Chapter 13
Thirteen
Luca
It takes every ounce of energy to leave the house, the warmth of my bed where Harper sleeps. It’s been weeks since I’ve touched her, caressed her skin, kissed and worshipped her body.
A part of me wants to stay in bed, but I promised the team I’d be there, and I also made a promise to my friends that I’d drive them home tonight.
Besides, it’ll just be a few hours at the party and then I can curl up with Harper for the rest of the night. We have the rest of our lives together.
I head up to the old place I was living in last semester.
From the outside, the house looks the same.
The front door is unlocked, and I let myself in, shutting the door behind myself. The inside is warm, toasty, and loud.
Music pumps all around us. Chase really likes to turn the speakers up, and he’s definitely redecorated. The place screams bachelor pad, and the smell is a bit stale.
Kensley and Brooks are hanging by the kitchen. He’s leaning against the wall; she’s got a drink in hand, laughing at whatever he’s saying. There’s definitely a vibe there, and Brooks is a good guy. He’s the least annoying freshman on the team.
It’s clear they’re flirting. His body language screams that he’s interested; leaning in, he brushes the hair away from her eyes and keeps his hand on her cheek for a moment.
I look away; it’s not my business what Harper’s best friend does or who she’s into.
The sofa in the living room is occupied by Chase and a girl I don’t recognize. They’re both bonding very intimately.
Ashton and Nova are seated across from them on the loveseat, which I’m not thrilled with the name, but it’s just a chair. They’re chatting up a storm. Nova stands, drink in hand, swaying her hips to the music.
She’s clearly had enough to drink.
Thank God, Ashton is watching her tonight.
It’s nice not to have to worry about my little sister. I head past Kensley and Brooks into the kitchen, grabbing a plastic cup with punch. No doubt there’s a shit ton of liquor mixed in.
While I’d prefer a beer, it looks like this is the drink of choice tonight.
I’ll take it.
It’s better than hanging out at this party sober without Harper.
I don’t plan on having more than one drink. Okay, two max.
My mind flashes back to tonight, seeing Harper at my game with Zeke, both of them wearing Narwhals jerseys. I wanted to skate over before the game started, but I knew she’d be my biggest distraction.
Not necessarily in a bad way, but I needed to concentrate.
I have to make it pro.
It’s the only way to escape Dante’s arrangement with me working under him.
And while it would only be a temporary fix, if I can make it big enough, he won’t want me involved in the business. There’d be too big of a spotlight, a national audience curious about me when I do eventually retire.
Hockey has to be my way out of Breckenridge. Away from the life Dante has chosen for me and for my family.
I take a swig of the electric punch, and boy, does it ever leave a bite. The sting is welcoming as it slides down my throat. I pour another ladle into my cup and then head to the living room to hang out with Ashton and Nova.
I’m surprised Ashton hasn’t been bedding any girls recently, but I actually appreciate that he’s keeping his bedmates out of the house.
Knowing Ashton, he’s likely hooking up with girls in their dorm rooms, which works for me, less drama.
Heading into the living room, Nova is dancing and swaying to the music. She takes another sip from her red plastic cup.
Ashton is clearly talking to her, and by the looks of it, he’s probably getting annoyed with her for drinking. The same way my little sister rattles me when she doesn’t listen.
Siblings.
Nova climbs onto the wooden coffee table, and I hurry closer, worried she’ll fall in those heels, or worse, the table will collapse under her.
I reach out a hand. “Come on, get down, Nova. You’ve had enough to drink.”
Nova giggles, her words slurring. “I have an announcement to make!” she shouts. A few of my teammates who aren’t in the middle of a make-out session look her way.
“Nova,” my tone scolds, but she waves me away.
“Someday, I’m going to marry Ashton Rinaldi.” Her arms stretch out for him, her doe eyes batting wildly.
“We’re going home,” I growl and grab her hips, putting her over my shoulder.
My little sister is embarrassing herself. She’s clearly had too much to drink.
“Put me down!” Nova bangs on my back with her fists. “Ashton, tell him to put me down.”
Her words slur and her body wiggles as she fights me.
Ashton stands and strides the couple of feet closer toward me. “You should listen to your sister, and put her down.”
My gaze tightens on Ashton.
He’s my best friend.
Why is he telling me what to do with my little sister?
“She’s drunk. I’m taking her home. We’re leaving, now. Go get Kensley and Liam.” I turn to head for the front door.
“Put my girlfriend down, now,” Ashton says, and for a moment, my world spins.
“Girlfriend? You’re dating my sister?” Heat floods my face, and my heart thunders in my chest.
