The Girl With Hearts (Midtown Brotherhood #1) (11 page)

He slowly agreed, allowing her to help him up to his feet and over to the bank. Once he sat down, she was able to get a better vantage point. She shucked her coat off, and took off the Ninja Turtle t-shirt from over her tank top, and put her coat back on. She rolled the t-shirt up and pulled Henrik’s hands away from his face. “Here, you need pressure to stop the bleeding.”

He cursed a couple more times when she pressed the shirt against his bleeding nostrils. She held it firmly, leaning his head forward. He followed her guidance, but his eyes still remained locked on her.

“That wasn’t what happened,” he moaned from around the t-shirt.

“What?” she asked, having totally forgotten their argument.

He took the shirt from her hands, moving it so he could talk. “When I shot that puck at you, I didn’t know you were Austin’s sister.” He took a few quick breaths, trying to fight through the pain to talk. “He sure as hell let me know about it the next morning, though, and like I’ve told you before, guys have rules about sisters.”

She could still see the pain in his eyes, and though it was for a different reason, she was sure it matched her own. “Austin told you to stay away from me?”

He tried to smile, but winced instead. “
Told
is a nice way to put it. More like threatened the sanctity of my manhood if I ever looked in your direction again.”

Her breath caught in her throat at the thought. It would explain the sudden, drastic change in his disposition. He’d been so vibrant and flirty that night at the game, and so cold and distant the next day. Had it really been due to Austin, and some unwritten man code they all thought they had to follow?

“Why didn’t you tell me?” she demanded, her tone cross.

He pulled the t-shirt down, revealing the gash across his nose that continued to bleed. “Honestly, I didn’t think you’d even care.”

She swallowed the lump in her throat, because he was wrong.

He was so very wrong.

“We need to find you some ice, or your nose is going to be the size of Sacramento at your press conference in the morning,” she said offhandedly, trying to ignore the foreign feeling stirring inside her.

“Leila.” His voice was deep, insinuating everything he needed to say in only the tone. He’d shared something with her, and now he wanted something in return.

“What do you want me to say, Henrik? That I was disappointed? Bitter? None of that changes anything,” she snapped, suddenly defensive.

He was too close to the truth, leading her down a path that would only end in heartache again. It didn’t matter why he’d treated her that way, just that he did, and—

“You’re right,” he said, interrupting her thoughts. “It doesn’t change anything, except for what happens now. We can be friends, Leila. All we have to do is be honest with each other.”

“What else do you have left to be honest about?” she huffed, trying to keep the focus off her for as long as possible.

He pointed at her, half smiling. “I can see your bra through your tank top, and it’s distracting the hell out of me right now.”

Her eyes dropped down, and she saw he was right. The outline of her pink bra was clearly visible through her thin white tank. She looked up at him and glared.

He wiped his face with the t-shirt again, his smile widening. “Your turn.”

She frowned.
Everything was a joke to him.

“Come on, Leila. Please—”

She felt him touch her elbow, gently and briefly. He was being careful with her now, worried he might trigger the wrong reaction. It was sweet, and she hated him for it.

“I was disappointed,” she barked out, refusing to look at him. “I was bitter and angry, and any other word that led to me hating you so I could pretend like you ignoring me hadn’t hurt my feelings.” She waited a moment, before swirling around to face him. “Happy now?”

He stared at her for a long moment, her admission hanging in the air. Blood trickled down his cheek onto his chin, but he didn’t notice. “You really mean that?” he asked finally, his eyes wide.

“Yes,” she sighed, too exhausted to deny it.

His blue eyes stilled, focusing with a determination she’d never witnessed before. “If I had known you felt that way,” he assured her with conviction that made a flash of heat rush through her veins, “I would have told Austin he could kiss my ass.”

She laughed, rolling her eyes, because she didn’t know how else to respond that didn’t involve her embarrassing herself. “You would have broken your man code for me?”

He stood, still grimacing. “I already did, remember?”

She pursed her lips, recalling their conversation in the hotel room. “I apologize for putting you in that position. I should have never—”

He stepped toward her, dropping the shirt at his feet before cupping his hands around her face, forcing her to look directly at him. “Don’t say that,” he said slowly. “You can hate me for saying yes if you want. I can live with that. But please, don’t regret it.”

Her gaze dropped to the ice, her heart aching. “I don’t. I can’t.”

She stood there silently, shocked by her own admission. As much as she wanted to pretend nothing happened, she wouldn’t take it back even if she could.

“Come here.”

When she looked up, his hand was held out to her again, and this time she didn’t pause, or think it through, but merely reacted. She stepped to him, his hands draping her hips. She involuntarily leaned into him, her arms wrapping around his back. She took in a deep, slow breath, enjoying the warmth of having his arms around her.

