His smile faded, and she instantly regretted her words. She was the one who didn’t pester him about that. “Not until I have to.”
“Don’t bother,” she said, leaning in conspiratorially. “It’s overrated.” She grabbed the last dish and quickly scrubbed it clean. Her mother still cooked for seven even though her brothers had all moved out years ago. Jacqui was only there to save money. It’d probably break her mother’s heart when she finally moved out.
Or her parents might dance naked around the living room in joy. And that was a visual she didn’t need. She shook her head, chuckling to herself. She handed the final dish off and unplugged the sink.
“His name’s Henrik,” she said casually as she rinsed out the sink.
“Henrik?” Aiden rolled the name out. “Sounds German. Is he a foreigner?”
“No.” She frowned. “I don’t think so. He doesn’t have a foreign accent.” A slight New England one maybe, if she listened for it.
“Where’d you meet him?”
And here came the twenty questions—exactly why she hadn’t wanted to say anything. “The music store.” But she also trusted her brother, and it was fun to talk about Henrik and share her cautious excitement with someone.
“Is he a musician then or fellow student?”
“Neither.” She dried her hands off and faced her brother. “He plays hockey.”
That got Aiden’s attention, like she figured it would. She hadn’t exaggerated to Henrik when she’d said her family were hockey junkies. None of her brothers had ever gone anywhere in the sport outside of rec leagues and the high school team, but they were all avid players and fans.
He looked her over, a scowl overtaking his surprise. “What do you mean, ‘he plays hockey’? Don’t tell me he’s a college boy hoping for his shot at the pros.”
“And what would be wrong with that?”
“Nothing, except he won’t stick around.”
“Really?” She tossed the towel at him. “I haven’t even gone on a date yet, and you’re already marrying me off. And you’re one to talk, Mr. Non-commitment.”
He shrugged, not phased. “I’m different...”
She rounded on him. “If you say because you’re a guy, I’m going to deck you.”
His hands went up. “Down, boy.”
She scanned the counter for something to throw at him but came up empty. Why did she bother? She grabbed her phone off the ledge and spun away. So much for talking to Aiden.
“Hey.” He grabbed her arm loosely. “Don’t storm off. I was only joking.” She halted even though she could’ve shaken him off and let him turn her around. She stuck her tongue out at him just because she could. His laughter brought out her own. “Better. Now tell me about Henrik. Where does he play hockey?”
She stepped back to lean against the pantry door, unlocked her phone and looked at Henrik’s text stream. They’d exchanged a few texts since she met him Sunday, but nothing overly enlightening. A smile still bubbled up from her chest, that silly giddy sensation tingling over her.
“His last name’s Grenick,” she said, playing with Aiden a bit longer.
“What?”
Her hand froze over her phone at his startled cry, gaze lifting to stare at his gaping mouth. Well, that had certainly gotten a reaction. If his eyes could bulge, she was certain they would be. Now what did it mean? She dropped her smile and tossed out, “What what?”
“Henrik Grenick?” Aiden took a step toward her, only to spin around and stalk to the counter, a whole two steps away.
She wasn’t completely stupid. She’d looked Henrik up when she’d gotten home that first night. She knew exactly who Henrik was now. But this was fun.
Aiden whipped back around, mouth still hanging open. “Henrik Grenick. As in Roller, the Glaciers’ starting defenseman? That Henrik Grenick?”
She shrugged. “I guess so.” Then tapped out a text reply to Henrik.
“You guess so?”
Her smile refused to stay hidden. She sent the text to Henrik. Sounds good. See you there at 1.
“What’s the big deal?” she asked Aiden.
“Are you shitting me?”
“Aiden,” their mother called right on cue. “Language.”
He rolled his eyes to the ceiling, head shaking, hands clamped on his hips. Oh yeah, this was definitely fun. Meeting Henrik for lunch was worth it just for this.
“Nope.” She flashed a cheesy grin and waved her phone at him. “I got his text right here.”
His hand whipped out. “Let me see that.”
She jerked her phone to her chest. “No way.”
He scrubbed a hand over his face then yanked the refrigerator open and came out with a beer. One hard twist, and the cap was off, bottle