I stalk past Ashton, putting Nova down on the sofa. “Stay,” I growl, warning her not to move.
Nova doesn’t listen.
She never listens.
Standing, she fumbles toward us. “Please don’t be mad, Luca.” Nova bats those baby-blue eyes at me, but where it might work for Ashton, it does nothing for me.
I ignore Nova and grab Ashton with one hand, yanking him closer to me, our faces mere inches apart.
Heat licks my skin. My blood runs hot like molten lava. “One rule. I only ever had one fucking rule,” I seethe between clenched teeth.
My jaw ticks and I shove him backward, my hands clenched into fists at my side.
“Look, I’m not just sleeping with your sister—”
I lunge at Ashton, grabbing him by the lapels of his shirt, throwing him up against the living room wall. “I warned you not to touch my sister!”
“I care about her, Luca. She isn’t just some girl I’m sleeping with.”
His words hit me harder than any punch to my body could. “I don’t believe you! I’ve seen the girls you take to your bed, a new one every night.”
Nova watches, wide-eyed, and Liam comes barreling around the corner, yanking me back from Ashton.
“This isn’t a fling, not for me.” Ashton’s gaze flickers from me to Nova. The air hums with electricity.
Brooks grabs my other arm, Liam on my left, Brooks on my right, keeping me from attacking Ashton. “We’ve all known,” Brooks says, his calmness only making me angrier.
“Everyone?” I seethe, my eyes growing wider as I glance around the room.
I glare at Kensley. “Even you knew?”
Kensley nods faintly. “I saw them making out months ago when you guys were living here.”
“This has been going on for months?” Shock doesn’t even begin to describe the gut-wrenching feeling of having been lied to, betrayed by my closest friends, and my teammates.
“We weren’t sure how to tell you.” Ashton stares at me, worry lines etched across his brow.
Nova steps closer to me and nods at Brooks and Liam. They loosen their hold, finally letting my arms free, but they’re standing guard in case I go after Ashton again.
“I wanted to tell you,” Nova says, reaching out, her hand gently on my arm. “Ashton and I were fighting just this week about when and how to tell you.”
“There shouldn’t have been anything to tell.” I shoot a glare at Ashton. “I warned you—all of you—” I glance around the room at my teammates, “to stay away from my little sister.”
“Luca,” Nova’s voice is soft, calm, she’s trying to be reassuring, but it isn’t calming the adrenaline surge that pours through me. “I’m not a little kid. I’m in college now. You can’t expect me not to date.”
I know that, and I never expected her not to date. “You can date whomever you like. Just not one of these guys,” I snarl, pointing at Ashton. “Hockey players are the worst—”
“You’re one of them!” Nova shouts at me. “Do you see me stopping Harper from dating you?”
“That’s different.”
“How?” Nova glares at me. “We’re both freshmen. We’re both dating hockey players.”
“I’m not a player!” Doesn’t she realize how different Ashton and I are?
Ashton steps closer to Nova, placing an arm around her waist. “I’m not that anymore; your sister changed me.”
I don’t believe Ashton. He swore he’d never fall in love, that love was a notion conceived entirely by the media. He didn’t want a relationship; he only wanted to fuck a new girl every night.
I want to rip his arm right out of the socket and I step forward, Liam holding me back. “Don’t do it.” Liam’s voice is in my ear.
“Why the hell not?”
“For starters, your hockey career,” Liam says. He keeps a firm hold on me. “You assault him, and you’ll be off the team. Your precious career, gone. Your future with the NHL, nonexistent.”
I grind my teeth together and exhale heavily through my nostrils. I feel like a dragon with steam emanating, waiting to douse Ashton with fire.
Fuck me.
“Stay the hell away from my sister!”
Nova’s eyes tighten. “I get it. You’re mad. Angry that we lied to you. I’m sorry we didn’t tell you when Harper found out. We shouldn’t have made her keep our secret, but you have to see this from our point of view—”
Wait.
Harper knew?
Those are the only words I hear, and they ring loudly in my head, like a gunshot going off.
If I wasn’t dying inside before, I certainly am now.
She lied to me.
Again.
“I’m done.” I shove Liam off me and head for the front door. “I’m going home. If you want a ride, you better get your ass to my car before I leave.”
The drive home is thick with tension. I drop Kensley off at her dorm before heading home. Nova is in the front seat, while Liam and Ashton sit in the back.
Thankfully, Ashton and Nova were smart enough not to sit together in the car, or I might have made them both walk home in the brutal chill. Doesn’t matter to me that the wind chill is in the negatives outside.
Silence fills the empty space, and as we get home, I storm into the house, heading right for the bedroom.