by Mandy Rosko
Of course, the mascots were there, getting their pictures taken with fans, along with the dozen or so scalpers who were selling the garbage tickets for jacked-up prices.
Isla tried not to look into their evil eyes. Legend had it that her soul would get sucked from her body, leaving it to shrivel like a rotting piece of blackened fruit that would puddle within seconds if she made eye contact.
She didn’t much like scalpers. On the few occasions when she’d been forced to purchase tickets to a sold-out game, she’d made sure to keep from looking them in the eyes, but always felt dirty after the transaction was complete. As though part of her soul had been stolen, regardless of the steps she’d taken to keep it safe.
Fortunately, her date was the owner and, therefore, immune to their evil curse. He’d always get seats as the owner, even if most people didn’t know he was the owner. Isla felt a grim satisfaction as she walked by them, listening as they tried their best to sell their wares. She wished it would rain on them.
When they entered, the stadium was packed. It wasn’t difficult to get around, though, possibly because of the way they were dressed. People moved and made room as they walked up the crowded stairs together.
Isla expected to have her handbag searched, but it wasn’t, not after Arturo flashed a badge.
The security guard didn’t even scan it. She just nodded, smiled, and waved him through.
“You come here a lot?” Isla asked, trying not to let herself be too impressed.
“Enough,” Arturo replied.
Enough that the staff knew him by his face alone. She wondered if any new guys ever stopped him, or if his picture was displayed somewhere, telling them, “Hey, this guy is important. Don’t bother him with petty searches for weapons or bombs.”
Did they know he was the co-owner? Or was this treatment just because he’d come here so much that everyone knew him?
More than likely it was he’d probably showed off a badge to someone when Isla hadn’t seen it.
Their seats weren’t box seats behind glass or anything like that. It was part of what Isla had expected, considering it was how she was dressed. Instead, she was seated right behind the player box.
The player box.
It was a dream. Isla grabbed onto Arturo’s hand and squeezed it tightly just because she needed something to squeeze, she might’ve even squealed when she realized she was within touching distance of the players, except for the glass that was between them, but it was fucking amazing. The music in the stadium was loud and the lights were flashing as the players skated onto the ice. She felt sick to her stomach and beyond excited at the same time. She wanted to scream and run around, flailing her arms and making sure the entire world knew how excited she was to be here.
Anyone looking at her might think she’d never been to a game before.
She’d sure as hell never been this close to the players before, and ever since the takeover, the only seats she could get had been the garbage, scalper ones.
She could practically smell the metal skates scraping up the fresh ice.
If that wasn’t enough, she nearly passed the hell out when Arturo knocked on the glass, getting the attention of the owner. At first she was mortified for the way he was bothering the man, mortified and disbelieving and happy as hell. Then she remembered Arturo was also an owner and these two knew each other.
The man smiled and waved, and when Arturo pointed to his watch, the man smiled and nodded, sparing a look for Isla.
“What was that?” Isla asked.
“I’m going to introduce you to the team after the game.”
“You are?” She couldn’t believe it. She wanted to puddle at his feet in the best possible way. This was nothing like with the evil scalpers. This was by far the highest high she’d ever had in her life, and she barely contained herself from leaping up and down like a child on Christmas.
Arturo nodded. “Yes. Want to take a seat?”
She did. Grinning like a complete idiot, she took a seat.
There were vacant seats all around her, and during the first several minutes of the game, Isla didn’t even notice. Not until the camera landed on her and Arturo, showing them on the big screen above the ice.
At first she was excited. That had never happened to her before. She was on the giant TV!
From where she was looking, she saw the way Arturo put his arm around her shoulders and then leaned in, turning her head until she was no longer looking up at the big screen but into his eyes right before he kissed her.
Long and deep.
When he pulled back from her, Arturo looked at her in such a soft way, so much different compared to what she was used to with him. His thumb stroked her cheek, her entire body warmed, and she could still feel his tongue slipping gently into her mouth.
Not porno tongue. Church tongue, as Drew Barrymore from The Wedding Singer would have said. It was the perfect sort of romantic kiss, which he’d never given her before. The kind that made her warmer than even a stadium full of people could have.
Isla knew the camera rarely stayed on one couple for very long, a few seconds at most. But when she finally managed to look away from Arturo’s eyes, his darks eyes that she actually nearly melted into—just like in all the romances—she looked up and saw the camera was still focus on them. Only now there were red and pink hearts bubbling up and away from her and Arturo.
Even some of the players stared back at the two of them and smiled.
“Did I ever tell you that you’re beautiful?” Arturo asked. He had a gentle grip on her fingers as he lifted her hand, pressing a soft kiss to the top, which made her shiver and sizzle.
She managed to keep herself together. That much was a plus considering all the heat that was flooding her face.
“I don’t know what you’re doing this for, but I like it,” she said.
There was only a slight widening of Arturo’s eyes, but it was enough to show her that she’d shocked him. Shocked him because she wasn’t totally falling for whatever manipulation he was pulling.
