into telling him anything else he wants to know.”

Parker’s desire to keep the players' secrets from Dad has always been a sore spot between the two men, but he’s only doing his job. Most people don’t know this, but physical and physiotherapists also have to follow all Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) guidelines, just like doctors. So even if we wanted to, we couldn’t tell him anything unless the player was a danger to themselves or others, much to Dad’s displeasure.

“Doctor-patient privilege covers all of that.” I smile, pushing off the couch and heading toward my room. All this talk of my Dad’s scheming has me wanting to take a shower sooner rather than later.

“But you know he’s going to try.”

“Oh, I know he is, but it doesn’t matter because I’m not telling him shit.”

“Hold your horses, Shell my bell.” Stacey grabs my hand, pulling me back down onto the couch. “You aren’t going anywhere until you tell me what happened with you and Mr. Hendrix.”

“Nothing. Happened.”

“Oh, no. Don’t give me that, Michele.” Stacey lets go of my hand and slides to the edge of the couch, resting her chin in her palms. “Spill, woman.”

I flop down on the couch and try to think of how to explain my reunion with Cole to Stacey. “He asked me if you and I were really friends.”

She recoils slightly, her eyes narrowing. “Out of all the things he could say to you after practically stalking you for the last few weeks, he chose that.”

“I know! What kind of question is that—wait, he was stalking me?”

This is news to me. Sure, I hung around the therapy center after my sessions and came in early enough to not draw attention for a chance to see him, but I had no idea he was looking for me. Does this change anything? Maybe. No. No. It changes nothing. It can’t change anything. At least that's what my mind is saying, but my heart has other plans.

“You knew he came back to the therapy center looking for me and never said anything? Why didn’t you tell me?”

I want to pretend like I haven’t been hit by a freight train, but I can’t. Stacey has always been my ride or die, the one person ready to take down the world for me. But she knew how much I regretted not taking Cole up on his offer for coffee. I just don’t understand why she’d hide this from me.

“I didn’t know until today, Michele. I promise.” Stacey grips my hand tightly, her eyes imploring me to listen. “When I was talking to you on the phone about Cole, Leona at the front desk said something about a patient named Cole calling the center, trying to get an appointment with you. He even tried to pay her off to accidentally cancel someone’s appointment and pencil him in.”

I giggle softly, thinking of the look on Leona’s face with the big, bad hockey player begging her to bend the rules. “She must have gotten a kick out of that.”

“She did.” Stacey smiles. “She also says that if you don’t give that boy a call, she may just take him up on her offer to accidentally leave your file on the desk.”

“Leona would never do that. She’s too much of a stickler for the rules,” I scoff, wondering if maybe I pegged that little old lady wrong. I’m in trouble if her weakness is dimples, too.

“Have you seen him smile with those black wire-rimmed glasses?”

“He has fucking glasses?” I exclaim, almost falling off the couch. “That’s just not fair! Dimples and glasses. I’m going to spontaneously combust if I ever see him in them.”

“Good thing he won’t be wearing them while at the rink.” Stacey flashes me a smug smile, bumping her shoulder with mine. “But the bigger question is, what are you going to do?”

“Do? Nothing,” I respond, my eyes looking anywhere but at her.

It would be easy to just waltz back into the locker room and walk right up to Cole and lay it all on the line. And if he weren’t a player and I weren’t an employee, I’d do it. But both of us have dreams, and one of us is still trying to get his. Anything that happens between us can ruin it for one or both of us.

“Come on now, Shell my Bell. You looked like I kicked your puppy.”

Okay, maybe Stacey is right. I have no idea what the hell this thing is between Cole and me, but it is something. Before she told me about his minor stalking incidents, I’d have thought he didn’t give a crap about me, but now…honestly, I’m not sure.

“So, I ask you again. What are you going to do about it, Michele?”

“I don’t know.”

His reaction to hearing that I was the new physiotherapist for the team wasn’t exactly normal. He felt betrayed for sure, but there was something else there. What that something was, I don’t know, but I have a feeling it has something to do with one or both of his brothers. Cooper and Beau Hendrix are household names in the Timberwolves franchise. Both have led the team to multiple victories, and now suddenly, Cole is a member of the team for some strange reason. There’s more to these brothers' stories.

“He was so angry when Parker told him I was the new physio for the team. It was like a bucket of ice water was dumped on us.”

