Chapter 4
Chapter Four
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“I half expected Holmes to be a little more . . . homey with his place,” Penny says, glancing around his apartment. “I mean, not even a picture on the walls.”
“Can you hang pictures on concrete walls?”
“I have no idea.” She runs her hands over them. “I’ve never seen them before unless I was in a basement, but we’re not in the basement. We’re in a high-rise. Frankly, the whole thing is confusing.”
“I know, but I also kind of like it,” I say, examining his space. “It’s simple. I would have pictured a rug for him at least, but the clean lines and simplicity of it all make sense for the kind of man Halsey is.”
Holden stirs in his car seat but remains asleep as Penny walks over to the large sliding glass door that opens to the balcony.
“No furniture? This is an amazing balcony, and he doesn’t have any furniture?”
“He said he would get some, but I don’t think it’s necessary, especially since I won’t be here that long. He doesn’t need to get it for me.”
“He needs something out here. What a wasted space.” She walks around, taking in the view. “You could fit an outdoor dining table out here, a few planters, an L couch. It’s the perfect place for him to read his books. I don’t understand why he wouldn’t take advantage of it.”
“I don’t know. It doesn’t seem like he . . . does much outside of hockey. You know?”
Penny pauses, then nods. “Yeah, I should have thought of that. Eli always talks about how different Halsey is from how he used to be. Makes me sad.” She turns toward me. “I still can’t believe you said yes to living here.”
“Now that I’m here, I can’t believe it either.” I sit on the edge of his couch and look around at the plain gray walls, the matching floors, and the empty space. It could be warmer if Halsey allowed warmth in his life.
I don’t know much about him, but I do know he’s been through a lot. He’s shut down, and not even his friends can bring him back to the guy he used to be.
Penny takes a seat next to me. “Want to talk about Perry?”
“Not really,” I answer.
“Too bad, because I do. Do you miss him?”
Should have seen that coming.
I sigh and lean back on the couch. “Not really. I don’t know . . . the whole thing feels so weird. I still can’t believe he just left and didn’t even look back. Here I thought there was actually something special between us, but boy, was I wrong.”
“If he decided he made a mistake and returned, would you take him back?”
I shake my head. “No, I don’t think so.” And that is what’s so strange.
But every time I’ve stopped and thought about Perry, it hasn’t been feelings of sadness that I’ve felt.
In some senses, I dodged a bullet. Perhaps this sounds wrong, but I want to be someone’s world.
Not someone who’s easy to leave. “I think he showed his true colors by leaving, Pen. If I’m honest, I don’t want to be with a man who can walk away from me so easily. So I can’t see why I’d take him back.”
“That makes sense. In my humble opinion, he’s a fool to let you go.” I smile. Penny would say that. She’s such a loving person.
“So does that mean you’re going to move on?” There’s no other choice.
“Move on with my life, yes. If you’re implying moving on with dating, I’m pretty sure I’m done for now.”
“Such a shame.” She smirks at me. “I bet Halsey would be a lot of fun to mess around with.”
“Don’t even start with that,” I say, pointing at her in warning.
She innocently shrugs. “What? I’m just saying . . . might be a good time to get to know him. And you have to admit, he’s really hot.”
My mind brings me back to Halsey in his black Agitators shirt, standing in my new room, apologizing for the non-matching nightstands and wrinkled curtains.
Despite looking morose, the pull in his brow and the clench in his jaw gave him a broody, almost bad boy look, but the apology coming out of his mouth completely contradicted that notion.
And then there was the way his shirt clung to his body.
Tight around his arms, his chest . . . but it flowed around his tapered waist. And every time he stuck his hands in his pockets, his triceps flexed, tugging even more tightly on the sleeves.
He had a boyish charm with a devil’s body.
Really hot . . . not sure I’d describe him like that. It’s too simple of a word. He’s more than hot. He’s handsome with an edge. Attractive with a heart. A combination of both, which I know would be devastating to anyone willing to place their heart in his standoffish hands.
“You’ve been thinking for a while there,” Penny says with a nudge.
“Oh sorry.” I chuckle. “Just thinking about Halsey.”
“Oh, are you . . .” She wiggles her eyebrows.
“Not like that.” I mean, sort of like that, but she doesn’t need to know exactly what I was thinking. “He’s hot, but there’s nothing between us, so don’t even start. This is a simple arrangement that will help me with my housing needs. That’s it.”
