Page 54 of Pucker Up
“You didn’t have to.” She let go of my arm and we started walking again. “You’d be spilling all the dirty details if you didn’t care about that man.”
I took a deep breath. “Okay. Maybe I am falling for him, but in all fairness, I think that he fell first.”
“Of course. You’re amazing.” Mel smiled and pulled her scarf tighter around her neck. The wind from the lake was whipping directly up Yonge Street. “But what about your study?”
“Promise you won’t judge me?”
Mel laughed. “Do you remember who you’re talking to? I’d never judge you. I’d help you bury a body if you needed me to. Remember to always pile the dirt higher over the body. Because when they decompose, the earth will sink down and leave an obvious depression.”
Morton stopped to pee on a snowbank. “Should I be concerned that you know the intricacies of hiding a body?”
“It was on the Murderville podcast.”
Steam puffed as I laughed. “I must have missed that one.”
“Now, spill, Goldie Girl.”
“I fired Ace from the study. I was attracted to him and it was interfering with my ability to be an objective observer.”
We stepped aside as a little snowplow rumbled past, clearing a side street. We followed its fresh path. “We’re going to…date, I guess you could call it.”
Mel clapped her hands together. “Really? But he’s a hockey player.”
“He’s—”
“Different?” Mel’s voice raised dubiously.
“He is.” I was emphatic. “We’re keeping it a secret for now. I don’t want it to interfere with the study.”
“How would that interfere? I don’t understand.” Mel’s phone pinged in her bag and she took it out and typed an email while we walked.
“I don’t know how you do that.” I marveled.
“It’s my ADHD.” She laughed. “This is the perfect job for me. Now, get back to that whole keeping-it-a-secret thing.”
“Right.” The sun slipped behind a cloud, and the day that felt like spring reverted to winter: cold and dark. “None of the players know that I’m their coach’s daughter.”
“Ohhhh.” Mel nodded and I was glad that she understood. “Do you think Ace will be able to keep that secret?”
I took a deep breath, knowing this wasn’t going to go over well. “He doesn’t know yet either.”
“Gooooooldie.” Mel shook her head slowly as she growled out my name. “What are you doing?”
“He doesn’t need to know yet.”
“Let me guess. You’re going to keep this little secret from your dad too?”
My lips drew into a line and I nodded. “Only for a little while longer, until I figure out how to tell them…both.”
“You’re playing with fire. I know that it’s not an official rule, but do you think Ace would want to date the coach’s daughter,and vice versa? Do you think your father would want you to date one of his players?”
Morton tugged at the leash and stopped to take a number two right in the middle of the sidewalk. “I’m not going to rock the boat until I know for sure…there’s a boat to be rocked.”
Mel was uncharacteristically quiet, and even let a few text messages sit without responding to them right away. “This isn’t like you. You’re all about honesty and integrity. For the record, I think this is a bad idea. You’re lying to the two men in your life, and I know how you feel about lying.”
“This is different.” I groaned. Mel knew about my trust issues. “And what happened to helping me bury a body?”
Mel sighed. “It’s my job to tell you the truth. You need to tell Ace as soon as possible. It’s not fair to him for you to keep something that big a secret. Your dad…” Her voice trailed off. “Maybe you can wait to tell him.”
