Page 9 of Rush the Edge

“Excuse me?” I say in shock.

I quickly stand upright, ending my stare-off with Kane.

River gives me a funny look. “I told you I had friends in the area.” He nods to Kane while folding the box. “I assumed you knew that Kane was one of them, considering he plays for the Blue Devils.”

“Well, you know what they say about someone who assumes...” I fake a smile.

I hadnoidea he played for the Blue Devils, because the second Kane and I went our separate ways, I pushed him out of my head. I knew he made it to the pros, but I refused to watch any of the games in fear that I’d catch a glimpse of him, and then I’d have to start all over again with forgetting about him.

I silently laugh.

Who am I kidding?

It would be a miracle if I could forget about Kane Barlow.

He’s the type of guy that lies quietly in the deepest parts of someone’s memories, only coming out to play at theworstpossible times.

The elevator takes fifteen years to reach my floor, and when the doors open, I fly out of there like a bat out of hell.

Kane and my brother are talking amongst themselves while I try to act normal. I hate surprises, especially the kind with devilish eyes and a hatred for me.

With a hefty breath, I square my shoulders and fumble with my keys to open the door.

Kane, who is now holding the two boxes I was holding, walks past my brother, who has left us alone to answer his phone—which is likely our mom on the other end.

Kane leans close to me, but I make no effort to acknowledge him. “Need help?”

“No.” I press the key into its rightful place.

He snickers under his breath, and I look at him out of the corner of my eye.

“Not what you said the last time I saw you,” he mutters.

My face grows warm.

He’s referring to when I asked him to take my virginity.

Memories of us in my childhood bedroom zip into my head like a wrecking ball, and I now suddenly understand Miley Cyrus on an entirely new level.

My hand stalls on the key, and I finally come face to face with him. The hairs on the back of my neck stand up, and I sweat in places I didn’t know existed.

Kane’s lips lift with a grin, but I can see right through his friendly facade. “Look at us,” he whispers. “Neighbors.Again.”

Four

KANE

Why is she here?

I was too blindsided to ask River when he dropped the news that Daisy was moving here. Even now, after I’ve digested the idea of her, and we've come face to face with each other again, I’m still on edge.

When River and I reunited after a few years on different paths, things fell right back into place. It felt like no time had passed at all.

That isnothow it feels with Daisy.

I’m a man now—well, sort of. Most of the team would disagree, thanks to the trouble I cause onandoffthe ice, but I’m more of a man now than I was six years ago. So tell me why I’m twisted on the inside with her being near? I’ve pushed Daisy so far out of my mind that I’m surprised I even recognized her when I stepped on the elevator.

But I most definitely did, and it’s taking more effort than I’d like to pretend I’m not doused in irritation with her big brother around. Daisy and I have always seemed like we had a brother/sister type of relationship. But on the backside of that, it was something that I can’t put a name to. Then add in the last day we were together, and it’s a fucking storm of angry emotions.

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