He was supposedly getting back at her for bitching him out, and then there was what he’d caught her saying before they’d come here.
And yet he was giving her the royal treatment right now and being all lovey-dovey when a camera was on them? No way.
Not that it didn’t make her lady parts completely warm and tingly and… fuck it. She liked this.
She leaned in and kissed him for the camera, enjoying the way the people in the stadium clapped as though they’d just gotten engaged or something.
She’d find out what he was up to when the game was over and after she’d met and gotten autographs from the team. Also, the kissing felt nice, so she was going to enjoy it.
Arturo just had to be a big shot and pull her into his lap, however, which was when the stadium went nuts.
25
What a terrible day, which was a total lie because she had the time of her fricken’ life!
Okay, she needed to calm down. Isla had to shake her head a little, as though banishing whatever it was that was making her so happy and jittery, and then retype her text to Jane. She had to let her know all the details, even though Jane had probably watched the game on TV and had also seen Isla and Arturo’s steamy kiss.
Didn’t matter. She needed to give her friend the play-by-play because she was too damned excited and there was no way she was going to calm down, at least not until her fingers texted all the excitement out of her. Jane had to know every last bit of information of what had happened during the game and after.
Her team won. During the first period, the Rogues scored two goals, but then the Capitals got one in, and the next period, they got in another. Third period ended and it went to overtime. They skated around the ice for a bit while Isla bit her nails and clenched her jaw and butt, watching as the puck was taken right out of the stick from the captain of the Capitals. The stars had aligned. The Rogue’s captain had a clear path, no one in his way, and the Capitals strugg
led to catch up to stop him, but he took his shot, and the goalie couldn’t stop him.
The entire stadium erupted in cheers.
Some people got to their feet to leave immediately after, hardly bothering to stay and watch the team embrace. Yeah, Isla knew that feeling of wanting to get out before the parking lot got bottlenecked with traffic, but she was staying. She cheered and threw her arms around Arturo’s neck and even kissed him.
His body tensed, as though her actions had shocked him, but that didn’t throw her off. She was too excited and she was going to hug and kiss someone, and he was the closest one to her since he’d paid for the other seats to be empty.
Then she was back to cheering and yelling with the rest of the stadium and riding her high of excitement.
Isla was actually panting for breath when she stopped. The horns were still blaring and the lights still flashed as the teams shook hands and prepared to leave the ice.
She felt like a kid as she watched them. She almost didn’t realize she was standing up with her hands on the glass, watching them get off the ice when she turned to look down at Arturo, who was still sitting in his seat, watching her.
He had an expression on his face that she’d never seen before, and definitely couldn’t name.
She was a jewelry designer, not a writer or a face expression… person… whatever! Writer. She’d call it that. She didn’t have the vocabulary to describe that thoughtful expression, because she was too excited about the winning goal, and she hadn’t made it her living to think about the way people looked.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, looking down at herself. With her luck, one of her breasts might’ve popped out of her dress, nipple exposed as she leapt up from her seat.
No. Everything looked to be in working order.
Arturo just smiled and shook his head before getting to his feet. “Nothing. Come on. I promised you would meet the team.”
The reminder of his promise made her forget about that look he’d been giving her. She looped her arm through his and let him lead her to the door.
“Wasn’t about to let you take me away after you promised me something as amazing as meeting the team.”
It was insanely crowded when she and Arturo made it to the door. There were a lot of people trying to get to their cars, but for the first time ever, Isla didn’t have to worry about that, because by the time she finished with the team, a lot of the crowd would be gone.
And the team was great. She met the other owner and watched as he and Arturo shook hands like old friends. Well, the guy who owned the other half of the team shook Arturo’s hand like a friend, but Arturo looked more like a polite businessman. Or maybe she was just reading a little too much into that. He was smiling, and she had to remind herself that Arturo wasn’t a normal guy. He was a billionaire businessman. That meant he had to stay pretty guarded around everyone. That soft smile on his face might be genuine happiness hidden behind a mask of quasi indifference. She’d probably never know.
But then Isla proved herself to be a terrible date when she completely forgot about what Arturo might be hiding or protecting, even here in a professional NHL locker room, because that was when she got to shake hands with members of the team and hug her favorites, which was most of them, and they even gave her a signed jersey.
She didn’t care if the guys were all sweaty and tired, or if the room smelled like, well, a locker room, this was like all her dreams and every Christmas and birthday she would ever have rolled into one. Isla was losing her damned mind.
She got to stay with them for nearly twenty minutes, asking questions and just being a fan girl. Considering how hard they’d worked and how much they probably wanted to get out of their gear, that was a lot of time.
Arturo still practically had to drag her out of there, but she was clutching her new most-favorite possession in the entire world to her chest with stars in her eyes.
“That was amazing! They were so great! Did you see that? Do you see this?” She held the jersey out to him as though he hadn’t had something to do with giving it to her.