“So he’s still into you. That’s always a good sign.” Stacey grabs Imhotep off my lap and places him in hers. She is a little more invested in what’s going on between Cole and me than I expected. Especially if she’s forcing my cat to sit in her lap so she can keep her cool. If she were anywhere else, she’d probably be bouncing in her seat.

“Maybe, but I could’ve just been imagining all the sparks and sexual tension between us.”

A part of me wants to believe that all of this is just in my head, but another part of me can’t help but feel like there is something more. Something concrete, but can I really trust this? We spent a few hours together while he was rehabbing his shoulder. Sure, there were sparks, but I’m not too sure there is more there than that.

“For such a smart woman, Michele, you sure are dumb.” She cups my face in her hands, turning my face and forcing me to look at him. “A man does not repeatedly show up at your work and flirt with a seventy-year-old receptionist for nothing.”

“Fair enough, but the minute he found out I worked for the team, he became distant and defensive. Almost suspicious of every minute we spent with each other.”

“That proves you’ve gotten under his skin.” She smiles as the cat jumps off her lap and starts bouncing in her seat. “This is a real-life romance novel.”

“I wouldn’t go that far, Stacey. You’re almost as bad as Kyle.”

“Oh! Yes, Kyle.” She squeals, reaching into her pocket and pulling out her phone. “We should call and get his opinion on all of this.”

Fuck . Kyle Hendrix is the last person who needs to know what is going on between me and his older brother. He took it pretty well when I told him the basics about how Cole and I met. He was all moon-eyed and probably planning our wedding. He wasn’t kidding about those daily update calls to see if we had connected again. I can only imagine what he’ll have to say if Stacey tells him about our moment in the locker room this afternoon.

“Please don’t call Kyle,” I beg, reaching for Stacey’s phone. The only problem is that she is taller than me, so my hand only smacks against her forearm. “He doesn’t need to know about any of this.”

Stacey eyes me for a few moments before a sly smile spreads across her face. Nothing good happens when Stacey has that look. “If you can give me one good reason, I’ll put the phone away and keep this to myself for a little while.”

I eye her skeptically, wondering what she’s up to. “That was too easy. What do you want?”

Stacey is like a dog with a bone. When she wants something, she’ll stop at almost nothing to get it. Asking me to give her a good reason why I don’t want her to call and tell Kyle what’s going on between Cole and me. I call bullshit. She’s up to something. Now to find out what that is.

“You wound me. Can’t I just want to keep a secret from one of our best friends and revel in the fact that I knew first?” Stacey whines, placing her hand over her chest for good measure. She has always had a bit of a flair for the dramatic.

“Ah, so you want to be able to tell him I love you more, don’t you?” I chuckle with a shake of my head.

Although Kyle and Stacey have practically known me for the same amount of time, they’re always in competition about who I love more and who is my favorite. Both of them are constantly trying to one-up each other and get me to declare who is my favorite. The last time we had this argument, Stacey lost and didn't talk to me for almost a week, but to be fair, Kyle fixed my printer so I could print my term paper, which was 80 percent of my grade. He definitely earned the title of my favorite that day.

“No.” I raise an eyebrow at her before lunging for the phone and missing a second time. “Okay, maybe. Now give me that reason.”

“ColeisKyle’sbrother,” I mumble softly.

“Repeat that, please.” Stacey drops her arm low enough for me to snatch the phone from her hand and toss it across the room. Her body stiffens in my arms as her head slowly turns in my direction, her eyes narrowed slightly.

“No.”

“Yes, because there is no way in hell you’ve known for weeks that Cole is our best friend Kyle’s brother that we have never met and not said a damn thing to me.” Stacey’s voice raises slightly as I put a little space between the two of us, wondering how she is going to react.

Instead of her exploding with a tidal wave of questions shot at me rapid fire, she just climbs off the couch and begins pacing.

“Why are you pacing?”

“Shh. I need to think for a minute.”

My eyes remain locked on Stacey as she paces back and forth in front of the couch, muttering something to herself below her breath. This process continues for a few minutes, only broken up by her pausing her pacing for a few moments before she starts the entire process over again.

Imhotep meows from some place on the floor, as if asking what the hell is going on with her. I lean over and pick him up, placing him in my lap before answering his unspoken question. “I have no idea what’s wrong with her either, buddy.”

