Текст книги "The Girl with Hearts"

Автор книги: Savannah Blevins

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Текущая страница: 10 (всего у книги 14 страниц)

He pursed his lips, clearly unsatisfied.

“It’s my only stipulation,” she added, “to trying this whole friends thing out with you.”

“Is there an agreement form I need to sign?”

“No,” she said weakly, preparing herself for what she would say next. “I just don’t want to know about it. You know, you’re not depriving yourself.”

“That’s two stipulations,” he pointed out. “Are you sure we don’t need to write all these down? Get lawyers involved?”

She made a face at him. He smiled again. “There isn’t going to be anything to tell, but fine. Hook-up stories are officially off the table.”

“Okay.” She nodded as if she were trying to convince herself, and that was probably right.

He elbowed her, and when she looked up, he was still smiling. “Let’s go get nachos,” he said casually.

“Nachos?”

“Yeah, nachos are awesome. Austin has been making me eat asparagus and beets for a week. I really want some fucking cheese in my life.”

He was changing the subject. Just like Drew. Just like a friend would do.

Leila finally laughed, and the uncertainty and fear slowly started to drift away. Maybe this friendship thing could actually work with Henrik. “You realize Austin’s been sneaking over and stealing Oreos from me all week, right?”

“What?”

Damn. Even annoyed, he was cute.

Friends were allowed to be cute. Cute was safe.

“He has an entire secret stash of food in his gym bag too,” she told him, trying to keep her thoughts focused.

Henrik stood up, dusted off his pants, and held his hand out to her. “Oh, we are so eating nachos right now. And Twizzlers. Do you know how much I miss eating Twizzlers?”

Leila stood and took his hand like it was the most natural thing in the world. “Probably as much as Austin misses his Oreos.”

“I’ll deal with Austin later,” he grumbled. “Tonight I’m eating nachos and Twizzlers with my friend.”

Leila tried so hard not to let the word friend make her stomach twinge.

Friends were allowed to make your stomach twinge.

Right?

Chapter 18

 

 

HENRIK’S ROAD TRIP

Wednesday night was a typical night on the road. The team flew to a random city, checked into their hotel, had a grueling practice, and then went out for dinner. It was typical, except for all the important things.

Henrik had a new fancy face shield on his helmet.

It was ugly and large. It looked like something Buzz Lightyear would wear. He absolutely hated it, but was told it was non-negotiable at least three times by the medical staff.

He also persuaded Austin to switch up their usual roommate arrangements in the spirit of team unity. So, he decided to bunk with Sam. The team dinner consisted of just that, the team only, and no teammate was excluded. He was finished with the one-track mind stigma everyone was determined to throw in his face. He could be a good captain, a better friend, and more importantly, a man deserving of a woman like Leila, even if that meant their relationship was purely platonic. He was confident that with a little self-awareness he could accomplish that much.

Fully clothed Scrabble could work.

“Okay, I’ve just got one question, and it’s probably going to offend you.”

Henrik rose up from his spot on the bed where he crashed as soon as he entered the room five minutes earlier. He turned to look at Sam, who stood stoically in the middle of the room, still wearing his suit from dinner.

“That’s never stopped you before,” he reminded him.

“Are you rooming with me so you can talk to Austin’s sister without him knowing?”

He rolled his eyes and lay back down on the bed. “Yes, Sam. You are merely a pawn in my grand scheme to get my ass kicked.”

“You’re such an ass.”

He took the pillow behind his head and chucked it at Sam’s grinning face. “Then don’t ask stupid questions. I’m rooming with you because for some ridiculous reason I actually enjoy your presence.”

Sam caught the pillow, and waited for him to actually answer his question.

He groaned. “If I wanted to call Leila, I’d call her. I don’t need a permission letter from Austin.”

Sam walked over and sat on the corner of the bed. “So, are you? You know, going to call her tonight?”

