Bennett (On the Line Book 2) (7 page)

“They won’t be upset that it was a one-night stand thing?”

“No. My parents are very liberal. If the baby’s healthy and happy, they’ll be happy.”

There was something about his words and even his warm, deep voice that wrapped me in reassurance. Bennett was so solid. He made me feel like everything would be okay.

“Stay there,” he said. “I’m coming to get your door.”

I smiled to myself. Did he know how cute he was? I had a feeling he didn’t.

He opened my door and offered me his hand to help me out. I took it, liking how small my hand felt in his big one.

Why was I feeling this way? We weren’t on a date. I’d thrown away his phone number, and we never would have seen each other again if not for the unplanned pregnancy. I had to keep my head about me and remember what Bennett and I were—and weren’t—to each other. The last thing I needed right now was a relationship with a man.

I’d seen men come in and out of my mom’s life as a kid. They’d made lots of promises, but none of them had ever come through for her. She’d busted her butt working two jobs to support us, and it had been hard for Liam and me to see her let down by men time after time.

I pulled my hand away from Bennett’s as he led me to a booth where we both took off our coats and sat down. As soon as our eyes met, I saw how dark and serious his were.

“So, are you and your ex talking about getting back together?” he asked.

“No.” I drew my brows together, surprised. “You mean because he came over?”

“With dinner. I know that play. Done it myself a few times. Dinner, a bottle of wine—”

I cut in. “He didn’t have any wine.”

“Did too, I saw the neck of the bottle sticking out of the bag. He was hoping to get in your pants tonight.”

I leaned back and folded my arms over my chest. “I’m confused, Bennett. Why does this matter?”

“Why does it matter?” He arched his brows and gave me an incredulous look. “Because I’m already feeling like you don’t want me involved with this pregnancy, and if you’ve got a boyfriend, I’m totally fucked.”

“I told you about it, didn’t I? It’s not like there’s a baby yet, so I’m not sure how involved you can be. Would you like to empty my trash can after I puke up the entire contents of my stomach every morning?”

He blew out a breath, looking frustrated. “You
are
Liam’s sister, aren’t you? I’m starting to see the resemblance.”

“What the hell is
that
supposed to mean?”

“I want to be a father to my kid. Starting now. I want to go to the doctor’s appointments with you.”

I shrugged. “Fine. I’ve only had two so far. If I’d known you wanted to go, I would’ve told you about the one two weeks ago.”

“Just tell me from here forward, okay?”

I nodded.

“And,” he continued, “I need to know . . . have you and surfer boy been drinking wine together? Are you drinking alcohol?”

My mouth opened slightly and I snapped it closed. “Are you serious right now? No, Bennett. I have not been drinking, other than water and milk and sometimes ginger tea to settle my stomach.”

His expression relaxed with relief just as our young, perky waitress approached, her gaze lingering on Bennett. He ordered beer, I ordered water, and we picked a pizza to share. As soon as the waitress left, I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself before the words flew.

“Look, you can’t just waltz in and out when you’re not on the road with your questions and your judgments.”

His eyes bulged. “Waltzing? There’s no waltzing happening here, baby. I’m just as much that kid’s parent as you are.”

“Don’t call me baby. Ever.” My voice rose and my cheeks warmed. This guy had a hell of a lot of nerve.

“Don’t accuse me of waltzing. Or judging. I need to know you’re taking care of yourself, and that requires me to ask some questions.”

“You’ll have to trust me. And you could also note the irony of a hockey player ragging on me about drinking and whether I’m seeing anyone.”

Now he was the one whose lips parted with surprise. “What, I have to be an alcoholic manwhore because I play hockey?”

I gestured toward him with my hand. “Exhibit A: we met at a bar and had sex on the first night. Not exactly a choirboy.”

He shook his head. “It takes two to tango, baby.”

I leaned closer to him. “I told you—”

“All right, we’ve got a Guinness draft and a water,” the waitress said, looking uncomfortable as she slid them onto the table. “Just a few minutes on that pizza.”

She left and I lowered my tone. “My brother is a hockey player, Bennett.”

“Don’t I know it,” he muttered.

“I know how you guys are, especially on the road. Don’t tell me not to date anyone when you’re probably getting laid nightly.”

I didn’t even
want
to date anyone; I just didn’t want him telling me not to.

He held my gaze across the table. “Charlotte, I’m doing everything I can to man up and be there for you. I don’t want to get shut out of this pregnancy or my kid’s life. And if you knew me, you’d know I
would
come empty the puke from your trash can if you needed it.”

I swallowed, feeling shut down.

“You’re too good for him, Charlotte. A good guy wouldn’t have applied for that job and not told you.”

I rolled my eyes. “Are we back on Riley again?”

“You might be lonely, but if you need to talk, I’m always—”

I grabbed my coat and purse and slid out of the booth.

“You don’t even know me. And so far tonight, you’ve told me not to date, interrogated me about whether I’m willfully hurting my baby, and apparently decided I’m lonely.”

“
Our
baby,” he corrected.

I glared at him. “I’m taking a cab home. I’ll text you about the doctor’s appointment.”

“Charlotte, don’t do this.”

I slipped into my coat and buttoned it up. “Bye, Bennett.”

“At least let me drive you home.”

“I’m
fine
taking a cab. I was an independent person before I got pregnant, and I still am now. I don’t need a man sweeping in to save the day and rescue me from loneliness.”

