Page 13

“Yeah.” We talk about the logistics, the moving company he hired, and the possibility of hiring a chef. Someone who will meal prep for us, and all we have to do is reheat or bake. The truth is, five bachelor hockey players don’t have a lot of time for cooking. And I’m not very good at it. I can do the basics but nothing that would feed all five of us.

He tells me what the cost would be from his preliminary research, and I just nod. “I don’t care—I’m in.”

“We can have it done monthly, so the number of meals will change with our schedules. I think the other guys will be on board. And obviously, we can grill and stuff. It’s not that I can’t cook—I just don’t have a big repertoire of meals that I do well. Honestly, we got spoiled living with West, he’s such a good cook.” Our teammate West McGregor is a great cook. Simon and Felix live with him and his new wife, but it’s time for them to move out.

I was only traded to Atlanta in March, so I’m in a month-to-month leased apartment, which ends at the end of the month. The timing is perfect and I’m looking forward to moving in and getting to know my roommates.

And once I’m settled, I’m going to look for someone to make me forget all about the pretty brunette with pink and purple hair who rocked my world.

Chapter Six

Maya

My brother Reid is waiting at the airport in Atlanta to pick me up and I run over to hug him. He’s tall and handsome and one of my favorite people in the world.

“Hey.” He grins. “I’m really glad you’re here.”

“Me too.” I link my arm through his as we walk toward baggage claim. “I’m so grateful I can stay with you while I’m here. And use your car. And go to all your games!”

“We don’t get to spend much time together, so it’ll be nice. Especially having you at the games.”

“What about Tracy? Will she mind?” Tracy is the woman he’s been living with for the last six months.

He gives a slight shake of his head. “That’s done. She moved out.”

“Really?” I stare at him. “How come? And why didn’t you say anything?”

“I didn’t want to get into it on the phone. Mom’s going to have a lot to say because she thought she was going to get grandbabies in the near future.”

“Mom’s opinion is moot, but I thought you really liked her?”

“I did.” He hesitates. “She wanted me to get traded to New York, so she can be close to her family. I tried to explain that it doesn’t work that way, but she pointed out that tons of players spend the bulk of their careers in one place. I got tired of trying to explain that it only happens to a very small percentage of elite players.

“Anyway, we fought about it for months and then, once we won the championship back in June, waited until the team started making trades again. When she realized I wasn’t going anywhere, she started looking for a job in New York. She found one, and two weeks ago she sat me down and told me she was leaving. At that point, I was so pissed off about the whole thing, I just let her go. I’m not going to beg a woman to love me or stay in a relationship she doesn’t want to be in. I’d rather know now than after we were married and had a couple of kids.”

Damn, I hate this for him.

My brother is a great guy. I don’t know why he hasn’t found an equally wonderful woman to love him the way he deserves.

“I’m sorry,” I say softly, squeezing his arm.

“Obviously, she didn’t love me enough. It happens. I’ll be fine. Lots of beautiful women in Atlanta.”

“Hopefully, lots of cute guys too!” I joke.

He chuckles. “Well, there are a bunch of single guys on the team.”

She grimaces. “I don’t know about that. If it didn’t work out, that might be weird for you.”

“I mean, yes, it would, but if you meet someone you really like, don’t say no because of me. Unless he’s abusive or something, you’re both grown-ups. I’d like to think he’d suck it up and be mature about the whole thing.”

“This is why you’re my favorite brother,” I tease.

“Don’t tell Nolan,” he says with a laugh. We have a much younger brother named Nolan.

We get my luggage, which consists of two big suitcases since I’ll be here for a while, and the carryon I’m pulling behind me. He puts everything in his truck and we get on the highway.

“So, anything else going on with you?” he asks.