Breaking the Ice (Timberwolves #1)

by Lizzy Ripp

  "It's so nice to meet you in the flesh," she smiled, holding out her hand. Sasha hesitated for a moment, and then stuck out her own, giving it a limp shake.

  "Yeah," she said, rolling her eyes. "Whatever. And who is this?" She asked, turning towards Yaro and evidently dialing up what she seemed to believe was "the charm."

  "Baby," Daniel said, clearly embarrassed. "This is Yaro Sharapova. He plays for the Timberwolves?"

  "Ooh," Sasha said, practically melting in front of them all. "I thought you looked like a hockey player." She put her hand on his arm and gave it a gentle squeeze with her pink, glittery talons.

  "You're really big," she said with a small smile, biting her lip.

  Yaro's eyes widened and he fought the urge to laugh out loud. He'd been pursued by some puck bunnies in his time, but never quite so aggressively. Especially not in front of their significant others.

  "Yeah," he laughed, shaking her off like a dog getting rid of a flea. "Kind of part of the job description."

  "Anyway, I uh - I just wanted to say, sorry for interrupting and everything, of course, but great job this season. We're really leaning on you since Damon got injured."

  Yaro shrugged. "Ah, I do what I can. But yeah," he laughed. "Anyway, I should thank you, too."

  Daniel, who had his arm around the curve of Sasha's teensy-tiny waist, preparing to lead her back to their table, paused and furrowed his brow.

  "Oh, you mean as a fan? Yeah," he gave a short laugh. "I mean, I guess we do pay your bills."

  Yaro laughed tightly back. " No, not for that. For giving me a chance to get Julia into my life." He pulled Julia tightly against him again, giving her ass a gentle pat. He could almost feel the glare she was giving him, even though he didn't look.

  "She's really quite a girl," he said, turning to look into Julia's face, currently displaying the most unconvincing smile he'd ever seen. Clearly, she wasn't going to do her part of the convincing.

  Without further ado, he leaned down to kiss her, and for a moment, it was like kissing a board, she was so frozen against him. But after a beat, she relaxed. Her lips were so warm, and much softer than he'd anticipated. They pressed back against his with a gusto he hadn't anticipated. He pulled away from her and for a moment, her huge brown eyes met his, deep and blue - and there was nothing else in the world.

  A moment later, both snapped back to reality. Julia registered a scoff of disbelief from Sasha, who was standing before them still, her mouth hanging open, her hand on her hip, outrage all over her face. Daniel's smarmy smile had faded into something verging on angry, verging on embarrassed, verging on... regret? But it was gone almost as soon as it had arrived.

  "Don't mention it," he snapped. "Sasha. Let's go. Now." And with that, Daniel strode off, pulling Sasha Lux behind him, as she gawped back at them, tripping on her stilettos with every step.

  Julia and Yaro left alone simply stared at each other for a moment, with Julia's expression utterly unreadable. Finally it seemed, of all the emotions flickering through her face, she would settle on angry.

  "What do you think you're doing?" She hissed.

  "What?" He shrugged. "Guy was a douche and he clearly came over here to try to mess with you. Thought it might be fun if we messed with him instead."

  Julia bit back a smile, pursing her lips. "Did you forget that you are supposed to be besotted with Cassie West... as soon as she arrives?"

  Yaro shrugged again, clearly unperturbed. "Can't I be 'besotted' with more than one girl on the same night?"

  Julia rolled her eyes. "Oh my god, you are making my job impossible. The only thing that could make this worse right now is if..."

  "Hey guys!" Both of them turned, as if caught red-handed, towards a breathy, ethereal voice - and Cassie was suddenly there in front of them, like an angel descended from heaven, her long blonde hair bouncing and smelling faintly of strawberries.

  "Cassie! Hi!" Julia blurted out. "Uh. Let me get you a drink."

  CHAPTER FOUR

  YARO SMILED BENIGNLY at Cassie, who beamed at him. She was beautiful, he had to admit it. Nobody who looked at her could come to any other conclusion. But unlike Sasha Lux, whose sex appeal was constructed from parts not-found-in-nature, like some Frankenstein's monster of Instagram, Cassie was stunning all on her own.

  She was tall and lithe, with a faintly peachy glow that could only have come from the California sun she grew up with. Her hair was naturally cornflower blonde and fell to her shoulders in gentle curls. Her eyes were incandescent blue and beamed at him, twinkling like stars. But still - not his type.

  "So we may have a slight hiccup," Julia said, gazing around her at the other patrons, many of whom were taking sneaky photos of Cassie's entrance. And who had also undoubtedly seen Yaro kissing her. "Everything is going to be fine," she assured Cassie. "But I just need to put the plan on hold for..." she checked her phone, "ten minutes, while I make a call to the office. Is that okay? Have a drink, and take a seat and order whatever you like, it's all on us."

  Leaving Yaro and Cassie looking at her in confusion, Julia raced off to the washroom, her heart going a million miles a minute. Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, she thought, her heels clacking loudly on the expensive tiles of the restaurant. When she made it to the washroom, she nearly slipped on the smooth marble, saved only by the door handle, which she clung to and scrambled to her feet, her clutch purse swinging wildly.

