Page 76 of Tempting the Goalie
“Yeah, and soon he’ll be climbing onto team buses and into hotels filled with puck bunnies,” Becket mutters.
“Gross,” I say. “And we have puck bunnies at school. That isn’t something specific to the NHL.”
“Real,” he replies.
“You think I haven’t thought about all this?” I say, sharper than I mean to.
Phoenix tosses an empty can into the bin and grabs another. “We’re not saying you are. We just know how this kind of thing goes.”
“No, youthinkyou know. But you don’t know Luc like I do.”
Eric leans forward. “Bean, we just don’t want you hurt. It’s not about him. It’s about the world he’s walking into.”
“Wait, did you guys bring me out here to stage an intervention? Because I sure as hell don’t need one.”
“You guys are always together. Daddy said it was okay for him to stay over,” Becket says, and it looks like a shiver crawls up his spine.
“Because Daddy loves Luc like a son. He trusts him and he trusts me. I know what I’m walking into it with Luc. You guys don’t need to worry.”
There’s a silence. The kind where they’re all thinking but no one wants to be the next to speak.
Then Asher says, “If he breaks your heart, I get to key his car.”
“Grow up,” I retort.
Becket points his sandwich at me. “Just promise you’ll tell us if he screws up. We’ll handle it.”
“There’s nothing for any of you to handle. I appreciate you all feel the need to look out for me, but I know what I’m doing. Things with Luc feel right.”
“Do they feel the way they did with West Knight because I saw the news. The guy was very involved with puck bunnies.” Asher rolls his eyes.
I wince.
Phoenix smacks Asher in the chest. “You idiot.”
“Not everyone is a West. Luc and I share a past,” I remind them.
“You guys were always best friends. I don’t get how that changes,” Becket says.
“It just does,” I reply without explanation. My brothers do not want to hear the circumstances around Luc and I getting together. “You guys need to accept him. Accept us. You’re not stopping me,” I say. “Just so we’re clear.”
“No one’s trying to,” Eric says. “We’re just giving you a hard time. It’s what we do.”
“I know and I appreciate that you guys are looking out for me, but I’m a big girl now,” I say. I take the last bite of my sandwich and throw the wrapper away. Then I grab a beer from the cooler.
“When did you start drinking beer?” Eric asks.
I sigh and roll my eyes. “Can you just be my brothers? I have a father.”
They all laugh.
“So, Phoenix, how is it going with Elyna and Braden living in your loft?” I ask. He hasn’t said a word about them since they moved in.
“Fine, I don’t know,” my eldest brother replies.
“How do you not know?” Eric asks. “You went to high school with her. You know who she is.”
“We never got a long and that isn’t going to change overnight,” he says, standing near the edge of the boat, calm and steady like always. He flicks his wrist, and the fishing rod arcs smoothly, the line sailing out over the water with barely a sound. It’s precise, practiced like he’s done it a thousand times without thinking. He reels in just a little, then settles in with one hand on the rod and the other around his beer.
