Rush the Edge: A Brother’s Best Friend Hockey Romance (Blue Devils Hockey Book 3)

It’s late by the time I get home. Coach is pissed that I missed afternoon practice, but since it was a family emergency, it’s unlikely I’ll have repercussions—not with our first playoff game tomorrow.

After dropping seventy-five thousand into the hands of someone I’d like to rip to shreds, Miles followed me out to my car and remained quiet until we crossed the state line.

That was when the silence broke.

I’d heard his sorry excuses before, going in one ear and out the other. But this time, things were different. Miles could take me down with him, but the moment Daisy was involved? That was where I drew the line.

And to think, she’d been involved from day one.

I didn’t need another apology from him, or confirmation that Daisy took him to and from gamblers anonymous meetings before leaving for college, or how she checked in on him from time to time during the one year he was apparently clean.

Instead, I need him to change, and if he’s not willing to change, then he’s out of my life.

I had never let myself think about the moment I’d show up on my mom’s doorstep again, but for the sake of Daisy, I went with my brother with his head hung low beside me.

I didn’t waste any time cutting to the chase.

It was a hard pill for her to swallow, but the moment Miles nodded, confirming the actual truth, a tear slipped over her cheek, learning that she’d been fooled all these years. I left without a goodbye, too pent up with nervous energy and mixed emotions.

Those emotions are wired even tighter now as I head to the thirtieth floor back at the apartment complex.

I rap my knuckles on Daisy’s door, having no idea what I’m walking into.

When the door swings open, I tense. River narrows his eyes, unmoving from the doorway.

I flex my jaw. “I let you hit me once. That’s all you get.”

He flicks his eyebrow. “You didn’t let me hit you. I saw the surprise on your face.”

I put my hands in my pockets. “Actually, I was surprised at how much it stung. Who taught you how to throw a punch again?” I think for a second, knowing very well that I was the one who taught him. “Oh, wait. That was me.”

“River.” Daisy’s sweet voice hits my ears from somewhere in the apartment, and my nerves calm.

He surprisingly moves to the side, and I walk inside.

I find her right away, sitting on the couch with a blanket wrapped around her. Strawberry-blonde tendrils of hair frame her face from the high ponytail on top of her head, and those sleepy eyes hit me right in the chest.

Forgetting all about River behind me, I stride directly over to her and squat down low so I’m on her level. “How are you feeling?”

She barely lifts a shoulder. “I’m okay.”

I’m not convinced.

“Are you okay?” she asks quietly.

I shoot her a look. “Don’t worry about me. Did you make it to Dr. Gibson’s? Did he do bloodwork?”

The smallest smile hints against her lips. “Yes, but I’ll be fine. I’ve been dealing with Lupus for a couple of years now. You don’t have to worry.”

I furrow my brow, ignoring the looming presence of River, who is probably plotting my death. “Well, I haven’t,” I argue. “I am worried.”

River makes a noise, and I flick my attention to him. His jaw is set, his gaze narrowed.noveldrama

Daisy sighs with annoyance. “River, we talked about this.”

“Well, I’m still angry,” he grunts.

I slowly stand up and stare at him. Daisy, sitting quietly on the couch, is the only barrier between us.

“I’m sorry,” I say.

My apology lingers. It’s not often that I apologize or that I’m sincere, but I think River knows me well enough to know that it’s true. Just like he has to know that my feelings for Daisy are genuine. If he thinks hard enough and takes a brief peek to the past, how could he not?

“I don’t think you understand why I’m angry.” River shakes his head and sits on a barstool in the kitchen.

I stare at him from across the apartment, ready for this overdue conversation. “I understand exactly why you’re angry. Why would you ever want someone like me with your sister?”

It’s not like I’ve been a saint over these last few years. In fact, I’ve been trying my very hardest to be anything but. The only thing I’ve got going for me is my career. At this point, I don’t even have a load of money in my account.

I have to start all over again.

“That’s not why I’m angry,” River snaps. “I’m angry because you two hiding your fling has caused unnecessary stress for her. She just got things under control after two years of medications, lifestyle changes, and constant doctor’s appointments. She’s been with you for three seconds, and she’s right back to where she was. You’re selfish, Kane. And sure, a little part of me is upset that you two hid this from me. I thought we were friends?”

The blanket falls to the floor as Daisy springs up from the couch. She quickly turns to her brother, her rigid back to me. “That is not true, River.”

