And with every day that I spend with her, I’m just confirming that feeling. She’s everything I could ever want.
But will she ever believe she’s meant for me?
Chapter Twelve
BLAKELY
“Thank you for covering the suites for me,” I say as I hand Penny a box of cookies from Pie Cookies. I stopped by briefly before coming into work. I helped Halsey to the trainer and came straight to her office.
“What are these?” she asks.
“The best cookies ever. Halsey and I got some delivered the other night. They’re so freaking good.”
“You and Halsey?” she asks with a lifted brow.
I roll my eyes. “Nothing like that. Since he’s home and not on the ice, we’ve been spending our nights together eating meals and watching the games. It’s been nice.”
“Nice? And nothing’s going on?” she asks.
I shake my head. “No. Nothing.”
“Not even . . . at night?” Her brows lift to her hairline now. “Because you’re sharing a bed, right?”
“Oh my God, Penny. We are two mature adults who don’t immediately become horndogs the moment we have to share a bed. I promise you, nothing romantic is happening between us.”
“Nothing?” she asks, looking disappointed.
“Nothing. If anything, he’s more like a brother to me.”
“A brother?” she shouts.
“Yeah. I feel like I can talk to him about anything without judgment and he feels the same way. He even said he has a self-made family and I think I’m a part of that. It’s a good relationship.”
“Wow, that’s . . . that’s great,” she says before picking up a cookie without even looking at it and shoving it in her mouth.
“Uh, that’s the apple pie.” I point at the half-eaten cookie in her hand.
“Yeah, fine.” She sets it down. “So you don’t have even the slightest bit of interest in Halsey?”
“No . . . why . . . why do you keep pushing this?”
Her eyes go wide. “I’m not pushing anything. I’m just...curious, because you know, I kind of went through the same thing.”
I take a seat in front of her desk and cross one leg over the other. “What do you mean you went through the same thing?”
“With Eli. We were forced to live with each other and slowly, over time, we started to fall for one another.”
“Yeah, but you also had a wild night of fucking prior to that, had a baby on the way, and were both very attracted to each other. Halsey and I have never had a wild night, probably the wildest night being the death of the air mattress, there is absolutely no baby on the way, and as much as I like to convince myself I’m in that man’s league, I’m not even close to it. He doesn’t see me that way. I’m pretty sure he sees me as a friend and that’s cool. Different circumstance.”
“I guess so,” she says softly.
“Why the push for more?” I ask her.
“I don’t know, I just...you know, don’t want you to be alone. I know losing Perry was hard, and I think Halsey could be a good guy for you.”
Losing Perry has been hard. I miss him. It’s the longest we’ve gone without talking to each other. Yet, I haven’t felt as devastated as I thought I would. Maybe that’s because I’ve found a new friend to spend time with. Maybe if I was still living in our apartment, his loss would be so evident. I’d feel his absence daily. Yet, new place, new roommate.. .and it hasn’t been that bad. Especially now I’m sharing a bed with Halsey. That has definitely helped with the end-of-the-day sadness. Yet, I’m still not in any dire need to find someone else. Or mourn Perry. Things are just...smooth. Easy. And Halsey?He’s still quiet.But I couldn’t imagine dating someone so high-profile. And hot. And built...and with a smile that’s far too dangerous.
“Like I said, he’s way out of my league and, even though I’ve gotten to know him better, I still don’t think he’s the kind of guy for me. That’s it.”
