by Kate Meader
I know! I’m still trying to wrap the old noggin around it.
Jenny sat at the counter and lifted a tea cup to her lips. “How are things with you? It must be tough with your father—”
“Behind bars? Not the best. To be honest I have no clue what I’m doing.”
The other woman squeezed her hand. “It’s a lot, I know.”
“It is! I don’t have the parenting gene. I don’t even have the big sister gene. I haven’t even visited since I left Chicago ten years ago, when Lauren was two.” She clamped her mouth shut.
Jenny did one of those quiet nods, guaranteed to get Sadie to spill.
“I’m not that close with my father and we fell out a while ago. My parents were about to divorce when Mom died and my father has always felt he got the short end of the stick. Left with me.” It didn’t help that she looked like her mother, a constant reminder of the woman who hurt him deeply. “I don’t know Lauren that well, or at all, and it shows in every choice I make.”
“That sounds soooo stressful. I’m happy to tell you that kids are the worst—it’s perfectly okay to think and say that!” She chuckled. “Listen, why don’t you stay for dinner? Nick will be home in a few and there’s more than enough for all of us.”
Frozen pizza, a trip to Wendy’s (again), or a home-cooked meal? If Sadie didn’t worry she’d look like a weirdo, she would have hugged this woman.
“Thanks, I’d love that.”
18
Thirty minutes and two cups of tea later, a man Sadie didn’t recognize walked into the kitchen and stopped on seeing this strange woman making herself at home.
“Hello,” he said cautiously. “I didn’t realize we had a guest.”
“Nick, this is Sadie Yates, Lauren’s sister. Sadie, my husband, Nick.”
His brow lined at the mention of her name—her father’s reputation must have preceded her—but he recovered quickly and extended his hand. “Nice to meet you, Sadie.”
“You, too. Your wife makes a mean Earl Grey.”
“So, how are things?” he asked.
Jenny had mentioned that her husband, a lawyer and a Chicago alderman, was rather concerned with appearances and had even rejected Theo at one point, who he’d categorized as “a youthful mistake.” Of course the alderman wouldn’t be too pleased to have criminal-adjacent elements in his home.
“Nick,” Jenny warned. “Not now. Or ever.”
Sadie appreciated the defense though she didn’t need it. Turning on her sweetest tone, she said, “Lauren’s having a tough time, so I really appreciate you being kind enough to include us in dinner.” To Jenny, she added, “Can I help with the salad?”
Before Jenny could respond, a sudden movement caught Sadie’s eye and then her sorry eyeballs were filled with the last person she expected in the Isners’ kitchen.
“What are you doing here?” she blurted out.
Gunnar Bond’s superior eyebrows slammed together. “Lovely to see you, too, Ms. Yates.”
Ms. Yates. Shiver. “You seem to be everywhere.”
“That’s his talent on the ice,” another voice said.
Sadie clapped eyes on an exceptionally hot guy with perfectly waved black hair, moss green eyes, and a puckish grin. He looked vaguely familiar.
“Hi, I’m Theo. Your sister is a wicked fast player, by the way.”
“Pleasure to meet you and, uh, thanks.” She turned back to Jenny. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize this was a big family affair. Maybe we should …” She waved ineffectually behind her.
“Nonsense,” Jenny insisted. “More than enough for everyone. Red or white, Sadie?”
“White, please.” Because she was weak.
“I’m Elle.” A dark-haired woman had appeared, heavily pregnant, and with a bright, mischievous look. “I’m with Theo.”
“With. Theo,” Theo murmured. “Such enthusiasm.”
“How else should I describe it? I’m carrying the Theo Kershaw’s super-child? Living in sin with pro hockey’s gabbiest player? Knocked up by an Instagram influencer?”
That’s where Sadie had seen him. “You did that hockey butt pants video! My girlfriends in LA were obsessed with it.” Sadie might have looked at it once or fifty times herself.
“Just doing the Lord’s work.” Theo laced an arm around the waist of his mama-to-be and pulled her close. “As for how to describe me, I kind of like ‘NHL’s Top Hottie.’ It’s an award I received today.”
