Page 30 of The Rebound Play
My breath catches in my throat.
Immediately he’s on his feet, taking the bags of groceries from me, and throwing me one of his knee-weakening smiles. “Let me take those from you. You tripped on a step? Are you all right?”
“Dan,” I reply breathlessly. “Wh-what are you doing here?”
“Now, Kiki, is that any way to greet our guest?” Clara asks, her eyes teasing.
Just what I need to make me look poised and in control of my wonderful, exciting life: my big sister telling me what to do in front of Dan.
“My sister’s right,” I concede. “It’s nice to see you… here … in our living room.”
So smooth.
His lips quirk. “It’s great to be here … in your living room.”
Is he teasing me? One look into his eyes confirms it.
“It brings back a lot of memories being here,” he continues.
“I bet it does. Great memories, I imagine,” says my sister, who suddenly seems not to be suffering from CFS at all and is instead super perky.
I shoot her a look that I hope tells her she’s stirring the pot and she needs to stop, now.
But instead, she continues, that metaphorical wooden spoon held firmly in her hands as she stirs away. “What do you remember exactly, Dan? I’m eager to know. Aren’t you eager to know, Kiki?”
Still stirring the pot, Clara.
“I remember dinners here,” he replies.
“But that’s not all, right? I bet you remember Kiki’s room, with all those One Direction posters on her walls?”
I think my sister just earned a gold medal in pot stirring.
I’m not biting. Instead, I ask, “How about I show you where to put those grocery bags, Dan?”
“That would be great,” he replies.
“Right this way.”
Clara is still grinning, and I throw her another look as I lead Dan from the living room to the kitchen. Being older, our house is not open plan like so many, and there’s a swing door that leads from the dining room that we use as a playroom for the kids, into the kitchen. I push through it, holding it open for him.
Dan puts the groceries where I tell him before he turns back to face me, leaning against the kitchen counter, his large, masculine bulk filling the room in a way none of us do. He looks about as relaxed as I feel tense. But then we always were polar opposites. The jock and the nerd.
“I’m sorry about Clara. She doesn’t get out much, so we’re her only entertainment,” I say.
Those way-too sexy lips of his quirk into another smile. “You don’t have Netflix?” he asks, and I know it’s his turn to tease me.
“You know what I mean. Anyway, at the risk of sounding rude once more, I thought we were meeting you at the arena for Benny’s lesson.”
“I figured I could drop by here with some things for you before we do that. I hope that’s okay?”
“Of course. But if it’s more hockey gear for Benny?—”
He raises his hands in surrender. “It’s for everyone. Fan merch for the Ice Breakers team. We got an allocated amount and I figured I’d give a bunch away to the people I know.”
“You know everyone in this town, Dan.”
“I know, but you’re top of my list.”