“His personality, how he acts, anything.”
“Well, you know Luc.” Kassie shrugged. “He’s sweet. He really is. He’s protective, too. Before I gave in to my feelings for him, we hung out a few times as friends. But he always looked out for me. Taking me home when I was out drinking, keeping the creeps at bay when I was out dancing. He’s just always there. Even after what went down at practice yesterday, he took me out and treated me like a princess. In everything he does, he puts me first.”
“So, you’re saying that he’s a real gentleman?” Ali asked, as if she was doing research.
“Yes. Always. Kaden does nothing but talk about what a dog Luc is, or was, but I never see that side of him. It’s not like we jumped right into bed. And he certainly hasn’t bailed since we did. We spend any chance we get together. He texts me all the time when we’re not. He’s kind. He’s handsome, right down to that cute little dimple. He’s a caring person. I mean, he takes care of his dad the best he can.”
“You’ve met his dad?”
“Yes. Luc had me over for pizza and his father was there.”
“He’s already introduced you to his dad, Kassie. How many bunnies can say they’ve met Mr. Marcella?” Ali pointed out.
“Can we not talk about the bunnies? Please? I’m too old to be this jealous. And I’m regretting ever saying anything about it.”
“Okay, no bunnies. But he takes care of his dad the way Kaden tries to take care of you and me?” her mom asked.
“Well, I guess. Yeah.”
“And Kaden was okay with this guy before he started to date you?”
Ali spoke up. “Yep. I mean, they got along just fine. Being one of the younger guys, Kaden didn’t hang out with him a lot, but they got along. From what Trina has said, Luc and Sam are really good friends.” She adjusted the baby in her arms. A surprised smile filled her face. “And apparently he’s really good with Willow. He’s over at their house all the time playing tea party or watching cartoons with her.”
Kassie didn’t know he spent so much time with the Morris family. “That fits him, though. He’s fun, and kind, and cute. Why wouldn’t their daughter love him?”
“Hmm…” Her mom stared at her. “I knew it.”
“Knew what, Mom?”
“You can second-guess yourself all you want, but I know my daughter. You love this hockey boy.”
Kassie put her hands up in protest. “Woah! I never said the L-word. We haven’t known each other long enough to even think about that.”
“Kass, there isn’t a time restraint on love. It just happens,” Ali added.
“Well, I just don’t see how this is going to work. It puts Luc in a bad position, and it puts Kaden in a bad position. And it puts me in the middle. No one can truly be happy like this.”
“Dear, the only one putting your brother in a bad position is himself,” her mom said, and Kassie knew that she was right.
“But I’m the cause of all of it. It’s been eating away at me since yesterday. And as much as I want to be with Luc, I can’t be the reason he gets traded, or that Kaden gets traded, because they’re a problem in the locker room. Teams don’t deal with things like that in the locker room; they just get rid of the problem.” She shook her head in defeat. “The code wins. Guidelines, whatever. I should’ve avoided athletes. I knew better.” At the very least, hockey players, specifically, Renegades players.
“But you do want to be with Luc, don’t you? Kass, I saw you two at the party. You’re pure heat together. The way he looks at you, the way he touched you, it’s like you’re his world. And I know you haven’t been dating for that long, but sometimes it doesn’t take long to know that you belong with someone.” Ali snuggled Kaleb in her arms.
“Something else is bothering you, dear. What is it?”
Kassie didn’t want to admit this. If she said it out loud she’d sound like a jealous teenager, and she hated the thought of that. She just shook her head.
“Do you have his jersey yet?” Ali asked.
Damn, that girl knows me so well that it’s scary.
“No. He has enough little fangirls running around with his jersey on; he doesn’t need one more.” As the words left her mouth, her mom’s face lit up as if it all clicked.
“Ah-ha,” her mom said.
“Ah-ha, what?”
“Green is a terrible color on you, Kass,” Ali said, shaking her head and grinning.
“What?” Kassie looked down at her shirt. What they hell are they talking about?
“You saw the bunnies yesterday, didn’t you? At practice. I heard all about them. Hell, I’ve seen them when I’ve been there. They’re hard to miss.”
She didn’t want to admit it, but slowly she nodded her head. “Yes.”
“And they’re making you think twice about being with him? Why?”
“It’s not them. It’s not him. It’s not anything. It’s everything. I didn’t like being jealous of those girls. I’m twenty-two years old. I have better things to do than be jealous. But they’re the ones standing there in his jersey, not me.” She shook her head, regretting everything she’d already said. “It’s stupid.”
“You want to be branded as his, don’t you?” Ali asked, her mouth gaping open in humorous shock.
“I’m not anyone’s property,” Kassie droned. “That’s kind of high school, don’t you think?”
“Oh, cut it out, Kass. You know if he made some grand gesture, showing you and everyone else how important you are to him, you’d swoon. And I wouldn’t blame you one bit.”
“Dear, is your brother the biggest obstacle?”
Kassie shrugged. “Kind of. I mean, he’s my brother. I care about him, and I don’t like him being so angry with me. And I really don’t like seeing him treat Luc so awfully. They’re teammates; they’re supposed to be close, like family. I would step back to make all that anger stop. To make everyone happy again.”
“Everyone except you,” Ali pointed out.
Her voice was soft as she said, “I really do like him, so much. I just don’t want to mess up his career.”
“That sure sounds like love to me,” Ali said, as she cooed at a laughing Kaleb.
“She’s not wrong, dear,” Kassie’s mom agreed, then turned her attention to Kaleb. “Hey there, big guy. Who’s our handsome little O’Conner man?”
“Kass, I don’t think Luc is too worried about repercussions. Plus, Luc can handle himself.” Ali handed little Kaleb off to his grandmother.
“All right, enough of this. There’s only one way to take care of it.” Her mom fumbled with her purse while holding the baby. She finally brought out a little calendar and opened it, then babbled some baby talk to Kaleb as she looked at the dates.
“You’re all invited to dinner at my house on Sunday. Ali, you make sure my son shows up. Kassie, you invite Luc and his father.”
“Something tells me you won’t take ‘no thanks’ for an answer,” Kassie said to her mother, already knowing the answer.
“Absolutely not. Attendance is mandatory. Leave it to mom to fix things.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Luc