“Your brother’s a lucky guy. She’s hot as fuck.”
Picking up a coaster from the bar, Silas flips it over in his large palm. “Her name’s Vesper, and she’s way too good to be with someone like my brother.”
I’m fortunate that sibling feuds are not something I’ve ever had to deal with, and that leaves me short on what to say next. It’s clear that my captain’s background—and maybe even his childhood—was very different from my own, but here he is, sitting next to me as an NHL captain who commands a lot of respect in the league.
For the first time since I walked onto this team, I feel a tentative connection to the Rogues beyond the coach I’ve always known.
“Does your brother live in town then?” I ask because I’ve never seen Silas pictured with a family member and I assumed that he was an only child.
He gives me a tight nod. “Yeah. Kane works as a gas station attendant. He moved here when I was traded to the Rogues.” He cocks his head toward Vesper, who is busy serving customers. “He met his girl a couple of years later.”
Silas looks at me then, and I can tell he can sense my confusion.
“Kane and I are half-brothers with the same mom. Shit went down with my dad, and they split. After that, she met a new guy, and he was …” He pauses, smiling darkly. “Let’s just say, he also wasn’t a good man, okay?”
The last thing I was expecting when Silas joined me at the bar was for him to open up to me like this, and out of appreciation for the trust he’s placed in me, I opt to be candid with him.
“I never met my mom’s parents, but I know they were really terrible people. I only have my uncle Easton from Mom’s side of the family. There are bad apples everywhere you look.”
Silas makes an agreeable noise.
“Around a year ago and shortly before my mom died from cancer, she made me promise to look out for Kane. She knew he was a waster, like his dad, and I can’t break my word to her. So, I stick around and make sure I’m here in case he needs me.”
“Can I get you two another drink?” Vesper approaches us, bright blue eyes locking on Silas. After a beat, she focuses on me, and a playful smirk pulls at her red-stained lips. It feels like she’s more familiar with me than I am with her.
Silas pulls out his wallet, and Vesper waves it away.
“This one’s on the house. What can I get you?”
My captain pauses for the longest time, side-eyeing me like I’ll judge him for his next words. “Could really use a beer.”
I say nothing as Vesper spins on her heel and grabs a pint glass.
“Go ahead,” Silas says next. “Say that I shouldn’t be drinking the night before a big game. Tell me again how my body is a temple and I should treat it as such.”
I puff out a laugh. “You really think I’m a cocky dick, don’t you?”
Dark blue eyes connect with mine. “I don’t think it, rook. Iknowyou’re a cocky dick.”
When Vesper slides the beer into Silas’s hand, I figure I have two options right now—berate him for the booze and live up to my reputation or do something Drew would likely be proud of. Appear human. I genuinely can’t remember the last time I had a drink, but somehow, it feels like sharing a beer with my captain means way more than the act itself.
“I could go for a half pint,” I say, pushing my soda glass toward Vesper.
Silas scoffs his next words. “Jesus, put the flag out. Our boy here isn’t a fucking robot after all.”
Vesper picks up my glass, her smirk growing wider as she leans across the bar. “I’ll get you a beer, but you should know that I’m charging you. Think of it as penance for standing up your publicist the other week.”
Shit. So, that’s how she knows me. Drew was probably sitting on this very stool that night, unloading her frustrations onto Vesper, while I carried on like a selfish prick.
“Fair enough,” I finally reply, handing her a twenty-dollar bill. “Keep the change.”
Ten minutes later and with a half pint of beer running through my veins, Mason James joins me and Silas at the bar. His dark blond hair is slicked back tonight, green eyes lookingtired as he also orders a beer from Vesper and takes the stool on the other side of me.
“How are you feeling about the game tomorrow?”
I shrug and decide that I’ve had enough alcohol. “It’s Colorado, so a win will be tough, even at home.”
After Mason takes the drink from Vesper, she gets back to working, and Silas’s eyes track her as she moves about the bar area.