Henrik grinned back at him, glancing at the door that connected their room with Austin and Callen’s next door. “Yeah, as soon as Austin goes to bed.”

Sam laughed, finally taking off his suit jacket. “So, how is the friendship thing working out for you?”

He shot him a knowing look.

“That well, huh?”

“It’s not like I go over to Drew’s thinking today is the day I’m going to make a move on her. I get near her, and shit just happens. I can’t help myself. It’s like embedded in my genetic code or something. I see her, and all my mind can think is ‘touch her, smell her, move just a little closer.’”

“Smell her?” Sam inquired, trying not to laugh.

“She’s like lilac scented heaven, asshole. Get off my back.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” he said and chuckled.

“I accidentally made a move on her the other day,” he admitted, and for the first time he actually felt horrible about it. “I didn’t mean to, and hell, I didn’t even realize I was doing it at the time.”

“I’m going to assume by the sour look on your face that it didn’t go over well.”

He let out an exaggerated sigh as he recalled the incident. “She shut me down. Hard.”

Sam tried not to laugh, but failed. Henrik threw his other pillow at him. “Sorry,” Sam apologized. “But at least now you know how the other half of the world lives.”

“She actually told me to go out tonight,” he confessed.

“Go out?” Sam asked, surprised. “As in ‘find a woman and bring her back to your room’?”

“Yep.”

“Are you?”

He rolled his eyes. “Do I look like an idiot?”

“Just checking.” Sam arranged the pillows beneath his head, and sank back against them. “It sounds like she is just confused about what she wants.”

“She isn’t confused,” he explained. “I think she knows what she wants, it’s just—”

“What?”

“I think she’s scared that I’m like Derek. That if she lets her guard down, I will inevitably hurt her.”

It was the first time he had ever said the thought out loud, though it had been nagging at him for weeks. Leila had no reason to trust his word, and after her experience with Derek, airing on the side of caution would be expected. Except he didn’t want to be placed in the same category as Derek. Sure, he’d done his share of scumbag things, but he’d never been in a committed relationship at the time.

Relationship.

It seemed like his every thought and action kept leading him back to that one original idea, and the more he considered it, the more unattainable and illogical it felt.

He wasn’t allowed to have that kind relationship with Leila. Austin and Drew barely conceded friendship.

“I may be a rookie, but I’m pretty sure the entire universe knows Derek Deroty is a certified douche bag.”

Henrik smiled sadly at his new friend. “Well, I hate to break the bad news to you, Sam. But up until about two months ago, so was I.”

“Henrik, there is a big difference between being a little,” Sam paused, probably trying to decide the best way to insult him, “self-involved, and being an uncaring, inconsiderate bastard.”

He chuckled, shaking his head. “Either way, she is determined to keep me at arm’s length.”

“Are you okay with that? I mean, are you going to ultimately be satisfied with just being friends with her?”

He covered his face with his hands. “What are you doing to me, Sam?”

“I’m not doing anything.”

“Yes, you are,” he growled, running his hands through his hair as if he might pull it out. “You’re making me confront my feelings.”

“Feelings? I thought that we weren’t allowed to reference such blasphemy?”

He glared at the rookie, but Sam was too busy enjoying himself. “You can go ahead and tell me I was right if you want. I really don’t mind.”

He clenched his teeth. “I like her, all right? I admit it.”

Sam shook his head disapprovingly. “Come on, I see the way you look at her. You more than like that girl. You admitted, when you get around her, you can’t control yourself.”

“I officially hate you,” he growled. “We’re not friends anymore.”

Sam laughed. “Fine. You don’t have to convince me, but you should call her.”

He immediately shook his head. “It’s too soon.”

“Take some advice from me,” Sam insisted. “It’s never too soon to be honest.”

He thought about it, and for the first time in his life, he was scared. That was when he realized there would be no going back for him. Unknowingly, he’d let Leila under his skin, and he’d have to face the ultimate consequence if he failed. He wasn’t sure what a broken heart felt like, but a frightened one was close enough to make him know he never wanted to find out.

