Page 63 of Scores Of The Heart

“Are you holding out on us Cindy?” Mads giggles over her wineglass.

I don’t know why I’m flushing, but I cover my hands over my face and shake my head. I smooth my hair down and then take a deep sigh. “Okay… maybe I have some news,” I whisper.

“News? Like what… are you seeing someone?” Em is equally interested and excited.

Susie is looking decidedly giddy next to her.

“What?!” Maddie urges. “Tell us, for god’s sake!”

I pause for a moment, but I figure they’re my closest friends, so what the hell. “Okay… so you all know Tyler Peterson, right?”

It’s probably only Maddie that doesn’t, as she’s not a fan of ice hockey.

“Well… it all started a couple of weeks ago…” I whisper, but I can’t keep the smile from my face for long. God, is it obvious? If it wasn’t before, it sure is gonna be now.

“What started?” Em prods.

I give them as best a rundown as I can from me sloshing coffee all over him that day before the meeting, and then him giving me eyes across the meeting room the whole time.

I can’t wipe the stupid grin off my face. It’s not hard to see that I’m happy. But I know as well as they do I’m playing with fire.

“It’s a scary prospect,” I tell them. “You guys know my dating life hasn’t been the best over the years.”

Em looks over the table at me sympathetically and reaches over to squeeze my hand.

They know about my upbringing. Damon and my trust issues. The near-mugging in college.

And the fact I’ve only ever been with Joel the jock, and that didn’t exactly turn out great.

“Ty seems like a nice guy,” Em says. “And you’ve always got your dad to bust his ass if he isn’t.”

I laugh despite the situation.

“I think they make a good couple,” Susie says, casting me a smile as she sips her wine.

“And I have no idea who you’re talking about, but the powers of google should set me right!” Maddie declares as we all giggle like schoolgirls and raise our glasses in a toast.

I know for a fact if Mads goes probing, then she’s going to see his modeling campaigns, and that should certainly shed some light on the situation.

“Here’s to that!” I exclaim with a laugh. I’m all lit up inside with my three besties here. Things couldn’t be going better at work, and now I’m throwing Tyler into the mix. It’s by far the most exciting thing to happen to me. I can’t wait for Friday night to come around.

* * *

I meet up with Simon and Andrea before the game for a quick bite and a drink before I quickly go home and change. I’m meeting the girls not far from the stadium at Periwinkle Cafe.

“If I didn’t have a date tonight, I’d be all over this game,” Simon says.

“How are things going with Jose, the artist?” I muse.

“Surprisingly well. He lives on a funky houseboat, too. Not that I’ve seen his house yet, but I thought that was pretty cool.”

“Sounds interesting.” Andrea waggles her eyebrows. “Well, if you need a wing-girl, I’m it. You know that.”

“I’ll be fine,” Simon chortles. “I told you, we already sort of had a meet-cute over the kebab thing. He seems perfectly normal.” They were both at Turkish Delight downtown and ordered the same kebab. Causing a bit of a ‘hello’ moment when they both went to the counter to reach for the same one.

“You know if kebabs are anything to go by, I’d say this is a winner, Simon. And he’s an artist. What do you want? That’s almost as HOT as a hockey player.” Andrea eyes me.

She knows I’ve been trawling through my contract on work time, reading each sentence to make sure I don’t miss anything.

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