“Okay, but don’t you think it would be so cool if you two, I don’t know, fell for each other and got married and had a baby, and your baby could marry my baby, and we would be in-laws? Wouldn’t that be great?”
“You need to come back to the office. That imagination is working hard.”
She laughs. “Just one more week, and I’m back.”
“Are you going to miss staying home with Holden?”
“Yes and no. Eli and I sort of got into a bit of a fight the other night because I told him I felt sad about leaving Holden, so he suggested I not go back to work since I didn’t need to work.”
I wince. “What a moron.”
“Exactly. He went off about how he makes more money than we will ever need, and my working doesn’t matter.”
“Please tell me you set him in his place,” I say.
“Oh, I did. I told him working isn’t just about money. I like what I do. I enjoy working with the players and the team. That I love being a mom more than anything, but I also want to have something that’s for me, and that’s my job.”
“Please tell me he understood.”
“Not at first, but once I told him he was sleeping on the couch, he sat and listened some more. You know Eli; he’s really protective and wants to provide for me, for the family. He wants to be the stupid alpha who does everything for his woman.”
“Too bad for him, he fell for the wrong girl.”
“Yup.” Penny smirks. “Speaking of work, how is everything going?”
“Good.” I shift so I’m facing her and lean my side against the back of the couch. “I have a meeting tomorrow with a high-profile donor.”
“Why are you working with donors?” Penny asks.
“He came through the VIP relations to grab seats in our center ice suite and loved working with me, apparently. I’ll loop in Wills once I find out what’s going on, but I’ve researched him, and he’s pretty impressive.”
“What’s his name?” Penny asks.
“Huxley Cane. Have you heard of him?”
Penny shakes her head. “No.”
“Well, he has a business with his two brothers, and they’ve made some impressive moves. They’re investors in The Jock Report.”
“Oh wait, I do know about them. Didn’t Ollie go to one of them for a job?”
“Yes, she went to JP Cane, who connected her with Ryot Bisley. Anyway, they run a few charities, and being that they’re now friends with Silas, I’m trying to pull all the connections together. And to be honest, I’m slightly intimidated.”
“Why?” Penny asks.
“During my research, I learned very quickly that Huxley Cane is the type of man who doesn’t take shit from anyone. He’s very cutthroat in the boardroom. He’s made moves to benefit his company and his brothers, and he did it at such a young age. Not to mention . . . he’s very good-looking.”
“Is he married?”
I nod. “Yes, recently, and I believe his wife just had a baby. I swear I’ve seen his wife before.”
“What do you mean?”
“I saw a picture of her, and she looked so familiar. I couldn’t place her, and it’s still driving me nuts.” I shake my head. “Anyway, it should be interesting. I want to get settled in here and prepare for tomorrow’s meeting.”
Penny glances around. “Well, then let’s get you set up and unpacked. Maybe run to the store and grab a few things to liven this space up a bit.”
“No, I don’t want to disturb his peace. He probably has it empty for a reason.”
“Does he?” Penny stands and moves around the living room. “Or maybe he needs someone to come into his life to brighten things up because he’d never do it himself.”
“Either way, I’m not going to be that girl. This arrangement is purely so I have a place to stay. I have no intention of trying to help Halsey with whatever is going on in his head. I doubt I’ll even see him that much.”
“You say that now . . . until he starts walking around the apartment without a shirt on.”
“Doubtful,” I say, standing as well. “Halsey doesn’t seem like that kind of guy.
Anytime I’ve spoken to him, he’s either really quiet, stumbles over his words, or is soft spoken.
He’s not like Eli who would walk around without his shirt on because he’s a conceited idiot who thinks everyone will fall to their feet over the placement of his nipples. ”
Penny chuckles, and in a swoony voice, she says, “Eli does have great nipples.”
I roll my eyes and move toward my bedroom. “Please don’t start on those again.”
She follows me. “You’re the one who mentioned them!”
I stare into the full-length mirror on the back of the door of my new bedroom, grateful there was one here. I feel like that’s not something you think about until you don’t have one.
I smooth my hands over my long navy skirt that flows down to my ankles.
I paired the skirt with a white sleeveless bodysuit that I’ve left unattached at the crotch because my torso is too long to snap comfortably.
No one likes a frontal wedgie, not even the kinkiest of ladies.
Self-induced camel toe is never comfortable.