Page 43 of Rainbow Kisses

“What’s wrong?”

Immediately, Brian’s mouth twisted into a grin. “Not a damn thing. Chill, little girl. I need to get back to the apartment to get ready for the game tonight, and Rain wanted to know if you wanted to stay with her and Krista so you’re spared the tedious rituals of a hockey player. Anyway, I need to get going.”

My lips twitched, but I just barely held back a smile.

“But it’s, like, morning.” The look on Maddy’s face was almost comical. “The game isn’t until tonight.”

“You’re welcome to come to the rink with me. I want to get some ice time this morning. After last night, I think I need a little extra warm-up time. You can hang out in the stands, do some homework.”

Maddy’s eyes widened. “Uh, I think I’ll stay with Rain.” She glanced my way for a bare second. “If it’s okay with her.”

I kept my smile calm. “Yep, that’s perfectly okay with me, if you don’t mind being busy. I’ve got to make a stop at the bakery to talk to Erin, then we’re going to help my mom bake cookies, and we can always use more hands. She makes hundreds to give out to practically everyone in town."

I wasn’t even kidding. My mom baked Christmas cookies for an army.

“I like Erin.” Krista started to bounce with all the enthusiasm of a seven-year-old hopped up on hot chocolate and pancakes. “She makes yummy scones. Can we get scones? I love scones!”

“Yes, we can get scones, and we can have them after lunch. But only if you eat lunch. Deal?”

Krista whooped, shouted, “Scones!” and took off to take a lap around the living room.

Brian watched her with a wary amusement, shaking his head. Even Maddy seemed to be a little exhausted at her energy. But she didn’t change her mind about staying.

“Then if Maddy’s okay with helping you out today, I need to leave so I can get to the arena.”

I wondered if he realized that Rebel was probably heading to the arena too, hoping to catch him there. And since I couldn’t do a damn thing about that, I tried not to think about it. They were both big boys. They needed to figure their shit out. But I really, really wanted to know what the hell their deal was.

“Brian?”

“Yeah?”

His eyes met mine and I couldn’t think of anything I wanted to say to him other than, “Kiss me, please,” which totally wasn’t going to happen. Even I knew there were limits to my appeal, and asking him to kiss me while his niece and my almost-niece discussed the various types of scones available at the bakery was one of those limits.

But I really wanted to kiss him. To stand on my toes and put my hands on his cheeks and feel that dark red stubble on his cheeks against my palms and press my lips against his. Hard.

And for someone whousuallygot what I wanted, I felt more than a little frustrated.

Yes, I was spoiled, but I knew it, and I tried not to let it dictate my attitude. Meaning, I recognized that I was and tried my damnedest not to be a bitch when I didn’t get my way. And right now, I knew I wasn’t going to get my way.

“If I don’t see you before the game, have a good one.”

His lips curved in a quick smile, there and gone almost before I realized it.

“Thanks.” Then he turned to Maddy and grinned at her. “Try not to have too much fun without me.”

Maddy rolled her eyes, but she had a smile lurking around the corners of her lips, which quickly disappeared when she glanced at me. Still, she didn’t look at me like she only tolerated me, so I figured that was a win.

“I’ll see you after the game, Uncle Brian.”

A twinge of jealousy caught me in the midsection, but I shut that shit down fast because it was so damn stupid.

Brian looked at me again and nodded his head toward the front of the house. “Walk me to the door?”

My brows arched, but I followed him to the door as the girls turned on music fromDescendants, currently Krista’s favorite movie.

“Thanks again for keeping Maddy busy. I think…she needs the distraction.”

“Of course.”

---