two
Kirby
I turn my head and I’m having an out-of-body experience when I see her. I feel like I’m being kicked in the stomach as I watch her walk across the room. She looks just as perfect as the first time I saw her at my best friend’s baby shower. Her green skirt sways side to side just past her knees, and her white top is tied around her tiny waist. I swear, the only things I can hear are the clicking from her sky-high heels and the shallow breathing coming from my chest.
“I’d like for you to meet my co-chair,” Cheryl says with her head high. “Lexi Yoder.”
“Lexi,” I say her name and stare into her eyes, and just like the first time, I feel like everything has left my body. The nerves hit me right away. My heartbeat picks up, feeling like I’m on the treadmill going a million miles a minute. My palms get a bit sweaty while the back of my neck feels like the sun is burning into it. I shake my head. “This is a surprise.” I extend my hand to her instead of kissing her cheek, which is what I would like to do.
“Kirby,” she says, reaching out her hand, a smile plastered on her face, and her eyes shield any emotion she might have.
“What are you doing here?” she asks and then she shakes her head. “I’m sorry, that question is rude.”
“Not rude at all.” I put my hands in my pockets before I do something stupid like try to touch her. “I’m from Phoenix. You?”
“My husband works in this hospital. He is the head of neurosurgery,” she replies, mentioning her husband and his title. “Nice to see you again.”
“Wait, you two know each other?” Cheryl asks, looking from me to Lexi, who stands with both her hands holding her together in front of her.
“We share a two-month-old nephew. My best friend is married to her best friend,” I reply, mentioning Jaxon and Ariella.
She smiles at Cheryl, avoiding looking back at me. “Well then, this is fantastic news. I’ve just strong-armed Kirby to join the list of bachelors,” she states. I can see the look in Lexi’s eye flinch, but she quickly covers it up.
“Strong-arm is a bit of a stretch.” I nod. “It’s a good cause and I’m always happy to help.”
“He’s a very generous donor for the children’s ward as well as—” I hold up my hand, making Cheryl stop talking.
“I don’t think we need to bore Lexi with that.” I quickly stop her from saying the rest. “I’m surprised you didn’t get any of your cousins to come and join the auction. How am I the only hockey player?”
“It’s summer vacation and I know how much they like their downtime, so I didn’t want to bother them.” The excuse flows out so easily, but I know she’s lying straight through her teeth. Her family is the most generous family I’ve ever met in my life. Her uncle even runs one of the biggest foundations in the hockey world, and she has a couple of cousins who run hockey camps in the summer for young underprivileged players.
“Well, I guess I can make a couple of phone calls and see if any of my friends are in town.” I look at both of them.
“I don’t think we could ask that of you,” Lexi quickly speaks up, and I can feel the tremor in her voice. “I think we have nine bachelors already.” She looks at Cheryl. “Ten with Kirby.”
“More bachelors equal more money.” Cheryl raises her eyebrows.
“This is very true,” Lexi tries to cover up. “We will take whoever we can.”
“I’ll make a couple of calls,” I tell them, “and I’ll let you both know.”
“I can’t wait!” Cheryl squeals. “You have my number.” I nod. “And I gave you Jimmy’s number too. He’s the head bachelor in charge.” She laughs. “He will let you know everything you need to know.”
“I’ll call him when I leave here,” I assure her. “Ladies, have a great day.” I look back at Lexi. “It’s good to see you again, Lexi.”
“It’s nice to see you,” she answers out of respect before I turn and make my way over to the elevators. I press the button going up and then shake my hands to get rid of the tingling that started when she walked up.
As Cheryl and Lexi walk toward the other side, I shake my head. “She’s married, you dickhead,” I remind myself as I step into the elevator. Seeing her again was something I thought would never happen. I mean, chances are we would have crossed paths again thanks to Jaxon, Ariella, and Jagger, but I never expected to see her here. Just like the first time, her beauty literally took my breath away.
My eyes roam over Lexi as the elevator doors begin to close. She moves like an actor starring in a play. Every movement seems planned, thought out. Like she’s not really existing in the real world. Her eyes are still just as guarded as they were the first time I met her. She looked like she was going to crawl out of her skin when she saw me. The ding sounds and the doors open, and I look forward, stepping off the elevator.
I walk down the white hallway toward the office I visit often when I’m in town. The door is open, so I knock on the brown door and see her head look up. Kylie immediately smiles at me. “Well, there he is”—she pushes away from the desk, walking around it and coming over to me—“my older brother.”
“The best one there is,” I gloat, wrapping my arms around her.
“If you are the best one there is, why didn’t you bring me coffee?” She glares at me as she walks back around her desk and sits down. “The best one would have brought me coffee and a muffin.”
I sit down in the chair in front of her desk. “Noted for next time.”
