“He’s addicted to this woman, like a drug. A bad drug.” Steele met my gaze and rolled his eyes.

“You are?” I turned to Kaden, shocked this was the first I’d been hearing about it.

“She’s hot, really hot, and adventurous in bed, and I can’t fucking get enough of her.”

“You falling for her? ’Cause that would mean you’d be the first to lose the bet,” I said.

“No, I’m not,” Kaden said defensively. “It’s just sex. It’s not like I found the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with, if I ever do.”

“I see. Thanks for the clarification.”

“I’m obsessed with her. I’ve tried to hook up with a few others, but none of them do what she does to me. I mean, she’s game for anything. Absolutely anything. The fucking part that sucks is that she’s really coy about when we can hook up, keeps me dangling. Doesn’t want to be seen with me. Just wants to hook up.”

“Maybe she’s married,” Steele suggested.

“She’s not married. I asked her. She might have a boyfriend, not sure.”

“Sounds like you’re playing with fire, buddy. People keep secrets for a reason.” I clapped him on the shoulder as I walked by, heading to the kitchen for a beer.

I’d never seen Kaden so wrapped up in a woman. He was the love-’em-and-leave-’em type. He didn’t get attached. This wasn’t an attachment though, sounded more like a sexual obsession. I didn’t worry too much about it. Knowing Kaden, no matter how hot this woman was, the relationship would soon run its course.

Chapter Fourteen

Mr. E

~~Caroline~~

On Saturday morning, I dragged my tired butt out of bed and cooked breakfast. I’d expected to hear from Easton by now. He’d texted yesterday that the condo was supposed to be ready to move into this weekend, but they were having issues getting a few repairs done.

“When is Mr. E coming to see us again?” Hailey asked. She held her ragged teddy bear in one hand and a worn book in the other. The teddy bear had been a gift from Mark, and my heart squeezed every time I saw it.

It’d been a few days since Easton had interrupted our afternoon and disrupted our lives. Hailey chattered nonstop about Mr. E, while Heath said nothing.

They didn’t seem to know Easton was a hockey player, even though Heath did follow some pro hockey. If he did know, he wasn’t talking, and I wasn’t ready to tell them yet.

“When is he coming again?” Hailey insisted, not to be deterred.

“Soon. He’s a very busy man. Please don’t get your hopes up.”

She sucked her lower lip into her mouth and blinked back tears. The tears came easily to her these past few months, and seeing them so often broke my heart. She’d been such a happy, carefree, loving child before Mark died.

“He said he’d watch me skate.”

“He did?” I didn’t conceal my surprise. I hadn’t heard him say any such thing. He must have made the offer when I’d left briefly to use the bathroom.