“Nice avoidance skills. I bet you’re better at avoiding questions than you are at slap shots,” she says tartly.
“I have a fucking great slap shot,” I growl. Again. “Now can you tell me what the fuck happened to her?”
“When you answer my question,” Brie replies. “How long were you homeless as a kid?”
“That’s none of your business.” My voice is vibrating with anger.
“Technically Mackenzie is none of your business,” Brie replies, just when I think she can’t be more annoying. “You’re not a relative, guardian or even her foster parent.”
I turn toward the door, but I don’t leave. I take a breath, but it’s hard, like the air is thick. “I ran away from my last foster home when I was fifteen. I slept in alleys and ate out of Dumpsters and then lucked out and went through a few years of bouncing around on couches of hockey teammates and even lived in a friend’s garage for a while. Happy now?”
“Of course not,” she replies in a voice barely above a whisper. I feel her hand on my shoulder. It’s soft and she gives me a gentle squeeze and it’s soothing and I hate it. I don’t want pity, even if sometimes it feels like I need it. I spin around and face her. She’s standing so close to me she has to take a step back or else our chests would bump.
“Now that you’ve invaded my privacy will you fucking tell me what I want to know?” I hiss.
She looks a little hurt by that, but I don’t care. She forced me to share something I hate sharing. My mood is on her.
“She’s at school,” Brie explains and takes a step away from me, crossing her arms. “Today is her first day. The judge is allowing me to continue to foster her for now. That’s a win by the way because she should be in juvie with her history. But they’re overcrowded, and Laurie convinced them she’d follow the rules with me. So far she has. She’s not a bad kid. A little rough—and hard—around the edges but good.”
“How long are you going to keep her?” I can’t imagine this is anything less than an inconvenience for Brie. She’s young, rich and has a boyfriend who I know doesn’t want a kid that isn’t his.
She sighs. “I don’t know, Alex. It’ll depend on the court and on Mackenzie. But I promise you I will do whatever is best for her.”
I want to argue that but I have no reason to. She’s been good to this kid. I run a hand through my hair before shoving it back in the pocket of my coat. “How’s your boyfriend handling all this?”
Her face changes, her lips flattening into a hard line, her eyes darting away from me to the window. “Now look who is getting personal?”
“Tit for tat,” I snark.
“You know, you and I have a lot in common,” she says.
I laugh out loud, which seems to offend her judging by the pissed-off look on her face.
“Why? Because you work with kids nobody wants, and I was one? Yeah, we might as well be twins.”
“For someone who has seen both sides of life, you’re the most presumptuous, condescending asshole I’ve ever met.” Her stare is so fiery I bet I could toast marshmallows off it if I had any.
“Look, don’t get me wrong,” I say. “What you do is amazing. And I can tell you’re a good person, but being around kids who have never been loved and being the kid who was never loved are two very different things.” I try not to let the ache developing in my chest seep out into my voice. I do not want this woman’s sympathy. I don’t want anyone’s and never have.
“Where did you grow up?” she asks. “Quebec?”
“Nope. I got the information I needed. I’m not telling you another thing.” I turn and storm out of her office. I call over my shoulder. “Tell Mac I say hi.”
I’m halfway to the front door when I remember I haven’t given anyone the tickets. I promised the kids they could come see the game tomorrow night. I turn back to find Selena and give them to her. And I collide straight into Brie.
She starts to fall backward and instinctively I circle an arm around her waist. I yank her into me, her body pressing against mine and I pull her upright. It takes a second for her feet to get under her again and in that second I find myself overdosing on the feel of her warm, soft body pressed into me. Suddenly I’m well aware of how long it’s been since I’ve been this close to a woman. It’s been way too long.
She grabs my shoulders and makes this tiny little gasping sound, which I feel in my groin. Jesus, it’s sexy as fuck. Our eyes lock. Her mouth is parted just enough that I can see the tip of her pink tongue. I want to know how it tastes. Because of that urge, instead of letting her go, I tighten my arm around her waist. She doesn’t pull away. Her grip on my biceps gets tighter too.
When our eyes connect again, it’s electric. There’s a charge between us. All the animosity and anger that heated the air between us a second ago has turned into something else. Passion? Lust? Maybe both.
I dip my head, she turns hers, our lips are inches from each other. The sound of the door directly behind me buzzing because someone is coming in, feels louder than a fire alarm. It’s also a wake-up call reminding me that not only do I not get along with this woman but she has a boyfriend. I pull back so quickly she stumbles again but manages to grab the staircase banister.
It’s Reg coming home from his job at Dunkin’ Donuts, still in his uniform. “Hey, Alex! Are we still all going to the game tomorrow?”
I pull the tickets from my pocket and hand them to him. “Yeah. Give these to Brie.”
“But she’s right—”
