The Swede

by Maureen Smith

  Viggo said nothing as they came to a stop by the entrance to the team’s practice facility. McCaskill still had his hand on his shoulder, and now he was peering intently into his eyes.

  “I know you and my niece are involved—”

  “We were. Briefly. But we’re not anymore.”

  “Oh?” This seemed to surprise McCaskill. “I was under the impression that you two were still going strong.”

  Viggo frowned. What the fuck had Audrey been telling her uncle?

  McCaskill looked displeased. “I know how you boys like to run through women—”

  “It’s not like that,” Viggo interrupted evenly. “If I had known Audrey was your niece I wouldn’t have gone out with her, if for no other reason than to avoid the very conversation we’re having right now.”

  The general manager’s eyes narrowed and his lips thinned.

  Tension crackled in the air between them.

  “My niece’s happiness means everything to me. I’d do anything for her.” It came off vaguely like a threat. So did the hand tightening on Viggo’s shoulder.

  “Audrey’s a beautiful woman,” Viggo said calmly. “I’m sure she’ll have no problem finding someone special.”

  “She thought she did,” McCaskill countered with a smirk.

  Taking that as his cue to leave before things got ugly, Viggo stepped back and slipped on his sunglasses. “I’d better get going. Supposed to be joining the fellas for breakfast.”

  McCaskill nodded curtly, watching him through narrowed eyes. “I hope you won’t back out on the charity auction, Sandström. A commitment is a commitment.”

  No vagueness this time. It was definitely a threat.

  Viggo inclined his head, then turned and walked out the door.

  He seethed all the way across the parking lot to his Silverado. As he opened the door and hopped up into the driver’s seat, his phone rang. He dug it out of his pocket and grumbled, “I’m on my way.”

  “Cool,” Reid drawled. “We ordered your usual.”

  “Thanks.”

  “What’d McCaskill want?”

  Viggo scowled. “I’ll tell you guys when I get there.”

  “Uh-oh. Sounds ominous.”

  Viggo just grunted, stuffed the phone back in his pocket and started the ignition. When the engine growled to life, he roared out of the parking lot and headed toward the diner where his friends were waiting.

  He dreaded having to tell Scarlett about the bachelor auction.

  The longer he could put it off, the better.

  Chapter 20

  Scarlett

  Freeze Frame

  * * *

  Nadia picked scarlett up from the airport in her brand new car, a custom Zenith GT that Reid had bought her for Christmas.

  “Wow,” Scarlett breathed, admiring the super sleek luxury coupe parked at the curb. “Girl, you weren’t lying. This is a badass ride!”

  Nadia laughed, stowing her bag in the trunk.

  Scarlett climbed into the passenger seat, whistling appreciatively as she ran her hand over the plush leather upholstery and admired the fancy GPS dashboard display.

  When Nadia slid behind the wheel, Scarlett said jokingly, “Are you sure this car is American?”

  “Hell yeah, girl. You know Reid only buys American.” Grinning, Nadia pushed her sunglasses into place, tossed her hair back and pressed the keyless ignition.

  As the car purred to a start, Scarlett leaned back in the seat with an approving, “Niiice.”

  Nadia laughed as she zoomed away from the terminal. Holy crap. She even drove differently in her new whip.

  “I talked to Reid while I was waiting for you to come out,” she told Scarlett. “They were on their way to the arena to do their pregame interviews and stuff. He says Viggo can’t wait to see you. When Reid joked about you staying with us tonight instead of Viggo, he almost got his ass kicked.”

  Scarlett laughed. “I bet.”

  “Wait until you see Viggo’s penthouse. It’s like something out of a movie. He’s got the most amazing views. Of course,” Nadia added slyly, “you probably won’t see much beyond his bedroom.”

  “Probably not,” Scarlett agreed with a grin. “I’m only in town for one night, so we’ve gotta make the most of it.”

  “I bet you will.” Nadia grinned. “We’ve got several hours to kill before the game, so let’s get a mani-pedi and then grab something to eat. What’re you in the mood for?”

