Page 15

Eight

Alek pressed the garage door button on the visor of his Range Rover. The game had ended a little under an hour ago, and he was finally getting home after dropping Gus off. Because it was a school night, Claire left immediately at the buzzer, bringing Sheridan and Finn back to his place.

It’s their place now, too, he reminded himself.

“You never answered my question about how you’re feeling,” he asked his dad.

It was their practice to chat by phone after each game.

Not that Kirk Bergeron was one of those hockey dads who had to dissect his son’s play.

He wasn’t. His dad was a mild-mannered history professor who preferred to talk game strategy.

“I’m feeling fine, Son,” his father replied. “I appreciate how much you care, but there’s no need for every conversation to circle back to my health.”

“Yeah, sorry.” Alek’s sister had warned him their dad was getting a little testy about the constant questions concerning his Parkinson’s. He loved his dad, though, and couldn’t imagine life without him. It was only natural that Alek worried.

He was also profoundly grateful for the thirty years he’d already had with his father. Finn wouldn’t know that for either of his parents. Neither would Sheridan.

“How did Finn enjoy the game?” his dad asked.

Alek pulled the car into one of the three bays in the garage. “He looked like he was soaking up every minute.”

Luckily, the Mayhem were able to pull out a win despite Alek’s mistakes that allowed three goals. Gus tore up the defense, scoring two goals and two assists. Valentine and Picard each added goals to put the Mayhem on top.

“Glad to hear it,” his dad said. “He needs a little joy in his life right now.”

“Agreed.” He cut the car’s engine.

“I’m proud of you, Alek,” his father said. “Proud of you for a great many things. But taking in Jamie’s son is a very magnanimous act on your part. Especially during hockey season.”

“It’s not like I had a choice.”

“Of course you did. Things could have been worked out legally with Sheridan. They would have been fine.”

Alek rested his head against the headrest. “Yeah, but it was like Jamie primed the kid for this. For me being a part of his life. I would have disappointed him if I kept him at arm’s length.”

“You would have disappointed Finn or Jamie?”

“I could give a shit about Jamie,” Alek snapped. “He was on the verge of bankrupting his family. He took advantage of his sister for years. Sheridan and Finn deserved better.”

“So did you.”

His dad’s words caught him off guard. Normally, he would have agreed. Except the betrayal and heartbreak hadn’t broken Alek. It had made him stronger. He was determined to do whatever it took not to let it break Sheridan and Finn, either.

“It’s getting late. Go replenish your body with some carbs and electrolytes. I’ll text you the link to that book about the Canadian railroad I mentioned. You might enjoy it on next week’s road trip. Love you.”

“Love you, too, Dad.”

The house was quiet when Alek stepped into the mudroom. Not surprising, Hattie’s crate was empty. The dog never left Finn’s side, shadowing him around the house as if she were the kid’s personal security detail. No doubt the dog was asleep inches from Finn.

Hattie always seemed to be keeping a wary eye on Alek, as if she knew he was only tolerating her.

He was embarrassed to think the dog thought that about him, but he’d never been around that many dogs.

Probably because when he and his sister were five, Alicia was bitten by a dog Alek had dared her to approach.

Guilt mixed with trepidation had him keeping his distance from all canines as a kid.

He’d gotten over it as he got older, but by then, he wasn’t around enough to own one.

Hattie seemed to be the perfect dog to have as a long-term houseguest, though.

She waited at the threshold of the kitchen until she was given permission to enter.

As far as he could tell, she stayed off the furniture—with the exception of Finn’s bed.

And she was relatively quiet, only barking when she and Finn were chasing each other around the backyard.

He entered the kitchen and stopped short. The vision of Sheridan bending over, placing a tray into the oven, had his breath hitching.

“Perfect timing.” She closed the oven door and set the timer before wiping her palms on the baggy sweatpants she’d changed into. She’d also scrubbed her face clean and pulled her hair up into a ponytail. He was surprised at how disappointed he was that she’d taken off his jersey.

When he had looked up into the stands and saw her all decked out in his number, he’d felt such a rush of pride. She looked good among the other WAGs. Damn good. He’d unconsciously homed in on her lush, berry-red lips and imagined what they might do to him?—

“I’m sure you’re hungry.” She pulled the protein shake he’d made earlier from the fridge. “If I remember correctly, your go-to snack after a game was turkey avocado toast, right?”

In college, he and Jamie ate like castaways who’d recently returned home from months stranded without food rather than a hockey game where they’d played their hearts out for sixty minutes.

But then, their bodies had still been growing.

Nowadays, he grabbed some electrolytes and fruit before leaving the stadium.

Once he arrived home, he settled for some baked sweet potato fries and a protein shake for dessert.

He’d planned it all out before he left for the arena this afternoon.

“I doubt mine will be as good as the ones you guys used to make in the ancient toaster oven in your dorm, but at least we won’t have the smell of burning mac and cheese to contend with.”

Alek couldn’t help but laugh. Jamie nearly set the dorm on fire on a weekly basis, trying to make those stupid cups of mac and cheese.

Sheridan shoved a straw into the shake and placed it and a glass of ice water on the table she’d already set for one. “Have a seat. The toast will be ready in two more minutes.”

She was making him a post-game meal? Oh, hell no.

“You don’t have to cook for me, Sheridan. I’m not Jamie.” It was an ugly dig, but Sheridan in his kitchen cooking for him felt too personal. Too intimate. He was already finding it difficult enough to keep her in the little sister zone.

