BrickWall_Kobo (9 page)

Bliss practically bit her tongue in half not to speak her mind.

“Why do you think that?”

“He’s been…quiet.”
She paused.
“Dismissive.”

Bastard.
Bliss would cheerfully cut Jimmy’s balls off with a dull spoon.

“Have you talked to him about it?”

Faith nodded slowly.
“He says everything’s fine.
And it is.
For a little while.
And then it’s not again.
I just…don’t know what to think.”

Bliss knew exactly what to think.
She just couldn’t bring herself to say it to her friend’s face.
Maybe her personal dislike of Jimmy was coloring her judgment.
Maybe he really was just having cold feet and everything would be fine.

Maybe…not.

Bliss had made more than one mistake in the past few hours, including sneaking out of Shane’s apartment this morning.
She didn’t want to make a completely horrendous one now.

“I think you need to talk to him again.
Tell him exactly what you just told me and see what he says.”

Maybe the bastard would actually man up and make things right for this incredible person.

And maybe, just maybe he’d completely screw Faith over.
And then Bliss would cheerfully find that spoon.

Faith’s lips lifted in a completely fake smile that broke Bliss’s heart, and she tightened her grip on Faith’s hand.

“I’m sure I’m just being paranoid.
And I guess I should try on my dress one last time.”

Which was the reason for Faith’s visit today.
Her final fitting.
Tomorrow, Bliss would help her dress at the church then attend the wedding and reception as a friend.

“And speaking of tomorrow, did you decide to bring anyone to the wedding?”

Bliss knew Faith had closed the door on their other conversation.
And really, what more was there to say?

“I told you not to hold that spot open.
I just don’t have anyone in my life right now.”

Immediately, images from last night popped into her head.
Shane, naked and braced over her body on strong arms, his hips pounding against hers, his mouth on her breasts.

Damn.
If she wasn’t careful, she’d have a hot flash and need to change her panties.

“Uh huh.”
Faith’s tone definitely held a hint of laughter so at least Bliss had been able to lighten her friend’s mood.
Even if it was at Bliss’s expense.
“I’m thinking maybe you wish there was.”

Nope, not touching that.
“All right, lady.
Let’s see—”

Her cell rang and her heart gave a little extra thump.

Stupid.

She picked it up, checked the number, and didn’t recognize it.
But that didn’t mean anything.
She used this as her work number and she got calls all the time from vendors.

Swiping it into voice mail, she refocused all of her attention on Faith.
Where it should be.
And not on a random hookup that would never go anywhere.

* * * * * *

His call went straight to voice mail and Shane was all set to end it when he heard her voice.

“Hi there.
You’ve reached With This Ring Bridal Salon.
We can’t get to the phone right now but we want to help you find that perfect dress.
Please leave us a message and we’ll call you back.”

And damn if he didn’t get hard.

So, yeah, he waited through the recorded message, trying to figure out what the hell he should say.

“Uh, hey, Bliss.
This is Shane…from last night.”
Christ, he sounded like a fucking teenager.
“I’d like to see you again.
I’m free tonight or tomorrow night.
Oh wait, tomorrow’s Christmas Eve.
You’re probably busy.
We have a game the day after Christmas but then I’ll be gone for a few days after that.
Road trip.”
Which she probably didn’t care about.
“Anyway, give me a call.
If you want.
I had a great time last night.”

He cut off before he sounded like even more of an idiot.

So now what?

Blowing out a frustrated breath, he pushed away from the dining room table and tried to think of something else to do today that didn’t involve sitting in front of a screen alone.

Only a couple of guys from his team were still in the area, including the Russians.
Actually, only Vladislav Marchenko was Russian.
Jakub Mozik was Czech and got super pissed if you called him Russian.
So, of course, they all did.

They held the first-line defensive positions and were pretty much inseparable.
Had been since being drafted by the Redtails’ NHL affiliate, the Philadelphia Colonials, when they were eighteen and sent to the Colonials’ ECHL affiliate before being called up to the Redtails last season.

Those two would probably play video games all day, order in pizza, and sleep off a couple bottles of vodka.
They had the ability to drink men twice their age and size under the table.

Not exactly how Shane wanted to spend the day.

No, he wanted to spend the day with Bliss.

With a sigh, he figured he could at least do something worthwhile.
Like the wash piling up in his bedroom.
He hadn’t been near a washing machine for a couple weeks.
Might as well get that out of the way.

So he was in the basement, where he got totally shitty reception, when his phone rang.

He didn’t recognize the number at first glance but then his brain kicked in and he started to grin.

“Hey, Bliss.
I’m glad you called me back.”

“Hi, Sha…How are you do…I was hop...I know it’s…but—”

Shit.
The reception down here sucked.
He ran for the stairs.

He got to the first floor in time to hear her say, “Shane?
Are you—”

“I’m here.”
He had to take a quick breath because he’d taken the stairs two at a time.
At least that’s what he told himself.
“Sorry.
Bad reception in the basement.”

