Page 159 of The Maxwell Brothers
"Really? You feel my body heat through three layers of clothes?"
"Oh, I think I could feel it through a wall. It just pours off you, like the sexiness. It's irresistible."
He kissed my cheek, making me melt.
"You're something else," he murmured. "You’re not a winter person, are you?"
"Hell no. Ever since I was a kid, all I did in winter was sit inside and read."
"I was out all the time. My brothers and I seemed to get all sorts of ideas in winter. We drove Mom mad. I mean, we did in general. It was just worse in winter. She used to run around after us with extra clothes because we forgot to put on jackets and stuff."
"How can you forget to put on jackets? It's freezing."
"Yeah. Not something we noticed. We were too busy being up to no good.” He changed the subject then, asking, “What was your call about?"
“I’m trying to convince some prominent skaters to drop by some of the schools. I want the kids to know they can dream big.”
Tyler’s eyes softened. “I’ve never met anyone like you. How are you even single?”
My mood plummeted. I sighed. "How much time have you got? It's a long story."
"I've got time, Kendra."
"How about you?"
"It's not exactly a secret that I've always been single. I've had hookups."
"Puck bunnies?" I asked, and his eyes widened. "Yeah, I know the term.”
“Honestly, that lost its appeal a long time ago. Anyway, before all this madness with the video, I met this woman, Blair, who didn't even seem to know much about hockey, and I thought that was a plus. But after the scandal, she said she didn't want to be tied to someone whose career was going down the drain."
I stopped in my tracks, utterly shocked that someone could be so callous. "She told you that?"
"Yeah." His eyes darkened. "I was blind to the signs, if I’m honest. She loved posting stuff about us on social media. That's most of what she did while we were together. But I thought it was normal. So many people seem to have this dire need of posting everything they do or eat in a day. It's not my style, but I understand that other people like it, and it didn't bother me. I just didn't realize that she was doing it in the hopes of, I don't know, becoming famous or something, and once she realized I wasn't her ticket to fame, she decided I wasn't worth her time after all."
"I'm shocked. But you'reyou," I said. “Hot and… you know. Everything else.”
He chuckled again, smiling, and that dead look in his eyes dissipated. "It's all fine, Kendra. It wasn't such a big deal."
But I got the feeling that he was minimizing the impact because he wanted to appear strong or something. I could only imagine how it felt when your whole career seemed to collapse around you, and then the person who was supposed to be your partner and support you bolted as well.
“You didn’t tell me your story,” he went on.
“It’s pretty basic. I went out with Peter for a year before I brought up the idea of moving in together, and he freaked out. Broke up with me the next day.”
“What the fuck!”
“Sums up my thoughts. I mean, I’ve never been a huge romantic or anything.”
“No?”
I shook my head. “I’m… practical. I mean, my parents were very much in love. But after he passed away… Mom was in two long relationships that both ended with the guy leaving when things became tough. She worked for a car manufacturer that ended up moving production elsewhere. The guy she was dating at the time, Mateo, left her two weeks later. Then she started seeing Alex, who was around for a while… until she got sick with MS.”
“I am so sorry.”
“She was inconsolable after he left.” It was horrible. I hated to think about those times. I felt so bad for my mom, that someone could treat her that way. I loved her so much, and I wanted everyone else to love her like I did. Some people could be so cruel.
“When did she pass away?”
