Chapter 28
MATT
Igrinned at the petite brunette bounding across the parking lot to Dinah’s borrowed car. If anyone could get me out of my foul mood, it was my sister.
“Get in the back,” I said to Ty, who sat in my passenger seat.
He made a face. “Why? Because princess has to sit up front?”
I laughed. “You know her royal highness!”
He shook his head with a laugh and got out of the car.
When we were kids, Luna declared herself Princess of Minnesota, and we her two lowly subjects. Ty always appeased her, but I tried to start a rebellion. Now we teased her mercilessly about it.
It had been about a week since I broke up with Maddie, and I was miserable as shit. That was why my sister insisted on coming to visit Franklin U. When I told her I thought Ty or Elsa should give her a tour, she demanded answers, and then I booked her a flight to Philly. I was pretty certain it was not so Ty could show her around but so the two could gang up on me and tell me I was stupid for giving Maddie that ultimatum.
I’d agree with them because I missed her so much. I hadn’t heard from her since I laid down the law. Occasionally, I saw the dots pop up in our text thread, but then they would disappear. That hurt even more because I was waiting for her to make a move. For her to get her shit together and tell her brother about us. But now I wasn’t so sure there even was an ‘us.’ Maybe there never was.
I missed her so much. I missed laying in bed with her, watching those cheesy action films she loved, and listening to her talk about the bonkers plot of the latest novel she was reading. I missed holding her hand and her sweet smile that was only for me.
I ran a hand down my face but couldn’t help but smile when I watched Luna jump into Ty’s arms as he spun her around. Yeah, it was not lost on me that Ty had a thing for my sister. He forgot he told me when we got drunk last night. He might be a douche, but if he ever got his shit together, I knew he’d treat my sister well. It didn’t bother me if they ever dated because Luna was her own person with her own opinions.
The only thing good about my breakup was that I was putting all my energy into hockey. It hadn’t gone unnoticed, and Coach had been keeping me on the line with Mac and Hallsy, but he also called me into his office and asked me if I was okay because I looked like a robot. I never had a coach like him before. LaVoie actually gave a shit about his players, and not just about hockey. I brushed him off, and he hadn’t pressed me more on it.
Luna climbed into the passenger seat while Ty put her bag in the back before sliding in next to it.
“You’re grumpy,” she said by way of greeting.
I rolled my eyes and tore out of the airport to get back to the city. Dinah and Noah had graciously let her stay with us. They had the room and had been more than happy to host her. We had a game tomorrow afternoon, so Dinah was going to bring her along. Luna had only seen me play on those few times we played the Minnesota Tundra.
Luna turned around to look at Ty.
“Hey, put your seatbelt on,” I yelled at her.
I felt her roll her eyes without seeing it, and she did as I asked, but then turned around to look at my buddy. “How bad is it, Ty?”
“Bad Lu-lu.”
“Nobody fucking asked you,” I snarled.
“She did,” Ty argued.
“What did you do?” my sister demanded.
I gripped the steering wheel as I drove and pretended I didn’t hear her.
“MATTY!” she shrieked.
“Dude, tell her,” Ty urged.
“Tell me what?”
God, I loved my sister, but I could do without her high-pitched screaming right now.
“Tell me!” she demanded.
So I did. I told her the whole messy story. When I was done, we were back in the city and on our way to campus. Luna sat back in her seat and was quiet for a while.
“What do you think, princess?” Ty asked.
“Have you talked to her since then?” Luna asked.
“It’s pointless. She doesn’t love me.”
“I think you’re wrong.”
I muttered under my breath. I definitely wasn’t. If Maddie wanted me the way I wanted her, she would have fought for me. Instead, she was too scared of her brother to give us a real shot.
“But you really love her, right?” Luna asked.
“Yes,” Ty answered for me. “That’s why he’s been so mopey.”
I glared at him through the rearview mirror, and he gave me a cheeky grin.
Dick.
“Then I don’t understand the problem,” Luna said
“She doesn’t want to tell her brother. I don’t want to be her dirty little secret anymore,” I explained.
“Do you blame her? The last guy she dated got his teeth knocked in by her brother. She’s afraid for you because she loves you,” Luna said.
She never said that, though. When I told her I loved her, she stared back at me in silence, and then I stormed out. Maybe I didn’t give her a chance to react, but if she loved me, she would have said something by now.
“That’s what I told him,” Ty said. “But anyway, princess, you ready for me to tour you around?”
I mentally thanked my best friend for changing the subject and distracting my sister.
It didn’t take much longer to get to campus. I found a parking garage and followed behind them as Ty showed Luna all the academic buildings and student services. I worried about her on her own, but Ty still had another year before he graduated, so I knew he’d keep an eye on her.
I hesitated when I noticed he led us to the skating rink. I hadn’t been to any of Maddie’s games, but I knew they played in the same rink as the men’s team. Ty pushed me inside, forcing the argument from my lips.
“Now for the best place,” Ty told my sister. “The rink. You want to join the women’s team, right?”
The corner of Luna’s lips turned up. “I’m thinking about it.”
“Come on. E told me we could take a peek at practice.”
Luna looked taken aback by that. “You and Elsa still talk?”
Ty nodded. “Not everyone hates their ex.”
“I do,” she muttered.
“What happened with Chelsea?” I asked.
Luna scoffed. “She cheated on me. Good riddance.”
Ty put an arm around her. “Sorry, Lulu. You come to Franklin, and I’ll find you a nice guy or girl.”
“Or enby,” she reminded him.
“We’ll find you someone better than her,” he told her with a smile.
“Thanks, Ty.”
We slipped into the stands, small as they were, and watched the girls hustling down the ice. Maddie’s dark braid flowed behind her as she beat Elsa at laps.
