16. Even
EVEN
Oliver
I was pathetic. Thirty-three years old and I was using my brother and soon-to-be sister-in-law as a buffer.
“Why are we here again?” Aspen asked. She had a bottle of water in her lap, her legs outstretched in Rowan’s lap as he massaged her foot with one hand and held a beer with the other.
Rowan smirked, knowing all too damn well. “We’re the buffers so my dear ol’ brother doesn’t make an absolute fool out of himself.”
“Rowan,” I growled, the warning in my tone clear, but he rolled his eyes.
“She has eyes, Oliver. She’ll know, but fine. I’ll say nothing. Good luck with the worst-kept secret in the family.” He shook his head and mumbled the next bit as if we couldn’t hear him. “There’s a reason Payton stopped trying.”
Aspen looked between the two of us, her eyes only widening once the front door opened and Hudson ran inside with his hockey bag and sweaty hair. Tossing his stuff on the floor, he threw himself over the back of the couch and started excitedly rambling on about how practice went.
“I got to play left winger tonight, Dad! And Coach Beck says I’m the best one on the team he’s seen so far!” he explained, the excitement clear on his face. “Ivy took a ton of videos for you. Apparently they were so long she couldn’t send them over text.”
He stared back at where I guess she stood, the look of fake dismay thrown her way as her soft laugh filled the empty space. The sound glided over my nerves, my body instantly relaxing more than it should with her around.
“Ay! That’s awesome, little man!” Rowan said, his excitement matching Hudson’s perfectly.
“You know your dad was a defenseman—not nearly as cool. He was basically a caveman on the ice, while the center and wingers score all the points. Gets them way more—” He was cut off when Aspen kicked him in the ribs before he could complete that thought, but he just looked over at her and smirked.
“Okay, time to get ready for bed. I’ll be up in a minute, bud,” I told Hudson. The look of confusion on his face from his uncle’s ramblings needed to be put to a stop before the questions began.
He hugged everyone before grabbing his bag and heading up to his room. Which left the three of us and Ivy. My brother wasn’t enough of a buffer, and I could feel Aspen’s eyes assessing the situation for all it was worth.
Ivy’s quiet steps sounded as she rounded the couch and took the spot next to me. There was easily a solid two and a half feet between us, but it might as well be inches in my mind. My eyes took her in, and I spoke before I could stop myself.
“Looks like it’s no secret anymore.” Her eyes met mine and she smiled, knowing exactly what I was talking about. My hockey history had clearly come from Rowan’s mouth in the middle of one of their many talks, but she just shrugged, unbothered.
“That’s fine. I have plenty more secrets to keep in its place, Mr. Carragan.”
I shifted slightly on the couch. The level of sass and confidence oozing from her did something to me, and I found myself with nothing left to say, rendered speechless two minutes into sitting next to her.
“So, Ivy darling, how was practice?” Aspen asked, breaking the newly-found silence. “See any cute coaches?”
I watched as Rowan’s eyes cut over to her, only for her to kick him again.
I wanted with everything in my body to turn around and look at her.
Judge her expression. Was there something going on with the coach?
I mean, sure, he was around her age. He seemed like a decent guy.
But she was back with the boyfriend, right?
So surely she wasn’t flirting with the coach. Ivy didn’t seem like the type to be?—
“Beck is fine. Don’t be a weirdo,” Ivy said, interrupting the running of my thoughts. “Did he tell you I wanted to talk to him about the party and call you over here so he didn’t have to talk?”
She smiled as she spoke, her tone light as she looked over towards her best friend.
“He did. Apparently he was terrified if he was alone with you, you’d expect all the ideas to come from him and him alone,” Aspen replied with a knowing smirk she turned my way without an ounce of guilt to show for it.
“That wasn’t what I said,” I grumbled as I took a sip of my beer and tried to appear relaxed.
“Well, moving on away from the grumpy cowboy’s inability to bring party ideas to the table. I was thinking a beach trip. Somewhere like Cali!”
“You want to go to California?” I found myself asking before I could think better of it.
She stared at me, a small smile on her face. “Well, my best friend is only getting married once. I want to celebrate. Plus, it’s only for a three-day weekend. I figured we could rent a house close to the beach. For the nine of us, splitting it seven ways isn’t that bad.”
Aspen looked over to Rowan, and they both shrugged. “Sounds good to us. An actual beach on the ocean could be fun, and Aspen’s never been to California before.”
Ivy shrieked. “Perfect. I’ll find some listings and dates and start a group chat with everyone else.” Just as she neared the end of her excited shrieking, her phone rang, and her entire demeanor changed.
“Fuck,” she muttered as she answered. “Hey, babe! I’ll be home soon.” The words fell from her mouth in a jumbled pile of anxiety as the rest of our group quieted.
I didn’t have to look to Aspen for confirmation for who it was on the other end, or even hear his voice through the speaker of her phone. Even up to her ear he was louder than he should’ve been speaking to her.
“I know. I didn’t realize how late it was, and I took Sunny…” she began, but quieted for a moment. “No, I know. Sunny? Hudson? Oliver’s son? Rowan’s brother?”
Her eyes flicked up and met mine, a small wince at whatever he was mumbling into her ear.
“I get it. I know. I’ll be there soon.”
She hung up—no goodbye or I love you—and part of me couldn’t process having a woman like her in your life and not telling her that every time the opportunity arose. Which is why when the words tumbled from my mouth, I didn’t stop them. I didn’t second guess them. I just spoke.
“Ivy, before you go, I wanted to thank you again for your help with Hudson. It means a lot to me.”
Her bright eyes went wide as she stared at me. “You don’t have to thank me, Oliver.”
For the first time, I looked at her dead-on, hopeful that my eyes said everything I couldn’t find it within myself to express. And it must have, because she nodded.
“Well, I’m choosing to, anyway. People should make a point to show you that you’re appreciated.”
Clearing her throat, she nodded. “Thank you, Oliver.”
She hugged Aspen and fist-bumped Rowan, offering me another soft smile before heading out the door. It wasn’t until we heard her car start that Aspen jumped up and squealed.
“You’re in love with my best friend!!!!”
“I’m not in love with her, Aspen.” The words held little sincerity as I spoke them.
“Um, you most definitely are.”
I let out a groan, downing the rest of my beer without comment.
“Holy fuck. This is the best thing I’ve heard in like, four months. Holy shit,” she continued on as Rowan laughed, but she turned serious when she finally settled back on the couch. “You have no idea what you just gave her, Oliver. Truly, no idea at all.”
And she was probably right, but she had no idea what Ivy gave me, either. So maybe we were even.