“I don’t know,” I mutter. Duncan Darby usually spends the off-season in his hometown with his parents, but he’s been bouncing back and forth all summer because his girlfriend, Carla, lives here full-time. I vaguely remember an email about a dinner party or something.
“You should come,” Levi encourages as the stylistruns her fingers covered in some kind of paste through his dark brown hair. “It’s not a couples thing or anything.”
“But you’re bringing a date?” I ask, trying to sound casual as the makeup artist motions me over, finally ready.
He swallows and shifts a little in his seat. “Well, yeah, Tessa is going. I mean, she’s best friends with Carla, so even if we weren’t—”
“Yeah, I know.” I cut him off because I can’t handle one more awkward explanation from him. There’s a lot of that lately when we see each other. “I’m just saying, do you think I could bring a date?”
“Oh.” Levi blinks. “Yeah. I guess. I mean, are you involved with someone? Because it’s not like a couples thing, but it’s also not like a huge party or anything.”
“Don’t bring your Bunny of the Week is what he’s trying to say,” Dixie interjects oh-so-helpfully.
“A PR assistant isn’t supposed to talk to me like that, Ms. Wynn,” I remind her as Levi bites back a chuckle. He finds it hysterical when my sisters take the piss out of me.
“No other Thunder employees here, so I’m your sister right now,” Dixie rationalizes.
“Then speaking as your brother, mind your own business, you brat,” I reply, but my tone is subdued, not angry. I’ve given up expecting my sisters to mind their own business, so saying it is a habit, not a warning. I turn back to Levi as the makeup artist stops putting powder on my face. “I’m not talking about some girl whose last name I don’t know. I’m talking about an old friend I’m reconnecting with.”
Levi looks stunned. Dixie looks terrified.
“You are not talking about who I think you’re talking about,” Dixie says, her blue eyes wide and her mouth quickly turning into a frown before I even confirm her thoughts.
“So you’re allowed to catch up with her but I’m not?” I question and wave off the makeup lady, who is coming at me with a mascara wand. “She was just your babysitter. She was my friend.”
“Please. You barely said two words to her when we were kids.” Dixie lets out apftand tucks her hair behind her ears. “You mostly just stared at her and drooled.”
Levi laughs. It’s loud and annoying. I glare at him momentarily before turning back to the makeup artist, who I pray signed a nondisclosure. Dixie is usually excellent about going above and beyond when it comes to protecting the team, so I’m not worried. “I just need the powder for shine. Nothing else. Trust me, I’m flawless on camera.”
“But we’ll need extra lighting to overcome the giant cloud that is his ego. Follows him around everywhere,” Dixie mutters. The makeup artist just gives me a small smile and steps away as the hair person finishes up with Levi and they switch positions.
I go back to the original and important topic. “You were thirteen, Dix; you don’t know everything that went on between us.”
“Please. You were a bumbling virgin. Nothing went on between you,” Dixie retorts with a snarky grin.
She hit the nail on the head, not that I’ll ever admit it. Levi catches my eye, and I can see the wheels turning in his head. He’s honestly the most intelligent person I know. He had a killer GPA in high school, and he could have gotten into any Ivy League school he wanted, without a hockey scholarship, but he chose to jump right into the league and use his intelligence to break down hockey plays, his extensive vocabulary to give motivational speeches in the locker room and his keen intuition to figure out my love life.
“Are you talking about Zoey?”
Dixie looks stunned. “You know about Zoey?”
Levi nods at her but keeps his gaze on me, which annoys the makeup artist because his head is turned. “Zoey is back in the picture?”
I nod, and I can’t help but smile. He smiles back. Dixie keeps being Dixie. “How the hell do you know about my babysitter?”
“Jude talked about her all the time our senior year,” Levi explains, and I give him a hard glance. He’d better not mention anything more. Dixie will use the information to tease me for the rest of my life. “She’s the one that got away.”
Dixie rolls her eyes. “If you mean she’s the only female currently residing in San Francisco that he hasn’t boned, then yes. But that doesn’t mean he should. I like Zoey. I want her to keep liking us.”
“I don’t want to bone her, Dixie, relax,” I bark, annoyed that she’s still participating in this conversation. Of course now both my sister and Levi are looking at me with total disbelief. I sigh. “I mean, that’s not all I want to do. Jesus, can everyone just keep their opinions to themselves?”
I stand up abruptly. The hairstylist steps back, almost tripping, so I reach out to steady her. She flushes and smiles that typical flirty smile at me as she whispers a thank-you. I give her a smile and a wink back. It’s not even on purpose, it’s just habit. I glance in the mirror and adjust what she was doing to my hair a little, finishing her job, because I’ve never been one for all this primping they make us do for shoots. It’s weird to have people fussing over your face and hair.
Dixie says something about going to check on the setup on the ice, since that’s where we’re doing the shoot, and disappears out the door. The hairstylist leaves too, heading out to wait at the rink, where she’ll do touch-ups during the shoot. The makeup artist leaves next, as I’m lacing up my skates. Levi walks over and sits down beside me, shoving his feet in his skates too. Without looking over at me, he says, “So how did the girl from Maine end up in San Francisco?”
I shrug. “Not completely sure, but it’s fucking awesome.”
“Yeah, it is.” Levi nods and glances up quickly before concentrating on his skates again. “She’s special. I mean, you’ve never stopped thinking about her this whole time.”
