Page 27 of Heat It Up (Off the Ice)
I frown. “Welcome for what?”
“Making sure she doesn’t think there’s gonna be a third period.”
I feel my frown deepen. “What do you mean?”
“She asked who Gabby was. I told her your wife.” He grins stupidly and waits for me to high-five him.
The only thing I want to do is slam my fist in his face. Inwardly I cringe. I’m not normally violent, even on the ice. But in the span of a couple of hours, I’ve broken my record for physically lashing out at someone or contemplating doing so—if you ignore my constant craving to punch the lights out of the drunk who stole my career and Gabby’s life. But since he’s dead, I don’t.
“Fuck,” I mutter.
Nik’s grin widens. “I bet you did. Nice piece of ass she had.”
I fist my hands. Definitely going for a record. “Don’t ever talk about her that way again.” Not that there will be an “again” after the stunt he just pulled.
Nik’s grin wavers at my harsh tone. I hand him the phone. “Can you ask the girl in your room if this is hers?”
He nods and leaves. He returns a minute later. Shaking his head, he gives me back the phone. “No, it’s not hers. At least you won’t have to go around Finland to see who the shoe fits.” He chuckles at his stupid analogy. I glare at him.
But he is right about one thing. It’s not hard to figure out who it belongs to. Now, the problem will be returning it to her. Correction, returning it and getting Sofia to talk to me again. Because if I’ve guessed things correctly, she’s put two and two together and come up with me as the major asshole who’s cheating on his wife while he’s in Finland. Like her ex-boyfriend cheated on her and her father cheated on her mother.
And now I have to prove to her, somehow, that she’s wrong.
Chapter Fifteen
Kyle
One of the advantages of not getting drunk is that hitting the gym the next morning isn’t so painful. Nik is still asleep in his room when I leave to go to the sports center. Judging from how wasted he was last night when he came home, I don’t expect to see him anytime soon.
The sports center isn’t too busy when I arrive. It’s still early, but not too early for the cleaning staff to be working. I approach a woman mopping the floor. “Hei. Is Sofia working today?”
It’s Sunday, but since she never mentioned last night if she’s working today, the odds of her being here are miniscule.
The woman gives me a blank look. “Sofia?”
I’ve learned some Finnish since coming to Helsinki, but this is beyond what I can say. “On Sofia”—I point to the mop—“tänään?”
The woman laughs, which isn’t too surprising. Between my Finnish and pointing to the mop, I’ve asked her if Sofia is a mop today.
I’m about to give up and head to the weight room when Rafu, a therapist from the building’s physical therapy clinic, approaches us. The woman is still laughing.
He nods at me. “Can I help you with something, Kyle?”
“Maybe. I’m looking for an American girl who’s working here for the summer. Her name’s Sofia. I was just wondering if she’s here today.”
“Where does she work?”
“She’s studying to be an athletic trainer, but they’ve got her cleaning toilets.”
Rafu talks to the woman. She responds in rapid Finnish. “She’s not working today,” he tells me. “Sorry.”
“That’s okay. I figured I’d ask since I’m here.” It’s probably just as well she isn’t here. Now that Sofia thinks I’m a cheating asshole with a wife back home, talking to her in public might not be a bright idea. Who knows how she’ll react.
I thank them and walk toward the weight room. Like the rest of the building, the area is quiet, with only a few diehard exercisers working out. Toivo and his girlfriend are by the bench press.
“Hei,” I say to them. “Do you need a spotter?”
“That would be great,” Toivo replies.
