“Housemate, actually.” There was no point in hiding it. Brett had been the one to post about her services in the first place. Gah.That word.
“That tracks.”
Penny stepped back and slipped the band off his arm. She wasn’t going to dig deeper into that comment. “Wasn’t so bad, eh?”
“After our regular practice, that was downright balmy.”
Penny looped the resistance band back over the hook she’d screwed into the garage wall. “You have one of those captains?
“Worse, I am the captain.”
Penny kept her back turned as Jordan reached for his shirt and pulled it over his head. “So you're a masochist. All of this is beginning to make more sense.”
Jordan stood up and sauntered toward her with a grin on his perfectly symmetrical face. “It's hockey, babe.” He pulled out his phone. “You said PayPal, right?”
“Yep, I think that’s easiest for everyone.”
Jordan nodded. “Can I get on your schedule again for next week?”
“Absolutely.” Penny slipped her phone from her back pocket, and once they landed on a day and time, she put him on her calendar.
“I would ask if I could come again this week, but I'm headed out of town for the weekend.”
“And why wouldn't you be? The weather is supposed to be gorgeous.”
Jordan smirked. “Got to take advantage of those weekends. We only have ten good ones before we hit ski season again.”
Penny laughed and moved toward the driveway. “So, which team do you captain?”
“Pucks Deep. Heard of it?”
The name immediately rang a bell. That was the team Brett had mentioned. The one they'd been playing when he'd injured his knee. “Yeah, I actually heard—”
“From your housemate, eh?” Jordan cut in. Penny nodded. He exhaled and slung his left thumb through his belt loop as they approached the street. “Don't let him sway you. We're mostly good guys.”
“Mostly?”
Jordan winked, and sunlight glinted off of his perfectly straight teeth. “See you next week, Copper.”
“Ooh, very original. I've never heard that one before.”
Jordan chuckled as he hopped into the driver's seat and waved before pulling away from the curb.
Penny jogged back up the steps and went inside for a quick drink of water before her next patient arrived. She’d scheduled a fifteen-minute break between patients, and present Penny owed past Penny a huge debt of gratitude for that.
“How’d it go?” Brett asked. He sat at the kitchen table with his computer, and Penny’s hackles immediately went up.
“You got a front-row seat. How did you think it went?” She hadn’t meant for it to come out so snippy, but there it was. Danny had regularly checked up on her during appointments, and it had always rankled. At first, she’d chalked it up to them newly working together. They had to build up trust. But after a year and a half, when he busted into her room, she felt like a child getting caught with her light on after bedtime.
Brett leaned closer to his screen. “I was there for less than thirty seconds.”
“You should’ve been there forless thanless than thirty seconds.” Penny planted her hands on the table, and Brett blew out a breath before meeting her eyes. “Where’s the damn lamp?”
“In my bedroom.”
Penny pushed back. “I’dloveto see it.”
Before she’d fully turned to walk down the hall, Brett grumbled, “It’s not set up yet.”
