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Six

“This place is gorgeous.” Sheridan addressed the compliment to Peri Bergeron. There was no doubt that Alek’s mother had a hand in choosing the décor of his sprawling home.

“Thank you,” Alek and Peri said at the same time.

The three of them stood around the island in the kitchen—a spacious room that could house the kitchen, dining room, and den from Sheridan’s childhood home.

Along with its gourmet appliances was a keeping area with a loveseat, two chairs, and a double-sided fireplace that opened to the family room on the other side.

A round table with banquette seating was built into a large bay window with a view of the backyard where Hattie and Finn chased each other around, working the kinks out after the long two-day drive.

“I designed it to be comfortable.” Peri picked up the bottle of wine they’d enjoyed at dinner and poured some into Sheridan’s glass. “My goal was to make it a place where Alek can relax and decompress away from the rink.”

“Hah!” Sheridan reached for the glass, trying hard not to chug it to calm her nerves. “Relaxing and decompressing are not usually synonymous with little boys and big dogs. I’ll make sure they both stay out of your space as best I can.”

She risked a glance in Alek’s direction.

He was hard to read this evening. When they arrived earlier, he’d welcomed them warmly.

Even the dog. But he’d become more guarded as they settled in and throughout dinner.

He was looking at her now as though she were a ticking time bomb he needed to deactivate.

“Regretting your offer already?” The question didn’t come out sounding as light and jovial as she’d hoped.

“Of course not,” Peri said. “Alek, tell her she’s being ridiculous.”

Alek crossed his arms over his broad chest and leaned his hips against the countertop. The black cashmere sweater he wore showed off his sculpted shoulders and arms to perfection. His narrow hips and muscled thighs were encased in the soft cotton of gray joggers.

Lord have mercy.

This would be her view every day. It was all she could do not to drool. She jerked her eyes up north only to slam into bemused blue ones.

“You’re being ridiculous, Sheridan,” he said.

Her face grew warm. It was as if he’d read her mind.

“My mother makes it sound like I need to hide out in a soundless chamber to recover after a game.” He shot Peri a look. “I don’t. Finn and Hattie are welcome to roam freely.” His gaze returned to her. “Same goes for you.”

Was there an invitation there?

When she took another healthy sip from her glass, the corners of his lips turned up slightly, and he gave his head a little shake.

“I’m going to have to get used to the fact that you’re old enough to drink wine.”

Annnd, there it is again.

There would definitely be no invitation forthcoming from Alek. She needed to stop misinterpreting his signals. Of course he didn’t mean what her overactive and undersexed mind thought they did.

“Ignore him, Sheridan.” Peri topped off her own wineglass. “He’s the same way with his sister, Alicia. He thinks she’s still twelve despite the fact they are twins. You should have seen him when she was pregnant.” She gave her head a disgusted shake. “He didn’t think she could handle motherhood.”

“She was running a marathon while pregnant with twins!”

Peri grimaced. “Yeah, that might not have been her finest moment. But in her defense, she didn’t know it was twins at the time.” She shrugged. “Hard to believe but Alicia has always been the more daring of the two.”

“Sounds like someone I’d like to meet.” Sheridan could use some pointers on how to be more daring. She started by taking another swig from her wine to annoy Alek.

“She’d like that, too,” Peri replied. “Perhaps over the holidays?” She glanced between them, wearing a hopeful look.

“Mum. They haven’t even been here one night yet. Why don’t we table any discussions about trips to Canada for another time?”

“Who’s going to Canada?” Finn raced into the kitchen.

“The only place you are going is to the showers, little man,” Sheridan said. “Please give Hattie some water first.”

The dog hovered in the doorway, panting. She was trained not to venture into the kitchen without permission. Who knew Jamie had such a knack for dog whispering? Managing his money? Not so much.

Peri glanced down at her phone. “My car to the airport will be here in ten minutes.”

Sheridan’s stomach sank. She’d been delighted and relieved to find Peri here with dinner waiting when they arrived. Now her human buffer was deserting her. More wine was probably not a good idea. She put her glass down on the counter.

“You don’t live here?” Finn asked once he’d returned from the mud room that housed Hattie’s crate and her dishes.

