18
“Reid Tyler Holden!” Avery scolded, wagging a finger at him through the screen of his laptop. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me you have a girlfriend! Why the hell did I have to find out about her through Instagram?”
Lounging at the desk in his hotel room, Reid grinned at his sister, brought to him courtesy of Skype. “You’ve been out of the country for two weeks,” he reminded her.
“And so? You couldn’t pick up the phone and call? Send a text?”
“I told him you’d be mad,” Aria piped up, eating out of a tub of Rocky Road ice cream as she reclined next to Avery on the sofa. “And he didn’t tell me about her either. I found out the same way you did, and only because I’m the one who updates his Instagram page. A page that almost got shut down by that selfie he posted.”
Avery snorted. “I’ll bet. With one click of a button, he just broke millions of hearts.”
Reid chuckled, leaning back in the chair and propping his feet up on the desk. It was the sixth day of his road trip. Tomorrow night they were playing the Anaheim Ducks, who were struggling this season and getting majorly outscored by every opponent. The Rebels hadn’t lost a game yet, so spirits were high in the locker room and team morale was good.
“I told Reid the next time he’s in a sharing mood,” Aria said, “he needs to give me a heads-up so I can moderate the comments on whatever picture he posts. I mean, most of the feedback was along the lines of ‘OMG’ and ‘Congratulations’ and ‘Don’t you two look so adorable.’ But there were some jealous bitches who showed their asses and made rude comments, which I hope I deleted before Nadia saw them.”
“Good Lord. Those fangirls.” Avery shuddered in disgust.
Ever since their parents’ bitter divorce, Avery and Aria had steered clear of gossip and celebrity blogs. So they hadn’t seen any of the tabloid pictures of Reid and Nadia. Not that they would have thought much of them. Reid had been photographed with many different women over the past six years. But he’d never personally acknowledged any of those companions until now.
Aria grinned at him. “You might be interested to know that as a result of dating Nadia, you now have a ton of new fans who just happen to be black women.”
Avery rolled her eyes. “I’m sure that’s the only reason he’s dating Nadia. You know, to have street cred with the sistas.”
Aria shot her an annoyed glare. “I wasn’t implying that. Why are you being so snarky?”
Avery snorted a laugh. “Hello? Have we met? I practically invented the art of snark.”
Aria grumbled something under her breath that caused Avery to swat her upside the head with one of her silk throw pillows.
Reid laughed, shaking his head at his sisters.
Just two years apart, Avery and Aria couldn’t have been more different. Aria had the stunning looks of a supermodel while Avery had a quiet beauty about her, with her chin-length dark hair and keenly intelligent green eyes.
Aria had a vivacious, outgoing personality while Avery’s introspective demeanor could be mistaken for aloofness. She was pragmatic where Aria was impulsive, the voice of reason who often had to talk Aria out of making bad decisions. They didn’t always see eye to eye, and sometimes their arguments had to be refereed. But despite their differences, they were closer than any two sisters could be. And Reid adored them both.
“So tell us more about Nadia,” Avery urged. “Ari says she hasn’t been able to shake too many details out of you. She called you the night you posted the picture, and you rushed her off the phone.”
Reid grinned. “That’s because I was, ah, preoccupied at the time.”
“Preoccupied, huh?” Humor sparkled in Avery’s gaze. She was the only one who’d inherited their mother’s green eyes. “I don’t have to ask what that means.”
“I know, right?” Aria laughed. “After the whole Instagram thingy, I overheard a few girls at work talking about some photos of Reid and Nadia on some gossip blog—”
Avery looked stricken. “Please don’t tell me you went and looked.”
“I did,” Aria confessed with a sheepish grin. “I’m sorry. I knew I’d be violating our family pact, but the way those girls were talking about the pictures…well, my curiosity got the best of me. So I went to the stupid website and…holy jalapeños. Reid and Nadia look so freakin’ hot together! And the way he stares at her? Whoa.”
Avery was intrigued. “How does he stare at her?”
“Like he wants to devour her whole. Seriously!”
Reid could only chuckle as Avery turned and gave him a marveling look.
“Just how long have you and Nadia been dating?”
He grinned, rubbing his bristly jaw. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
“A month?”
He shook his head.
“Three weeks?”
“You’re getting warm.”
“Seriously? Less than three weeks?” Avery leaned back against the sofa, shaking her head in amazement. “Wow.”
“She’s really pretty,” Aria asserted around a mouthful of ice cream. “She kinda reminds me of Ker—”
Avery groaned. “Don’t do that.”