Sam dropped Henrik’s cell phone in his lap. “Call her,” he assured him. “I’ve got a call I need make myself, and I can do it from the comfort of the hotel lobby as easy as I can here. Call her tonight, tomorrow night, and every other night after that. If you’re serious about her, then you’re going to have to prove it to her, and unfortunately for you, that takes time.”

Henrik leaned his head back on the bed, running a tired hand down his face. “Unfortunately for me,” he mumbled.

Sam laughed as he threw the pillows back at his unsuspecting face.

***

He didn’t call Leila. He was a chicken. A big, fat, clucking chicken. And Sam reminded him of that fact every chance he got. The next night at dinner, when the waiter asked for his order, Sam interjected, “Chicken.”

When the coach asked what game they’d like to play during warm-ups, Sam called out, “Chicken!”

Every time Austin mentioned his sister, or Sam saw him with his phone in his mere vicinity, he’d start clucking and flapping his wings.

The little smartass was earning himself a car full of packing peanuts when they got back to New York, but Sam was right. He needed to talk to her. The team had the night off before their game against Montreal the next day, and he knew it was the perfect opportunity. He grabbed his cell phone, and then whacked a sleeping Sam over the head with a pillow. “Get out.”

Barely conscious, Sam sat up. “What?”

“Get. Out.”

Sam looked around, and then spotted the cell phone in his hand. He grinned. “Well, look who found his balls.”

Henrik whacked him over the head again. A little harder this time.

“Okay. Okay.” Sam jumped up, laughing. “I’m going. Geez.”

Henrik waited while he gathered his stuff, and went to camp out in Jiri’s room. Austin’s room was off limits. He didn’t want to raise any red flags.

He paced from the window to the door, reciting what he would say in his head, but it was nothing more than gibberish. He’d never told a girl he had feelings for her before…and meant it. He ran through his contact list and found her name. Then he just stood there and looked at it. Then he looked at it some more.

He was shocked he didn’t sprout feathers.

He clicked on her name without thinking about it, and held his breath as he listened to it ring. He almost lost hope after the fifth ring, but then she finally answered.

“Hello? Henrik? Is something wrong?” Her voice was groggy and full of panic. He glanced over at the clock, noticing it was after eleven and she had probably already been asleep.

“No,” he told her quickly. “Nothing is wrong.”

“Oh,” she breathed, sounding relieved.

“I thought—maybe—I would tell you goodnight.”

“Oh,” she repeated, her concern turning to surprise.

He gauged her reaction for a moment, coming to the only logical conclusion. “Derek never called you on road trips, did he?”

“No,” she replied honestly, her voice barely a whisper. “Never.”

His free hand balled into a fist. “Well, I guess that’s something you’re just going to have to get used to, then,” he replied, holding back the curses about her ex.

She was quiet, and that worried him. “Leila?”

“You didn’t go out tonight,” she commented, more to herself than to him.

Tonight was their only night off during their road trip, and she knew it. “Not going to lie. The shock in your voice is a little hurtful.”

“I didn’t mean it like that.”

“It’s okay.” Keep calm. Be honest. “I understand that with my reputation and track record, I don’t automatically get the benefit of the doubt.”

“It’s not that.” Her voice was weak, burdened. “I shouldn’t care. That’s what I was trying to tell you the other day. We’re friends, and that’s great. I shouldn’t care whether or not you go out, and you should go out and not care what I think.”

“Is there some kind of friendship rule book I don’t know about? Because that sounds like total bullshit to me.”

“Henrik.”

“Well, it is,” he rushed, “because I promise you, Leila, I’d care. If you bring some guy over and parade him around in front of me, I will make a complete ass out of myself. Guaranteed.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

Now he laughed. “No. What’s ridiculous is how bad it bothers me that you sleep half naked in my brother’s bed every night.”

“It’s just Drew.”

