The Girl With Hearts (Midtown Brotherhood #1) by Savannah Blevins Read Free Book Online

the head. This time a little less gentle. “That’s a dirty word,” he barked. “Don’t let me hear you say it again.”
    “What? Feelings?”
    Henrik awarded him another slap, this time to his shoulder as he skated around him. “Now, shut it and shoot. You want to be on my power play line, I want to see a slap shot that will make the goalies’ knees shake.”
    Happy to have his captain’s full attention, Sam let it drop, and Henrik was thankful. He’d wanted time to think, but he wasn’t willing to think about that.
    Ever.

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 5
     
     
    HENRIK’S INSULT
     
    “What do you think you’re doing?”
    Henrik glanced over his shoulder at his younger brother, his beach blond hair stuck out in varying directions, and his nose wrinkled in confusion. The scene probably appeared odd to Drew. It wasn’t like he woke up to find him in his apartment on a regular basis, let alone wearing an apron and cooking breakfast like he was the Martha Stewart of Midtown.
    “Morning skate isn’t until noon,” he explained, turning back to the eggs in the skillet in front of him. “I thought I might do something nice.”
    Food was nice. Everyone loved food, especially when they were upset.
    He would feed Leila, and leave. That was the goal for the morning. Do something thoughtful and friend-like that didn’t involve him having to open his mouth and ruin it.
    “Henrik,” Drew sighed. “I thought we talked about this already. We’re okay. You don’t have to do anything nice or prove anything to me.”
    He did a double take before he realized Drew thought the eggs were for him. He smiled, more than a little relieved. Everything really was okay between them.
    He’d taken Sam’s advice and had a pretty long conversation with Drew after the game. Drew forgave his cluelessness, despite having every right to never speak to him again. He forgave him for a list of other brotherly crimes he hadn’t even realized he’d committed. He had rap sheet a mile long.
    Overprotective. Invasive. Flaky. Self-absorbed. The list went on and on.
    He definitely wasn’t getting the big brother of the year award, that was for sure.
    He wanted to feel incredibly guilty about the entire situation, but Drew wouldn’t allow it. “Every time I wanted to get angry with you, and be mad about you overstepping your brother boundary, I’d remember you’ve been the only reliable father figure I’ve ever had in my life,” Drew told him, fighting back tears. “So, I realize it’s only natural that sometimes you push me past my comfort level, and extend your control a little too far. It’s what a good parent would do, and I’ve learned to deal with the fact that you try to be both brother and father to me.”
    He cried too. Manly tears, but there was definite water in the eye area. His brother meant the world to him. He was the only family he had left.
    “I’m sorry you had to hear about one of the biggest self-realizations of my life from someone else,” Drew continued, digging the knife deeper into his chest. “The brother in me wanted to tell you, but the son in me was afraid I’d disappoint you.”
    Shit. If he didn’t stop thinking about it, he’d cry again.
    “This isn’t just for you,” Henrik tried to explain, breaking a few more eggs into the sizzling skillet. “I got the feeling I wasn’t exactly the most gracious host when Leila showed up the other night. In fact, she made that point very clear to me.”
    “So, instead of apologizing, you’re making her breakfast?” Drew smirked at him, because that sounded like something he would do. He’d never really been good at apologizing, or talking about his emotions. Actions spoke louder than words, or at least was the norm growing up in the Rylander house.
    Like the fact that Drew didn’t have to say he was still upset over the sudden death of their mother. He’d refused to play hockey, or even put on a pair of skates since she died. He still