Page 35 of Playing for Keeps

A few minutes later Grace arrived, her coat draped over one arm and her cheeks flushed from the wind. But she wasn’t alone. Bridget was right behind her, staring at us.

“Max,” Grace said, taking a seat next to me. “Emma, this is Bridget. You remember her?”

Emma nodded politely. “From the game, right?”

“That’s right,” Bridget said, her smile tight. “You were… cheering very loudly.” The words hung in the air like a barb, even though her tone was light.

Bridget sat across from me, right next to Emma and leaned her elbows on the table, turning her body toward me. “So, Finn,” she said in a sweet voice, “are you scaring the other team’s forwards?”

I laughed awkwardly. “Trying to at least.”

“Well, you looked good out there during the last game.” Her eyes lingered on me. “Very… confident.”

Emma looked at her mug, trying to hide a small smile. It was one of Bridget’s talents to make me feel uncomfortable, which was exactly what I didn’t want to feel with Emma present.

Fortunately, Grace decided to change the subject. “Bridget, you’d love the Canadian wing. The Group of Seven stuff is amazing.”

Bridget waved it off. “Oh, I’ve seen them. They’re fine. But I prefer things that are more straightforward, like hockey. Don’t you think that’s easier to appreciate? You don’t have to pretend to understand it.”

Emma chuckled softly. “Maybe. But I like things that take a little time to understand.”

Bridget looked straight at me again. “Some people like easy.”

I didn’t take the bait and looked at Emma, who just sipped her hot chocolate like Bridget’s words were background noise. Did she think that too? That I preferred easy and uncomplicated?

My worries were interrupted by Emma saying, “I should head out; I want to do some writing tonight.”

I moved to stand up too, but she gently put a hand on my shoulder. “Stay. Finish your drink. I’ll text you. Grace, see you around.” She smiled and left, and I couldn’t help but watch her until she was gone.

Bridget noticed. “Well, somebody’s using you for her next great novel. She seems… intense, Finn. You sure you want to end up as research material?”

My jaw tightened, ready to snap back, but she was already pushing back her chair. “Anyway, I should get going as well. Grace, Finn, it was… fun.” Her tone made it sound like the opposite.

Grace sighed and smoothed the edge of her napkin between her fingers. “Bridget doesn’t like not being the centre of attention,” she said quietly. “Especially when someone else is.”

I stayed silent.

“She sees the way you look at Emma,” Grace added. “That bothers her.”

Before I could respond, Grace hesitated, then said, “She did tell Emma about your reputation.”

My stomach dropped. “She what?”

Grace nodded. “Don’t freak out. Emma’s still here, she’s still hanging out with you. If she cared about all that, she wouldn’t be spending so much time with you, would she?”

I leaned back, still seething, trying to let Grace’s words sink in. Maybe she was right. Emma hadn’t mentioned hockey once. She’d just… been with me. But as I let out a breath, the knot in my stomach didn’t go away. It was one thing to be a part of Emma’s day – something else to wonder if I was just a project she was dropping once she got what she needed.

19

MAX

The club was called Candela, and walking inside with Will was like crossing into another world. The beat was in my chest before my brain caught up. People clapped, laughed, swayed their hips, and snapped their heels.

I looked at Will. He was already grinning and taking it all in. “Nice,” he said. “Way better than those sticky sports bars we always go to.”

“Yeah, well,” I said, feeling out of place. “We’ll see.”

The truth? The music and the dancing weren’t the reasons why I was here. The only reason I had walked through the door at all was Emma.