Page 6 of The Love Comeback (Glaciers Hockey #3)

Chapter Six

Kade

“You’ll find someone. You’ve just got to put yourself out there more.”

My brother’s words echo in my mind as my foot taps nervously on the floor. My eyes are glued on the front door. Maybe I should’ve picked a better place for me to meet up with Mallory’s friend than The Wedge. Maybe I should’ve gone upscale, or even rented out a club or something, but honestly…

I just want a normal date at my favorite place.

Plus, it’s close to the rink, so I knew I could make it here on time after my skating lessons with Colton.

But everything starts to fall apart the moment I see a brunette step through the door in a black bodycon dress and strappy stilettos .

Oh shoot. I can’t be sure it’s my date, but the way she looks at me when she sees me tells me everything I need to know. It’s her.

And she is not happy about the place I picked.

I give my date a small wave, trying to swallow the nerves as the overdressed model struts to the red pleather booth. Her perfectly manicured eyebrows furrow as she eyes the casual setting, and I can practically see judgment oozing out of every pore.

“Hi, I’m Kade.” My voice comes out stilted, and she looks at me like I’m insane.

“Zena,” she says promptly, not even bothering to smile as she curls her lip up at the booth seat. It has a tear right down center, and her brown eyes laser focus on it. She hesitates, hovering like it might stain her expensive-looking dress.

“I can put my jacket down,” I say quickly, grabbing the leather coat from beside me and half-standing to toss it over the seat.

She stays silent for a minute, but then slowly eases into the seat. “Thank you.” She flips her dark waves over her exposed shoulders, eyeing me. “So … you’re Nate’s twin brother.”

“Yep, that’s me.” I shift in my seat, trying to regain a bit of confidence. “You’re Mallory’s friend, right?”

She gives me a funny look. “Um, yeah. Obviously.”

I swallow hard, taking in her striking features. She has a lot of makeup on, and it’s clear she put a ton of effort into her appearance. She looks great, but … she’s not really my type.

What is my type ?

Ella.

“What can I get you two?” The waiter cuts through the awkwardness to take our order, and now I’m really glad I didn’t opt-in to the buffet.

I order a regular meat lovers and a chocolate malt. After a solid five minutes, Zena decides on a veggie pizza with no sauce. She makes the waiter go back and ask to see if they have wine.

Lucky—or maybe not so lucky—for me, they have wine.

Zena lets out a sigh. “So, hockey?”

“Yeah.” I nod. “Hockey. I’m the goalie for the Glaciers.”

“Hmm.” She purses her burgundy lips together. “I’ve never been to a hockey game. Or watched one.”

“Well, maybe you should come to one of my games?” I offer it up carefully, not sure how this woman will respond.

“Maybe. I take it you make good money, though?” She leans back against the booth, her shoulders drooping slightly.

“I do well for myself, yes,” I say, trying to stay humble—and vague—about my finances. “My brother said that you’re a model. What kind of modeling do you do?”

“I do independent modeling gigs, but lately it’s mostly been fitness-related,” she answers.

“Oh, that’s cool,” I reply. “I don’t really know much about models. Honestly, I’ve never really dated one.”

“Yeah, it shows,” she snorts, just as the waiter sets down her glass of wine and my milkshake. She swoops up the wine glass and takes a long sip of the red liquid, looking at just about anything but me.

“I got us tickets to the circus after this,” I say, wiping my sweaty palms on my jeans. “I thought it might be fun.”

“The circus?” She laughs as she sets down her glass. “Are we ten years old?”

I nearly choke on the air I just breathed in. “Um, what?”

“The circus is for kids,” she huffs. “But okay. Can you at least take me home to change first? Because there’s no way I’m going to the circus dressed like this. I thought we’d be wining and dining tonight. That’s what a high-caliber woman like me deserves, you know.”

“Of course,” I agree, my insecurities rising to the surface and making my stomach do somersaults. And suddenly I no longer have an appetite for my milkshake. “I never meant for this date to be any kind of insult. I thought maybe it would just be different from the norm around here.”

She scrunches her nose. “I see.”

I don’t know how to read this woman. So I opt for silence for a few moments, and thankfully, the waiter comes with our pizzas, setting them down in front of us.

“Thank you,” I tell him, while my date stares down at her food like it might reach out and eat her before she can eat it. The waiter gives me a weird look and then walks away.

Zena downs more wine .

“So, what was your childhood like?” I ask clumsily, picking up a pizza slice and folding it so it’s easier to hold.

