By admin Fake Dating My Ex’s Favourite Hockey Player Novel CH 92
let her dodge the question
just this once.
“She didn’t take it well at first, but everyone here is being very careful not to bring it up.” Not that they had much of a choice.
I don’t think too hard about that. Or why I did it.
“Good,” Tess mutters. “One wrong word from anyone, and I’ll have Legal tear their pretentious asses apart, too.”
I huff out a laugh. “Yeah, sure. Would’ve been nice if her best friend actually checked in, but hey, what do I know?”
Silence. A long one.
Then, Tess sighs. “Low blow.”
“You deserved it.”
“Fair.” She sighs, and I try not to think too hard about how tired she sounds. The kind of tired that sits heavy in your bones. She’s not wrong, though. Growing up surrounded by sisters basically turned me into a walking, talking guard dog. Always watching. Always ready to step
- in.
“I’m being immature,” she adds quietly. “This is all so stupid. But I’ll call her, I guess. I just – Her voice dips lower. “I worry, too. She wanted that part of her life buried. Deep. And now I’m terrified this mess will make her revisit shit that doesn’t need revisiting.”
I don’t say anything. Tessa doesn’t need me to fix it, She just needs space to breathe through it.
But I’m listening.
And maybe I’m selfish, but every time she talks about Emilia, it makes me want to know her more. Not the picture–perfect version she tries to paint, never shaken, never hurt. Her.
I want to know what makes her laugh when no one’s watching.
I want to know why she collapsed into me the way she did when that article came out like I was her only lifeline.
–
1/3
Chapter 92
I want to know why she won’t let me in.
Or maybe… why I keep stepping back the second she tries.
But I already know that answer. And I try not to think about it.
–
There’s a long pause, and I almost think she’s hung up. But then, finally her voice comes. through, quieter this time.
Tessa, being Tessa, swerves the conversation in another direction. One that makes my
blood boil.
“Lyle ditched me.”
Ah. There it is.
I exhale, rolling my shoulders back. “That asshole,” I mutter.
Tessa lets out a breathy laugh, but there’s no real humour in it. “Yeah, well. I’m trying really, really hard not to be mad about it. But it’s whatever. It’s not like it makes a difference I would’ve just gone home and kept working anyway. At least here, I’ve got free coffee and a
half–decent view.”
She says it like it’s no big deal, like she’s fine. But I know her too well.
I
open my mouth to say something, but before I can, she rushes ahead. “Anyway, I should go. I’ll call Emilia later. I’m just being silly. And…” She pauses. “Just be there for her, okay? Em’s never had anyone stay when everything goes to shit.”
And before I can promise her that I will hangs up before I can get a single word in.
—
—
before I can say anything true to form, she
Classic Tessa. Always saying the right thing, right before she disappears.
I stare at the screen for a moment, thumb hovering over the call button.
She’s never had anyone stay.
She does now. Whether she knows it or not.
So I push off the railings and run a hand through my hair.
Time to do some grovelling.