  “Um, Swedish meatballs?”

  They shared a dirty laugh before Scarlett said, “For real, though. I don’t care what we eat. You pick.”

  “’Kay.” Nadia smiled as she sped down the highway. The snow-capped Rocky Mountains loomed to the west while the city of Denver sprawled in the distance.

  Scarlett hummed along with the Duran Duran song playing on the satellite radio, which was tuned to their favorite eighties station. Their parents had introduced them to eighties songs when they were children, so there was a lot of nostalgia attached to that decade of music.

  Scarlett was in high spirits today. Last night’s show in Newark had gone really well, and she’d celebrated by Skype-sexing with Viggo. Then when she talked to Lennox this morning, he’d told her that he and Cooper were going away together for a few days to usher in the New Year. His excitement made her smile, her heart surging with joy for him.

  Coming back home—even if only for a day—had been the icing on the cake, sealing her good mood.

  “I have bad news.”

  Nadia’s announcement landed like the screech of a needle scratching a record. Scarlett stared at her. “What is it?”

  Nadia made a sad face. “We won’t be going to Atlanta for my wedding dress consultation and fitting.”

  “Nooo,” Scarlett moaned in disappointment. “I was really looking forward to meeting Asha!”

  “So was I,” Nadia lamented.

  Asha Dubois was a legendary fashion mogul who’d generously agreed to design Nadia’s wedding gown as a personal favor to a friend of Reid’s.

  “What happened? Why aren’t we going anymore?”

  “My boss just had surgery and will be out on medical leave for a month,” Nadia explained. “I’ll have to fill in for her, which means attending all the weekend events that she normally attends. There’s a leadership retreat the same weekend we were supposed to go to Atlanta. I definitely can’t miss that. And of course Asha’s super busy running her fashion empire and gearing up for Spring Fashion Week. So we already had a very small window of opportunity to meet her.”

  Scarlett poked out her bottom lip. “That sucks.”

  “Tell me about it.” Nadia sighed. “The silver lining for me is that serving as interim director will give me a chance to demonstrate that I can handle the responsibilities. That should go a long way toward helping me achieve my future career goals.”

  “That’s true,” Scarlett agreed.

  Nadia was a community college recruiter with a master’s degree in counseling. She hoped to be promoted to director of recruitment someday.

  “Anyway,” she continued, “when you come back from your tour next week, we’ll go to Ana’s seamstress to get fitted so I can send our measurements to Asha. Since she’s designing all of our dresses, she needs to get started right away.”

  “Definitely.” Scarlett grinned. “You and Reid are gonna have the biggest freaking wedding party I’ve ever seen. Ten bridesmaids and ten groomsmen?” She whistled, shaking her head. “Lordy.”

  Nadia laughed. “You know I had to have Jess, Bianca, Ana, Avery and Aria. And if I didn’t include some of the Hampton cousins, our mothers never would have heard the end of it.”

  “I know.” Scarlett grinned. “Good thing Reid has a shit ton of teammates and friends, plus his brother.”

  “Oh, I know! He had no problem coming up with ten groomsmen. Speaking of the Hampton cousins,” Nadia added, cutting around a slow car, “they’re coming for a visit near the end of the month.”

&nbs
p; “Oh? Which ones?”

  “Leilani, Trinity, Jade—”

  “Awesome. It’s always good to see—”

  “—and Kandace.”

  Why, God, why?

  Nadia shot her a warning look. “No fighting with Kandace.”

  Scarlett gave her a sideways glance. “Does she still have a problem with interracial dating?”

  Nadia hesitated. “I’m sure she does. But I don’t want you guys arguing about it.”

  “Even if she insults you and Reid?”

  Nadia made a pained face.

  Scarlett sighed. “Look, you know me. I’m a live-and-let-live kind of person, so it’s hard for me to understand folks who try to dictate other people’s personal choices. But I won’t ruin the girls’ visit by getting into a big argument with Kandace. For your sake, I’ll be on my best behavior.”

  Nadia snorted. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

  Scarlett laughed and started bobbing her head to Sheila E’s “The Glamorous Life,” her hands tapping a furious beat on her thigh.

