He nodded his thanks.
“He’s a big brother, Mia. He doesn’t know how to give his sister a compliment because his first instinct is to think you’re annoying, in need of protection, or about to do something stupid. Asking why you’re dressed up is his way of being nice.”
“What’s your excuse?”
He chuckled, the sound oddly affecting. She’d never talked to Cal Foreman like this before. He was always so unaware of her, not that she cared. He was just another hockey player.
Maybe she wouldn’t need to tell him about the post. He might never read it.
“I wouldn’t want you to get a big head, Wallace. Not with all the kudos you get because of your mad skills.”
She battled her smile. Lost the fight. Was she so hard up for compliments that a kind word from Cal Foreman was lighting her up like a new goal buzzer?
“So you think I look nice?”
“Said so, didn’t I? In my crazy, clueless, male way.” He winked at her and went back to mixing the dressing.
Cal wouldn’t say he’d never noticed Mia before.
She was pretty, but a man did not pay much attention to a kid.
She was a brilliant hockey player. He’d gone to her Frozen Four final with Vadim and the rest of the Rebels crew, and he’d cheered her on as she scored the winning goal. He’d hugged her at the after party because he was a good guy and she was his friend’s baby sister and that was that.
He’d never had to think so hard about how to act around a woman before. He’d never had to think about how to act around Mia because she was … Mia. Until yesterday at the wedding.
Seeing her then was like coming across a harmless, not-hurting-anybody plant that had suddenly started flowering. She had looked sexy. Incredibly fucking sexy. They’d had that sparring session over the bouquet, not their usual dynamic at all. They didn’t have that kind of relationship, which was fine. Because, Vadim’s sister.
In the kitchen, he wouldn’t say he’d been flirting with her … okay, he’d been flirting.
Mia Wallace was all grown up with grown-up curves and a grown-up smile and a wicked sense of humor he hadn’t seen coming.
And he was 99% sure she was the author of that online post.
The evidence was building to an open and shut case. She was the only person with motive—he’d thrown her under the bus after all—and he could tell she felt uncomfortable about something. She might even have been about to fess up, but he preferred she didn’t know he knew. Yet.
Funnily enough, he wasn’t as angry about this prank as he should be. Probably because it aligned with his current mode of thinking—how he needed to make some life changes and start taking things more seriously. This year was crucial for him and he would not be distracted by a pretty smile, even if it was backed up by tungsten.
On the patio ringed with flowers and shrubs, Cal looked out toward the lake, watching the white-frilled waves as they sucked at the rocks and felt a pang of jealousy for the life his friend had made here. So Vad was currently recovering from injury and probably annoyed at whispers about his imminent retirement, but he was happily married, financially comfortable, and the distinct center of his own self-important universe. It was good to be Vadim Petrov.
Cal zoned back into the conversation, only to find his friend looking at him with a mischievous gleam in his eye. “Are you still upset about the dick post?”
Mia dropped her fork and jumped up from the table. “Back in a sec.”
“Mia, get me more water, please,” Vadim ordered.
“Yes, your majesty.” She gave a funny little bow that made Cal smile.
“I’m not upset,” Cal said, as he tried not to watch Mia’s ass, nicely draped by the thin cotton of her dress. Earlier, when she’d sat down, it had ridden up her thigh and revealed an expanse of mouth-watering skin, making him hyper-aware of her in a way he should not be. He swallowed and redirected his thoughts—only there was Mia again, the prankster. He needed to be careful about how he played this.
He leaned down to give her dog, Gordie Howe, a head rub. The little divo preened at the attention.
“Just trying to work out who it is.”
“It must be Tara.”
Mia returned with Vadim’s water and a new fork.
Vadim said to his sister, “Did you hear about Cal’s judgment on the Internet?”
“What’s that?” Her voice sounded squeaky,