‘Just hockey? Careful, don’t let any of your gazillion sponsors hear you say that.’
His grin was all perfect teeth, reminding her so much of the poster she’d seen in the airport – and her urge to wallop him with a piece of chewed up gum – that she had to swallow back a laugh.
‘I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t care, as long as I kept turning up to get my photo taken.’
‘Are you trying to make me think you hate it?’
‘No,’ he answered, quickly.
‘I mean, this was always your dream, right?’ she asked, careful to keep the accusation from her voice, even when it was raging through her.
Because at one time, she’d thought his dream was different. At one time, she’d thought his dream was her. And not because she was a naïve fantasist, but because he’d said it. About a week before their first time, when they were on the dirt track behind the Meyers’ house, and he’d stopped walking to take her hand in his and lifted it to point at the big, old house. It wasn’t the fanciest, but they both loved it because it was so full of history.
‘Ever think maybe one day that could be us?’
Sienna had looked up to notice the elderly couple on the porch, Mr Meyer kneeling beside a pot of Azaleas, small spade in hand, while Mrs Meyer poured two drinks from a crystal jug.
‘I guess so.’ Aiden brought her back to the present with his answer. ‘I wanted to do this almost my whole life.’
It took a monumental effort to blot her anger. ‘Yeah.’ Her voice was a little uneven. She sipped her drink. ‘I remember.’ She remembered everything. That was the problem. She rememberedeverything.
‘What about you?’ He changed the subject. ‘When I left, you were looking at applying to pre-med.’
God, that felt like a lifetime ago. She couldn’t even get into the headspace of the young woman she’d been.
She shrugged. ‘I changed my mind.’
‘Yeah?’ He was looking at her so intently now, and she hated it. Her pulse was raging in a way that made all her skin feel hot and sticky, despite the pleasant ocean breeze rustling through the open doors of the high-ceilinged room. ‘Why?’
She had to look away then. She couldn’t bear to have him askwhy.As if it had really been a goddamned choice. The weight of pressures that had landed on her in that senior year was like a bag of cement.
‘People change, Aiden. I’m not the girl you used to know. I’m pretty sure you’re not the guy I used to know. We’re different now.’
She turned back to look at him, surprised to see his jaw was held taut. ‘In what way?’
She forced an overbright smile, then scrambled for how to reply. ‘I mean, apart from the fact we’re more than a decade older? Hopefully wiser?’
His smile caught her off guard. If he’d looked tense a minute ago, now he was all sexy and dishevelled, relaxed and charming with those stupid dimples she used to love grooved into his cheeks. ‘I’m not so sure about the latter, but I’m trying.’
She opened her mouth to reply but at that moment, Astrid walked up to them, followed closely by a sex god in human form. ‘Oh, hi, you two,’ Astrid cooed, angling her face to flash a surreptitious wink at Sienna. ‘I wasn’t sure if you’d had a chance to meet Chuck, Sissi?’
Siennacouldn’tlook at Aiden. She wouldn’t. He probably wouldn’t care – at all – that Astrid was intentionally throwing Sienna in the path of one of the hottest men who’d ever lived, but Sienna cared, because she knew why Astrid was doing it, and she didn’t think she could look at Aiden without bursting into laughter.
So she focused on her friend and her drink, while Astrid put an arm around Chuck and brought him closer to Sienna. Their eyes met and he smiled.
‘Chuck, this is one of my favourite people in the whole wide world, Sienna Mastrangelo. Sissi, this is Chuck. He’s a lot of fun,’ Astrid added exaggeratedly. ‘You’re going toloveeach other.’
Sienna bit back a roll of her eyes. When Astrid committed to gilding the lily, she clearly committed with her whole heart.
‘Jesus, Astrid, how many hot friends do you have?’
Astrid laughed. ‘You behave,’ she said, slapping Chuck on the shoulder then turning to Aiden. ‘He’s terrible. You have to watch him. But of course, you know that – you two have met before.’ She gestured from her future brother-in-law to Chuck, who’d moved to stand almost close enough to Sienna to touch.
‘Yes.’ Aiden’s response was a little curt, but Sienna didn’t read into it. Astrid had laid it on with a trowel, after all. ‘We’ve played against each other.’
‘That’s right, we have.’ Chuck grinned. ‘A couple of times.’
Sienna didn’t have to be a mind reader to guess how those games had gone. Despite his own prowess, there was a look on Aiden’s face that spoke of crushing defeat. Chuck shot up in her estimation.