“You’re still not ready to talk about it, are you?”

She paused, realizing her voice was lost. She’d admitted too much already. She wanted this, just this, for a little while longer. It was selfish, but the peace she felt was irresistible.

“It’s okay.” He leaned down to whisper in her ear. “I can wait. Just promise me that you’ll come to me when you are ready, because I want to listen.”

She didn’t answer, but she returned his embrace. They stood there like that for a long time, just the two of them on the edge of the pond, forming a silent bond of friendship she never thought could exist.

Chapter 15

HENRIK’S MISFORTUNE

Henrik lay on his bed, his eyes closed as the throbbing pain radiating from his nose coursed through the rest of his body. It hurt. It hurt like hell. He’d never admit it to Leila, though. She sat beside him, holding a dishrag full of ice to his face, fretting. “It’s getting worse,” she said, her voice dripping with guilt.

She’d ditched her coat and snatched one of her brother’s shirts to cover her tank top. “It will be fine,” he offered, though he couldn’t pretend that lying there, having her fuss over him for the past hour, wasn’t enjoyable. She got the cutest wrinkle between her eyes every time she looked at him.

“It’s broken, Henrik. I broke your nose.”

Her voice was shaky at best. He hated that she blamed herself for an accident. “It’s not the first time it’s been broken,” he tried, giving her his best attempt at a smile under the circumstances. “Remember that playoff game my rookie year?”

She quirked a brow at him. “Who said I watched your games before now?”

He laughed, and a sharp pain shot through his face.

Damn it.

“Yes, I remember it,” she admitted, half laughing as she repositioned the ice. “However, there is a big difference between getting your nose busted by a goon for being an insufferable idiot, and this.”

“So, I wasn’t being an insufferable idiot tonight?”

“You’re always an insufferable idiot.” Her smile was sweet. Sincere. “But I’m not a goon. I feel horrible.”

He opened both his eyes and leaned up on his elbow. Slowly reaching up, he touched the tip of his fingers to hers. “Who told you that you weren’t a goon?”

She sent a hard punch straight into his ribcage, laughing. “Asshole.”

He laughed too, even though it made everything hurt worse. “If it means we can be friends, then you can break my face every day.”

She pushed him back on the bed, repositioning his head on the pillow. “We’ll see,” she conceded, eyeing his nose again. “It’s hard to tell you no when you look like Jabba the Hutt.”

He grinned, but it was worth it.

“What the hell happened?” a voice bellowed, vibrating the walls around them. Henrik looked around Leila to find Austin and Drew standing in the doorway, panic plaguing their faces. “We just got your text.”

He sat back up, offering them a full on view of the damage. Drew shook his head in disapproval. “Better question is what did you do to deserve that?”

“Leila,” Austin groaned, moving Drew to the side to rush over to the bed. “You broke my captain.”

“I didn’t break him,” she offered, frowning as she shuffled the ice in her hands. “Just his nose, most likely.”

Drew made a noise of disgust as he joined Austin at the side of the bed. “Again—what did you do?”

“I didn’t do anything,” Henrik complained, darting a quick glance at Austin. “It was an accident.”

“It’s true.” Leila gently urged him to lie back down, her hand guiding his head as if he might shatter any moment. “We were playing hockey on your uncle’s pond, and—”

“Wait.” Drew immediately stepped around Austin. “He took you to Gus’s pond?”

Henrik shot Drew a death glare. He’d accept a reprimand for stealing Leila away again when they were alone, but not in front of Austin. He didn’t need Austin prying into his intentions. “I wanted to get out of the city for a while,” he lied.

He wanted to get Leila alone. He wanted to know what caused that vulnerable look in her eyes—that fear and uncertainty. Something was bothering her, and he needed to figure it out.

Austin’s face appeared above him. “My sister has a perfect shot. So, how did it accidentally find your nose?”

“You were shooting with those damn wooden sticks, weren’t you?” Drew guessed, giving him a you-should-have-known-better look.

“Yes,” Leila answered. “How did you know?”

He could hear Drew sigh somewhere next to him. “Henrik, you should know better than to take a city girl to play pond hockey.”

Leila huffed, insulted. “Says the guy who grew up in Charlotte? Ponds don’t even freeze down there.”

“We played on ponds in Sweden,” Drew shot back. “That’s all we had. It’s not like we could afford rink time except for what we got during practices.”

Henrik rose up to gawk at his brother. It wasn’t like Drew to mention their childhood, especially so casually. In fact, he hadn’t heard him mention it at all since their mother passed away. “You remember that?”

“Of course.” He looked down at his hands. “I remember everything about home.”

The room became exceedingly quiet, and noticing the conversation had gotten uncomfortably awkward, Austin spoke up. “Well, I’m calling the team doctor. He might want to look at your nose tonight.”

