Page 10 of Code Violation

“Who’s being an asshole?” a deep, almost-gravelly voice echoes from behind me.

Every single hair on my arms stands on end. Not in the bad way either.

If there’s one thing I know for sure about Silas Stanton, it’s that he has the kind of voice that would be perfect for narrating audiobooks. Not that I’ve listened to his voicemails on repeat or anything weird like that …

Fresh pine cologne wafts over me as he takes a seat next to me at the table and runs a hand through his towel-dried hair.

“You weren’t referring to me as an asshole, now were you, Ves?”

I allow my gaze to stray for a second as I take in Silas’s white button-down shirt, which is open at the collar. A dusting of light-brown chest hair peeks beneath his shirt, daring me to stare a few seconds longer at his body.

I’m a woman with eyes. The fact that he’s my ex-boyfriend’s brother has no bearing on how hot he is, even if I’d never go there.

“That all depends if you plan on leaving me any more interfering voicemails,” I reply just loud enough for only Silas to hear.

Drew and June are now deep in conversation about women working in sports.

He shifts in his seat, and I feel a little guilty for being kind of a bitch to him.

Five days ago, Silas left me a worried voicemail when he found out about my final split from Kane, and the only response I gave him was an I’m okay; don’t worry text reply.

The truth is, I am okay, although I could probably be friendlier to Silas about it.

“Kane told me today that he hasn’t tried to call you. He says that you guys are really over now.”

I nod and take a sip of wine. “We are, although I wouldn’t know whether he’s tried to get in touch. I blocked his number for good this time.”

Silas reaches behind him for a pint of beer from Will, who takes a seat next to him. Slowly, the table is filling up with players, which usually signals it’s time for me to leave. I’ve never been good in social surroundings. Give me a full bar and a Boston shaker, and I’m in my element, too involved in my job to feel uneasy. But sit me with a whole hockey team and a hot-as-hell captain, whom I shouldn’t find attractive, and I’m ready to fly out the door.

“That makes me happier than you could know, Ves,” Silas says with a smile.

My eyes rove around the table before they land back on Silas, who hasn’t looked away from me once. He’s always been intense, but never in the creepy sense. I just struggle to work out what’s going on in his head, and that’s never been an issue for me with most people.

For example, I’ve always been acutely aware of Kane’s assholery, even if I accepted it for way too long.

“You know, you never needed to worry about me cutting you out of my life.” I cast a hand around the table. Everyone’s talking about the game, aside from Will and Drew, who are busy debating the appropriateness of spending more than $30,000 on a wedding dress. “Now that I’m compelled to join Drew at hockey games, you’ll be able to hang out with me as much as you want.”

He grins at that. “Beats watching shitty movies on the couch, eh?”

My cheeks burn at the memories.

I know Silas is referring to the times when he came over for dinner before the three of us sat down in front of the TV, and Kane would fall asleep a half hour later, having drunk way too much during the day. Every now and then, my eyes would find Silas, and he’d offer me a crooked smile while I tried to pretend like I was happy, being tucked under Kane’s arm as he snored into my hair. Silas might think they were low points in my relationship with his brother, but he couldn’t be further from the truth. At least, whenever he was around, Kane was mostly on his best behavior. It was the time we spent alone that was the worst.

“I dunno,” I say, injecting a lighter tone into my voice. “That time we all went on a double date to the bowling alley was a personal highlight of mine.” I smirk at him. “I was convinced that Stevie was the one for you.”

Silas doesn’t even flinch at my gibe about a girl he once dated. Stevie was most definitely not the one for him, even if she spent the whole night trying to climb him like a tree.

His attention falls down to the green Rogues jersey I’m wearing. “Nice top.”

I do a little shimmy. “Thought I’d get into the spirit of things.”

Silas sits back in his chair. “Did you choose the last name on the back, or did you find it in the bargain bucket?”

My mouth falls open. “What a way to speak about your forward! And this is Drew’s jersey; she let me borrow it.”

He rolls his lips together, but doesn’t speak.

“What?”