“That’s not a real award, Theo!” Jenny passed a large pour to Sadie, then muttered to Elle, “Is it?”
“Yes, it is, sweet Jennifer,” Theo answered before anyone could deny it. “They went with a pretty revealing shot of my hockey pants slung really low. Excellent hip flexors action. Kind of raunchy. No idea where they got those photos.”
“I have an idea,” a deep rumble sounded. Gunnar Bond, LonelyHeart himself.
Sadie still couldn’t believe it, and now that she knew all the details, she had no idea how to act around him. Not that she’d known how to before, but at least then she could roll along on a wave of dislike and antipathy. Now she knew this secret, she felt heartsick and fraudulent. It’s me, she wanted to scream. The woman on the other end of the texts.
The conversation swirled and she tried to focus on it. It was interesting to track the undercurrents as Nick and Theo edged around each other with Elle and Jenny oiling the way.
Or at least, Sadie kept a finger on the pulse of that so she wouldn’t have to pay any mind to Gunnar Bond.
Gunnar wasn’t sure if Sadie’s presence at this dinner was a blessing or a curse. After their run-in at the coffee shop a few hours ago, and realizing that she was not his biggest fan, he was anxious to improve her opinion of him. The woman was taking up valuable real estate in the—let’s call it how it is—lust area of his brain. Every time he saw her, every time she popped into his head, his pulse thumped and his blood raced and his cells screamed in desire.
He hadn’t wanted anything this much in a long time. Not even hockey.
Sure, he’d come back to the game, mostly out of a utilitarian need to earn a living at what he was good at. To be less of a mope. And texting with Angel didn’t require any great effort on his part. He enjoyed it, but it didn’t have this crazy, visceral effect on his body. A burning need that had to be sated.
Sadie Yates might not like him but her body language told another story. While she’d been in a hurry to get away from him today, he’d also seen the tell-tale signs: that flare in her silver eyes, the dipped gaze to his mouth, the obvious appreciation of his physique.
She wasn’t completely unmoved.
She might be doing her best to ignore him, but she’d yet to go pro at it. Over dinner, he caught her looking at him for a nanosecond or two before she would quickly avert her gaze. A faint blush would appear on her creamy skin along with a sharp intake of breath.
“So, Sadie works for Allegra McKenzie,” Jenny said after the dishes had been cleared away. “She’s her personal assistant.”
“Really?” Theo asked. “She’s such a nutj—I mean, a fun personality.”
Sadie laughed. “It’s okay. She embraces the nut job she knows she is.”
Theo grinned. “I’d love to have her Insta numbers.”
“Sorry,” Elle said. “I have no idea who that is.” Gunnar could have kissed her because he had no idea either.
“She’s Gwyneth-lite,” Theo said. “With an emphasis on”—he cupped his mouth and stage-whispered—“vaginas.”
Both Jenny and Elle exclaimed, “Theo!” which was a standard reaction to the junk that often emerged from Kershaw’s mouth. Thankfully the kids were in the other room watching TV and eating pizza.
Nick’s mouth was shaped in a disapproving downturn, which was also pretty standard. Gunnar had met Nick a couple of times. He understood that the man was now trying to do the right thing, but for years he’d known Theo was his son and ignored him. His own flesh and blood. What a tool.
Sadie laughed again. She had an easy laugh, light and musical, and Gunnar felt it like a caress over his skin. “No, it’s okay, he’s right! Allegra aspires to be Gwyneth but rather than do everything that goop does, she’s honed her market to vaginal wellness.”
“Vaginal wellness?” Gunnar asked.
Sadie’s smile faded and now she looked annoyed with him. Again.
“Allegra’s core belief system centers on the punani as the start and end of all female wellbeing. She’s built an empire around it.”
Elle was scrolling through her phone. “Detox pearls? Sounds sort of sketch.”
Sadie grimaced. “Not everything has been evaluated by the FDA, so yeah, I wouldn’t stick half the stuff she promotes up my—well, you know. But she’s a firm believer and she has the revenues to prove it. She’s very LA.”
“I liked living in LA,” Theo said. “It’s got a cool vibe.”
