Until I remember that’s not going to happen.Hell no.
She has a boyfriend, and I’m not looking for…anything other than a forgettable good time.
I already know Casey Hart is the opposite of forgettable or one-and-done.
“I just realized when I was in the bathroom that I haven’t even looked at the barn yet,” Casey admits with a laugh.
“Sorry.I tied you up.”I’m grinning as I say it, not even a little bit sorry.She’s so easy to look at.I could stare at her face for a full month and not get tired of it.
“Don’t be sorry,” she says, pushing my shoulder.“We had a lot to catch up on.We could probably talk for another three hours.”
She’s not wrong about that.I’m about to suggest we do just that, but I remember the boyfriend aspect.And the fact that I absolutely want to take things in a direction that is forbidden for me right now.I have no room in my life for anything other than one-night stands.It may be the off season for me, but everything is riding on my healing from my ACL injury last year.
My contract with the Cleveland Crushers expires at the end of the summer, and I’m old enough in the professional hockey world that renewal isn’t a given.With the draft just around the corner in June, there’s a chance I could lose my spot on the team altogether if the general manager decides to invest in new talent over an injured thirty-year-old.From there, it would be a hop, skip, and a jump to either free agency or a minor-league demotion—a “conditioning stint,” which is just a polite phrase for where careers like mine go to die.And retirement isn’t an option for me yet.I’m not ready to let this career go.
So it’s healing and hockey twenty-four seven.
“Go look around.I won’t keep you trapped at the appetizer table again,” I promise, shooing her away.She sends me a sweet smile that has me questioning whether I could make a little room for healing, hockey, andher.I watch her drift through the barn, the fabric of her dress swishing at her thighs.I have to forcibly rip my eyes from her body—she was cute in high school, hot during college, and now she’s some other level I can’t think about for too long.
I take a deep breath and step out of the barn, surveying the parking lot.It’s cleared out a little bit, most of the food and drinks have been picked through, and I can tell that it’s been an excellent grand opening.Piper has been networking nonstop today, and Kru has exchanged business cards with probably a hundred people.Big things are on the horizon for those two.
I just wish I could say the same for myself.
“Griff.I’m heading out.”My brother Dane claps me on the shoulder, my 4-year-old niece Lia in his other arm.She’s crossing her arms and pouting down at his chest.She’s mad, but it’s hard to take the little blondie girl seriously when she looks this cute.
“What’s wrong with my Lia girl?”I try to pinch her cheek, but she doesn’t react.
“I said no more cookies and she disagreed, so it’s time to go home.”He hoists her in his arm, assessing her for a moment, then shakes his head.“You got mom, right?”
“Yeah, I’ll take her home afterward.”I turn back to the barn to figure out where Mom wandered off to.Instead of our mother, I spot Casey, who’s paused on the staircase, laughing down at something Piper said.“She mentioned a new combination we should try on that safe when I was talking to Piper earlier.Out of nowhere.It was so weird.”
Dane lifts a brow.“Shit.What if it works?”
“All we can do is try.”After Mom’s bakery burned down last fall, a safe was discovered in the rubble and returned to her.She didn’t recognize it and has no idea what’s in it, but we’ve been trying to open it ever since.Between that and Mom’s new random psychic abilities post-fire, life in Bayshore has felt a little different.
And Casey breezing back into my life threatens to add to that newfound weirdness.Probably in a good way.But also in a distracting way that I should definitely not explore.
“I’ll see you at game night on Wednesday,” Dane says as he heads toward his car.I wave after him just as someone else walks up to me.It’s Casey’s mom and dad, with Claire and her fiancé Paul trailing behind.
“It was good to see you Griffin,” Casey’s mom says warmly as they walk past.“We just love what Piper and Kru have done with this barn.”
“I’m proud to call her my little sister.Good seeing you all, thanks for coming out,” I call after them as they walk toward their cars.
Quick footsteps approach from behind, and soon Casey catches up.
“You leaving?”I ask her.
“They’re my ride.”She pauses near me, a wisp of long, golden brown hair drifting across her face.“This was so fun.I’m so glad my visit lined up with Piper’s grand opening.”
“Me too.”I begin to walk slowly toward her parents’ car with her.“How long are you in town for?”
She slows to a stop, scrutinizing something on the horizon.She starts to answer and then stops.I can’t get a read on what’s overcome her; I just know it’s very different than the mood we shared for an hour straight inside that barn.
“I’m actually, uh….”She laughs nervously, then turns to me, wringing her hands.“I’m going to be in town for a little while.Unexpectedly.”
My brows lift.That sounds like good news for me, but I’m not sure she’d agree.“Oh.Are you moving home?”
“No, no, it’s uh…” She shakes her head, her gaze drifting off again.“How can I put this…I guess I’m kind of taking a pause.A sabbatical.I’ll be around until my sister’s wedding and then heading back to Chicago.”
