She rolls her eyes and follows me out of the staff lounge.
An hour and ten minutes later we’re both sweaty as we roll up our mats. Well, I roll up my mat. Audrey is still in child’s pose. I walk over and shove her hip with my bare foot. “Don’t fall asleep, Audrey. I need you to drive me home.”
“That piece of shit car still isn’t working?”
“Yep. And please do not talk about Connie that way. She’s sensitive,” I say because Audrey knows I named my car. I’ve had her since freshman year of college.
“How is it that Trey drives a BMW X3 and you drive a hunk of garbage?” Audrey asks, even though I know she knows the answer.
I roll my eyes as we walk out of the yoga room and into the foyer. “I stopped accepting guilt gifts from dear old Dad a long time ago.”
It’s the last class of the night. We close in less than forty minutes so the place is relatively empty. I see movement from behind the frosted glass wall the separates Trey’s office from the rest of the gym. I tell Audrey I will meet her in the shower and head to his office. The door is open and I waltz right in, intent on finding out if he knew Sebastian was a hockey player, but I freeze because he’s got someone with him: a willowy auburn-haired girl I’ve never seen before.
Trey notices me and waves me in as I’m about to turn around and leave. “Hey Shayne! I want you to meet someone.”
She turns to face me and smiles. “Hi. I’m Jessie Caplan.”
I step farther into the office and shake her hand. She’s got a nice firm grip and a warm smile. And she’s stunningly pretty. “Hi. I’m Shayne, Trey’s sister, but I also teach here.”
“Jessie is my newest hire,” Trey announces with a satisfied grin. “She’s a physical therapist with a background in sports injuries.”
“Cool. Nice to meet you, Jessie, and welcome!”
“Shayne, can you show her around quickly, now that everything is empty?” Trey asks me, and I nod. “Thanks. I’ve got some paperwork to deal with.”
I nod again and head back into the lobby with Jessie behind me. As I show her around I also ask her questions, which she answers freely and openly. She’s originally from Maine, went to school in Arizona, and came to Seattle for an internship to finish her school program. They hired her and she stayed. She has nothing but good things to say about her former employer, so I can’t help but ask why she left.
She smiles and looks a little sheepish. “I wanted to work a little less than they needed. I’m planning my wedding and my fiancé is away a lot, so it’s a lot of work on my end. It’s happening back in Maine this summer so it’s a lot of phone calls and managing things from afar.”
My eyes fall to her hands and I see the giant sparkling ring on her hand. How did I miss that before—it’s gorgeous! “Beautiful ring!”
“Thank you.” Her already bright smile gets brighter and her green eyes sparkle. “He went overboard. But Jordan isn’t a subtle guy in general.”
“How’d you two meet?” I ask because whatever she did, I’m doing. I would kill for a wonderful guy that makes me sparkle brighter than a diamond ring, which is what Jessie is doing right now.
“We were childhood friends who reconnected here in Seattle,” she explains as we walk back into the foyer.
“What are the chances that you would both end up in same city on the other side of the country?” I can’t help but ask, and she laughs.
“Yeah. Fate is funny that way.” She laughs. “Trust me, I wasn’t pleased about it at first. When we both left Silver Bay, our hometown, we weren’t on the best of terms.”
I want to ask her more questions because it sounds like a very interesting story, but as we head into the women’s changing room, Audrey is heading out. She’s showered and changed into a pair of dark skinny jeans and a strapless white top. “Hey! You haven’t even showered yet? If you want me to drive you, get your ass in gear. I have to be at work in forty minutes.”
“I’ll bus it,” I say begrudgingly. “Audrey, this is Jessie. She’s going to be a therapist here.”
“Hey! Nice to meet you. I’m Shayne’s friend and the only reason she has more than yoga in her life.” Audrey and Jessie shake hands as Audrey laughs at her own joke, and I roll my eyes. “You guys should come by my bar for a drink when you’re done!”
The rest of the tour takes longer than it should because Jessie and I are talking a lot. I like her. Not just as an employee—and it’s clear she’ll be great—but as a person. She’s funny and smart and I haven’t clicked with someone this easily since Audrey. When we’re back in the lobby, she hesitates before leaving.
“Do you want to take Audrey up on her drink idea?” Jessie asks me shyly. “My fiancé is working, so I’m free for a few more hours.”
She’s so sweet and she’s smiling expectantly and I really could use a drink after what happened this morning. Besides, if I go home I’ll just think about Sebastian. I smile back. “Give me ten minutes to run through the shower.”
Chapter 16
Sebastian
We lost—badly—and it was mostly Chooch’s fault. Of course no one would ever say that out loud—not the coach or the players—but itwashis fault. He had a horrific game. Sure, one of the goals was a defensive meltdown, which I hold myself accountable for because I took a shitty hooking penalty and that was the reason for the power play that led to the goal. But the other five—yeah,five—Chooch simply shit the bed. Coach pulled him halfway through the second, when the Thunder led 6–0. Our backup goalie, Owensen, didn’t let in another one, thankfully. And even though Garrison scored one and I managed to deflect one of Westwood’s slap shots into the back of the net, we were slaughtered.