“Fake.” Said by two people at once—Sadie and Gunnar.
Sadie caught Gunnar’s eye for what felt like the tenth time tonight. She might be fighting it, but this connection wasn’t completely in his imagination. He hid his smile of victory while something pinged in his chest. Angel had commented on LA’s fakeness, too, though given that she’d bailed on their meeting today he wondered if maybe she was more ingrained in that superficial culture than she claimed. Or maybe it was payback for canceling their get together in LA back in March.
Sadie picked up the thread. “There’s a lot of focus on appearances, that’s for sure.”
“I couldn’t live somewhere like that,” Elle mused. “Everything seems so surface. Bet it’s hard to make real friends.”
“It was at first, for me. I moved there when I was eighteen and it was tough for a while.” She looked lost for a second, but quickly recovered with a smile that was no less beautiful for being forced. “It always is in a new place, but I figured it out. Made connections. Friends.”
“Sadie’s trying to get a dress design business off the ground,” Jenny chimed in. “She makes all her own stuff!”
Elle and Theo were suitably impressed. Gunnar was, too, but he’d never been a gusher.
“I’m hoping to get a business going but right now, I have to pay the bills. I have a few things to sort out—financial things, the house—and then we’ll be in LA.”
“Got to pay back all those people your father cheated?”
“Nick,” Jenny said to her husband. “Really?”
“Cheated?” Elle looked on with concern.
Sadie blinked away her obvious discomfort. “My father was recently incarcerated for embezzling a hedge fund he ran. A lot of people lost their life savings.”
Elle said with feeling, “You can’t choose your family, that’s for sure.”
Theo squeezed her hand, and they smiled at each other. He turned back to Sadie, and lowered his voice. “Jonah Yates? You’re related to that guy?”
“Blood only.”
“Hell, Tate lost a bunch with that business, or his accountant did. Tate’s wife kicked him out.”
Tate Kaminski was their Chicago Rebels teammate, the one with marital issues. Gunnar hadn’t realized the connection.
“Small world,” Nick said.
Sadie’s silver-eyed gaze met Gunnar’s for a heartbeat, and Gunnar swore he saw regret there, and something else he couldn’t discern. The moment passed as she moved to tackle Nick head on. “Yes, the house will be sold soon. Every account in my father’s name, even Lauren’s college fund, has been frozen and will eventually be liquidated to make restitution. Mostly, I’m worried about my sister’s mental health since both her parents have been ripped from her life through no fault of her own. That’s why I’m here. For my sister.”
“You’re taking responsibility,” Gunnar said. “She’s lucky to have you.”
Sadie’s mouth, with that attractive pouty lower lip, parted slightly in surprise. Should she really be so shocked? Okay, maybe, after their first meeting. And the next.
“I don’t know about lucky. We barely know each other. I didn’t get along with my father and haven’t been in Lauren’s life much up until now. This is new for both of us.”
“But as soon as she needed you, you stepped up.” Gunnar shot a withering glance at Nick. Fucker. “That’s the definition of good parenting.”
He caught Sadie’s eye again, and this time she held his gaze a little longer. Half-baffled, half-annoyed, but that extra second felt like progress.
19
“Thanks so much for inviting us,” Sadie said, hugging Jenny. “It was so lovely to meet everyone.”
“Except me,” Gunnar said, no change in his tone so she couldn’t tell if he was joking. Not that she was ready to joke with him. Something weird had transpired over dinner, an odd simpatico between them that had nothing to do with what she knew about him and everything to do with what she didn’t.
“Well, I’ve already met you and I was unimpressed.”
“Whoa!” Theo swung his head to Gunnar, his eyes alive in amazement. “What the hell did you do, Double-O?”
“Put my foot in my mouth. Thought we’d moved beyond that, though.”
“Did you?” Sadie gave her most sugary smile, but even that felt like she was playing a part. It’s me, LonelyHeart. It’s me! Turning away, she kissed Elle on the cheek. “I’ll make sure to drop off some of that body butter at the hockey rink.”