“I fail to see your point,” he droned. “Is he there now?”

He shoved his ear harder against the phone, waiting for Drew’s maniacal laugh.

“No, he’s still out, but it doesn’t matter, because friends don’t think that way. If we’re going to try and make this work—”

“Maybe we’re not friends,” he cut in before he could stop himself.

He paced the room again, his hands in his hair. He would be bald before the end.

“What?” Her voice was hurt, and he knew he had to act quickly.

“Maybe,” he started, his mind racing to figure out a way to explain himself, “we should be friends who would eventually like the option of possibly being something different in the future, which means different rules apply to us.”

There was a long pause. “Are you high? Did the doctor give you some kind of new pain medication for your nose?”

“I’m being serious.”

“You obviously don’t have any idea what you’re saying right now.”

“Yes,” he gulped. “I do.”

Could he do it? Say he had legitimate feelings for her, and he wasn’t going to sleep with anyone else? He’d already said it. Actually, he was already doing that. Now he just wanted his grand gesture returned.

She’d gone quiet again. The buzz on the other end of the phone was prominent as he waited for her to finally answer. She’d have to answer eventually.

“You would do that?”

A gush of relief fell out of him. “Again. A little insulted by the shock in your voice.”

“I’m not shocked, Henrik, it’s just—we barely know each other.”

“You’ve known me since you were eighteen.”

“Yeah, but how much of that time did we actually spend getting to know each other, or even spending time together? We hated each other, remember?”

“No. You hated me. I was under strict instructions to stay the hell away from you.”

“That still doesn’t mean this is a good idea.”

“You’re right,” he breathed, unwilling to recall all the times he had to force himself to turn and walk the other direction when he saw her coming. “I may not know your favorite color yet, or even how you take your coffee, but there are some things I’m certain about when it comes to you.” He checked the door again, just to be safe. “I know you’re an amazingly loyal friend, because you and I both know Drew doesn’t trust easily. You’re supportive and caring, because I’ve watched you cheer on your brother too long. I know I’ve never felt comfortable enough to talk about my mother with anyone else.”

The sound of shocked silence was deafening.

“I’m not asking for some kind of commitment in stone, Leila,” he continued. “I’m just saying it’s obvious that both of us are harboring some more-than-friend type feelings about one another that we don’t know what to do with right now. We owe it to ourselves to have time to figure it out.”

Silence. Dead, suffering silence.

“I don’t know.”

“I don’t want you hooking up with anyone,” he blurted out. “The thought bothers me to an extent that is embarrassing. On occasion, you’ve implied that you feel the same about me. I mean, honestly, do you want me bringing girls back to my apartment? You running into them in the hallway in the morning?”

There was a pause, and then an audible, annoyed huff. “No,” she said stiffly, “I would prefer not to have that happen.”

“Then we have an understanding.”

She let out sigh, obviously overwhelmed. “This is crazy.”

It was more than crazy. It was real.

“Maybe, but if it helps us sleep at night…”

She scoffed. “I highly doubt you were losing any sleep over whether or not I’ve been hooking up with random guys since I’ve been here.”

“You’d be surprised.” It had crossed his mind more than a few times. “Check my game stats for that night you gave your ticket to Drew’s friend. Zero points. Zero hits. All I could do was sit there and think about whether or not you were out with some random guy.”

“I spent the evening in my pajamas combing through ads for a job,” she said, chuckling.

“Now you tell me.”

She laughed again, her voice dropping to a whisper. “Well, if it makes you feel any better, you’re still the only one.”

Something tightened in his chest.

“It does, actually,” he confessed, knowing it was difficult for her to admit anything to him, especially when it involved her feelings. “And I was being honest when I said I haven’t been with anyone since you.”

She made an almost hysterical laughing sound. “Okay, so that’s settled. Neither of us will be hooking up with anyone else.”

“Just to clarify,” he smiled into the phone, “that includes no hooking up with each other, right?”