She laughed and his cock jerked.

“Is that where you keep the bodies?”

“Only the ones I can’t fit in the walls.”

She paused and he wanted to smack his head.
Jesus, could he be any more of an idiot—

Then she laughed even harder and…

Holy shit, she got his sarcastic sense of humor and didn’t think he was a serial killer.

Even more amazing?
He didn’t feel like a complete ass.

“So,” she drew the word out for several seconds, making his heart beat faster in anticipation.
“I was wondering what you’re doing tomorrow night?”

“Nothing at all.”
Please, god, let that be what she wanted to hear.
Or was that pitiful?
Oh wait.
It was Christmas Eve.
He’d forgotten.

A light huff of laughter came through the line and he hoped like hell she wasn’t laughing at his pathetic lack of a life.

“Well, I actually do have something and…I was wondering if you didn’t have anything to do, you’d want to go with me.”

The question in her voice should’ve rung a warning bell, but he knew he’d do anything she asked, just to spend time with her.
Did that make him creepy or pathetic?
Or both?

Then she continued.
“A friend is getting married tomorrow night and I was thought maybe you could be my date?”

His brain short-circuited for a second.
“Did you say wedding?”

Her laugh was softer and sweeter this time and made his muscles tighten.

“Yeah.
I told you I work in a bridal salon, right?
Well, one of my clients is getting married and she invited me to the wedding.”

She wanted him to go with her to a wedding?
As her date?

His brain kicked into gear, tossing out danger signals.

Take a girl to a wedding and she’ll get ideas.

Which was total bullshit.

Dude, you’re not that great a catch.
Seriously, get over yourself.

“Uh, sure.”

Somewhere in Nova Scotia, his roommate CJ was shaking his head and he had no idea why.

“I mean,” she quickly started to talk, “if you have something else, I’d totally understand—”

“No, no.
I’ve got nothing to do.
I’d like—love to go with you.”

Another pause and then, “Okay, great.
That’s…good.”

He swore he heard a smile in her voice now and that made him smile, too.
“So this is a formal thing, right?
Suit and tie?”

“Yeah.
Oh, is that a problem?”

“Nah.
We’re required to dress for games.
Unless I need a tux.
Then you’re out of luck.”

“Nope, no tux needed.”

“Then we’re good.
So what time should I pick you up?”

“I have to be there early to help the bride with her dress.”

“No problem.
I’ve got nothing to do and nowhere to be.”

“Okay then, can you pick me up at four-thirty?
I’ll text you the address.
The wedding’s at six.
I told her I’d be at the church by five but I want to be there early.”

“Great.
I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Thanks, Shane.
I’m looking forward to it.”

When the call disconnected, he took a deep breath and couldn’t stop grinning.

* * * * *

Bliss hung up with a smile.

That was either the stupidest thing she’d ever done or the bravest.
Guess she’d find out which tomorrow night.

Aren’t you the one who said you didn’t want to get involved with anyone?
That you were just looking for a one-night stand.

That had definitely been her.
But…there was something about Shane.
Something about how quiet he could be and not seem withdrawn.
Or how his humor was a little goofy, a little sarcastic and sometimes just plain weird.

How she knew all of that just from spending one night with him was weird.
And a little scary.
And a little exciting.

So she wasn’t surprised by the flutter in her stomach.
Or the pulse between her thighs because, holy hell, the man had been amazing in bed.

The kind of guy a girl could fall for and who could break her heart.

With a sigh, she tried to shake some sense into her head.

“Completely getting ahead of yourself.
It’s just sex.”

Really great sex.
And a seemingly great guy.

Too good to be true.

Weren’t they all?

She’d found that out the hard way when she’d found the man she’d thought was her happily-ever-after in bed with another woman.

Oh, Rich had sworn up and down that nothing had happened between him and the ex-girlfriend passed out on his bed.
Sworn he’d only allowed her to sleep there because he hadn’t wanted her to drive home in her condition.

Bliss had wanted to believe him.
She couldn’t.
Couldn’t bring herself to trust him.
Couldn’t help feeling like a fool.
Apparently she’d been right because when she’d gotten rid of him, he’d immediately started dating his ex.

So much for trust.

No, Shane would be a great diversion until it ended.
And it would end.
And when he moved on… No harm, no foul.
But in the meantime, she’d enjoy the smoking-hot sex.

“Liss!
Hey, Liss.
Guess what?”

She jumped as her door slammed open but smiled when she saw her older brother, Mike, in her living room.

“Hey, Mike.
We’ve talked about knocking before, remember?
You’re supposed to knock before you come into my apartment.
Or anyone else’s.”

Mike’s sweet face screwed up into a frown, and Bliss had to bite her tongue against the words that wanted to escape.

But she knew if she said, “Never mind, it’s okay,” it wouldn’t help Mike.
The therapist had been crystal clear about that.
He’d stressed, when she and her parents had first talked to him about Mike moving into his own apartment, that they had to hold him to the same standards as they would a person who didn’t have his disabilities.