Page 86 of Offside Attraction

“Oh, so many.” He leaned forward, resting his arm on the table. “Where’d you grow up?” Jordan’s eyes flicked to her shoulders. “Don’t do that.”

“What?”

“Start to fold into yourself.”

Rhonda paused, becoming hyperaware of her own body. “I don’t know if I can help it.”

“Just a city. You don’t have to tell me more than that.”

She wet her lips. “Kamloops. Until I was twelve, then we moved to Calgary.”

“Is your family still around?”

Rhonda shook her head. “My mom’s back in Kamloops.”

Jordan scrubbed a hand over his jaw. “Siblings?”

She held up one finger. “Sister.”

Jordan nodded. “You’re the oldest?”

“Yep. You?”

He nodded again, then reached out and twisted his water glass. “My parents and sister are still here in Calgary. I grew up in Okotoks.”

Rhonda fingered the cloth napkin on her left. She wanted to ask him more about his family and everything Claire told her about Sean but realized she hadn’t even told Jordan the two of them had met.

“I had lunch with your sister last week,” she said, and Jordan’s eyes widened. She hurried on to explain. “I was at Hilltop, and she was there at the pharmacy waiting for her prescription. I saw her name on the board, and she was obviously related to you, so I said hi.”

He watched her, his brow pinching. “Wow, okay.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t say anything. That was—well, it was before the Founder’s Dinner.”Before I broke down in your apartment complex parking lot and found out via my friends that I was emotionally stunted.“I guess she never said anything to you?”

He shook his head. “No.”

“I don’t see why she would. I didn’t let on that we were anything but work colleagues.”

Jordan gave a wry smile. “Oh, she definitely would’ve mentioned it if she thought we only worked together.” It was Rhonda’s turn to look confused. Jordan glanced up and met her eyes. “She’d zip it if she was worried she was going to scare me off.”

Rhonda tried to ignore the meaning of that statement. Or what looking into Jordan’s eyes did to her. Was this what taking a pact of celibacy did to a person? Everything about him suddenly became an aphrodisiac? She picked up her water and took a sip. “Well, it was a lovely conversation.”

“About?” He raised an eyebrow.

“Reviact.” She paused, letting him squirm for a second. “And your early hockey career.” Jordan looked more uncomfortable than her for the first time ever. “Why didn’t you ever tell anyone what happened with what’s her face? Sean’s girlfriend?”

“Claire told you about that?”

“She did.” Rhonda set her glass back on the table. She wanted to press him, to ask why he’d never talked about it, then recognized the hypocrisy. She’d barely been able to give him the name of the city where she grew up.

“Back then I figured if my best friend didn’t know me well enough to ask questions instead of assuming I’d do something like that, then it wasn’t worth my energy.” Jordan’s jaw was tense.

“Yeah.” Rhonda nodded, something twisting in her gut. Did anyone know her well enough to ask questions?

Their food arrived with a flourish, the sizzle of Jordan's steak and the savory aroma of her meatloaf. Rhonda took a moment to appreciate the presentation, the vibrant colours of the vegetables and sauces.

They thanked their server, then Rhonda turned to Jordan. “The Snowballs players are good people.” That was the best she could do. She wasn’t going to tell him to have a heart-to-heart with Sean, but it was true. She’d seen them take care of each other, welcoming everyone in with open arms. But she supposed everyone had their blind spots.

Jordan grunted and picked up his fork and steak knife. “So are my players.”

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