Nate’s dark eyes soften at the mention of family, and I finally drop into the chair across from his and take one of his hands in mine.
“Do you know when I met his mom, she asked me more about my acting in one hour than Mom has in my entire life?”
“Mels…”
“By asking me to give him up, you’re not just breaking my heart—which you are, by the way—you’re asking me to give up the type of support system you and I dreamed about growing up.” I squeeze his hand in both of mine.
“Care Bear—”
I continue like he didn’t speak. “All our lives we’ve been each other’s greatest champions. I was the only person in the cast who had an entire hockey team cheering them on from the front rows, and there are very few theater geeks who can recite hockey stats like lines from a script.”
I reach so I’m grasping both his hands and dip my head to meet his eyes.
“You and I have always been an island unto ourselves when Mom and Dad couldn’t be bothered to care longer than it took to sign the checks. We’re Care Bear and Teddy Bear.” This earns me a chuckle, and my spirits lift. “Why let some stupid grudge keep us from finding a family?”
Nate collapses against the back of the chair. “Fuck.” He scrubs a hand over his face. “He didn’t tell you about our”—he pauses, tilting his head side to side as if trying to find the right word—“rivalry?”
“Not really.” Sure, most of the details are a bit fuzzy, but this makes me think I’m missing a few pieces of the puzzle.
“Shit. He might be a better guy than I’ve given him credit for.”
Finally!
“Of course he is. I don’t like people who don’t deserve it—current company and their recent behavior excluded.” I give him a look that dares him to test me on this. He’s smart enough not to.
I’m confident things will get back to normal with us and that he and Jase will be able to work their shit out. Plus, if they don’t, I’ll just enlist my fellow Covenettes to help knock some sense into them.
“Still.” He shakes his head. “I can’t trust him.”
“You’re not the one who is dating him—I am. So guess what, big brother? It doesn’t matter if you don’t, because I do.”
“Well you shouldn’t,” he snaps. “Because usually when a guy is okay with hooking up with a girl who has a boyfriend, they tend not to care if they themselves have one.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” I tilt my head. He’s not making any sense.
“After we lost to BTU in the Frozen Four…” Nate swallows and rubs at his ear. It’s his tell when he’s angry, so I wait him out. “I caught him hooking up with Dana.”
“Dana?” I sit up straight. “As in your ex-girlfriend?”
“Yeah. I caught them looking very cozy by the bathrooms.”
Math may not have been my favorite subject, but even I can tell something doesn’t add up.
“So you’re saying Jase knew Dana was your girlfriend and targeted her to get back at you from your beef from Lake Placid?”
“Yes. No. I don’t know.” Nate rests his elbows on his knees, threading his fingers in his hair and massaging his temples.
“Oh my god. I can’t believe that bitch was almost responsible for me missing out on the best relationship I’ve ever had.”
I blow out a breath, trying to get my emotions in check.
“It killed me not to tell you about dating Jase. I felt so guilty there were times it made me sick. I’d talk to you and keep this whole new part of my life from you, and I’d be with him hearing things about you and not be able to defend you. It sucked.”
“Care—”
“And all because of a bitch who was the literal manifestation of a puck bunny.”
“What?”
“Oh Teddy.” I place a hand on his knee. “I love you, but the only thing Dana saw in you was potential dollar signs. Yes, you were projected to go high in the draft, but so was Jase.” I hold up a finger, already knowing what he’s gonna ask. “All you had was yourself in earning potential, but Jase was considered pedigreed. His older brother was the current Rookie of the Year in the NHL. Even though they weren’t engaged at the time, everyone knew he was about to have a brother-in-law in the league too, not to mention all his former teammates and the fact that their family is connected to Rick Schelios. Dana probably saw Jase as a way to get more.”
Then I remember something else—something important.
“Did you see them actually hooking up?”
“No.”
“So why did you assume they did?”
“Dana had her hands on his chest and he winked when I confronted them.”
Fucking Jase. Men really are morons.
“Yeah…nothing happened between Jase and Dana.”
“How do you know?”
“Jase had a girlfriend back then, one he happens to be best friends with now. There’s no way they would still be close if he cheated. I’m pretty sure he just wanted you to think they hooked up to fuck with you.”
“Well shit.” Nate collapses back against his chair. “Well fucking played, Donnelly.”
I put a hand over my mouth to smother a laugh. If these two idiots could stop acting like teenage girls, I think they would actually get along.
Nate stays silent while he processes everything. Both of us were wrong, him with his ultimatum, me for lying about my relationship with Jase. As far as I’m concerned, we’re even. We’ll only have an issue if he tries playing dictator again. For now, I have places to be.
“Good talk.” I double-tap his knee and rise from my seat. “Glad we cleared this up.”
He rises with me, a befuddled expression on his face. “Where are you going?”
I walk to the door before I answer. “You have a nap to take, and I have a song to practice.”
His brows scrunch in confusion. “I thought you said you took the day off.”
“I did, and you’ll see.” I tap my temple. “Just remember to keep this conversation in mind. Love you, Teddy.”
I hear, “Love you too, Care Bear,” before the door shuts behind me.
That’s one hockey player taken care of. Time for number two.
Chapter Sixty
The locker room is buzzing as we dress for the start of Game 7 of the Conference Finals. This is the second time we’ve gone all seven games—the first being our previous series against the Blizzards in the second round—and yes, our bodies are tired, but if we win this game, we’re only four wins away from hoisting the Cup over our heads. It’s so close I can practically taste the silver and nickel alloy.
I’m not saying the locker room is ever the most glamorous place to be—no matter how luxurious the facility—but at the end of May and into June, things take a turn. The extra bruises and all the facial hair from playoff beards isn’t a good look on anybody. Well, except me. I pull off the scruffy look as well as any Avenger.
That being said, I can’t wait to shave this shit off. It’s itchy as hell.