She sets down her glass of wine and glares at me. “Why do you want to know about my childhood ? Do you think you’re some kind of therapist or something?”

Okay, this is not going well .

“I’m just trying to get to know you,” I reiterate. I mean, isn’t that the point of a date?

“How about you tell me how you were raised, then,” she retorts, taking a long sip of her second glass of wine. Meanwhile, my untouched milkshake is starting to melt. “Because I’d love to know how you ended up becoming a millionaire who thinks it’s okay to take your dates to trashy pizza parlors.”

The insult stings. How is Mallory friends with a woman like this? Is The Wedge really that bad? Of course it’s not bad. It’s the best, most authentic pizza in this city. Plus, Colton and Ella loved it.

I take a deep breath. “I just like authenticity.”

“Huh.”

“Not everything good is luxurious and not everything luxurious is good.”

“You must’ve been raised by poor people who fed you a lot of McDonalds.” She says the words in a joking manner, but quite frankly, it’s not funny.

Because it’s true .

“My parents worked really hard for my brother and me, and it’s because of them that I’m even able to play hockey.

They worked multiple jobs to make sure we never went without.

I think that’s powerful, and not something to be ashamed of.

” There’s an edge in my voice, but that’s because I’m officially annoyed.

And hurt. And I want this date to just be over.

“Oh, sorry.” She cringes a little. “I didn’t think you actually grew up poor. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have made that comment.” It’s the first genuine sounding thing that’s come out of her mouth, and I start to relax again. Maybe she’s just nervous, too.

“It’s okay,” I lighten my voice. “So, your family must’ve been well off, then?”

She nods, finally picking up a piece of her pizza. “My mom and dad were real estate brokers in Los Angeles and New York. They made a killing, and our nanny was literally the best person in the entire world.”

“That’s really cool.”

“Yeah, she made a killing, too. Maybe that’s what your mom should’ve done instead of working dead-end jobs. It would’ve made everyone’s life a lot easier.” She thoughtfully takes a bite of her pizza, and I try not to frown at how insufferable she is.

“Maybe.” I keep my reply short and focus on eating for the next ten minutes.

Zena starts rambling about her privileged upbringing and the private school she attended with her four sisters.

She also goes on to complain about her Mercedes Benz being cheaply made, her landlord getting mad at her for being two months late on her rent, and the way her dad cut her off from his credit cards this previous month…

It’s exhausting.

I’m down to my last slice of pizza. She’s maybe eaten one slice of her own, but she’s on her second bottle of wine. I watch her curiously as she fills up on alcohol, knowing when this night is over, I won’t be taking my brother up on any more blind date offers.

I may never date again.

“You know, I’m not really feeling like a circus,” Zena says, finishing off her glass and setting it down with a clank on the table. “We should go to a club or something.”

“We should not,” I say carefully. “I don’t do the whole clubbing scene. It’s not something I’m interested in.”

“Yeah, because you’d rather go to a circus.” She burst into a cackle that rattles my chest in all the wrong ways.

I let out a sigh and rake my fingers through my hair, tugging at the strands until it starts to hurt. Clearly, this is not gonna work, and I need a minute.

“I need to run to the restroom real quick,” I say, eyeing my now-melted milkshake that I’ve yet to touch. As I stand up from the table, my elbow knocks into the glass, sending it flying sideways, spilling all over the table…

And Zena .

Oh no.

Her eyes go wide as the soupy ice cream soaks her black dress and subsequently my jacket. “You’ve got to be kidding me!”

“I’m so sorry,” I say, reaching for some napkins. “I didn’t mean to do that. I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.” I just keep repeating my apology, as if somehow that’s going to make this all better.

“I’m so over this,” she mutters, smacking my hand away and then sliding out the booth. “What a waste of time. I’m ordering an Uber and getting out of here.”

I watch in pure humiliation as she drunkenly saunters, soaked in milkshake, toward the door. The waiter returns with more napkins as soon as she exits, and I let out a pained sigh.

“She wasn’t worth it, dude,” the young guy tells me. “I know her type.”

“Thanks for trying to make me feel better,” I mutter. I grab my jacket, wipe the milkshake off it, and then pull out the circus tickets I took the time to print out. I don’t want to waste the night, no matter how bad it started.

So … I pick up my phone and call the only person I can think of.

“You wanna go to the circus with me? I’ll buy Colton a ticket, too.”

“Your date didn’t go well?” Ella’s voice resounds on the other line.

“Not at all… But I know you love the circus—and I’m sure Colton will, too. So, come with me? I’ll come get you two?”

There’s a pause, then a sigh.

“Okay.”