Taking a Shot

by Jaci Burton

Page 23

  Author: Jaci Burton

  He stood, wrapped his arm around her waist, and pressed a warm, sweet kiss to her lips that made her tremble.

  She laid her head against the glass and looked at him, so shaken that for a moment she couldn’t speak.

  Then she grinned at him. “You take all your girls to the ice for a little sex action?”

  He frowned. “I’ve never had sex with any woman in the arena, or on the ice before. Just you. ”

  He pushed off and started gathering up the gear.

  Well. Damn. She felt special.

  And now she was right back where she’d started, not knowing what the hell to say.

  SEVENTEEN

  LIZ LAID HER HEAD IN HER HANDS. “I’M BORED. ”

  Jenna grinned and refilled Elizabeth’s glass of wine from the bottle sitting at their table. “You’re not bored. You have an awesome job that keeps you running all the time. Your problem is that you miss Gavin. ”

  “Of course I do, though I’d never admit that to anyone but you. ” She picked up the glass and took a sip. “Spring training sucks. Baseball sucks. ”

  Jenna fought back a laugh. “You agreed to marry him. You know what he does for a living. Hell, he was your client until you two got engaged and you had to give him up because of conflict of interest. ”

  “Yeah, that part sucked, but what could I do? I can’t negotiate on behalf of someone I’m in love with. I can’t be objective where he’s concerned. But I got him a great agent. Not as great as me, of course. ”

  “Naturally. ”

  Liz had called her this morning and asked for a lunch date, and since Jenna had the day off, it was perfect. After her last encounter with Ty, she needed some perspective and girl talk, and Liz was a no-bullshit straight shooter. Jenna didn’t confide in many people, but Liz was one of those people she trusted.

  “You could fly down to Florida and visit him. ”

  “I’m a distraction and he needs to focus on work. ”

  Jenna dug into the bread on the table and pulled out a piece, waving it at Liz for emphasis. “And I’m sure he misses you as much as you miss him. He’d probably play better if you were there. ”

  Liz shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe not. ”

  “Are your friends Haley and Shawnelle down there?”

  “Shawnelle is. Haley couldn’t make it because she has classes this semester. ”

  “Then Shawnelle could probably use a friend, too. You should go. ”

  Liz leaned back in the chair and grabbed a piece of bread. “I should. ” She looked up and met Jenna’s gaze. “God, I’m a mess, Jen. Who knew I’d fall so ugly in love with a guy? He’s made me a sloppy romantic. All I do is think about him. When he’s on the road we text, we sext—”

  Jenna held up a hand. “Way too much information. Gavin’s my brother, remember?”

  Liz grinned. “Tough. You’re my friend so you have to listen to the sex parts, too. Just pretend he’s someone else. I can’t get enough of him. I thought I was old enough to get past the infatuation, that it would ease off after we were together for a while, but it hasn’t. If anything, it’s stronger now than it ever was. Not just the hot sex, though that’s still spectacular. But the romance, the way I feel when he looks at me or holds my hand. It’s like a goddamned fairy tale. ”

  Jenna’s heart did a flip. “It’s love, honey. That’s what it’s supposed to be like. ”

  “I guess. I just never knew. ” Liz reached across the table and squeezed her hand. “I’m going to get all sappy here and tell you that when it hits you, it’s going to be a lightning bolt to your heart and you’re never, ever going to be the same. It’ll change you. ”

  Jenna laughed. “I don’t think everyone falls in love the same way. ”

  Liz took up her glass and sipped, then slathered butter on her bread. “Don’t they? Look at Tara and Mick. Their wedding was like watching a freakin’ Disney movie. I’ve never seen two people more in love with each other. Gavin and I are like that. You can’t tell me lightning doesn’t strike twice. ” Liz gave her a direct look. “Or three times. ”

  Jenna shrugged. “I’m not in love. ”

  “Maybe not yet, but it’s going to happen for you, and when it does, you’re going to feel it right down to your toes. And that’s when you know that no other man in the universe will ever do it for you like that one man does. ”

  “You make it sound so easy. ”

  Liz laughed. “Easy? Hell no, it isn’t easy, because he’s the only one who will ever have the capacity to hurt you. And oh, goddamn, when it hurts, it hurts so bad. But he’s also the only one you’re going to love with your whole heart. ”

  “Good God, woman, you’ve got it bad. ”

  “I know, right? I told you I was ugly in love. ”

  Jenna laughed. And as she and Liz ate their lunch and Liz chatted about her and Gavin’s wedding plans, Jenna thought about that whole love thing.

  That was the stuff of fairy tales, and Liz had stars in her eyes because she was over the top in love with Jenna’s brother. Jenna couldn’t be happier about that, but she wasn’t sure she bought into the fantasy about finding that one soul mate, that one person you were meant to be with, and when you found that person you’d know it and you were done—that was it, and you’d never look at anyone else ever again.

  It was nice in theory, but she didn’t believe it in reality.

  It just didn’t happen like that for everyone. It had for Liz and Gavin and for Tara and Mick, and she was happy for them, but so far, no one had turned her world upside down and made her heart sing love songs.

  But she had sung for Tyler. She hadn’t even sung in front of her own family, the people she trusted the most. Yet she’d sung twice for Tyler.

