“No, it’s not—I didn’t mean for it to come out like this.” He sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “I’ve been thinking about it for a while, and I wanted to be fair to you. I didn’t want to lead you on.”

“Right.” I laughed coldly. That he’d been thinking about it was a handful of salt in a fresh wound. I was wearing lacy underwear beneath this dress. I’d planned to sleep with him later, while he was working on an exit strategy. How could I have been so oblivious?

“I can’t believe you’re doing this after you begged me to get back together with you this summer.”

“But that’s just it,” he said. “We’ve been together for a long time. Pretty soon, the league will rule my life. Where I live, where I play, what I eat, everything. I need some time to myself.”

“Uh-huh.” I tried to disguise the waver in my voice. “Time to play the field and hook up with puck bunnies, you mean? Just like the last two times.”

During our two other “breaks,” I waited around for him while he slept with at least one other person. He groveled to get me back after both incidents, and foolishly, I forgave him. I thought he’d actually changed.

“That’s not what this is about.”

“Okay.” I scoffed, crossing my arms and blinking back tears. There was no way I would let him see me cry. “If it’s not that, then what is it? There’s got to be a reason you’re pulling a one-eighty on me. Is it someone else?”

He frowned. “I can’t believe you’d even think that.”

“Well, I can’t believe you’d do this, so I guess we’re even.” I grabbed the linen napkin off my lap and tossed it on the empty plate. Bracing my palms on the table, I stood, pushing back the red velvet chair. “I have to go.”

“Don’t leave,” Luke pleaded, reaching for my arm. “We can have a meal together, can’t we? I still want to be friends.”

More like he wanted to be on good terms with my brother, who played for the Callingwood Bulldogs with Luke. Unceremoniously dumping defenseman Derek James’s little sister was sure to make for awkward conversation in the locker room before the next game.

Then again, my brother had never stood up for me. Why would that change now? For someone who was a force to be reckoned with on the ice, Derek was a total pushover in real life. He had the spine of an invertebrate.

I yanked my arm out of Luke’s flimsy grip. “Not even remotely possible.”

“Bailey, don’t be like this.”

My heart wrenched. Be like what? Upset that he blindsided me? Anyone in my position would be devastated.

“Let me drive you at least.”