Jesus. What was wrong with me?
Blondie looked like she wanted to protest, but Grace held her gaze for a long moment. Some kind of silent conversation must have passed between the two of them, because the friend finally sighed.
“Fine, we should get going.”
“Thanks for being a good sport,” Grace said to Jay, giving him a genuine smile. And shit, just the sight of it had the air whooshing from my chest. When was the last time I saw Gracie Knight smile like that?
Once upon a time, I was the lucky bastard who had her smiling like that every single day.
Her expression dimmed a little when she turned to me, and fuck if that didn’t sting. “It was nice seeing you again,” she murmured, still not meeting my eyes. Then, before I could even respond, she was turning to go. I stared at her retreating back for a long moment before I finally snapped out of it. She wasleaving. After all these years she was just going to walk out without talking to me.
Oh, hell no.
“Gracie, wait,” I called out, my too-loud voice drawing plenty of attention from the crowded bar as I rushed around the table to catch up with her before she hit the door. The two friends stared at me, wide-eyed, and Gracie’s cheeks colored even more.
“Go ahead,” she told her friends, looking resigned. “I’ll catch right up.”
I gritted my teeth at the insinuation that this reunion would be quick, but didn’t say anything. Her friends shot me one last curious look before they went out the door. Then it was just the two of us—and a bar full of people behind us.
Grace stood there, shifting from side-to-side, eyes fixed on a spot a few inches to my left. I wanted her to look at me, damn it. And that was probably why I reached out and touched her. Just a graze of my fingers across her forearm, but it was enough to make her shiver.
“You look great, Gracie,” I said, because it was the truth. The years had been kind to my old friend. Her face had thinned out a little, more womanly now, but still holding a remnant of that same cherubic look she used to have. I had bulked up quite a lot since high school, so her always petite frame seemed even smaller next to mine. Her lush hips and fantastic rack looked better than I remembered, tight jeans and a soft blue sleeveless blouse accentuating those curves. Back in high school, she always wore her messy red curls up in ponytail or a braid down her back—I could remember the way so many little tendrils would escape by the end of the school day. I spent every tutoring session staring at those wild curls around her face, wanting so badly to rub one between my fingers.
Now she wore her hair down, the curls somehow sleeker and more well behaved than they had been. I still wanted to touch one, and it was everything I could manage not to reach out to do just that.
Then Gracie finally met my gaze and my stomach bottomed right out. Her eyes were still that same shade of pretty green but they seemed larger now, somehow. God, she was gorgeous. As gorgeous as she had been all those years ago when she broke my heart.
“Thank you,” she said, her voice soft. “You look great too.” Her eyes scanned my shoulders. “You’re a lot bigger than youused to be.” She must have regretted saying it, because she grimaced and pressed her lips together.
“Had to get bigger,” I told her, chuckling. “I would have been eaten alive in the NHL if I went in as the same string bean as I was when I was eighteen.”
She smiled at that. “You’ve done so well for yourself in the league,” she said. “Everything you always dreamed about. That’s really great, Liam.”
The idea of her following my career over the years had my chest puffing up a bit. “It’s been hard work, but worth it.”
“You must have been bummed to get traded,” she said.
I shrugged. “Not really. I was ready for a change.” It was strange, but I wanted to tell her exactly why it had been a good thing for me to leave New York. Usually all of that garbage with my ex-wife was the last thing I wanted to talk about. Maybe it was because Gracie had always been such a good listener. “But I was pretty surprised when I heard it was Andy’s team that had picked me up.”
She scrunched up her nose. “Yeah, I was surprised myself. He was, uh, never quite your biggest fan.”
I snorted. Understatement of the year, right there.
“Then again, Andy did always like to win,” she continued. “So, I guess it makes sense that he would try to get the best, right?”
That had a grin stretching across my face. “You think I’m the best, huh?”
Grace blushed darker and God, I wanted to run my thumb across those pink cheeks. “I mean, you had the highest shot percentage of all the available centers so…”
I couldn’t wipe the grin off my face if I tried. “Gracie Knight, have you been following my career?”
She rolled her eyes. “My twin brother just bought an NHL team. I’ve been looking up all the players on the roster.”
“Supportive sister,” I said, leaning in a little closer. There was something about her rolling her eyes at me. It reminded me of the old days, when she’d finally gotten comfortable enough around me to start teasing a little. She had never taken my shit, Gracie Knight. And I had been full of it back then.
Suddenly, she straightened, putting more distance between us. “Anyhow,” she said, looking nervous again. “I really do have to get going.”
A stab of disappointment hit my chest. “Sure. I guess I’ll see you around, huh? What with Andrew owning the team and all…”