“Yes, Henrik. That includes each other.”

“Okay,” he breathed, probably for the first time since they started the conversation. “Good. I can totally handle that.”

And he could.

“I trust you.”

The emotion those three simple words evoked was astonishing. It shocked him. “Thank you.”

He smiled like an idiot and was grateful she couldn’t see the inevitably goofy look on his face.

“Just one other thing,” he added, since she was being agreeable for the first time in her life.

“There’s more? Maybe we should write this down. Get lawyers involved.”

“You’re cute, Blakely. Real cute. I’m trying to be serious right now, remember?”

She cleared her throat. “Okay.”

“Since we have this new understanding, I’m going to need you to be available next weekend,” he told her, his voice a little more chipper than he meant it to be.

“For what?”

“To be my date for the Hockey Pays Forward Charity event the organization hosts every year. I’m required to go, and everyone brings a date.”

“Henrik. I’m sorry, but—”

“We can go as friends if you want. Just don’t make me show up alone.”

“No. It’s not that. I would love to be your date, but I promised Austin I’d go with him. Apparently, since his favorite wingman has been blowing him off, his datebook has suffered. However, I suspect it’s his passive aggressive way of keeping me from going with you.”

He flopped back on the bed. “Austin knows me too well.”

And he did. Austin knew he’d ask her. He’d been trying to corner him for weeks, and now he’d won. He would have to talk to him. That meant he would have to admit things. Things Austin already knew. It would be ugly, and painful.

“I’ll take care of it,” he finally decided.

Leila laughed into the phone. “Good luck with that.”

“Thanks,” he sighed, slumping down on the bed.

He would need it. He silently wondered if he should wear his new face guard.

Chapter 19

 

 

HENRIK’S CONVERSATION

The team was on the way back to Manhattan, a three-hour flight ahead of them. Henrik sat in the back of the team’s private jet with Austin, Sam, and one of their other teammates, Callen, playing a game of cards to pass the time. They were halfway through their first game when Austin finally looked over at him and nudged him with his knee. “So, how long are we going to sit here and act like you didn’t ask my sister out on a date?”

Sam’s panic-stricken gaze immediately shot up to him. Henrik remained calm. At least, calm on the outside. His insides took a dive to hell and back. He studied the cards in his hands. “So, you talked to her?”

“This morning. Mentioned something about going to buy a dress for the charity event, and then asked if I’d talked to you yet.”

“Yeah, about that…” He finally looked up and gave Austin a sympathetic slap on the back. Very casual and very calm. “You’re going to need to make other arrangements.”

Austin paused, staring daggers across the small space at him. “Excuse me?”

“I’m taking Leila,” he asserted with a small smile, his foot bouncing wildly beneath the table. “She’s my date.”

Austin threw his cards down on the makeshift table between them, leaning forward to glare into his eyes with a fury Henrik had never witnessed from his best friend—at least, not directed at him. “Are you trying to fuck my sister, Rylander?”

Shit, he felt guilty. Hurt-his-soul guilty.

“Because I’m pretty sure we’ve had a conversation about this before,” Austin continued. “You know my feelings on the subject.”

“Trust me, I know everyone’s feelings on the subject.”

Austin shoved his shoulder gingerly to get his attention. “The difference between me and Drew is I’m asking you, Henrik.” He dropped his voice to a deadly register. “I expect an honest answer, or I’ll make you give me one.”

Austin studied him, his fierce features cool and distant. Henrik worried that he looked as guilty as he felt, even though, technically, it wasn’t a lie. He wanted to sleep with Leila. Again. And again. However, he wasn’t trying to at the present time, but he couldn’t exactly explain their arrangement to Austin.

“No,” he stated with total honesty. “I’m not trying to sleep with your sister.”

Austin’s eyes remained locked on him, his assessment thorough. Finally, he fell back in his seat, dissatisfied, as if he’d actually looked forward to kicking Henrik’s ass, and picked up his cards again. “Whose turn is it?”