  Nadia slanted her an affectionate smile. “Always a drummer.”

  Scarlett grinned. She felt positively buoyant, exhilarated in a way she didn’t want to analyze too closely.

  Nadia bounced in her seat. “I’m so excited about you coming to the game tonight. We’re gonna have so much fun!”

  “I know. I can’t wait.” Scarlett laughed. “I’ve been looking forward to this all my life.”

  “I know you have,” Nadia said with a laugh. “You’ve been trying to get me interested in hockey for years. It took me falling for some dude to finally make it happen.”

  Scarlett grinned. “All the more reason for me to love Reid.”

  Nadia chuckled, switching lanes. “Nelson and Bianca are coming to the game, too.”

  “Cool.” Scarlett paused, striving for a casual tone. “What about Jess?”

  “She’s not coming. She has some family thing tonight.”

  Scarlett nodded, trying not to let her relief show.

  Nadia bit her lip, frowning slightly. “Things have been sort of weird between us.”

  “Who? You and Jess?”

  Nadia nodded.

  “What do you mean? Weird how?”

  “She’s been kind of distant lately. I mean, I know she was pissed at me for hooking you up with Viggo. But what was I supposed to do? He was only interested in you, Scarlett, and he made that pretty damn clear.”

  Scarlett was silent, remembering her heated text exchange with Jess. She’d decided not to tell Nadia about it, but she wasn’t going to hold her tongue on other matters.

  Nadia shook her head in frustration. “I just don’t know what’s up with her.”

  “Oh, Nadia,” Scarlett said with a longsuffering sigh. “My dear, sweet, naive cousin.”

  “What?” Nadia mumbled irritably.

  Scarlett reached over to tuck her cousin’s hair behind her ear. “One of the many things I’ve always loved and admired about you is your trusting nature. But it’s a blessing and a curse. A virtue and a weakness. You know why? Because you always give people the benefit of the doubt, even when they’re baring their fangs.”

  Nadia frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “You want to know what’s bugging Jess? She’s jealous of your relationship with Reid.”

  Nadia’s frown deepened. “That’s not it.”

  “C’mon, mami. Don’t be naive. Reid is, like, the perfect guy. The way you two met and fell in love is the stuff of fairy tales. Most women would kill to have what you have. Hell, my mom told me some of her old coworkers used to read romance novels and become so jealous of the heroine that they’d trash the book out of spite. If people can envy fictional characters or complete strangers, how much easier is it to envy close friends that you see every day?”

  Nadia frowned at the thought.

  Scarlett sighed, shaking her head. “On one hand, I know Jess is happy for you. On the other hand, it’s probably hard for her to see you engaged to a gorgeous NHL superstar who treats you like a queen. What did you think she meant that night when she said, ‘You got your rich baller. Now it’s my turn’? You don’t think that came from a place of deep envy and bitterness?”

  Nadia looked unhappy. She didn’t want to believe it.

  “Jess wishes she had what you have. That doesn’t necessarily make her a bad person. It just makes her human.”

  Nadia was silent, mulling over her words.

  Scarlett waited patiently. She knew she’d given her cousin a lot to unpack. But she needed to face reality for her own sake.

  “I love Jess,” Nadia said finally. “But she’d better get over herself or I’m not putting her in my wedding. I have enough on my plate without having to worry about an envious bridesmaid stabbing me in the back or sabotaging my special day.”

  Scarlett grimaced. “I truly hope it won’t come to that. But I’m proud of you for exercising your right to self-preservation.”

  Nadia sighed heavily. “If Reid was willing to cut off his own mother for not supporting our relationship, why should I stay in a toxic friendship?”

  Scarlett leaned over the console and planted a big, smacking kiss on her cousin’s cheek. “Bravo.”

  Nadia grinned, rolling her eyes. “You’re such a cornball.”

  They both laughed.

  When an old fave by the J. Geils Band came on the radio, they looked at each other and squealed with girlish excitement, “Freeze Frame!”