He scoffs and follows it with a sarcastic chuckle. “Which part?”

“Kane is not selfish,” she argues.

My jaw aches as I clench my teeth together. I hate that she’s trying to stick up for me. She doesn’t have to plead my case to her brother. He knows me, almost as well as she does.

“He risked his future and reputation to protect his family. He saved his brother from going to prison by taking the fall for something that was selfishly asked of him. He was practically cut out of the family, not having seen his mom for years, because of something he didn’t even do.”

Daisy is shaking by the end. I erase the space between us, putting my hands on her arms. I rub my palms softly over her warm skin. “Hey, calm down. It’s okay. You don’t have to defend me.”

She peers backward at me, those blue eyes filled with worry. “Yes, I do, because even you don’t see it. You’re selfless and beyond loyal.”

“Loyal?” River repeats.

Daisy turns to him. “Yes, loyal. It’s part of why neither of us has said anything to you. Do you think Kane wanted to risk your friendship? Do you think he wants Mom and Dad to feel cheated by him?”

It’s true. The thought has been there, starting out in the forefront of my brain, only to get more and more buried by what I feel for Daisy.

I clear my throat and pull Daisy behind me. The anger is dying down against River’s features, his furrowed brow smooth and his expression blank.

“I’ve always loved her, River. If you think hard enough, you’ll remember all the times you caught me staring at her from across the dinner table.” I swallow the emotion clogging my throat, confused from the way my neck tightens with the thought. “She’s the one I went to when things turned dark. She’s the reason I left and went to the juniors, which led me here. I owe her everything,” I admit, laying it all out. “My life, my future, my heart.”

River stares at me long and hard.

My pulse thrums behind my skin from my confession. I don’t think I’ve ever said it aloud. Not even to Daisy.

“Well, fuck.” River runs a hand through his hair, tipping his head back to stare at the ceiling. “Fine!”

My heart does a fucking backflip.

“Fine?” Daisy repeats.

River stands and puts his hands on his hips. “Yes, fine. You two can be together.”

Daisy snorts with a quick roll of her eyes. “As if we needed your permission?”

River shoots his attention to me. He points to Daisy. “Good luck with her.”

My lip lifts, and I grin.

“Where are you going?” I ask him when he heads for the door.

I’m not necessarily sorry to see him go, but I’m still playing nice, relieved to have everything out in the open.

“I’m going to your apartment. There is no way in hell I’m going to watch you kiss her as if she’s not my sister.”

Daisy gives him a look. “You’ve never really cared before when I’ve been kissed in front of you.”

Before River leaves, he peers back at us. “Yeah, well, I know how he is, so…”

Daisy’s cheeks turn a bright shade of pink.

“See!” He shakes his head at her.

The door latches shut, and Daisy pouts. “How rude.” My heart is beating a million miles a second, my palms suddenly tingling to have her in my grasp. “He acts like you’re going to strip me bare right in front of him or something.”

I thought about it. Now that everything’s out in the open, nothing can keep us apart.

“After today, I don’t think anyone could stop me from doing just that.” I pull her in close and her breath catches.

“Bad day?” she asks with a barely there smile.

“Not all bad.” I skim my nose against hers, breathing her in like she’s my oxygen. I creep my hands past her curves, landing on her cheeks. “Say it again.”

“Say what?” she whispers, her mouth lingering right in front of mine.

Damn, I really do love her.

I have no idea how I went six years without her.

The devastation I felt the day she turned me away sent me to the edge of insanity. I cared about nothing.

Then she came back, and now I’m on edge whenever we’re not together.

“Tell me you love me.” Our lips are almost touching, our bodies buzzing.

She smiles against my lips. “Make me.”

Anticipation flies to my fingertips. I grip her thighs, and she’s jumping to wrap her legs around my waist with her faint laugh filling the quiet apartment.

I peer into her eyes before gazing at her mouth. “You know I will.”

I walk us to her bedroom and shut the door. I lay her back on the bed, and those blue eyes have me trapped.

“I love you,” she whispers.

I hover over her, wind my hand through her hair, and press my mouth to hers. I deepen the kiss, my insides pulling on my heart until I can’t breathe.

“I love you too,” I say, just in case she didn’t get the gist. “Now instead of all those rituals I do the night before a game, let me take care of you, and make sure to scream extra loud…so your brother can hear.”

I wink and catch the laugh right off the tip of her lips with mine.