Hockey Holidays Read online

  And after a year of being odd man out in Phoenix, he wanted to play. The Colonials could’ve sent him down to the ECHL and he would’ve been happy. He just fucking wanted to play.

  Yeah, he knew that was a hell of a change in his attitude from when he’d been here more than a year ago. A hell of a lot had changed since then.

  Apparently, Leah could say the same.

  Their gazes caught again, and this time, he saw something in her eyes he’d never seen before: a cool detachment that made his gut ache.

  Fuck.

  “Phoenix kept you on the bench.” The sneer in Rob’s voice was tough to miss but Kyle let it slide off his back. “Tough to work your way up to where you think you should be when you can’t even get on the ice.”

  “Rob.” Leah’s soft voice got between them like a physical barrier. “You’re going to be late for work.”

  Her brother nodded slowly, but his gaze remained locked with Kyle’s. Because it wasn’t in Kyle’s nature to back down, he didn’t look away.

  The baby made a noise then, flapping his hands at Rob, as if wanting him to pick him up.

  Rob looked away, his face softening when he looked at the baby then leaned down to kiss his dark curly hair and ran a hand down his back.

  “Be good for Aunt Leah, bud.” Then Rob leaned in to kiss Leah on the cheek. “Call me if you need anything. Marie’ll be in court all day. I’ve got that meeting this morning but then I’ll be free.”

  “JayJay and I will be fine.” She waved Rob out the front door with a warm smile. “We’re going to the studio for Mommy and Me class.” Now she looked down at the baby and affection showed in her eyes and her smile and every inch of her face. “We’re going to have so much fun, aren’t we, JayJay?”

  “Let’s hope some of that zen rubs off on JayJay and he sleeps through the night tonight. Thanks again, brat.”

  Then Rob glared at Kyle, still standing in the hallway outside Leah’s door.

  “Hope you get that call-up soon.” Rob shook his head as he walked away. “Like tomorrow.”

  And finally, he and Leah were alone again. Kind of.

  The baby had started to babble, loudly, staring straight at Kyle. The kid had a lot to say apparently. Unlike his aunt, who continued to watch him like she was expecting him to do something stupid.

  So when the kid reached out to him, Kyle didn’t hesitate.

  “Hey, kid. How’s it going?”

  As Leah’s eyebrows arched, Kyle reached for the baby, but he looked at Leah for confirmation before he lifted the kid into his own arms.

  She gave the baby over without hesitation. At least she knew he’d never hurt a kid.

  As the baby continued to babble away, Kyle grinned. The kid had his aunt’s eyes. A blue so dark they could be mistaken for black. Unless you looked straight into them. Then you could see how unusual they were.

  Just like Leah’s. His aunt.

  “He’s strong,” Kyle said as the baby gripped his free hand with both of his. “Gonna be a bruiser.”

  “Why are you here, Kyle?”

  That cool tone was back in her voice, the one he’d only ever heard her use with him. And only in the past few minutes.

  That pit in his gut threatened to open again.

  Stop being an asshole and say what you came to say.

  “I’m planning to go back to the studio while I’m here. If it’s okay with you.”

  It didn’t look okay with Leah. She definitely looked like she wanted to tell him no, it really wasn’t okay with her and would he please fuck off and die.

  Then again, maybe he was reading a little too much into her silence.

  After several long seconds, she huffed out a quiet sigh. Then she shrugged. “Sure. No problem.”

  Okay, not exactly the response he was expecting. But he’d take it. Unless…

  “Great. Are you still teaching?”

  “Yes.” Her brows arched over those cool blue eyes. “Is that all? I need to get ready.”

  No, that wasn’t all. That wasn’t even close to everything he wanted to say to her.

  But now wasn’t the time because, while he’d never seen that look on Leah’s face before, he’d seen it on his mother’s face plenty of times, when she’d looked at his dad after another one of his “indiscretions.” Leah had had enough.

  So he smiled then as he looked down at the baby he was unconsciously bouncing in his arms. As the oldest of three and the oldest cousin of fourteen, he actually liked babies. He wanted kids. Someday. In the future.

  “Okay, bruiser. Back to Aunt Leah.”

  The kid babbled something as he smacked his hands together and reached for Leah as she took him back. And managed not to accidentally touch Kyle. Hell, her fingertips didn’t even brush against his arm.

  “So, I guess I’ll see you at the studio.”

  Her smile was totally fake as she took a step back.

  “Sure. See you later, Kyle.”

  Then she shut the door in his face.

  Sighing, hands on his hips, he stared at the door for several seconds before he turned and headed for the stairs, back to his new apartment on the fourth floor with his new roommate.

  When he’d lived here before—before he’d gotten traded, before he’d been injured, before he’d been sidelined for so goddamn long—his apartment had been on the third floor and he’d known, he’d known he was destined for bigger things.

  Hadn’t quite worked out that way yet, had it?

  But he wasn’t opposed to hard work. He’d work his ass off on the ice to get back to where he wanted to be. And he was prepared to grovel to Leah if that’s what it would take to get back in her good graces.

  He just wasn’t sure any of it would work.

  He didn’t know if he’d ever make it back to the NHL. And he didn’t know if Leah would ever take him back.

  And that would suck so hard. Because he’d realized a few things through this past year and a half. He loved to play hockey and he loved Leah.

  And he’d been the one to fuck up their relationship.

  So how the hell was he going to fix this?

  Leah walked away from the door, picking her way through her apartment carefully because she wasn’t sure she wouldn’t bump into anything.

  Luckily JayJay wasn’t old enough to ask questions about the man who’d just shown up at her door after more than eighteen months.

  Had it really been that long?

  Yeah, it had. And she totally hadn’t been prepared to see him again.

  Damn him.

  And now she had to go to work and smile and pretend like nothing had happened.

  When the man she’d never thought she’d see again had announced he was back.

  “Jerk.” She muttered the word under her breath, even though she knew JayJay couldn’t understand her or mimic her. “Why did he have to show up now?”

  As if he understood her, JayJay began to babble and clap his hands and she couldn’t help but smile at him.

  “You, little man, are the light of my life at the moment and the only man I want to spend time with.”

  Which was totally true.

  Liar.

  She leaned down to rub her nose against her nephew’s then smiled when he giggled and put his chubby little hands on her face.

  “Yes, I love you too. But we’re going to be late for class if we don’t leave now.”

  Luckily, her brother had JayJay’s bag packed and ready for the day. All she needed to do was get her bag, which she’d packed last night, and head to the studio.

  But she couldn’t stop thinking about Kyle.

  She wished she could lie to herself and say she hadn’t thought about him in the past year and a half since he’d left. Wished she could say she hadn’t cried herself to sleep more than she wanted to admit when he’d left her without more than a “Hey, it’s been fun. Have a great life.”

  By the time she and JayJay got to the yoga studio and she’d dropped him off at the in-studio day