I scream, jumping back, and Koen laughs. I spy Aidan shooting Remi a little wink before skating off.
“Do you think there will be a fight?” Remi asks Koen. The look in her eyes tells me she’s hoping he says yes.
Koen smiles, tilting his head while looking over the players on the ice. “Well, Aidan’s on the ice tonight so statistically… probably, yeah.”
Remi claps excitedly, jumping up a few times before resuming her spot against the glass, shouting for Aidan to “drop the gloves.”
“She craves violence,” Koen chuckles, sitting back in his seat, which puts him right next to me.
“She gets that from you.” The words are out before I can think them through, and my eyes widen when I realize what I’ve said, but Koen just grins back at me.
“That she did. That she did.”
My heart warms in my chest, and I smile before changing the subject, not wanting tonight to get too heavy.
“So why do they keep blowing the whistle every time they’re about to score?” I ask with genuine curiosity. It’s happened at least three times, where one of the Breakers is dominating the ice, moving in on the Bolts’ goal, and just as he’s about to let it rip, the ref blows the whistle, halting the play.
“Oh, ‘cause they’re offside,” Koen tells me before noticing Liam skating by. “‘Cause it’s amateur hour out there!”he shouts, cupping his hands around his mouth.
Liam rolls his eyes before lining up for the puck drop right in front of us.
“Make him go boom, Uncle Liam!” Remi shrieks through the glass. I don’t think he hears her until the play starts, and Liam tears at the forward on the other team who gets the puck, going in for a massive open ice hit.
I wince at the brutality of it, while Koen and Remi clap and bang on the glass.
I do my best to follow the game, but it’s pointless, so instead I watch Koen and Remi bond.
After the game, Remi’s climbing into the backseat of the SUV. Koen’s standing by her door, holding the hockey stick Aidan slipped her after the game. Once she’s settled in her seat, she looks up at him, locking him into one of her intense Remi stares.
“Dad?” She tries it out, and I hold my breath, my eyes flying to Koen, who’s giving her his full, undivided attention, but I see him swallow nervously before he answers.
“Yeah?”
“Can you teach me to play hockey like that? Uncle Liam said you taught him and Uncle Aidan, and I want to be just like them someday!”
“Yeah, Remi.” He swallows again, and his eyes look shiny in the light. “I would love that,” he says softly, his eyes finding mine. “I would really love that.”
85
HE’S A RED FLAG… BUT A HOT RED FLAG
BRIAR
I'm sittingon the couch, catchingup on missed texts and e-mails on my phone Koen gave back to me, while Remi watches cartoons at my feet, when the elevator door dings, and shouts immediately grab my attention.
“Stop. Squirming!” someone shouts.
“I’m not squirming; you’re manhandling!” a furious but familiar voice shouts back.
Koen appears from down the hall at the sound of the commotion, but his relaxed stance is reassuring.
The elevator doors are fully open now, and I blink rapidly, not sure if what I’m seeing is real life.
“Put me down, you oversized tree!” the girl yells, kicking her legs wildly from where Mac has her tucked under his arm, carrying her into the loft like she’s a rolled-up carpet.
“No,” he says flatly, looking to Koen, who’s watching the exchange with amusement on his face.
“Lily???” I shout in disbelief, rising off the couch. “Oh my god—is that you?”