Aria blinked at her. “What?”
“Don’t do that clueless white person thing. All black people do not look alike, and every pretty black woman does not look like the most popular black actress of the moment. You were about to say that Nadia reminds you of Kerry Washington, and I have to disagree. I mean, don’t get me wrong. I think Kerry’s absolutely gorgeous, but she and Nadia look nothing alike. Nadia’s beautiful in her own way.”
Reid smiled. “Agreed.”
Aria poked Avery with her spoon. “Comparing Nadia’s looks to Kerry Washington’s does not make me a clueless white person.”
“Kinda makes you sound like one though,” Avery retorted. “By the way, who said you could have the rest of my Rocky Road?”
As his sisters began bickering, Reid’s gaze drifted to the window that looked out over the downtown Anaheim skyline. Another city. Another hotel room. Another day without Nadia.
“If you’re posting selfies on your Instagram,” Avery said, drawing Reid’s attention back to his laptop, “things must be getting pretty serious between you and Nadia.”
“Uh-huh.” Aria’s baby-blue eyes were twinkling. “Very serious.”
Reid smiled. “You could say that.”
His sisters stared at each other, then looked back at him and chorused, “So when do we get to meet her?”
At that moment Viggo stepped out of the bathroom with a white towel knotted around his waist, his dark blond hair wet from the shower. His suspicious gaze swung around the room before landing on Reid seated at the desk with his laptop.
Reid gave him a questioning glance. “What?”
Viggo smoothed back his dripping hair, looking sheepish. “I heard female voices out here. For a moment I thought you were having a—”
“Threesome?” Reid chuckled, shaking his head. “Nah, my friend. Those days are over.”
Viggo gave him an approving grin. “Good man.”
Hearing his voice in the background, Aria asked excitedly, “Is that Viggo?”
Viggo smiled. “Good evening, ladies,” he called out, sauntering across the room.
“Hey, Viggo,” Avery and Aria gushed breathlessly.
“And how are you both doing this fine day?”
They giggled, charmed by his gallant formality. “We’re good.”
When Viggo stepped into view behind Reid, Avery and Aria practically swooned at the sight of his muscular bare chest glistening with water. They crowded closer to the screen, eyelashes batting in full flirt mode. Even sensible, levelheaded Avery was reduced to a puddle of hormones whenever Viggo was in the vicinity.
He drawled something in Swedish that sent the two sisters into a flurry of giggles and sighs.
“What does that mean, Viggo?” they asked breathlessly.
He gave them his most charming smile. “I said you both look beautiful as always.”
“Aww,” they cooed, blushing with pleasure.
Reid rolled his eyes in disgust.
“This is so cool,” Aria said with a girlish giggle. “Viggo is a spokesman for Skype, and here we are Skyping with him.”
Viggo chuckled at the observation.
One of the founders of Skype was Swedish. So when Microsoft acquired the company several years ago, it was only natural for them to seek out one of the world’s most popular Swedish athletes to be a spokesman.
“I just love that commercial where you’re Skyping with your family,” Aria gushed, twirling a long strand of hair around her finger. “You’re all excited about the game-winning goal you just scored, but all your sisters care about is whether Reid is single. It’s such an adorable commercial.”
“Yeah,” Viggo grumbled, cutting an annoyed sideways glance at Reid. “Adorable.”
Reid grinned smugly. “That’s actually one of my favorite commercials. Whoever came up with the script should get a big fat raise.”
When Viggo flipped him the bird, Avery and Aria laughed.
Viggo had three gorgeous sisters back home in Sweden. All were golden blondes with pale skin and long legs, the youngest among them a supermodel. Although they always flirted with Reid when they saw him, he’d never been tempted to hook up with any of them. He and Viggo abided by an unwritten bro code: Sisters were off limits. Period.
“Did you just take a shower, Viggo?” Avery asked, stating the obvious.
“Yeah,” he answered, slicking a hand over his hair.
Aria actually licked her lips and smiled coyly at him. “So what’re you boys doing on your night off?”
“Just hanging out. Going somewhere to eat.”
That morning after practice, Viggo and Reid had made plans to have dinner with several of their teammates at some ritzy restaurant and lounge in Anaheim’s Platinum Triangle. Logan and Hunter were already downstairs having drinks while they waited for everyone to finish getting dressed.
“What’re you wearing tonight, Viggo?” Aria asked in a purring voice. “You gonna wear one of those sexy suits of yours?”
