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"Jesus Christ. This is getting insane. Let me say something to him."
If I was being honest with myself, I wouldn't fucking care if I didn't love Nat and have that stupid instinct to want to protect her, even if it was stress that I helped to cause.
Carts and I were jerks by adding Scuba, Rainer, and Biggie to her workload, but after Carts opened the door, I couldn't help but sing her praises. Although, thankfully, Rainer and Biggie hadn't been texting a mile a minute.
"I can handle it myself. Just let me text him back."
I reluctantly let go of her hand so she could use her mobile.
It was probably for the best for her to text him back. That way, I didn't cross any more lines with Carter's little sister.
I probably should go out and get myself laid. Maybe see if Scuba wanted to go out and find some girls together. That way, he couldn't text Natalie all night long with the insane amount of requests.
"Do you want to go to Fleet Street Diner, Jokers, or someplace that you deserve?"
Really? Did I really imply to her that our favorite diner was someplace shitty? Time to do damage control. Yet again.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to say that. I wanted to say someplace fancy."
I smiled to myself. While it wasn't super eloquent, at least I didn't make things worse or say something stupid like, let me take you to someplace romantic.
"I don't get why you like Jokers so much." Natalie didn't even bother to look up as she furiously typed into her phone.
I snorted. It was true that Jokers could be a bit of a dump, but it always had the hottest girls and cheap drinks. Plus, it was one of those places that brought in hockey royalty. Even the more saintly ones like Legacy owners Aaron and Lucas Peterson. Okay, Lucas wasn't a saint, but he knew where the pretty ladies liked to party.
"So Jokers is a no. What is the other option?"
"Anywhere else. It's up to you," she said fairly nonchalantly, but it made me want to treat her even more.
With that, I drove to one of my favorite French bistros in Vancouver. It always felt very fancy without any romantic undertones to make my feelings feel any more complicated with Natalie.
Chapter 7
Natalie
It was time for a girl's night out. It'd been a while since I joined the girls for one of those.
Walking into the wine bar, it was easy to find my girls sitting in the corner booth at the back of the restaurant, so I bypassed the hostess stand and pointed to the trio.
"Oh my God, Nat. Where have you been?"
"Dealing with hockey player crap." I flopped onto the sofa and snagged a menu. I didn't need to eat after dining with Spence, but man, did I need a cocktail after dealing with him.
The girls all knew that hockey player crap could mean anything from ridiculous orders to just dealing with actual problems, like creating social media content for Spence when he refused to comment on anything like a normal human being.
"Oh, it better not be my guy." Siobhan cried out. It was so weird to know how she had a huge crush on my brother. We kept talking about setting the two of them up since she was perfect for him, but their schedules just hadn't lined up.
I shook my head. "No. Carter is still the boy scout of your dreams."
Thankfully, I didn't have to divulge my issue right away since a handsome waiter came up to the table. He first passed off drinks to Siobhan, Rory and Jill Ann, who all took their wine glasses. Then the guy bent toward me, "What can I get you?"
"Aperol Spritz."
The server nodded. "Sure thing."
Jill Ann nudged me with her elbow. "So, how's the dating life?"
"Dead," Rory said with a laugh. "Although, admittedly, I've seen her Hinge and Bumble accounts. They’re either trash or vanilla, but I'm working on something better."
