Page 50 of Cheap Shot
“I didn’t know until today, Michele. I promise.” Stacey grips my hand tightly, her eyes imploring me to listen. “When I was talking to you on the phone about Cole, Leona at the front desk said something about a patient named Cole calling the center, trying to get an appointment with you. He even tried to pay her off to accidentally cancel someone’s appointment and pencil him in.”
I giggle softly, thinking of the look on Leona’s face with the big, bad hockey player begging her to bend the rules. “She must have gotten a kick out of that.”
“She did.” Stacey smiles. “She also says that if you don’t give that boy a call, she may just take him up on her offer to accidentally leave your file on the desk.”
“Leona would never do that. She’s too much of a stickler for the rules,” I scoff, wondering if maybe I pegged that little old lady wrong. I’m in trouble if her weakness is dimples, too.
“Have you seen him smile with those black wire-rimmed glasses?”
“He has fucking glasses?” I exclaim, almost falling off the couch. “That’s just not fair! Dimples and glasses. I’m going to spontaneously combust if I ever see him in them.”
“Good thing he won’t be wearing them while at the rink.” Stacey flashes me a smug smile, bumping her shoulder with mine. “But the bigger question is, what are you going to do?”
“Do? Nothing,” I respond, my eyes looking anywhere but at her.
It would be easy to just waltz back into the locker room and walk right up to Cole and lay it all on the line. And if he weren’t a player and I weren’t an employee, I’d do it. But both of us have dreams, and one of us is still trying to get his. Anything that happens between us can ruin it for one or both of us.
“Come on now, Shell my Bell. You looked like I kicked your puppy.”
Okay, maybe Stacey is right. I have no idea what the hell this thing is between Cole and me, but it is something. Before she told me about his minor stalking incidents, I’d have thought he didn’t give a crap about me, but now…honestly, I’m not sure.
“So, I ask you again. What are you going to do about it, Michele?”
“I don’t know.”
His reaction to hearing that I was the new physiotherapist for the team wasn’t exactly normal. He felt betrayed for sure, but there was something else there. What that something was, I don’t know, but I have a feeling it has something to do with one or both of his brothers. Cooper and Beau Hendrix are household names in the Timberwolves franchise. Both have led the team to multiple victories, and now suddenly, Cole is a member of the team for some strange reason. There’s more to these brothers' stories.
“He was so angry when Parker told him I was the new physio for the team. It was like a bucket of ice water was dumped on us.”
“So he’s still into you. That’s always a good sign.” Stacey grabs Imhotep off my lap and places him in hers. She is a little more invested in what’s going on between Cole and me than I expected. Especially if she’s forcing my cat to sit in her lap so she can keep her cool. If she were anywhere else, she’d probably be bouncing in her seat.
“Maybe, but I could’ve just been imagining all the sparks and sexual tension between us.”
A part of me wants to believe that all of this is just in my head, but another part of me can’t help but feel like there is something more. Something concrete, but can I really trust this? We spent a few hours together while he was rehabbing his shoulder. Sure, there were sparks, but I’m not too sure there is more there than that.
“For such a smart woman, Michele, you sure are dumb.” She cups my face in her hands, turning my face and forcing me to look at him. “A man does not repeatedly show up at your work and flirt with a seventy-year-old receptionist for nothing.”
“Fair enough, but the minute he found out I worked for the team, he became distant and defensive. Almost suspicious of every minute we spent with each other.”
“That proves you’ve gotten under his skin.” She smiles as the cat jumps off her lap and starts bouncing in her seat. “This is a real-life romance novel.”
“I wouldn’t go that far, Stacey. You’re almost as bad as Kyle.”
“Oh! Yes, Kyle.” She squeals, reaching into her pocket and pulling out her phone. “We should call and get his opinion on all of this.”
Fuck. Kyle Hendrix is the last person who needs to know what is going on between me and his older brother. He took it pretty well when I told him the basics about how Cole and I met. He was all moon-eyed and probably planning our wedding. He wasn’t kidding about those daily update calls to see if we had connected again. I can only imagine what he’ll have to say if Stacey tells him about our moment in the locker room this afternoon.
“Please don’t call Kyle,” I beg, reaching for Stacey’s phone. The only problem is that she is taller than me, so my hand only smacks against her forearm. “He doesn’t need to know about any of this.”
Stacey eyes me for a few moments before a sly smile spreads across her face. Nothing good happens when Stacey has that look. “If you can give me one good reason, I’ll put the phone away and keep this to myself for a little while.”
I eye her skeptically, wondering what she’s up to. “That was too easy. What do you want?”
Stacey is like a dog with a bone. When she wants something, she’ll stop at almost nothing to get it. Asking me to give her a good reason why I don’t want her to call and tell Kyle what’s going on between Cole and me. I call bullshit. She’s up to something. Now to find out what that is.
“You wound me. Can’t I just want to keep a secret from one of our best friends and revel in the fact that I knew first?” Stacey whines, placing her hand over her chest for good measure. She has always had a bit of a flair for the dramatic.
“Ah, so you want to be able to tell him I love you more, don’t you?” I chuckle with a shake of my head.