“I don’t know.” Viggo’s gray eyes glinted with amusement. “Think I should?”
“Oh, yes, definitely,” Avery and Aria gushed, eagerly bobbing their heads up and down. “You look amaz—”
“All right, that’s enough of this conversation.” Reid shot a dark scowl at Viggo. “Go put some damn clothes on so we can get out of here.”
Laughing, Viggo winked and waved at Avery and Aria. “See you later, girls.”
“Bye, Viggo,” they cooed, their faces practically plastered to the screen as they watched him saunter back to the bathroom.
Reid swiveled the laptop away, cutting off their view of Viggo’s retreating backside. When his scowling face filled the screen, they started giggling.
“Sorry, big brother, but Viggo’s just too damn hot for his own good,” Avery declared.
“I know,” Aria agreed with a dreamy sigh. “That face—”
“Those eyes—”
“Those lips—”
“That hair—”
“That bod.”
The two sisters gave Reid a pleading look, their hands clasped together in supplication. “Oh, please, can we share him? Pretty pleeeaaase?”
“No. Hell, no.”
They heaved a sigh of disappointment, then stuck their tongues out at him. “Meanie.”
Reid grinned, shaking his head at them. “I’m disappointed in you two. I’ve seen puck bunnies show more self-control than you just did.”
They laughed unabashedly.
He swung his legs down from the desk. “I gotta go. You girls stay out of trouble.”
“That’s what we should be telling you,” Aria said half-seriously. “Have fun tonight.”
“But not too much fun,” Avery warned, wagging a finger at him. “Don’t forget you have a special someone waiting at home.”
Reid grinned. “I won’t forget, believe me.”
His sisters smiled and blew kisses at him before he signed off and closed his laptop.
Twenty minutes later, dressed in fitted designer suits with open-necked shirts, he and Viggo grabbed their wallets and headed from the room.
The others had talked about hitting a club after dinner, but all Reid planned to do was come back and call Nadia. He missed her like crazy and couldn’t wait to hear her voice again.
Just as they reached the door, his cell phone rang. He dug it out of his pocket and looked at the screen, smiling when he saw his mother’s picture. He briefly considered letting the call roll to voice mail, then decided against it.
Four years ago when Arlene Holden was diagnosed with breast cancer, Reid had been in the thick of a grueling stretch of road games. His mother hadn’t wanted him to be distracted on the ice, so she’d instructed the family to withhold her diagnosis from him until the season was over. Thankfully Avery refused to honor such an outrageous request; she’d gone behind their mother’s back and broken the devastating news to Reid.
Since then he’d always answered the phone whenever his mother called because he knew it could be important, and he didn’t want to be the last to know if, God forbid, her cancer was out of remission.
Viggo glanced over his shoulder at Reid. “Coming?”
“Go ahead. I’ll catch up in a minute.”
Viggo nodded and left.
Reid pressed the answer button and brought the phone to his ear. “Hey, Mom.”
“Hello, darling.” Her voice lacked its usual warmth and affection. “I just got off the phone with Avery. Is there something you’d like to share with me?”
Reid lifted his face toward the ceiling, closed his eyes as though steeling himself and then took a deep breath. He’d known, of course, that his mother would eventually find out about Nadia, and he was fine with that. He’d just hoped to delay this conversation a little longer. Because he already had an inkling of what she was going to say.
“As you know,” she continued when he didn’t speak, “I’ve been very busy preparing for the breast cancer charity gala. I’ve had my hands full chairing the committee, so I haven’t had time to keep up with the goings-on of your Instagram page. Imagine my surprise when I called Avery to see how her trip went, and during our conversation, she let it slip that you now have a girlfriend. And apparently I’m the last to know.”
“Not exactly,” Reid murmured, walking toward his bed. “I haven’t told Dad or Ry yet either.”
“Is that supposed to make me feel better?”
“It was.” Reid sat on the end of the bed and leaned forward, elbows resting on his thighs as he smiled wryly into the phone. “Guess it didn’t work.”
At the other end of the line, there was a heavy moment of silence.
“I’m not amused, Reid,” his mother said, her voice several degrees frostier than before. “I thought your sister must have been mistaken about you having a girlfriend. So I hung up the phone and went to your Instagram page and…well, there she was. My son’s new woman.” Arlene paused. “She’s African American.”
“Yes, she is,” Reid said evenly. “Is that a problem?”
He could see his mother clearly, cool green eyes narrowed, lips pursed in displeasure. “I guess you really are your father’s son,” she said reproachfully.