“Wait,” Sam breathed, glancing back and forth between the two of them, his nerves obviously shot. “That’s it?”

“What the hell, Sam?” Henrik interjected, shooting him a dubious look.

“Yeah, Sam,” Austin answered. “Is there something else I need to know?”

Sam swallowed loudly. “No,” he lied. Austin looked at Sam harder, and he started to panic. “I didn’t think finding out Henrik is trying to date your sister would go over so smoothly, is all.”

“Again, Sam. What the hell?” Henrik growled, glaring daggers at his confidant.

“Look,” Austin half laughed. “This isn’t the first time this has happened. Henrik tried this shit back in college, and I’ll admit I was a bit of a hard-ass about it back then.”

“A bit?” Henrik challenged, his tone reflecting the outright shock at his friend’s admission.

“I saved you from yourself.”

Henrik rolled his eyes. “You and I both know it had nothing to do with saving me. Leila was only eighteen.”

“Maybe, but she’s always been able to handle your wild stallion ass, no doubt about that.” Austin’s expression smoothed out. Softened. “Your mother hadn’t even been gone a year at that point. You were damn determined to sabotage any relationship where a woman showed you any kind of affection. It wasn’t the right time. So, yeah—I intervened.”

Henrik gaped at him. “You say that like making her hate me for four years was a favor?”

“It was. You’re welcome.”

Henrik rubbed his hand down his face, frustrated. Austin smiled, returning the pat on the back Henrik had given him earlier. “Look, it’s obvious your thoughts about my sister haven’t changed, so let’s stop pretending like the decline in your social calendar is because you’re all of a sudden Mr. Responsible.”

He looked at his best friend through his fingers. “I’m trying to be both.” He sighed. “You’ve heard the rumors. Naming me captain won’t keep them from trading me. I have to do my part. I need to be Mr. Responsible.”

Austin cocked a surprised brow. “Color me impressed.”

“So, does this mean you’re giving Henrik permission to date your sister?” Sam asked, still a little surprised.

“Have you met my sister? Trust me, my permission is the least of his worries.” He laughed, turning to look Henrik in the eye. “Just keep in mind, though, we’re roommates. I know what your ass does twenty-four hours a day. If you screw up, she will know about it. You got that?”

He nodded quickly. “Understood.”

“And if you try and pull some Derek Deroty bullshit on her,” he added, his face showcasing that deadly stare again, “you’ll have more than a broken nose to worry about.”

Again, he nodded. He would never be Derek, but that look in Austin’s eyes still made him nervous. If there was ever a guy to steer clear of, it was his best friend when he was pissed.

“Now, whose turn is it?” Austin inquired gruffly.

Sam continued to stare blankly at them as if still in shock. “What?” They both asked him in unison, though Henrik mouthed curse words at Sam.

Austin let him off easy about the date, but there was a big difference between a fancy team function and a bathroom wall. He was an asshole, not an idiot.

“Nothing,” Sam asserted, waving them back to their card game, “just minding my own business.”

Austin let it pass, and Henrik fell back in his seat with a thud. That was close. Too close.

***

The week seemed to rush by in a blur, but that tended to happen during the middle of the season. Henrik had back-to-back games on Tuesday and Wednesday, which left little time between sleeping and practice to do anything else. However, he made sure of one thing, and that was that Leila knew she was on his mind. They’d been texting each other regularly all week, and to his complete delight, she seemed to have finally relaxed. She was actually semi-flirtatious with him. Compared to the resting bitch face he was accustomed to seeing, it was a grand improvement.

Henrik: Found a dress yet?

 

Practice just ended, which meant he was free and clear with nothing on his calendar until after the event Saturday night. He left his phone sitting on the shelf in his locker, waiting eagerly for her reply as he changed clothes.

Leila: Maybe. Why so interested?

 

Henrik: Why so secretive?

