Page 52 of The Chemistry Coach
Daisy opened her mouth to answer when a voice that grated on his every nerve shouted from the doorway, “Daisy Ann Mayes!”Daisy cringed but pivoted to face the entrance with a sly smile.
She put her hands on her hips and gave the man a once-over.“Patrick Lee Mills.”
A puzzle piece clicked into place, and the walls Daisy had started to erode slammed back into place.Patrick dropped his gear on the floor and opened his arms.It wasn’t an exaggeration to say Daisy leaped into them.
Chapter 19
Daisy
Inthesplitsecondshe had to decide how to react, Daisy’s emotions ranged from horror and mortification to excitement and joy.She’d hoped to avoid the Patrick issue altogether until she could have a private conversation with Connor.
But here she was, meeting the team, and introductions got interrupted by her best friend—the person this franchise hated the most.That Connor hated the most.
When she’d told him they were on an uneven playing field, this is what she meant.Her obsession with him had imploded both of their lives years before they ever met.How do you explain that to a person?She needed to figure it out real fast.
But her relationship with Patrick was nonnegotiable.He was her person.More than her brother.More than Roxie.And definitely more than a man she hadn’t even kissed.They had been inseparable since they were six years old, riding scooters in the driveway and making mud pies in the backyard.Whoever she ended up with would have to come to terms with that.It had been the death of more than one relationship.
So she greeted him how she would any other time she saw him.When he dropped his bag and opened his arms, it took her three strides to get there.She jumped, trusting him to catch her, and squeezing him tight as he spun her in a circle.She couldn’t contain her squeal as he crushed the breath from her lungs.
Patrick’s hugs were home.It was a damn shame they weren’t attracted to each other, because she was pretty sure they were soulmates.He sat her down and clocked her outfit.
“What the fuck are you wearing?”She did a spin with her hands above her head, ending in a sassy pose, showing off her Seattle Freeze merch.
He glared and put his hands on his hips, and she whispered, “Don’t worry, I’ll change.”
Three hundred sixty-three nights a year, she was the biggest Seattle Freeze fan around.But she was also Patrick’s biggest fan.Even Sophia wouldn’t argue that.On rare occasions, her two great loves ran in direct opposition, so on those two nights a year, she betrayed her beloved hockey team.But she didn’t need to announce that to the entire room.
She looped her arm around Patrick’s waist and led him to where a horrified Connor and Hazy were waiting.Lover stared open-mouthed from across the room.The hurt on his face cut Daisy deep.This would be rough, but she could explain later.After she talked to Connor.She positioned herself between Connor and Patrick.They probably wouldn’t fight off the ice, but she was dropping an atomic bomb on them, so it could go either way.
The Russian greeted Patrick with a bro hug.Daisy had worried herself sick about meeting him again.They’d partied together a few times in college when he played on the same team as Patrick.
“Oooh.You’re Millsy’s Daisy.I knew you were familiar!”
Daisy reached out to squeeze Connor’s arm, trying to reassure him, but he dodged her.Patrick pulled her into him, his arm gluing her to his side.
Worry and frustration about how she could dig herself out of this hole warred with the joy and comfort she got from being in his presence.His being there made everything less intimidating.She had needed the reminder that all these players she fangirled over were people, just like him.
“You’ve got some serious splainin’ to do, darlin’,”Patrick said.
She rolled her eyes at the term of endearment.It sounded so silly coming out of his mouth in a ridiculous accent.When she’d asked him to call her darlin’ at eight years old because of a movie she didn’t remember, she didn’t know it would stick for twenty years.
“Yeah, yeah.A lot has happened.I’ll tell you at dinner.”
Novikov waggled a finger between her and Patrick with amusement.“I forget how weird you are.”Patrick grinned.Daisy snuck a peek at Connor.He wouldn’t look at her, so she examined his side profile.A muscle twitched in his jaw.If he clenched it any harder, he’d break a tooth.A glance in Hazy’s direction told her she wouldn’t find support from him.Touching Connor would be risky, but if she could get skin to skin contact with him, everything would feel better.
“You are same as before.In love.Why you break up?”Novikov asked.
Daisy groaned.
She expected Patrick to dive into his usual monologue about how some people are meant to be friends.Instead, he got an evil glint in his eye and said, “I don’t know, Daisy, why did we break up?”
She gave him a wild-eyed smile that told him to shut his yap.He didn’t.“Because, how I remember it, there was this guy—”
She didn’t have time to register the pure panic before her body reacted.She reached out and grabbed his nipple through his t-shirt, twisting hard, a practiced move from their adolescent years.He doubled over in her grip.
“If you say one more word, I swear to God, Patrick, I will rip your dick off and shove it so far up your ass you’ll be able to blow yourself.Understand?”
He nodded, unable to form words.She let go, and he straightened, rubbing his stinging nipple but laughing.