It was a barbed reference to Roark Holden’s Vietnamese girlfriend, Hanh, who was now living with him.
“Apparently white women are no longer good enough for the Holden men,” his mother said with bitter sarcasm. “I suppose I should expect Ryder to run off and elope with a Latina next.”
Reid sighed. “C’mon, Mom. Aren’t you being a little dramatic?”
“Dramatic?” She was affronted. “You think I’m being dramatic?”
“A little, yeah.” He was striving for patience. Because this was his mother, the woman who’d given him everything, and he would never disrespect her.
“Do you really think it’s a good idea to be in a serious relationship at this time?” she demanded. “You have so much at stake, Reid. So much riding on the line. Having a girlfriend is a distraction you don’t need.”
“That’s for me to—”
“You’ve worked so hard to get where you are. Is it really worth jeopardizing your dreams and goals for some girl you barely know?”
Reid frowned, clenching his jaw. “I’m not jeopardizing—”
“Do you remember Greta Culver?”
“…my— Who?”
“Greta Culver. The girl who lived down the street from us for a few years before her family moved away. When you were ten years old, she had the biggest crush on you. She always seemed to know the precise moment you’d be arriving home from hockey practice, because she’d be waiting for you at the end of our driveway when we pulled up. I can still see her sitting on her bike with her long blond hair blowing in the breeze, chewing a wad of pink bubblegum with her mouth wide open.” Arlene chuckled at the memory. “One day when she was feeling particularly amorous, she hopped off her bike, ran up to the car and gave you the biggest hug ever. While you stood there with a panicked look on your face, Greta professed her undying love for you and declared that she was going to marry you someday. It was so adorable. You were tired, sweaty and hungry. But you patiently peeled her off you, took her by the shoulders and looked her solemnly in the eye. And do you remember what you said to her? I remember as clearly as if it were yesterday. You told her you weren’t getting married until you grew up and became a professional hockey player and won the Stanley Cup. Do you remember that?”
“Um…vaguely.” The corners of Reid’s mouth were twitching. “It’s a cute story, Mom, but—”
“It’s not just a story! It’s been your guiding principle, a philosophy you’ve lived by all your life!”
“Philosophy? Mom, I was ten years old.”
“Old enough to know what mattered the most to you. Hockey was your first love, darling. And it always will be.”
Reid frowned. Before he could respond, his phone beeped with an incoming text. He pulled it away from his ear to look at the screen.
Ur Holden us up, Logan’s message read. Ha ha. So clever.
Reid brought the phone back to his ear. He was more than ready to end this aggravating conversation. “Mom, I have to—”
“I don’t like what I’m hearing in your voice, Reid Tyler. I think that girl is already clouding your judgment, making you lose focus—”
“I haven’t lost focus,” Reid growled.
“Then end this relationship before you do.”
Reid sighed harshly and closed his eyes, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “I appreciate your concern, Mom—”
“I love you, darling,” she said earnestly. “You know there isn’t anything in the world I wouldn’t do for you. You’re a wonderful son and a wonderful man, and one day you’re going to make some lucky woman a wonderful husband. But right now it’s better for you to focus on your career. Playing hockey is your passion, Reid. It’s what you do best, not relationships.”
Reid’s jaw flexed as his nostrils flared. “Look, I’m sorry you had to hear about Nadia from Avery instead of me. And I’m sorry you don’t approve of our relationship. But with all due respect, Mom, it’s not your decision to make. Nadia means a lot to me, and I enjoy having her in my life. So I have no intention of breaking up with her.”
There was silence on the other end of the line. His mother’s displeasure was palpable, all but oozing through the phone.
Finally she gave a heavy sigh of resignation. “It really pains me to say what I’m about to say, Reid. But you’re my son, and I know you better than you know yourself. And what I know is that you’re going to hurt that girl. Oh, you won’t intend to. But you will. In a moment of weakness, you’re going to forget that you’re trying to be a committed boyfriend. In the blink of an eye, you’re going to revert back to who and what you are: A good but flawed man.” She paused, her tone gentling. “It’s not your fault, darling. It’s in your DNA.”
Reid glared at the wall in front of him, his hand flexing into a tight fist. “My teammates are waiting for me. I have to go.”
“Sweetheart—”
He disconnected without another word. Then he just sat there, his jaw grinding hard as he tried to calm his nerves and rid his mind of his mother’s damning indictment.
That was one phone call he wished like hell he’d ignored.