 

Leila: Not secretive. Just curious why you’re so interested in dresses all of a sudden.

 

Henrik: Because there are only two types of dresses. Conservative and not conservative. A guy needs to be prepared.

 

Leila: Prepared how, exactly?

 

Henrik: If you choose a not conservative dress, it might be wise for a guy to wear briefs instead of boxers so he doesn’t embarrass himself.

 

Leila: You. Are. Ridiculous.

 

Henrik: The word you’re looking for is HONEST. So, what’s the verdict?

 

It took longer for her to answer, but when she did, he couldn’t help but laugh.

Leila: I’d go with the briefs.

 

Austin gave his head a shove from the locker next to him, knocking him off balance. “Stop fucking smiling so much. You look like an ass.”

“How is that different from how he normally looks?” Callen said with a laugh from across the room.

Henrik fell on top of his gym bag before grabbing a glove and chucking it back at Austin’s head. Then he shot Callen the finger. Callen laughed, disappearing into the shower. Austin held his hand out and helped him up. “So, can I assume you’re not joining us tonight?” Henrik smiled, and Austin smiled back. “Good boy.”

“Thanks for the approval, Dad.”

Austin laughed. “We can always go to dinner first. Leila can go too.”

“She’s shopping with Drew,” he said, grabbing his phone and stuffing it deep into his bag, “so I have a feeling she’ll be ready to crash.”

In fact, he knew she would. An all-day shopping trip meant she’d be tired. He still worried about her.

“I’ll catch you afterward then,” Austin said, smiling, “because I fully expect to find you in your bed when I get home. Alone.”

Henrik grabbed a towel and smiled over his shoulder at his best friend. “Naturally.”

***

That evening, Henrik sent Drew a text to tell him he was letting himself in their apartment to wait for them. He eyed Leila’s room from down the hall, assuring himself that snooping would be wrong. She’d tell him eventually. It was probably something minor anyway, which was why she hadn’t brought it up since that night at the pond. She hadn’t had any other episodes since that night, or at least, not that he’d noticed.

He made himself go sit in the living room. He fiddled anxiously with the remote until he heard the key turn in the lock. Leila walked in carrying a white garment bag across her arm. He shot her a smile, recalling their conversation from earlier, and she returned it. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d gotten to know a woman well enough to have an inside joke.

It was kind of fun.

His concern eased.

“So, do I get to see?” he inquired, nodding toward the garment bag.

“Of course,” she smiled, twirling around, “tomorrow.”

“Boo. You’re no fun.”

She shrugged, taking the bag toward her room, leaving him alone with his brother. Drew waited until she was halfway down the hallway to turn around. “Can we talk?” he asked quietly.

There was a redness to his eyes as if he’d been crying. “Sure. What’s wrong?”

“I meant can we talk, privately?” Drew looked back down the hallway again.

“Okay,” he agreed, eyeing his brother suspiciously. “Where?”

“Let’s go to the balcony,” he said, ushering him toward to the door.

They slid silently through the glass doors that led out to the small balcony, and Drew shut them as quietly as possible. “What’s going on? Is something wrong?”

“Maybe.” Drew sighed, worry creasing the lines on his face. “I think Leila might be sick.”

Just hearing the words from Drew’s mouth made his stomach drop. It immediately brought back memories of the Halloween party, her face pale as he helped her off the ice. “What do you mean?”

“Leila hardly ever leaves the apartment. Except, once a week, every Monday morning, she disappears for a couple hours.”

“Maybe she goes shopping, or to the store. She’s allowed to have a life.” He was making excuses, and he knew it.

“She’s always tired,” he continued, his voice becoming more strained by the second. “I know you’ve noticed it too. She has headaches. I thought maybe it was just the stress of everything getting to her, but today I saw her taking medicine at lunch. She tried to hide it from me, but I saw her.”

“People take medicine for all kinds of reasons.” He clenched his hands around the railing. “It could have been birth control, for all you know.”