Stacey suddenly stops in front of me, her hands propped on either side of her hips

“Okay, let me have it.” I motion with my hands for her to continue speaking.

“Cole and Kyle are brothers.” I nod my head, not wanting her to lose her train of thought, “But I thought he only had two brothers.”

“Apparently, he has three. Cole and Kyle aren’t exactly close. When the hiring manager gave me Cole’s file, it said Cooper and Beau were his brothers. When I spoke to Kyle after my meeting, he said?—”

Stacey’s eyes practically bulge out of her head as she throws her hands in the air. “You already told him you have the hots for his brother?”

“I didn’t tell him on purpose. He texted me when I was in the middle of freaking out about telling my dad about my new job, and it just kind of came out.”

“I doubt that it just came up in conversation.”

“Okay, maybe, but he got to me first.”

“All I hear is you saying that you do, in fact, love Kyle more than me.” Stacey spins on her heels and heads toward her discarded phone.

I jump to my feet and grab her arm, pulling her to a stop. “No, I don’t love Kyle more than you. I love you both equally for different reasons.”

She gives me a speculative side eye before crossing her arms and turning toward me. “I’m listening.”

“I called Kyle back when I was literally having a panic attack, and I kind of just blurted it out.” I’m not lying to her. I just left out the fact that he was texting me as I was taking out my phone to call him instead.

“And what did the other best friend have to say about it?”

“Other than he hasn’t talked to his brother in years?”

“Yeah, but put a pin in that. We’ll come back to that later. What did he say specifically about you and his brother being an item?”

“We aren’t an item, Stacey.” I roll my eyes for what seems like the millionth time today.

“You say tomato, I say tomahto.” She smiles, grabbing the cat from my lap and petting him on the floor. “But the important question is, what did Kyle have to say?”

“Anyway, he asked if there were any rules about employee relationships—and before you ask, there aren’t any rules that say employees and players can’t date each other—and that I should go for it.”

“I like the way he thinks.” Stacey giggles, her anger at me completely forgotten, taking a seat on the couch beside me. “I also agree with him. If you aren’t breaking any rules, what’s stopping you?”

“I don’t know.” I sigh, flopping back on the couch and staring at the ceiling.

A few hours ago, I had a million and one reasons for why things between Cole and I wouldn't work, most of those based on the fact that I believed he wanted nothing from me but a quick lay. But things have changed now that I know he’s been looking for me. Not only looking for me, but bribing little old ladies to commit a crime just to snag my phone number. No one goes through that much trouble for something they aren’t the least bit interested in. Logically, I know this, but I can’t get the rest of me on board.

“Let me phrase it a little differently for you.”

“Okay, I’m listening.”

“Has he gotten under your skin, too?”

Judging by the fact that our second meeting in the locker room this morning has been the only thing I’ve thought about for most of today. How my breath caught in my throat every time someone walked through the training room door, hoping it was going to be him scowling down at me. Sure, he has gotten under my skin, but is taking a chance at whatever this is worth losing the job of my dreams? That’s the cusp of my problem because I have no freaking idea.

“I don’t know,” I say again, dropping my chin to my chest and answering her as honestly as I can. “But I can’t stop thinking about him. Hell, instead of taking a shower and getting ready for work tomorrow, I’ve been sitting here, yapping with you about our nonexistent relationship.”

She reaches out and squeezes my hand. “And that’s okay. You don’t need to have an answer to every question you’re asked immediately, you know. You can take time to figure it out.”

I nod my head slowly, giving her hand a return squeeze and forcing a smile. “Thanks for the pep talk.”

“That’s what I’m here for, Shell my Belle.”

I plant a wet kiss on her cheek before pushing to my feet. “Can I take a shower now?”

“Of course.” She makes a show of grabbing her nose. “I can smell you all the way over here.”

I grab one of the throw pillows off the couch and toss it at her head, causing her to fall back on the couch in a fit of laughter.

Stacey and Kyle may be right. There is the potential of there being something between Cole and me. All I need to do is take a leap of faith and see where it goes. But if I’m being honest with myself, I’m terrified. One thing I’m not ready to admit out loud to anyone. The other thing is that I know in my gut that whatever this is between Cole and me isn’t over. Not even close. Not only that, but it has the potential to change my life forever. I’m just not sure if it's for the better or the worse.