Page 136 of Heartbreak Hockey

I laugh. It’s kinda nice to know someone from the Meyer family still wants me around.

“That’s just weird, dude,” Ari says.

Theo shrugs and squirms down so that he can investigate the condo and jump on our couch.

“Sorry to barge in on you like this, Jack, but you gotta let us in. We need to talk about Merc,” Ari says.

I open the door wider to show him the other Meyers I’ve already collected. “C’mon in. Coffee’s ready.”

“Bea?” Ari says. “Merc’s gonna find out with us all here and then he’s gonna kill us.”

Bea shrugs. “I’m not letting whatever’s going on between these two stand. They can either get back together the easy way, or I’m sewing them together until they come to their senses.”

I frown. “We’re not broken up.” I refuse to acknowledge that. Merc can stuff himself.

I’m barely able to shut the door this time and I’ve got four more Meyers barging in the door without bothering to knock. I recognize Bryce and Bethany. I guess that the other two are Rachel and Dawson by process of elimination, but their bickering helps too. All Meyers have the same eyes—a pale, cornflower blue—and the same severe brow ridge darkened with eyebrows as black as their hair.

With every Meyer in my condo—a condo that was never meant to hold this many people—I feel the need to run around and make sure people have stuff like coffee, juice, and snacks. Sleepy hockey players file out of the bedroom—dressed, thank God—and mingle with the party that’s formed in our living room slash kitchen area.

Lorelei makes friends with Dash, smiling at him shyly. Theo pounces on Casey as if he instinctively knows he’s great fun. Stacey gets everyone better snacks than what I gave them, and Dirk puts on more coffee.

Between all the chaos, I devise that they’ve driven up for our last game and are staying at a hotel nearby. They were all at Merc’s and slipped out one by one. Bea claimed she forgot something in the van, Trish and Lory tagged along without asking. Ari said he was leaving to check on Bea and Lorelei and Theo hopped onto his torso, Cody following. The rest left without a word when he excused himself to make a private call in the bedroom.

Yeah, he’s definitely gonna come looking for them, but hopefully this is the last place he’ll look.

All that hope is shattered when a familiar cattle whistle breaks through the Meyer chaos.Mercy.He stops my heart, not ‘cuz of the whistling, but ‘cuz he’s so damn beautiful. He hasn’t done his hair yet and it falls over his eyes all sexy like. His white shirt is loose and open to mid-torso. His jeans hang low. He’s not wearing shoes or socks.

Beneath all that beauty is pain. It’s the first time I’ve been able to see it crowd his eyes as wrinkles that dampen his hallmark grit. He’s still a force on the ice so it’s been hard to tell. His gaze does a quick sweep over me, but otherwise he pretends I’m not here.

“Meyer’s roll out. These guys have a game to prepare for.Now,” he says when no one moves. “Theo,” he adds, beckoning Theo to him. Theo races over and climbs Merc like he’s a tree. Lorelei scurries to grip his large hand and the three of them leave.

He’s gone again and I stood here like a coward too afraid to say a thing.

Bea rolls her eyes. “Whatever. He stopped being the boss of me a long time ago. Jack, he thinks you’re over. Least, that’s how he’s acting. You have to do something before we all lose our minds.”

Disregarding the way my cheeks flush with heat—because does it matter that we’re having this private conversation in front of everyone? Everyone in this condo will hear about this at some point anyway—I swallow down the sting of being ignored by my boyfriend who apparently doesn’t think we’re boyfriends.

“We’re not over. Far from. We had a disagreement. All I wanted was some damn space. A break to sort things out so that we didn’t fight more. He, apparently, thinks I left him.”

Cody whistles low. Trish sucks in a breath.

“What? What did I do?”

“You can’t leave a Meyer, Jack,” Trish says.

“For the hundredth time, I didn’t leave Merc.” They’re driving me a bit crazy with that. “I even said those words. I’m not leaving you, Merc. I said the words dammit!”

Ari sighs. “I don’t doubt you did, and I wish I could explain it, but I’m not sure Meyer Speak can be translated, only experienced.”

Cody raises his hand. “I’ll give it a shot.”

“Go ahead, babe,” Ari says.

Cody pushes his glasses up his nose. “They’re always on hyper alert about being left. I don’t think they’re aware of the extent. Any small sign has them pushing you away as a protective mechanism—that’s your sign you’ve triggered them.”

Ari nods along, agreeing. “Yep, Meyer motto—get the hell out first. Hurts less.”

Oh. Shit. I panic, running my hands through my hair. That makes a lot of things make sense. Even before this, I’ve experienced that with Merc