“Must be tough. But the boys are probably so proud to have a famous hockey player for a brother. Well, two. And nephews as well, though it must be odd for them to be uncles to nephews so much older than them.” The Kershaw family tree was complicated. “You remember what it was like when you first met Theo.”
“I just wanted him to like me.”
“Your little brothers want that as well.” I rubbed his arm, his strong, unyielding bicep. “How about your dad’s wife? Do you get along with her?”
“She made a pass at me once at a Christmas cocktail party.”
I took another look at the photo. “Slutty nurse seems eminently suitable.”
His shoulders started to shake.
“Jason?”
He turned, his mouth stretched in a grin. “You’re funnier than you look, Doc.”
“Better than looking funny, I suppose. So, tell me why this bothers you so much?”
“I dunno. I feel like he’s shoving his new, improved family in our faces. He fucked over Theo, left my mom on the hook for raising me and Sean, and he’s probably planning his exit strategy from this lot.”
“If that’s the case, then your duty is to your brothers. You know that nothing he does has to affect you.”
“Sounds like you’re speaking from experience.”
I took a breath. “It took me a while to figure it out. My mom married my dad because she thought being the wife of a pro-athlete would be glamorous and her road to fame. She wanted to be a WAG, maybe even launch her own reality show. But she married an alcoholic, and her daughters—one of her daughters—didn’t match the image she wanted to project. I wasn’t pretty or girly or into make-up. I liked ugly, slimy things like slugs and snails, and I wore glasses and was allergic to everything.”
He blinked. “You were? Are you still?”
“I’ve grown out of most allergies, but I still have an issue with nuts. I carry an EpiPen with me at all times. Two, actually.”
“And that’s okay during pregnancy?”
I smiled. “Yes, it is.”
I could see him filing that information away. Jason Isner was becoming easier to read. “Good. Go on.”
“I guess what I’m trying to say is that our parents have an impact, especially when we’re younger, but eventually we have to let go of the resentments. I know that’s easier said than done, especially when you feel wronged by someone. But your life is good, Jason. You have a great family, an amazing career, a child on the way. The one blot on it is your father. Don’t let that dull the shine of the rest.”
“Such wisdom.”
“It’s what Wednesday would tell you. Well, she’d probably recommend some macabre revenge plot first.”
He pulled at one of my braids. “You look cute. Sexy, too.”
“Jason.”
“What? Don’t pretend you weren’t feeling up my chef’s arm in the guise of comforting me.”
This guy was unbelievable.
And unfortunately correct.
“So what if I was? I can kill two birds, comfort with a quick feel-up. I’m multi-talented.”
“Yeah, you are.” He stroked my cheek. “And you’re so freakin’ hot in your slutty librarian glasses. And that mouth—Christ, the things I want to do to that mouth.”
My pulse was unsafely high, myocardial infarction-levels of peril. Slutty librarian glasses? Was that a thing?
“L-like what?”
