He pulls it back before she can make contact. “Sorry, Tabs. I have plans.”
“But she just said she can catch a ride with someone else.”
Sweat breaks out on the back of my neck as he glances my way. Then he shakes his head. “Nah, it’s not about the ride. We’ve got a date, right, Addie?”
My heart stutters. “A date?”
“Yeah, you, me, and a pepperoni pie.”
In an instant, the anxiety dissipates. Snorting, I say, “Yeah. We do.”
“Another time,” he says to Tabitha with a lift of his chin.
Her jaw practically falls open, but I don’t get to relish her reaction long because JJ immediately wraps an arm around me and guides me past her.
Rather than drop his arm once we’re out of sight of her like I expect, he keeps it there. The warmth of it is comforting. He smells so fucking good too. Like soap and cologne andJJ.A hint of icy cold mixed with this woodsy whiskey scent I can never quite get enough of. “You could have gone with her. She was pretty,” I say cautiously.
He hits the key fob, and his car lights flash. He finally drops his arm and pulls open the passenger door. “Was she?”
Shivering at the loss of his heat, I stand a little straighter. “You could have said yes, you know. I would have been fine.”
The intensity in his stare makes me worry he can read my mind. “Right, with Peters.”
I let out an awkward pfft. “Or by myself.”
With a shake of his head, he steps back, giving me room to get in. “Well, you’re stuck with me.”
I shrug. “And you’re stuck with me.”
His lips hook to one side. “Sounds like the perfect night. Come on, I wasn’t kidding. We’re getting Antonio’s.”
TWELVE
ADDIE
I stare at the door,keeping my expression neutral until I can no longer hear JJ’s footsteps in the hall. Then I let out the longest breath and grip my hand. It’s so fucking sore.
Stupid Addie. So fucking stupid.
I know better. I know not to catch a freaking puck like that. Not one being rifled as hard as that one was and especially not without gear. That’s how a person breaks bones. That’s how careers end.
I may not have a hockey career anymore, but I still need my hand.
Overwhelming emotions swirl inside me with nowhere to go. I want to tell JJ that yeah, I’d like to be friends. That I’d love that pizza. But too much has happened.
He chose Tabitha.
Or…whatever, it doesn’t matter anymore. The point is, he’s not my friend. We’re…colleagues. I’m his damn coach. He can’t go around defending my honor and acting like he’s not the reason it needed to be defended in the first place.
If he hadn’t…
No, I’m not going there. I refuse to look backward. Maybe Dirk wouldn’t have happened if JJ had chosen me, but he didn’t and Dirk did happen. And then my world blew up.
I can’t let the two of them do that to me again.
I need this job to work out. More than that, I want it to.
When another knock makes the door rattle, I drop my head and groan.