Forcing himself to look away from his brother, Henrik turned to Austin. “It’s after three in the morning.”

“You’re our star player,” Austin shot back. “Trust me, they’re going to want to know you’re over here looking like something that could walk out of Mordor.”

Austin left the room with the phone already to his ear.

“I knew I shouldn’t have let you two leave together.” Drew sighed, squinting at him as if his nose were some ghastly creature that might bite him at any moment.

Leila gave him a half-hearted shove. “Like it’s your decision. We weren’t doing anything wrong.”

“Anything involving the two of you always ends in some form of drama,” he mumbled. “And don’t think Austin is okay with your little hangout sessions. He’s been asking questions.”

Leila rolled her eyes. “I’m going to get more ice. You two can bicker among yourselves.”

When Leila left, Henrik shot Drew a look. “You can’t just give me a break?”

Drew crossed his arms over his chest. “You never take girls to the pond. That’s a family thing.”

“Leila is family.”

Drew’s eyes narrowed. “She’s my family.”

“Look who’s jealous now.” He smiled, leaning back on the bed. “I don’t understand why you’re mad about us being friends.”

“Friends,” he laughed. “You honestly think that is what’s going on right now? You two having a friendship?”

“Well—yeah.”

Drew made a face of genuine disbelief. “Make sure that doctor checks you for a concussion, because you’re crazier than I thought.”

When Leila returned, Drew was still in a huff. “I’m going home. It looks like you two have everything under control. I’ll check on you in the morning before I leave.”

“Leave?” Leila questioned. “You don’t work tomorrow.”

“I have somewhere I need to be,” he said offhandedly, rushing to the door. “I’ll see you both in the morning.”

When he was out the door, Leila turned around, puzzled. “He’s being very—”

“Drewish.” He chuckled. “Trust me, you get used to it after a while.”

She climbed back on the bed, crossing her legs next to him. “Put this back on your nose. The swelling is getting worse.”

He flinched as the ice touched his skin, but he quickly recovered. She looked at him with that same adorable expression again. Like she cared about him too. “I like this side of you,” he commented, easing an inch closer to her.

“The guilt-ridden side?”

“No, more like the not-biting-my-head-off side. You’re actually kind of sweet when you want to be.”

She peered down at him, frowning. “Henrik, I still think this friends thing is a bad idea. It will never work.”

“But you’ll try. Right?”

She pursed her lips, and he braced himself, but then she nodded. “Yes, we can try to be friends. However, when I break your nose on purpose next time, I’m going to say I told you so.”

Austin walked back in, hanging up his phone. “Ice it all night, and he wants you there by seven tomorrow morning.”

Henrik groaned. “He’s going to make me miss the game. I just know it.”

“Either way, you have to let him examine it,” Leila informed him. “I’ll drive you.”

Panic immediately engulfed him, but not because she wanted to take care of him. That part actually made him excited. It’s what surely would result from her sweet gesture that scared him. “I appreciate the offer, Leila, but—”

“You’re going to let me,” she said, her voice stern as if she were talking to a child. “You can’t drive like this, and I’m not letting you take the subway. It’s my fault, so I’m taking you.”

“Again, Leila, I really appreciate your offer, but—”

Austin chuckled behind her. “He’s afraid you’ll tell them what really happened.”

Leila’s expression fell as she looked down at him. “Why wouldn’t you tell them what really happened?”

“We’re guys, Leila.” Austin was practically bursting at the seams trying to rein in his amusement. “What do you think is going to happen when they find out a girl broke his nose with a hockey puck? He’s never going to live it down.”

Her mouth dropped open and she let the ice slip off his face. “Is that really the reason?”

He shot her a weak smile because he knew he couldn’t lie his way out of it with Austin there. “They’re kind of ruthless about things like that,” he tried, mustering the most pathetic voice possible.

She shook her head, unsympathetic. “Be ready by six thirty.”

When he opened his mouth to refute, Austin laughed. “You might as well let her go. Because if she doesn’t tell them, I will.”

He shot his friend a dirty look, but Austin appeared too smug to care. He was enjoying himself.

Bastard.

Austin shrugged. “Next time, don’t sneak off with my sister.”

Under normal circumstances, he would have fought back. A snarky comment, or he might have even mustered up the courage for an inappropriate one. Not now. He couldn’t joke about the truth. That was just wrong.

He turned his attention back to Leila in hope of changing her mind. He could always blackmail Austin into cooperation later. He gave her a pleading look.

“You wanted to be friends,” Leila reminded, sticking the ice back to his nose, a little less gentle than she’d been previously.

He laid his head back against the pillow and sighed. “I know,” he groaned, already imagining the horrific nicknames in his head.

It would still be worth it.

Leila would always be worth it.