Peri stroked her palm over Finn’s hair. The tender gesture had a lump forming in Sheridan’s throat. Finn needed this right now. He needed Alek to step in for Jamie. And he needed the care of a woman who actually paid attention to him.

“No, sweetheart,” Peri told him. “I live in Ottawa with Alek’s dad. I was visiting with clients in Chicago yesterday, which meant I could scoot up here for the day and say hello to you.”

“What do I call you?” Finn asked.

Sheridan’s gut clenched.

An adoring smile lit up Peri’s face. “How about if you call me Peri?”

Finn grinned back at her as he nodded.

“Come on.” Peri guided Finn from the kitchen. “The shower in your bathroom can be a little thorny. Alek’s dad can never figure it out. I’ll show you the secret trick.”

Hattie fell into step behind them.

Sheridan drew in a deep breath. “Thank you,” she said softly.

“For what?” Alek asked.

She spread her arms out. “For this. For everything. For taking us in despite everything that happened with . . . Jamie.”

“I didn’t do it for Jamie. Finn is Madison’s son, too.”

The harsh way he spoke the words caught her off guard.

Of course.

He would cherish Finn because he once loved the child’s mother.

She wrapped her arms around her waist to ward off the sudden chill in the air.

There was no point in disillusioning Alek now.

Madison was gone. And Jamie was right. There wasn’t a better role model for her nephew. What was done was done.

“Well, regardless of the reason. Thank you.”

“Sheri—”

She held up her palm to stop him. “Let’s set the record straight once and for all.

I’m not your little sister. Nor am I in any way your responsibility.

I’m here because whether he knows it or not, Finn needs me.

” She cursed the boulder that had formed in her throat.

“And I need him.” Her fingers trembled when she reached for her abandoned glass of wine and drained it.

“Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to make sure my nephew doesn’t use up all the hot water.

He tends to get in the shower and stay there. ”

“So? How’d it go last night?” Gus asked from his stall the following morning. Both men were getting ready for morning skate.

“Fine. In spite of everything he’s been through, Finn is an easy kid,” Alek replied.

Sheridan, on the other hand . . .

I’m not your little sister.

His body was beginning to get that message loud and clear.

The suggestive way she’d spoken the words had him instantly hard.

Finn wasn’t the only one who had needed a long shower before bed.

Except when Alek finally crawled beneath the sheets, visions of Sheridan sipping from her wineglass kept crashing through his mind.

Then he was imagining all the other things her lips might be able to do and it was back to the shower.

Gus pulled on a pair of heavily padded shorts. “Not too much disruption to your coveted personal space, I hope.”

“Nah. They travel light. Thanks to Claire already arranging a wardrobe of school uniforms for Finn, he didn’t need that much. His great-aunt is sending out some stuff he wanted from his room.”

“And the other aunt? Has she already bombarded your house with scented candles and frilly throw pillows?”

Alek scoffed at his friend. “I don’t think she’s the type. She came with less stuff than Finn.”

Something about Sheridan arriving with a backpack slung over her shoulder and a single suitcase hit Alek the wrong way.

It was as if she wanted to take up as little space in the world as possible.

Damn Jamie for not allowing his sister to grow and discover her own self-worth.

Her own voice. Her own dreams. The asshole waited until he was dead before setting her free.

“I change jobs every six months,” she’d told him with a shrug. “Most long-term rentals have everything I need.”

Sure, but didn’t she want for anything? Favorite books, keepsakes, or jewelry? His sister collected so much crap for decorating her house that they needed an extra garage to store it all. Shouldn’t Sheridan want a home to nest in?

“A woman who travels light?” Gus whistled his approval. “That’s a rare woman indeed. You might want to think about holding on to her.”

Alek shot his friend a WTF look. “How many times do I have to tell you?—”

Gus held up his hands. “I know. I know. She’s practically your little sister. Got it.”

“Good. See that you keep getting it.”

Alek’s ultimatum was as much for Gus as it was for himself. Because he was beginning to realize that the only way that he would survive having Sheridan around was to keep her firmly in the little sister lane no matter how much his libido wanted him to think otherwise.

“You’ve been a very naughty boy, Bergeron,” Valentine said when he entered the dressing room as if Alek had been projecting his thoughts on the jumbotron. “I just met Auntie Sheridan out there, and she is not as implied.”