Chapter 23
MADDIE
“Are you sure this isn’t too much on your plate?” Dinah asked me.
I shook my head as I sat in the comfy chair in the corner of her office with my laptop.
The nice thing about being her PA was that we could meet face-to-face. I had already met with Fi earlier this week to talk about her logistical needs for the signing. To be fair, it was a lot, but I didn’t want to let either of them down.
She eyed me. “Maddie, I didn’t know you were taking more courses than usual. If you need to work fewer hours or you can’t do a beta read for me, say no.”
I gave her a smile. “I can handle it.”
“I know you can, but I don’t want to pressure you into taking too much.”
I waved her off. “Be quiet so I can read this and you can get more words down.”
She rolled her eyes, but she knew she needed someone to boss her around to finish writing. That was the real reason I came over after my classes today. She was behind on deadline and needed an extra push.
The other reason was that the team was supposed to come home from the road today, and I selfishly wanted to see Matt. Even if we had to pretend we were just friends.
It had been a couple of weeks since my brother went after my ex on the ice. It pissed me off he was being the annoying protective brother. Matt and I had been arguing again about if we should tell him we were together. It wasn’t time yet. Noah wouldn’t be prepared if we dropped that bomb on him.
I went back to reading the secret project Dinah was working on. After Fi dared her to try to self-publish this more adult novel, Dinah went to work on it. She finished it, and now I was the first person to have eyes on it. It was so different from her young adult stuff, but I loved it. It wasn’t as spicy as the kinky stuff I read, but compared to her other work, it was on fire.
My phone vibrated next to me, and a smile spread across my face when I saw a text from Matt.
MATT: Hey, sweet pea. We’re getting in the car now. Can I see you later?
ME: I’m working at the house today. So sorta?
MATT: Okay.
ME: Let’s grab dinner later!
“Is that the boyfriend?” Dinah asked.
“Maybe…” I said coyly and set my phone down.
She turned around in her desk chair and pinned me with a knowing look. “When do I get to meet him?”
Guilt lodged in my stomach. I hated lying to Dinah, but my brother said they had a really open relationship and told each other everything. I couldn’t tell her and expect her to keep it from him.
“I told you, when your husband learns to control himself.”
She frowned. “I talked to him about that. You’re not being fair to him right now.”
“Whose side are you on?” I grumbled.
“Both of you. He’s my husband, but I love you too. I don’t like the rift between you. I thought he was getting better about that stuff.”
“I lied to you about why I transferred,” I blurted out.
“What?”
“My ex sent my nudes to the entire hockey team after I broke up with him. That’s who Noah fought a couple of weeks ago. That’s why he did it. You know he doesn’t fight.”
“That’s why he was in that fight? Fuck that guy.” She walked over to me and sat down on the other reading chair. She put a hand over mine. “I’m sorry that happened to you. That’s not your fault.”
“I know. He was an asshole. Ma—my boyfriend reassured me about that.”
I cringed as I realized I had almost slipped up and said ‘Matt.’ Dinah narrowed her eyes like she was trying to sus something out. I pushed my hair behind my ear and tried to go back to reading her book, hoping she’d go away, but her stare bore through me.
“Maddie,” she said, her tone flat.
“Hmm?” I asked, not bothering to look up at her.
“Why haven’t we met him yet?”
“It’s complicated. He travels a lot for work.”
Not exactly a lie, but not the truth either. I couldn’t say ‘I can’t tell you because your husband will straight up kill him for breaking the code.’
Dinah crossed her arms over her chest. “He travels for work? How old is this guy? Is that why you don’t want us to meet him? Is he like your dad’s age? I’m eight years older than Noah, and granted, I had some issues with that at first, but nobody cares.”
I shook my head. “No. It’s not that. He’s only twenty-two.”
The suspicion marred her face again. “He’s only twenty-two…oh my God!”
Before she could call me out about lying to her because I was pretty sure she had figured it out right then and there, the front door opened.
“We’ll talk about this later,” she said as she walked out to greet my brother.
I had no desire to do that, so instead, I’d avoid coming over here at all costs now.
I went back to my computer and read a little more from her book. The sound of footsteps made me look up. I couldn’t help but smile when I saw Matt standing in the doorway.
“Hey,” I said.
Noah knew we were friends, so it wasn’t weird to be friendly toward him. But I couldn’t jump into his arms and kiss him like I wanted to. I didn’t want to keep this a secret forever, but I was so worried about what my brother would say. That he’d kick Matt out and try to get him off the team.
“Hey,” he greeted back. “How did your test go?”
I frowned. “I don’t know. I’m bad at math.”
“I’m sure you did fine,” he reassured me. He looked over his shoulder and then mouthed. “Meet you in a few hours?”
I nodded, and then he walked down the hallway and toward the basement where he lived.
I worked for another hour until I got to a good stopping point. Dinah was too preoccupied with my brother, and I didn’t want to ask questions about what they were up to. I shut down my laptop and put it back into my backpack.
I was hoping to slip out unnoticed, but my brother was in the kitchen when I tried to get to the front door.
“Hey, wait!” he called after me.