“First I was waltzing and now I’m sweeping,” he muttered. “You’re almost as abrasive as Liam.”

I leaned closer so only he could hear me. “Fuck you, Bennett. I can’t believe I skipped out on a good book for this.”

He opened his mouth to say something, but I turned for the door, not looking back. I hoped Riley was gone when I got home, because I wasn’t in the mood for any more conversation tonight. And hopefully, he’d left the Chinese food, because I was starving.

Bennett

M
y thighs burned with exertion as I pushed off the ice. Line drills wore down even those of us in top physical shape if we did them long enough.

“Again,” Orion yelled.

We all went back to the line, the scrapes of blades on ice and an occasional grunt the only sounds in the arena.

I’d sweated all the way through my clothes and pads, but I didn’t mind line drills today. Being physically worn down calmed my racing mind.

I hadn’t heard from Charlotte since she’d left the pizza place the other night, other than a text with a date, time, and address for a doctor’s appointment next week. I’d come close to texting her an apology several times but had stopped myself.

She was a hothead, just like her brother. The difference was I didn’t give a shit when Liam was pissed at me. But Charlotte had been on my mind every minute since we’d fought.

Normally, I could have talked to Liam or Killian about things, but this time was different. Liam was out for obvious reasons, and Killian was distracted as hell by his pursuit of Sidney Stahl, our team owner. So I was left turning the conversation with Charlotte over and over in my mind instead.

Practice finally ended, and I tossed my sweaty clothes to the floor in front of my locker to head for the shower.

“Still seeing the new woman?” Liam asked from his locker next to mine.

“I’m not seeing anyone,” I said in a grumbly tone.

“She mad at you?” He grinned.

I just stared at him silently. The fucker wasn’t getting to me today.

“Hey, I need a favor,” he said.

“Can it wait ’til I get a shower?”

He pulled his shirt up and over his head, tossing it onto the bench.

“No, I’ve been meaning to ask you for a few days, but you’re always in a weird mood. It can’t wait any longer.”

“What is it?” I asked, leaning against my locker.

Liam’s expression clouded. “Some asshole knocked up my little sister. When I find out who he is, I’m gonna beat his ass into next week. I want you to be there so you can pull me off of him if you think I’m about to kill the fucker.”

I had to keep my expression impassive. Had to. But inside, my blood pressure was skyrocketing.

“Uh . . . yeah, man. Sure. You know I’ve got your back.”

“Good. I don’t care how far I have to go. When I find out who this guy is, he’s gonna be sorry he messed with my sister.”

I cleared my throat, trying to keep cool. “Well, you know, they’re both responsible for it, not just him.”

Liam scowled. “Charlie’s a great person. She’s not the type to sleep around. This guy preyed on her when she was down over breaking up with her boyfriend.”

My heart just about stopped. Preyed? “She said that?”

“No, but I’m a guy, so I know what went down.”

“She doesn’t want to . . . uh, tell you who he is?”

He shook his head. “She gave me some bullshit about how they’ll co-parent without being in a relationship and him wanting to be involved with the kid.”

I said a silent thank-you to Charlotte for that. She must not still be too pissed at me if she hadn’t made me out to be a jackass.

“And you don’t want that?” I asked.

“Fuck no.” Liam glowered at me. “Any guy who’d screw my sister the first time he met her and not call after that is a douchebag who deserves
pain
. And to not even use a fuckin’ rubber? I’m gonna end him, Bennett.”

I sighed deeply. Liam was going to lose his shit when he found out
I
was the douchebag. It would affect our friendship and maybe even our ability to play together.

“I’m hitting the shower,” I said, rubbing my forehead.

I stood under the steaming spray of water for a while, hoping it would wash away some of my tension. No luck, though. By the time I stepped out and wrapped a towel around my waist, the locker room was mostly empty.

“Hey, Morse.”

I turned at the sound of my last name and saw Orion looking at me from the door of his office.

“Come on in when you’re dressed,” he said.

I nodded, wondering what the hell I’d done to warrant a call into his office. I kept my nose clean and played well. But still, he was a fairly new coach and we were under new ownership. I didn’t feel as secure as I had before.

After I’d dressed in sweats and a T-shirt, I pushed open the door of Orion’s office and knocked on the doorframe.

“You wanted to see me, Coach?”

“Yeah. Come on in and close the door.”

Shit. That couldn’t be good. I closed the door and sat down in a chair in front of his desk.

“How are things going, Bennett?”

He was in his early thirties, not much older than I was. He’d retired from the NHL after donating a kidney to his nephew. From what I’d seen of his coaching style so far, he was tough, but fair.

“Pretty good, I think. The first line always pulls our weight.”

He nodded. “And then some. I’m not talking about your play, though. I’m asking about your life outside of this place.”

“Oh, yeah . . . it’s good.”

He narrowed his eyes slightly and just stared at me for a few seconds.

“You seem to have something on your mind lately,” he finally said.

I shifted in my chair. “Does my game seem off?”

“This isn’t about hockey, Bennett. Your game’s as solid as ever. Stop looking so damned nervous.”

“Everything’s fine with my personal life, Coach.”

“Don’t bullshit me. You don’t go out after road games anymore, and you always look like you’ve got the weight of the world on your shoulders. What’s up?”

I sighed deeply and bowed my head, elbows resting on my spread knees.