Steele arched his brows but didn’t reply. He shrugged and focused his attention back on his laptop. Kaden and I had speculated multiple times about what he found so fascinating that his head was always buried in that laptop. Not even a phone or tablet, but a laptop. Kaden, being a horndog, was certain it was kinky porn. I didn’t think so, but who the hell knows. People could have some surprising secrets. I suspected whatever he was doing was more personal and private than porn. I liked to think he was writing the next great American novel or something profound. That’s what I’d expect from such a quiet, introspective guy.
“She’ll kick your ass,” Kaden said.
“Yeah, I know, but I want them close.” I stole the remote from Kaden and flipped through the channels for a hockey game, ignoring his protests. He had a TV in his room. He could watch that. There’d be a disadvantage to having them so close, such as having Caro across the hall and attempting to resist her. The other would be exposing my kids to the Puck Brothers. The thought sent chills up and down my spine. Not a good idea, but they weren’t bad guys. I’d threaten them with bodily harm if they did anything unacceptable in front of my kids. Kaden would have to restrict his fucking of random women to his bedroom, instead of wherever he felt like it whenever he felt like it.
“Why aren’t you out tonight?” I asked, suddenly curious.
“He met someone,” Steele said. I glanced his direction, but he’d gone back to his laptop. Steele knew everything. The guy had heard it all and mostly kept the gossip to himself. I swung my attention back to Kaden, who was scowling at Steele. That was odd. Kaden loved talking about his sexual conquests.
“You met someone and because of that you’re staying home?”
“It’s a long story. She’s busy tonight. Some kind of family obligation.” Kaden sounded grumpy.
“And you couldn’t find anyone else willing to scratch your itch?”
“Something like that.”
“What kind of Puck Brother, are you?” I teased.
“I could ask you the same thing? When’s the last time you’ve hooked up with a random?”
“Not that long ago. More recent than you,” I shot back. I’d enjoyed my brief stint in the league before Caro had initiated contact with me.
“He’s addicted to this woman, like a drug. A bad drug.” Steele met my gaze and rolled his eyes.
“You are?” I turned to Kaden, shocked this was the first I’d been hearing about it.
“She’s hot, really hot, and adventurous in bed, and I can’t fucking get enough of her.”
“You falling for her? ‘Cause that would mean you’d be the first to lose the bet,” I said.
“No, I’m not,” Kaden said defensively. “It’s just sex. It’s not like I found the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with, if I ever do.”
“I see. Thanks for the clarification.”
“I’m obsessed with her. I’ve tried to hook up with a few others, but none of them do what she does to me. I mean, she’s game for anything. Absolutely anything. The fucking part that sucks is that she’s really coy about when we can hook up, keeps me dangling. Doesn’t want to be seen with me. Just wants to hook up.”
“Maybe she’s married,” Steele suggested.
“She’s not married. I asked her. She might have a boyfriend, not sure.”
“Sounds like you’re playing with fire, buddy. People keep secrets for a reason.” I clapped him on the shoulder as I walked by, heading to the kitchen for a beer.
I’d never seen Kaden so wrapped up in a woman. He was the love-’em-and-leave-’em type. He didn’t get attached. This wasn’t an attachment though, sounded more like a sexual obsession. I didn’t worry too much about it. Knowing Kaden, no matter how hot this woman was, the relationship would soon run its course.
Caroline point of view
On Saturday morning, I dragged my tired butt out of bed and cooked breakfast. I’d expected to hear from Easton by now. He’d texted yesterday that the condo was supposed to be ready to move into this weekend, but they were having issues getting a few repairs done.
“When is Mr. E coming to see us again?” Hailey asked. She held her ragged teddy bear in one hand and a worn book in the other. The teddy bear had been a gift from Mark, and my heart squeezed every time I saw it.
It’d been a few days since Easton had interrupted our afternoon and disrupted our lives. Hailey chattered nonstop about Mr. E, while Heath said nothing.
They didn’t seem to know Easton was a hockey player, even though Heath did follow some pro hockey. If he did know, he wasn’t talking, and I wasn’t ready to tell them yet.
“When is he coming again?” Hailey insisted, not to be deterred.
“Soon. He’s a very busy man. Please don’t get your hopes up.”
She sucked her lower lip into her mouth and blinked back tears. The tears came easily to her these past few months, and seeing them so often broke my heart. She’d been such a happy, carefree, loving child before Mark died.
“He said he’d watch me skate.”
“He did?” I didn’t conceal my surprise. I hadn’t heard him say any such thing. He must have made the offer when I’d left briefly to use the bathroom.
Hailey nodded vigorously. “Didn’t he, Heath?”
Heath’s gaze flicked from me to Hailey and back to me. He nodded solemnly.
“I’m sure he will then.” I suppressed a resigned sigh. My daughter was attaching herself to Eaton already as a surrogate father, and the irony in the situation wasn’t lost on me. Still, I worried Easton might not be around long term. He’d play the father role until he tired of it or some gorgeous celebrity caught his eye and he forgot he had kids.
I’d researched him pretty extensively the past few weeks, trying to get a handle on what kind of man he was now compared to the teenager I’d known. What I’d discovered were countless pictures of him with beautiful women on his arm, getting wasted with his buddies, and playing hockey. Of course, hockey. With Easton, hockey came first. And if he was traded to another team, then what would happen? I didn’t see such a thing happening this season or even in the next couple years, but hockey players moved from team to team, and eventually Easton would, too. I wasn’t following him all over North America with my kids in tow.
Kids survived moving around a lot. Other hockey families dealt with these issues, not to mention military families. I might as well admit it. I was the one who didn’t want uprooted. Not that I had to. We weren’t a couple or anything. But the one stipulation in the agreement stated we had to live within forty-five minutes of each other. What if I had a boyfriend or a husband? This requirement was unreasonable, and the paperwork wouldn’t be signed until we straightened this out.
Resisting Easton’s involvement in my children’s lives was becoming futile, almost as futile as resisting his intrusion into my life.
“Hey, it’s not raining. I’m going for a walk. Who wants to join me?” Junie announced as she entered the living room carrying the twins’ coats, already knowing their answer. Hailey shot to her feet, jumping up and down and jabbering away. Heath stood, too, and reached for his coat.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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