  Which didn’t mean she was crazy in love with him or anything.

  And maybe her stomach fluttered whenever she saw him, but that was just sexual attraction, and it would wane after she screwed his brains out a few more times, because she’d never had a relationship with a guy that lasted longer than a few weeks. She and Tyler were right up there on the few weeks mark. Hell, she’d known him for months, even though they hadn’t been sleeping together that long. She was bound to get bored soon.

  “Maybe we need to find you an awesome guy. ”

  Jenna looked up from her plate. “What? No. We tried that already. No, thanks. ”

  “Hey, I can’t help myself. I want you to be as happy as I am. You haven’t found a guy who rings your bell yet, right?”

  She refused to answer that question.

  Liz arched a brow. “You’re seeing someone?”

  “Not really. Well, sort of. ”

  “What does that mean?”

  “Tyler Anderson and I are kind of dating. ”

  “Really?” Liz’s eyes widened. “Tyler? I thought that whole sexfest the night of Mick and Tara’s wedding was a one-time thing. ”

  She pushed her plate to the side, her appetite evaporating. “So did I. ”

  “What happened? I know you were eyeing him at the bar that night. Is he rocking your world?”

  “I have no idea. He just keeps popping up, so I keep having sex with him. ”

  “Interesting. ” Liz took another sip of wine. “It must be really good sex. ”

  “It is. ”

  “But you’re bothered, so there’s got to be more to it than that. ”

  Jenna shrugged. “There isn’t more to it than that. It’s just physical. You know how I feel about jocks. There will never be more than just the sex. ”

  “Hmmm. ” Liz gave Jenna a sidelong look, then dug into her salad.

  “What does that ‘hmmm’ mean?”

  “Just that you’re protesting an awful lot. If you didn’t care, you’d just laugh it off and enjoy him until the new wore off, then you’d dump him. I think he gets to you. ”

  “What he gets is into my panties, whic
h is exactly where I want him. ”

  Liz wiggled. “Oh, the mental visuals swirling around in my head right now. ”

  “Stop that. You do not get to visualize Ty and me having sex. ”

  “Why not? Just because you’re icked out at the thought of your brother and me getting down and dirty doesn’t mean I can’t imagine Ty naked. ”

  “He’s your client, Elizabeth. ”

  “So?”

  “You are evil. ”

  Liz grinned and lifted her wineglass in toast. “Thanks for the compliment. And speaking of Tyler, I have to meet with him after his game tonight to go over some details for a new promotional campaign. Come with me. ”

  “To his hockey game? Uh…”

  “What? Afraid to actually attend a sporting event?” Liz leaned forward to whisper. “Oh, my God, you might enjoy it. Wouldn’t that be awful?”

  She glared at Liz. “You are such a bitch. ”

  “There you go, complimenting me again. ” Liz offered up a smug smile, knowing Jenna would accept the challenge.

  She was right. “Fine. I’ll go with you. ”

  “Of course you will. I’ll pick you up at six thirty. ”

  JENNA FIGURED LIZ WOULD HAVE GOTTEN THEM SEATS in the owner’s box or one of the club-level boxes so she could hide out in relative obscurity without a chance in hell Ty would even know she was there. Then when Liz had to meet with him after the game, she’d linger in the box until Liz finished up her business.

  But when they headed down instead of up, when Liz led her all the way down to the front row and they took their seats right behind the glass, Jenna muttered a curse, especially when she realized they were seated right next to the players’ box. That meant she’d see Ty coming and going from the locker room, and even worse, he’d be able to see her.

  He was probably in game mode and never paid attention to the audience other than hearing their cheers when the Ice scored. She didn’t have anything to worry about.

  “Why these seats?” she asked as she settled in, glad she wore tights under her jeans. It was damn cold sitting this close to the ice.

  “There’s nothing better than being right up close to the action. Figured you’d want to see Ty slam someone up against the glass. ”

  “Uh-huh. You know it. ”

  “Try to act a little more enthused. ”

  She snuggled deeper into her coat, deciding she’d need to find some coffee before the game started. “You know how I love my sports. ”

  “Cynic. ”

  “Just calling it like it is. I’m only here for you. ”

  Liz leaned over and nudged Jenna to direct her attention over her right shoulder. “And I’m calling bullshit on that last comment, because there’s a spectacle about to hit the stage. ”

  She was about to hit Liz with another biting retort, but the players burst through the double doors of the locker room and Jenna held her breath. She wasn’t sure if she wanted Tyler to notice her or not, but as the players filed out onto the rubber carpet and onto the bench, she couldn’t deny she was looking for only one man.

  And when she saw him come up, his head was turned in the other direction, focused on saying something to Eddie. He breezed right past her without seeing her.

  She was relieved as he climbed up on the bench and put on his gear, then skated out onto the ice.

  He’d never know she was here. She sat back and watched the players do laps around the arena to warm up, grinned when San Jose’s players came in and everyone began to boo. She was so focused on watching the players she didn’t notice him until he tapped his stick on the glass right in front of her, nearly startling her right out of her seat.

  She jerked her attention to the glass. Ty gave her a wink and a grin, then skated away.