Page 18 of The Rebound Play
Emmy’s eyebrows raise. “Everything okay, Kiki?”
“Nothing I can’t handle,” I reply with a breezy smile. Or at least I hope it’s breezy because I don’t feel the least bit breezy right now. In fact, I may look like I’ve just eaten a bad burrito.
Emmy was a couple years behind me in high school, and although we’re friends, she has no clue how I still feel about her brother after all this time. Why? Because I should be over it. Any normal, sane person would have moved on a long time ago.
“Have you ... err, seen your brother?” I ask as casually as I can manage.
I can’t help myself. Sue me.
“Dan? Not yet. Why? Is he here in town already?”
“That’s what I heard,” I lie because I really don’t want to go into the whole “stop, drop, and die” incident with Dan’s sister. “I’m here to meet my friend from school, so I’d better go. Great seeing you, though.”
“See you at the first game?”
“Absolutely. Wouldn’t miss it.”
I make my way to the back of the store where I greet Blair with a warm hug. “Girl, it’s so good to see you,” I tell her as we sink into the sofa. “I can’t believe you’re here in my hometown for six whole weeks.”
“It’s all worked out so great: I’m here, all expenses paid, and I get to hang with my college bestie,” she replies with a grin.
“I saw your guy at the arena. He looks super serious.”
“Honey, the guy puts the grump in grumpy,” she replies with a shake of her head. “But I’m representing him, so I gotta take the good with the grump.”
“Lucky you.”
“It’s not so bad. At least he’s yummy to look at. Hey, I ordered you a coffee. I hope you’re still rocking the mocha?”
“Definitely. I can do with all the caffeine and sugar I can get right now, believe me.”
She pulls her brows together. “Let me guess. A certain ex, who also happens to be an NHL star, is back in town?”
My gaze shoots to Emmy who, thankfully, is busy serving another customer and not listening in on our conversation.
“That’s his sister over there,” I say in a hushed tone.
“Seriously? This is a small town.”
I shake my head at her. “We give Stars Hollow a run for its money, I tell you.”
Being my college roommate, Blair knows all about the Dan and Keira show—and how I never got over him. She was my long-suffering bestie, there for me when I needed a shoulder to cry on whenever Dan’s name would come up. And come up it did. Repeatedly. I learned that kind of went with the territory when your ex is some kind of hockey superstar.
When he got drafted to the NHL, our entire town held a party, right here on Maple Road in downtown Maple Falls. All the shops shut for the afternoon, and we had long tables covered in red and white check tablecloths heaped with food, and featuring commentary by every proud man in town grilling burgers and bragging about what part they had to play in Dan’s success.
It was the biggest thing to happen to our town ever, and everywhere I looked, people were wearing Dan’s Chicago Blizzard jersey, talking about him, and showing their pride in his achievements.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m proud of him, too. But it’s way more complicated for me.
The barista, Neesha, the daughter of one of the farmers’ market stall owners, delivers our coffee, and I introduce Blair before she returns to the counter.
“Do you know everyone in this place?” Blair asks.
I shrug. “Sure.”
“Whoa. That is trippy.” She leans back on the sofa, cradling her coffee in her hands. “Okay. Spill the tea. Have you seen your ex?”
I begin to blush furiously. “Oh, yeah. On Saturday. I kinda embarrassed myself at the ice-skating rink in front of him.”