“By body, we’re talking punani, right?” Elle whispered. At Sadie’s chuckle of agreement, Elle went on, “Or we could meet for coffee or lunch sometime if you’re not too busy. Theo’s hanging at camp during the day and he won’t let me bartend anymore. I’m taking some online finance classes, but I have time. You too, Jenny.”
Jenny looked pleased to be included. “Now how are you getting home?” she asked in a mothering tone, a clear nod to the fact Sadie had imbibed two glasses of wine.
“We’ll walk and I’ll come back to pick up the car tomorrow.” It was only six blocks. “Hey, Lauren, come on!”
“Nick can drive you home.”
Nick opened his mouth, though whether he could drive them home would never be known because a deep, rumbly voice spoke for him.
“I’ll drive you,” Gunnar said.
“Oh, no need!” Sadie insisted cheerfully as Lauren arrived from the other room. “Have a good time?” she asked her sister.
Shrug of indifference. She’d take it.
Two minutes later, she was outside with Lauren and Gunnar, arguing her case for walking home. “This neighborhood is perfectly safe and I have a rabid tween who’ll protect me.”
Not even the hint of a smile from the Viking. So much for that simpatico. “My car’s right here,” he said.
Six blocks lasted several lifetimes. Lauren had her headphones on so Sadie took a chance.
“Was it my imagination or was there a bit of an atmosphere between Nick and Theo?” Nick and everyone, to be honest.
“Not your imagination. Did Jenny explain their relationship?”
She nodded, and Gunnar went on. “Theo’s giving him a ton of slack but Nick needs to prove himself. Taking pot shots at people who aren’t responsible for their parents’ actions is not the way to do it.”
Sadie could feel her color rising. “Thanks for that. You didn’t have to say anything, but it was nice to hear I’m not getting it completely wrong.”
No comment from Gunnar, just his eyes steadfast on the road. She sneaked a look at his profile, so strong and virile. Was driving tough for him after the accident? Was he nervous with other people in the car? Did she weird him out by staring at him like a, well, weirdo?
His blue eyes flickered in the mirror, catching her gaze, and she looked away quickly.
“Theo and Elle are a sweet couple. They must be so excited about the baby.” Gah! Why did she have to bring that up? The last thing he needed was to be reminded of his friend playing happy families.
“They’re a good fit. She keeps him grounded, which is a full-time job
in itself, and he worships the air she breathes. I’ve never seen a guy so besotted.”
Not even you? Of course, he wouldn’t recognize that in himself, the man who adored his wife and kids and the life they’d built together. It would have been completely normal. Maybe he couldn’t even remember the good because the pain had more of a hold.
“Back there, I didn’t mean to sound ungrateful for the offer of a ride.”
“It’s okay. You’re still pissed at me for my multiple sins.”
“I’m—I’m not. It’s just …” She had to come clean.
Knock, knock.
Who’s there?
Butter.
Butter who?
Butter tell you who I am before you lose your freaking mind.
“Here we are.” He pulled up outside the house.
“Great, thanks so much. Hey, Lauren, say thanks to Gunnar for the ride.”
It was the first time she’d said his name aloud in his presence and it tasted strange on her tongue. Also sweet and sexy and—nope. Not going there.
Oblivious to her inner trauma, Gunnar jumped out of the car, opened the back door, and held out a hand for Lauren.
“Milady,” he murmured as he helped her down.
Her face lit up, and there it was, that rare ray of winter sun from Gunnar in return. “See you at camp tomorrow, Lauren.”
Confession time. “Lauren, could you give me a second to talk to Gunnar?”
Her sister’s smile vanished and she scurried up the steps of the brownstone.
“I’ll be there in a sec,” Sadie said sunnily as if Lauren cared. “I can’t believe you got a smile out of her. She’s been so dark lately.”
“Tough time for her. You, too.”
His compassion warmed her through, but she quickly chilled as she realized she didn’t deserve it. “I need to tell you something. To explain my behavior at the coffee shop.”
He moved closer, placing his palm on the stoop’s newel post. The streetlight glinted off his knuckles, momentarily distracting her from her mission. How could knuckles be so attractive? Because they were attached to big, capable, talented hands … stay on target.
