one
MIRA
I hate moving so muchthat I’d do almost anything to avoid reliving this torture. Bargain away my first-born child to some creepy faerie creature? Probably worth it. Sell my soul to the Devil himself? Eh, why not? It’s all such a soul-sucking ordeal, I’m not sure I’ve got much of one left, anyway.
If you’d told past me that my boyfriend and I would only cohabitate for a few months before breaking up, I would have scoffed. If you’d gone on to tell me I’d be moving in with my older brother’s best friend and teammate, I’d have called you crazy.
But that’s the funny thing about life, isn’t it? It never works out the way we plan.
“You ever going to tell me exactly why you and Jared broke up?” My big brother Maddox asks as we load all my earthly belongings into a small moving truck. His dark brown hair is wet with sweat, dripping into his brown eyes and making him grimace. It’s the first time he’s helped me move, but my third time busting my back hauling boxes in as many months, and I’mover it already. That’s why I’m grumpy. He’s grumpy because he broke up with his sweet girlfriend, Isla, a few days ago.
“Gonna tell me why you and Isla broke up?”
He grunts. “Touché.”
That’s one of the nice things about my big brother. He cares, but he doesn’t push. He’s got his own complicated dating history. Though, I really thought he’d foundthe onein Isla.
I guess both of our pickers are broken. Not that I’m surprised. It seems to run in the family. My mom picked a real shithead too. He left us when I was only five years old. I barely remember him. Maddox was seven, so he has a few more memories of the guy than me.
When one of your parents leaves and you have to watch the other struggle to do everything alone, it leaves a mark. On how you view family, whether you want kids, and how you view love. My big brother never really wanted to fall in love.
Me? I’m a sucker for happily-ever-afters. I’ve always dreamed of finding a love that eclipses everything else in your life. The kind that romance writers go on and on about. TheI’ll burn the world for youstuff. Soulmates and fate and being fully seen and fully loved shit.
I hoped I’d found that with Jared, but after a few months of living together, it became clear he wasnotmy soulmate. I was looking for a knight in shining armor. He was looking for a maid/mommy/living sex doll.
I’m sure as hell not telling any of that to my grumpy older brother. The last thing I need is for him to hunt Jared down and kick his ass. Maddox is having enough image problems right now. I don’t need him getting kicked off the pro-hockey team he plays for because of a basement-dweller like my ex.
“That everything?” my brother asks as he follows me inside Jared’s cute little house. A house I thought would bemycute little house for a lot longer than three measly months.
I survey the living room, making sure I haven’t forgotten to pack any little knick-knacks or my favorite throws. The sad part is, I hadn’t even fully unpacked by the time I realized Jared had duped me into thinking he could be marriage material. “Pretty sure, yeah.”
A heavy arm lands on my shoulder, and I let myself lean into my brother for comfort. I left Minneapolis for Chicago because I wanted to create a life for myself outside of his shadow.
It’s not easy growing up with a hockey god for an older brother. Especially when you don’t have any particularly special skills of your own to make you stand out. It was nice living seven hours away for a while, but I’ve missed being in the same city as him. I suppose if one good thing has come out of all this, it’s that we’ll get to spend more time together now. And he’ll get me free tickets to watch the Rogues play whenever I ask.
I grew up watching Maddox play hockey. It’s just as much a part of my blood as it is his. Plus, the guys on his team are solid human beings. They’re the kind of people who have your back no matter what.
Which is why I’ll be living with one of them for the foreseeable future. At least, until I get situated and my website and branding business becomes more profitable. A couple of weeks ago, when I was visiting Maddy, I asked him and the guys if they knew of anyone looking for a roommate or who had a room to rent. I shouldn’t have been surprised when Griffin Wright—Maddy’s best friend and the Rogues’ star left winger—offered to let me stay with him. Rent free.
“You sure you want to live with Wright? I love the guy, but I’m worried he’ll drive you crazy. I did warn him to keep his hands to himself, though, so you shouldn’t have to deal with that. He knows you’re off-limits and that if he ever tries anything with you, I’ll disown him in a second.” Maddox rubs the back ofhis neck, and I resist the urge to roll my eyes at the protective older brother schtick. “You know you can always stay with me.”
“I know,” I reply sweetly. “But this will be fun.” Plus, I’m still holding on to hope that Maddox will pull his grumpy head out of his ass and fix whatever went wrong with Isla. I don’t want to have a shared wall with my brother if that happens.
There are some things siblings just shouldn’t share.
“Fine. But you always have a place with me if you need it.”
Feeling kinda squishy inside, I wrap my other arm around my brother’s middle and give him a big hug. He may be only two years older than me, but when our dad left, he became extra protective. Our mom never made him feel like he had to step up and become a little parent or anything, but I believe some part of him still feels like it’s his job to protect us both, since he’s the only man in the family. “Thanks, Maddy-poo.”
“Please don’t call me that in front of my team,” he says with a groan.
“I make no promises.”
“You’re a little shit sometimes, you know that, right, Mi-Mi?” Maddox rubs his knuckles over the top of my head, messing up my braid.
I squeal and shove him away. “Not the hair!”
He chuckles, enjoying the mess he’s made of my long, brown tresses. The bastard’s not even remotely threatened when I narrow my green eyes at him and purse the full lips I inherited from our sperm donor.