  Scarlett cranked up the volume, and they sang at the top of their lungs like they used to during childhood sleepovers.

  Chapter 21

  Scarlett

  Hockey Hooker and Proud

  * * *

  They got to the Pepsi Arena just as the Rebels and Blackhawks finished warming up and returned to their respective locker rooms.

  Billy Idol’s “Rebel Yell” was blaring over the sound system. The stands were packed with thousands of fans rocking black-and-gold Rebels replica jerseys. Nadia proudly sported Reid’s jersey while Scarlett was wearing the jersey Viggo had given her in Canada. She and Nadia both had on skinny jeans and L.L. Bean boots, the kind with leather on top and rubber on the bottom.

  Since they would be going home afterward with Viggo and Reid, they caught a ride with Nelson and Bianca so that Nadia wouldn’t have to drive her car. After buying beers and snacks, the four of them took their seats just a few rows behind the home team bench.

  Scarlett had been a Denver Rebels fan all her life. It was surreal to be attending a game as Viggo Sandström’s…lover? Girlfriend? She wasn’t sure how to define herself, and that made her a little uneasy.

  Before she could dwell on it, the arena lights dimmed and the crowd started cheering wildly in anticipation. The cheers quickly turned into boos and jeers as Chicago’s players skated onto the ice.

  Seconds later the opening chords of a familiar rock song came blasting out of the sound system.

  Scarlett’s eyes widened as goosebumps erupted on her skin. Holy shit. Was that…?

  “Oh my God!” Nadia squealed excitedly. “They’re playing ‘Fahrenheit 32’!”

  Nelson hooted and vigorously thumped Scarlett on the back.

  She was grinning from ear to ear. Viggo must have asked them to play “Fahrenheit 32” for the team’s introduction.

  As her voice snarled out the song’s gritty opening, the Rebels started pouring out of the tunnel and onto the ice, skating in every direction as laser beams bounced around in a flashing frenzy. The public address announcer dramatically began introducing the starting lineup. First up was defenseman Dmitri Fedorov. He got enthusiastic applause, but the crowd screamed like crazy when Logan skated out flexing his biceps, earning bawdy whistles of appreciation from all the women. Next came Reid, who rocketed onto the ice to a thunderous roar of cheers and applause peppered with lusty feminine squeals.

  Nadia blew a bunch of kisses at her man, giggling delightedly when he pointed at her and patted
his heart.

  “And starting at center from Stockholm, Sweden…number nineteen…our very own Colorado Gold Rush aka The Sandstorm…Viggo Sandström!”

  When Viggo burst onto the ice, the crowd’s deafening screams nearly brought the house down. Scarlett whooped and cheered excitedly, trying to block out the cacophony of puck bunnies shrieking his name. It was harder to ignore all the waving signs that begged: WILL YOU MARRY ME, VIGGO??? A few proposals were even written in Swedish.

  By the time team captain Hunter Duchene was introduced, every fan was on their feet, cheering and screaming at the top of their lungs and drowning out the goaltender’s introduction. To say that this crowd loved their Denver Rebels would be an epic understatement.

  Scarlett’s cheeks warmed as Nadia, Nelson and Bianca enthusiastically sang along to “Fahrenheit 32.” Her embarrassment turned to outright pleasure when she glanced around and saw dozens of other people singing the words and dancing in the stands. Her bandmates would be thrilled, especially Traeger.

  What made the moment even more special for her was that she’d written “Fahrenheit 32” late one night after watching a flu-ridden Viggo gut his way through a playoff game, willing the Rebels to victory. To this day, no one else knew what had inspired the song’s adrenaline-fueled lyrics. No one but her.

  When her eyes met Viggo’s, she smiled warmly and mouthed, Thank you!

  He smiled back and winked.

  As the game got under way, everyone settled in for a thrilling night of high-octane hockey. The opening play did not disappoint.

  Just seconds after winning the faceoff, Viggo exploded up the ice toward Chicago’s defensemen. He successfully drew a holding penalty, setting up a Rebels power play that had the crowd roaring their approval.