“Even dog sitters need to eat,” Reid said dryly.
“True, and this dog sitter loves to eat! As for living in, Reid was determined to keep Bucky and kenneling him while he’s away wasn’t feasible. That’s where I come in.”
She wasn’t sure why she wanted to poke at this man, maybe because his reputation as an asshole preceded him. Hard to believe he had fathered sunny Bastian. Genetics, so strange.
Henri merely stared at her, evidently mystified. Fine, she didn’t need to win him over. After a little small talk about the meals they each had their eye on and the restaurant scene in Montreal versus Chicago, Nadine prompted Kennedy for information.
“A dog walker and a yoga instructor. That sounds interesting!”
Nadine was definitely the peacemaker, kind of like Bastian, though a little less peace-making and little more bomb-throwing might be better for this lot. “Sure, I love it. Do you do yoga, Nadine?”
“Me? Oh, no. I’m not sporty.”
Bastian laughed. “Nadine, yoga requires no sporting aptitude whatsoever. You’re essentially lying down the entire time.”
Kennedy gave him a playful punch. “Hey! I’ll have you know that yoga requires exceptional core strength.”
“I’m trying to not scare her off. I think she’d have a blast at yoga.” He grinned at Nadine. “Honestly.”
“Speaking of trying, I’ve been needling Reid to join my class but he’s worried about looking silly.”
Reid sipped his water. “That’s not what I’m worried about. I just don’t want to show you up in front of your students.”
“My students would love you joining in.” She shot a smile at Nadine, and included Henri in it, too, though he didn’t deserve it, the grump. “I do a yoga class at the senior home where my gran lives and Reid is quite the hit there. The ladies love him, especially when he hangs and plays bingo.”
That woke Henri from his sunshine-inflicted stupor. “You’ve got time to play bingo, Reid? Not from where I’m standing.”
Reid tensed beside her, and for what? Not spending every single second doing his job? Not even that, practicing to do his job.
Reid was the hardest working person Kennedy knew. A beast when it came to preparation, and it showed. Since she’d moved in, he had played at least ten times and had scored in more than half the games. If anyone deserved a little R&R, it was this guy.
“He’s having a great season,” Kennedy said. “Not that I know much about it but my sources tell me he’s doing well.” She slid a smile Reid’s way.
He held her gaze for a moment, just long enough to tease a secret grin from him. Meaning that he didn’t smile at all but she felt it in her soul.
“What the hell are they doing, moving you from the wing, Reid? Did you ask for that?”
“Dad,” Bastian said. “We’re trying to eat here.”
“How many Cups do you have?”
“One,” Bastian said, then added cockily, “Two by the end of this year.”
“Come back to me when you have four.” He addressed Reid. “And that team’s not going to win another Cup playing you at center. God knows you’ve done well with what you’ve got. You’re a decent right wing. You’ll be lucky if they keep you on the second or third line after the novelty wears off. And you need to keep above 50 points to guarantee they’ll offer you a contract next year. Center won’t get you there.” Durand Senior was getting mighty agitated. “This is what happens when women are put in charge.”
“Coach Calhoun is a man last time I looked,” Reid said, which made Bastian laugh.
“Don’t get smart with me. Guy’s a hack. They should have put him out to pasture years ago.”
“Henri …” Nadine tried to soothe him.
“Maybe goals aren’t everything,” Kennedy said. “Isn’t hockey about teamwork and brotherhood? Does it really matter who scores the goals as long as the team wins? And from what I can see, Reid’s contribution, whether on wing or at center, has immense value. So maybe cut him a break?”
Henri’s lip curled in disgust. “Let the adults talk, cherie.”
“Don’t talk to her like that,” Reid said.
“It’s okay, I can handle it.”
“You shouldn’t have to.” Reid skewered his father with a look, and like all bullies when challenged, the man reddened and backed down.
But when she reached over to squeeze Reid’s pillar-thick thigh, he flinched. Damn. This was going to be trickier than she thought.
31
Reid parked in the resident space outside his apartment building and turned off the engine. On the way home, he had remained silent, shutting down any attempt by Kennedy to talk to him.
“So, that was kind of intense. Is he always like that or was that the special version he brings out for guests?”
His hands gripped the steering wheel, his knuckles straining through the skin. She was being flippant, mostly because she had no idea how Reid truly felt about this man who cared only about winning. No other subject at dinner gained traction. Every word from Durand Senior sucked the life out of the room.
“Listen, I’m sorry if I made things difficult between you and your father, but frankly, the man is a dick.”
“C’est vrai.” It’s true. She knew that much French. She knew that much Reid. “I’m sorry he ruined your dinner.”
“He didn’t. I mean, that sticky toffee pudding was amazing. But I think he ruined something. I think he’s made you miserable and it hurts me to see how much he hurts you.”
He shook his head. “Kennedy, you don’t have to defend me to him. It’s not your job.”
Then whose job was it? Bastian had tried but even he couldn’t make any headway. Nadine just rolled her eyes as if her husband’s cantankerousness was a joke instead of truly harmful. As far as Kennedy could see Reid was all alone here, bearing the brunt of familial pressure to succeed.
“You’re solid gold, Reid, you know that?”
He turned sharply, his lips parted in shock. “Kennedy—”
“You are! You completely undersell yourself. You know what I see?” She didn’t give him time to answer. “A guy who would rather hide his decency behind a scowl, who thinks his kindness puts him at a disadvantage and his big heart is a weakness. I will always defend you, Reid, because you won’t take the time to do it yourself.”
His big chest heaved with emotion. He looked baffled, those gorgeous denim-blue eyes soft and shining. “That’s not me,” he said faintly. “I’m not decent at all.”
“Push the seat back, baby.”
“The seat?”
“The seat,” she repeated as she leaned over, pressing her breasts against his arm and pushing the button that moved his seat back. In one swift move, she straddled him. “I don’t think I’ve truly demonstrated how flexible I am.”
“Kennedy, you don’t have to—”
But she stopped him with a kiss which had him responding with so much hunger, so much heat. A complete knee-melter. Good thing she was sitting over the thickest thighs in hockey.