I sighed. “What?”
Noah walked over toward me and rubbed a hand over his big, bushy beard. “Can we talk?”
“No.”
“Mads.”
“Fine,” I sighed. “What do you want?”
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“Matt told me you felt like I blamed you for what happened with Chester. I want to apologize for that. I don’t blame you. It’s just… You’re my little sister.”
I stared him down. “I’m also not a little kid. You don’t have to do that big brother overprotectiveness anymore.”
He massaged the back of his neck. “You’ve dated a lot of guys who haven’t been right for you.”
“That’s none of your business. Who I date is of no concern to you.”
“Is this why you won’t let us meet the new guy? Because I’ll scare him off?”
“Yes,” I lied.
No, it was so much worse. He had no clue.
“I’m sorry. D kinda gave me the business about that, reminded me about how annoying her brothers were when we first started dating. So, when you’re ready, I’d love to meet your new guy. I promise to be on my best behavior.”
I stared at my brother. He would absolutely not be on his best behavior. He was going to go through the roof.
“Maybe,” I said and shrugged.
He nodded.
“I have to go,” I said and turned to leave.
Luckily, he didn’t stop me. The guilt was still weighing me down, but I wasn’t so sure I’d ever feel comfortable telling him. I knew one person who could help me.
When I got back to my dorm, I dropped my bag on the floor and flopped onto my bed. I pulled out my phone and sent a video chat request to my best friend Ally.
She answered immediately, her blonde hair up in a messy bun. “Hey, you slut! I thought you forgot about me.”
I cringed. “I’m sorry. I’m the worst!”
“Mmmhmm. So how’s Philly? Has Noah forced you to move in yet?”
I groaned.
“That bad?”
“He fought Jaime.”
She laughed. “Douche deserved it.”
“I know, but I have a huge problem.”
She gave me a concerned look. “What’s up?”
“How bad was it when your brother found out you were dating his teammate?”
Ally laughed. “Umm…it was bad, but then they did some stupid alpha male shit where they got drunk together, and it sorted itself out. Why…” she trailed off, and her eyes got big. “Oh no. Are you secretly dating one of his teammates?”
I nodded. “And I think my sister-in-law figured it out.”
“Just tell him. What’s he gonna do? Forbid you from dating him?” Ally asked with a roll of her eyes.
“It gets worse.”
“How?”
I sighed. “He’s the rookie who lives with them. You know, the one I told you about?”
Her eyes widened. “Okay, so it’s a little more complicated, but…Noah likes him, right?”
I nodded. “Yeah, he’s like Matt’s mentor. That’s what makes this so hard.”
She chewed on her lip. “Okay, well, he’ll be pissed at first. He might punch him in the face.”
“Ally!” I cried. “Not helping!”
“But he’ll get over it, okay? Noah’s seen all the shitty guys you date, but if he already likes this one, it will be a little easier.”
I let her words pour over me. I wanted to believe her, but I wasn’t so sure. Of course, Noah liked Matt. He was so sweet and a gentleman, like my brother was with Dinah. Maybe he would see reason since he already knew Matt was a good guy.
“You’re such a bitch for not telling me about this,” Ally cut into my thoughts.
I grimaced. “I’m sorry. It’s been a lot. But I really like him.”
“I could tell from your posts. Did he seriously buy you all those books?”
My lips tipped up into a smile at the memory. Matt was such a wonderful boyfriend, and I knew it was weighing him down not to tell my brother.
“So, did you…do the deed?” she asked and waggled her eyebrows.
That made me howl with laughter and miss my best friend. I was a shitty friend for not checking in with her sooner. It had been hard to keep up since I moved to the States, and I’d been busy with my workload.
“I definitely did,” I admitted with a grin.
“Get it, girl!”
“Oh, I do.”
Then it was her turn to laugh.
“Fucking finally!”
I laughed. “That’s what I said.”
“I think you gotta tell Noah sooner rather than later. Rip off that band aid. Your sister-in-law will go to bat for you, so what are you afraid of?”
I rubbed my temples. Why didn”t anyone understand how complicated this was? “He lives with them. What if Noah tries to get him kicked off the team?”
She shook her head. “He’s overprotective, but he won’t do that.”
I didn’t know about that.
We chatted for the next hour, catching up on everything. I was planning on going home for Christmas, so we talked about potential plans. That reminded me I needed to call my mom. I hadn’t talked to her in a while. She had texted me, yelling at me about Noah fighting Jaime, but I told her I didn’t control him. Mom hated hockey fights. Probably why Noah usually behaved himself.
After I hung up with Ally, I sat down to study before Matt would come over for dinner. He had texted me while I was video chatting with Ally that he went to do weight training and asked if I could handle a late dinner. I was good with that, but I was glad he checked in with me.
Matt was the nicest guy I’d ever dated. I kept thinking back to what Ally said. Maybe it wouldn’t be that bad when we told my brother about us. It would be worse the longer I waited to tell Noah. But I kept thinking about how he disapproved of everyone, and I didn’t want to jeopardize Matt’s career or their friendship.
Maybe Matt was right to resist me. What had I gotten myself into?