“Whoa, she’s fast,” Luna breathed out, impressed.
“She gives E a run for her money,” Ty said.
I pressed a hand against my sternum, feeling like my heart might burst at the sight of Maddie. She was beautiful and fierce as she tore down the ice, reminding me of everything I missed about her. My heart screamed at me that I never should have given her that ultimatum, but I couldn’t keep hiding our relationship from her brother.
Luna raised an eyebrow at me, and then her lips parted. “Oh. That’s your girl.”
I nodded.
“Maybe we should stick around so you two can talk?”
“Nah. Where’s the next stop, Ty?”
“Hockey house for a kegger?” he offered.
“No,” I said sternly. “Let’s head back to Noah and Dinah’s and get Lu settled.”
“You should talk to her,” Luna said.
“Stay out of it, Lu,” I warned.
She frowned but didn’t press me on it. We parted ways with Ty, and I drove us to Old City. I grabbed Luna’s bag when we walked inside. I heard Dinah and Noah in the kitchen as we walked upstairs.
“Hey,” Dinah said. “I was just gonna call you to see if you were going to be around for dinner. My brother dropped off a lasagna.”
“Ooh, I love lasagna,” Luna said.
“Oh, this is Luna,” I introduced my sister.
They greeted her, and then Luna took her bag from me while Dinah showed her to her room upstairs. Noah went into the fridge and handed me a beer. The girls came back downstairs, chattering away.
“You ready for the game tomorrow?” Noah asked.
I gave him a silent nod.
I wasn’t worried about the game since I had been on fire lately.
“Are you sure?” Noah asked.
“Yeah?”
He studied me. “What’s been up with you lately? You’re mopey.”
I sighed.
“Him and his girlfriend broke up,” Luna cut in.
I shot her a glare, and she gave it back like she was daring me to say something else in front of Noah.
Noah’s expression was unreadable as he stared at me for a few seconds, like he was waiting for me to say something else. “Well, that sucks. I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”
Behind him, Dinah stared suspiciously at me.
Noah asked my sister how she liked Franklin, his way of avoiding confrontation. I was grateful for that.
The four of us ate dinner together, and afterward, Noah stood up and grabbed his coat. “Okay, I gotta go.”
I pinned him with a look. “Do we have a meeting I don’t know about?”
Dinah waved me off. “TJ needs help building a dresser for the twins.”
“Do you need an extra set of hands?” I asked.
Noah shook his head. “Nah, I got it. I’ll see you later.”
As soon as the door shut behind him, Dinah whipped her head around and glared at me. My sister sat up and if she could grab popcorn and watch the show, she would.
“What?” I asked Dinah.
She put her hands on her hips and tapped her foot impatiently. “I’m only gonna ask you once, and I want you to be perfectly honest with me.”
“Yeah?”
“Have you been secretly dating Maddie?”
I felt all the color drain from my face, and I stared at her blankly.
“Yes!” my sister answered for me. She gave me an innocent smile. Dinah looked at her with interest. “That’s the real reason I came for a visit. He’s been a shit.”
Dinah barked out a laugh. “That’s very true.” She turned back to me. “What happened?”
“Did she tell you?” I asked.
Dinah shook her head. “Nope. You two were way too obvious, and she’s avoiding me.”
I cringed. “Does Noah know?”
She tapped her finger against her lips. “I honestly don’t know. What did you do?”
“He gave her an ultimatum,” Luna chimed in again.
I shot her another annoyed look. Damn, little sisters could be a pain in the ass.
Dinah raised her eyebrow at me and waited for me to explain.
“I never wanted to hide it. I wanted to tell Noah right away, but she didn’t want to.”
Dinah blew out a breath. “Okay, I get that. I have three meathead brothers who tried to stare down Noah. He’s protective of her, but he likes you.”
“D, what do I do?”
“Forget about my husband. He’ll get over it.”
“Or he’ll punch me in the face,” I muttered.
She shook her head. “I won’t let him do that misogynist bullshit. When was the last time you talked to her?”
“A week ago.”
“A week ago…” her eyes widened. “You thought you were getting caught on Thanksgiving, and she freaked, huh?”
I nodded. “I told her we either tell Noah or we’re done.”
“He fucked up,” Luna cut in.
“Quiet you,” I snapped at her.
Dinah cringed. “Okay, wrong thing to say. But believe me, I fucked up before with Noah. I had to be the one to reach back out. Maybe you need to do that too.”
I frowned.
“Text her and say you want to talk.”
“Okay…”
“And Matt?”
“Yeah?”
“You’re probably the only guy on that team Noah would approve of. It’s almost like he hand-picked you.”
“I don’t know if sweet pea would like that,” I blurted out.
My sister’s eyes got soft. “Aw, you call her sweet pea? That’s so cute.”
“Shut it,” I growled.
Dinah laughed. “Okay, I’m done. I knew something was up, and I had to say something.”
“What if she doesn’t want to talk to me?” I asked.
Dinah waved me off. “Nope. I’ll make her come to the game with us tomorrow.”
“How?”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll handle that.”
Luna nudged me. “You focus on winning in front of your girl, and then you can get her back.”
“Okay, okay. I’m not sure I love you two teaming up against me.”
“You love us!” Dinah cheered.
I shook my head. I did, but I wouldn’t give her the satisfaction of knowing that.
Tomorrow. I’d fix it all tomorrow.
I hoped.
When I went to bed, I shot off a text to Maddie.
ME: Can we talk after my game tomorrow?
I didn’t wait for a response before falling asleep. I’d find out later if she still wanted me. Or if I was going to be left with this gaping hole in my heart.