She sighed. “Don’t read anything into this other than a simple gesture of kindness. Roommate to roommate. Now sit and drink. Your body needs to recoup the ten pounds of fluid you lost during the game.”

It was no use arguing, he realized. If Sheridan was upright and breathing, she was doing something for someone else. Alek shrugged out of his suit jacket and dropped down into the chair. He guzzled the water to cool off the parts of him that were still fantasizing about her in his jersey.

“Is Finn asleep?”

“Mm.” She smiled as she wrapped the remaining avocado slices in plastic wrap, sealed them in an airtight container, and placed them in the fridge.

“He zonked out midway through giving Hattie the play-by-play from the first period. To hear him tell it, it was the best night of his life. A twelve out of ten.”

“What about you? Did you have fun?” He couldn’t explain why her answer was so important to him.

“Sure. Everyone was beyond nice to Finn.”

The woman was the queen of deflecting everything away from her. “Were they nice to you?”

She pulled the avocado toast from the oven and sprinkled some chopped tomatoes on top before transferring it to a plate. “You know they were.” She set the plate in front of him. “Eat before it gets cold.”

His stomach growled its approval. Sheridan loaded the dishwasher as he devoured the first piece, then the second.

“Thank you,” he said. “That was delicious. But I didn’t invite you here to cook and clean for me. I have a cleaning lady who comes in twice a week. And I’ve been cooking for myself for years.”

She scoffed as she wiped the countertops. “If you expect me to sit around like a guest for the next seven months, you’re out of your mind.”

“Nine months. We’re going all the way this year.”

That earned him a smile. It smacked him squarely in the solar plexus so hard it nearly stole his breath.

Late-night conversations with Sheridan were going to have to be taboo.

They conjured up too many fantasies. If he was going to survive her living with him, he needed to escape upstairs and take a dunk in his cold plunge tub.

Instead, he did something stupid. He used his foot to shove the chair beside him away from the table. “Will you please sit? You’re making me feel guilty.”

Sighing, she picked up her water and sat in the chair he’d offered. “You should already know this about me. I like to keep busy. I get bored otherwise.”

“You don’t say?” he teased. “It’s a good thing you’ve got a job to go to. I wouldn’t want to come home to find you’ve rearranged all the closets. When do you start at the hospital, by the way?”

“I’ll get my schedule tomorrow. Claire and I are going over after we drop the boys off at school. I’m going to pop in to say hello to Finn’s teacher first.”

“I’d like to do the drop-off with you.”

Judging by her expression, his request caught her off guard.

“Finn would like that,” she said with a nod. “Jamie was such a constant in his day-to-day life. You measure up more than I do.”

“I wouldn’t say that. At the risk of repeating myself, Finn is lucky to have you.”

She looked down at her hands in her lap. The silence stretched for a long moment.

“Finn doesn’t talk much about Madison.” In fact, Alek realized he hadn’t heard the boy mention his mother once. “Why is that?”

If he hadn’t been looking so closely, he might not have noticed Sheridan’s flinch. She recovered quickly however, offering up a shrug.

“Oh, you know, everyone grieves differently. Besides, Jamie was practically a big kid himself. They were two peas in a pod, father and son. Maybe it’s easier for Finn to quantify the things he misses about his dad, that’s all.”

“Makes sense,” he said, even though he had a niggling feeling there was something she was dancing around. “Maybe he hasn’t come to terms with losing Madison yet.”

“Mmm.”

He decided to change the subject. “How did you like being one of the WAGs?”

She shot him a look. “I am most assuredly not one of the WAGs. I tried to explain that over and over again to anyone who would listen. It became one of those situations when it was best to go along for the ride.”

Another pang of disappointment sliced through him. Did she have to be so adamant about not being one of the WAGs? Not that he wanted a line of women clamoring for the prospect. He had hockey to focus on. But still, it would be nice if not every woman ran from the opportunity.

“Sloane can be very convincing,” she added with a frustrated huff.

He laughed. “Yeah. Valentine doesn’t get his way all that often with her.”

She scrutinized him over her glass of water. “I hear Valentine is acting as your matchmaker this season. Rumor has it, he even has a list of potential brides.”

Damn Valentine and his list.

Alek got up and loaded his plate and utensils into the dishwasher. “If you’re worried about me bringing home strange women, don’t.”

She followed him. “I’m not worried about that. I know you want to be a positive role model for Finn. But you don’t have to change your life completely because we’re here temporarily. In fact, it might be easier on Finn to know you are happily in a relationship when we do eventually leave.”

Was she kidding right now?

She rested her palm on his biceps. “I want that too.”

He glanced down at her fingers, which were burning a hole through his dress shirt. Apparently, the heat was only one-sided.

“In fact,” —her lips turned up in a sly smile— “as your unofficial little sister, maybe I can help Valentine vet the women on his list? Narrow it down so the process goes a lot more smoothly?”

Now she was just pissing him off by throwing his little sister remark back into his face. Two could play at that game.

“You know, that might be helpful,” he told her, returning her smile with an insincere one of his own. “You can start tomorrow morning. Apparently, Finn’s teacher is a top contender.”

Her lips trembled ever so slightly before she nodded. “Sure. Of course.”

“You’re a gem.” He decided to play with fire by leaning down and brushing his lips over her forehead. “Thanks for my snack. . . sis. Night.”

Alek didn’t dare look back. Mostly because he was unable to douse the desire that the feel of his lips on her skin had conjured up inside him. Instead, he made a beeline to his cold plunge tub.