He pushed it away gently, though he was still looking at her like she was a slight lunatic. “I see it. Did your parents never take you to a game?”
“Not with seats like that, and we never got to meet the team, and I never got a signed jersey! This is a signed jersey! By the entire team! And I watched them all sign it!”
Yeah, she might’ve been losing it a little, but she couldn’t help it, and at least Arturo didn’t seem to mind. He didn’t look like he was getting irritated with her. He also didn’t look like he was trying to hide the fact that he was getting irritated with her either.
He was actually being insanely patient with her.
“Did you have fun?” she questioned.
He’d looked at her, and this time she could definitely see he thought she was nuts. “Of course I did. Games like this are always fun.”
That was true. “I hope the camera caught sight of you during that winning goal. I want to see if you were excited, or if you still had that barely interested look on your face.”
Arturo shook his head. He seemed to be trying to hold back a chuckle. “I really doubt any of the cameras were looking at me.”
That was true.
Isla abruptly stopped when she realized they were heading to the front doors. “I need to use the bathroom real quick.”
That giant soda she’d drank was going right through her, and even though it wasn’t remotely romantic, she didn’t want to hold that during the ride back. That would be even less romantic.
Arturo stuck his hands in his pockets. “I’ll wait here for you,” he said, holding out his hand. “Want me to hold that?”
Her jersey. It seemed like a good idea to not take it into the bathroom, so she handed it to him.
Isla backtracked around the curved hall. All the snack stations were closed now, and it looked kind of strange that the place wasn’t completely packed with people like it had been when they’d first come in. It wasn’t empty, but seeing most of the lights off and everything closed was a jolt.
At least the huge line up for the bathroom wasn’t there anymore. That was a major plus. The lines to these in every single intermission were always huge, but Isla just walked in and did what needed to be done. She pulled out her phone to give Jane a text. There was a reply when she pulled up her messages.
I SAW U ON TV!!! Nice kiss ;)
Isla grinned and replied everything she could as fast as she could. She didn’t want to be rude and keep Arturo and Sam waiting long. Arturo gave her the most amazing night of her life, and she was totally willing to forgive his need to have her spend four weeks with him after this.
She promised to send Jane more texts later, but she had to get out of there.
It was after leaving the bathroom that Sebastian’s voice called to her.
“Having fun, Miss King?”
Isla immediately came to a halt, turning to look back at him and trying to hide the fact that he’d spooked her.
She said nothing. She was too shocked. She opened her mouth and tried to ask what he was doing here, but maybe that would’ve been too rude.
He smiled at her as he pushed himself off the wall he’d been leaning against. Even with his blond hair gelled back and wearing that suit, he looked perfectly at home in a nearly empty arena. “You don’t have to look at me like that. I’m not a monster out to get you.”
Made sense, and even if this place was mostly empty, there were still others around somewhere, security and whatnot. Another woman even made her way behind Isla and into the bathroom behind her.
Isla smiled at this renewed sense of safety. “I know. I just wasn’t expecting you to be waiting for me outside of the women’s bathroom.”
Sebastian’s eyes widened a little, and then he laughed softly and shook his head. “Yeah, that does send off the creep meter, doesn’t it?”
By a lot.
“Not at all,” Isla said, half laughing
with him.
Sebastian kept right on smiling, but there was definitely something different about it. “Liar.”
Oh. That’s what. He could see through her bullshit.
Whatever. She was in a good mood, and she was going to try and be polite. “What can I do for you? Arturo’s down the hall.”
Even as she said it, she didn’t think Sebastian was at all interested in Arturo, or his other two brothers.
“I wanted to talk to you.”
Fuck. She knew it.
“Okay, what about? And Arturo is waiting for me, so I can’t stay long.”
“This won’t take up much of your time,” he said. “It’s actually about the reason why Arturo brought you here.”
That shocked her. “To see the game,” she said, still a little bubbly with pleasure over it, “and to meet the team.”
“Sure, if that was a nice byproduct, then I’m happy for you. But you can’t tell me that’s what you actually think.”
Isla was starting to get impatient, and she didn’t bother to try and stop the smile from sliding off her face. “What’s this about?”
“He kissed you when he knew the camera was watching. He wanted the whole world to see that.”
She felt the heat rising in her cheeks. “That… that was just a coincidence. He couldn’t have known the camera was going to look at us, and he just got playful when it did.”
Sebastian gave her a look, like she was the stupidest girl he’d ever seen in his life.
“You can’t be that stupid,” he said, and Isla nearly fell over at how in sync their thoughts were. “My brother is the co-owner of the team and a fucking billionaire. He made sure all the seats around you were empty.”
“So we wouldn’t feel crowded.”
“So there would be nothing else to focus on.”
Isla didn’t like where this was going. She was starting to wish she’d just walked away. Her legs itched to go and she even managed to turn, but she only got two steps.
“Don’t you want to know what he’s using you for?”