  Thank heaven for small mercies. The bathroom was empty. There was peaceful music playing and a scent of lavender in the air. There were fresh hand towels laid out neatly by the ornate sinks. To Julia's frazzled mind, it was an oasis of calm. She felt suddenly flushed and hot. She recognized the signs of an impending panic attack and took deep breaths, counting in for three and out for three, running her wrists under the chill water of the tap. She had had enough of them now that she was able to manage, more or less, unless they really got out of control.

  She turned off the tap and laid her hands flat on the cool, marble surface of the bathroom sink, breathing in deeply, her eyes clenched tightly closed. One, two, three... Over and over again.

  Finally she felt the vise-like grip of the attack begin to recede, and just in time. She heard someone outside the door of the bathroom. A moment later, the door swung open and Cassie West strode in, a look of concern on her stupidly perfect face. Spotting Julia, she scurried over on her Chanel boots, putting an arm on her shoulder. "Hey," she said, her voice gentle and kind. "Are you okay?"

  Great. Julia thought to herself. Soooo great.

  "Yeah. I'm sorry. I'm fine - just..."

  "Is it a panic attack?"

  "Yeah," Julia said, surprised. "You ever had one?"

  Cassie nodded with a wry smile. "Oh yeah, I used to get them before auditions all the time."

  "You?" Julia asked, incredulous.

  Cassie laughed. "Yeah. They were terrible." She shook her head. "But my therapist taught me some really great coping strategies, so I'm doing much better now." She took Julia in with a critical eye. "It looks like you've got a handle on this one though."

  "I do," Julia said firmly. "Thanks, though. I'm uh..."

  Cassie waved a hand. "Yaro filled me in on the whole situation. Seems like tonight might not work out."

  Julia bit her lip. "I am so sorry. I will fix this, I promise."

  Cassie laughed, shaking her head. "It's totally okay. When I heard what he did I actually wanted to stand up and cheer. I know that girl. She's been at a couple of the same events as me. She's a real gem," Cassie said sarcastically.

  "Isn't she just?" Julia asked, wryly. The two of them laughed.

  "Anyway, I'm sure we can figure out a way around this, so don't even worry about it, okay?"

  Julia eyed her warily. God, she was nice. She had to be nice in addition to being perfect-looking? "Thank you. You can go if you want," she said. "Or stay and have some dinner. It's totally on us, like I said. I'm so sorry to have wasted your evening."

  "Not a problem," Cassie assu
red her. "I can meet a friend of mine who lives close to here. Anyway, I've got your number, so I'll give you a buzz sometime tomorrow, okay?"

  "Great. Yes. Perfect," Julia said. "I'll sort this out."

  "Don't worry," Cassie said again, her voice soothing. "You just worry about staying calm and getting yourself home in one piece, okay?"

  "I will."

  "Oh, Yaro's still here, by the way," Cassie added as she was on her way out the door. "I think he's kind of worried about you.”

  ”Oh," Julia reddened. "Okay. Um. Could you possibly tell him I'll be out in five?"

  "Sure," Cassie smiled. "Have a good night, okay?"

  "You too," Julia said faintly before she was left alone once again, the gentle yoga-class music audible once more.

  She took a couple more deep breaths and let the silence of the bathroom wrap around her like a blanket before blinking her eyes rapidly, checking to make sure the color had gone out of her face, and marching out of the bathroom and back to the bar before she could talk herself out of it. It was no easy feat. The temptation to cut and run out the door and cut this humiliating evening short was overwhelming.

  "You're back," Yaro said, downing what appeared to be his third (or fourth) Stolichnya.

  "I'm back." She said. "Did Cassie go?"

  "Yep," he said. "I guess our date is postponed. She's a nice girl."

  "She's an actual angel," Julia muttered, signaling to the bartender for yet another martini. "It's really not fair that someone that inhumanly beautiful also gets to be a decent human being."

  Yaro took a contemplative sip of vodka. "She's not my type."

  Julia gawped at him. "Are you kidding me? She looks like a Victoria's Secret model in the flesh."

  Yaro shrugged. "Don't know what to tell you."

  "You might have spoken up about this in the meeting last night," Julia said.

  "What difference would it have made? This relationship is supposed to be fake, so what does it matter?"

  Julia sighed. "God. What am I going to do?"

  "What do you mean?" Yaro asked idly, taking another, smaller, sip of his drink.

  "What do I mean?" Julia shook her head, her mouth falling open. "It was my job to make sure all of this went according to plan. Literally my only job. I was going to get the interview of a lifetime and I screwed it up on my very first day. Well, actually, YOU screwed it up , but it was on my watch," she added glumly.

  Yaro shook his head, bemused. "You really need to have more of a problem-solving mindset. There's a solution staring you right in the face and you're too wrapped up in your problems to see it."

  She narrowed her eyes and looked at him. "And that is?"

  "I'll pretend to date you instead," he said matter-of-factly. It won't help Cassie, but you can hook her up with St. Pierre when he gets back from his injury. Damon’s married. And St. Pierre will need the boost in publicity after being out of action for a month anyway."

  Julia's mouth fell open. "What exactly would dating me accomplish?" She asked, baffled. "I'm nobody."

  "Whoa, harsh," he said, smiling that crooked smile that seemed fused to Julia’s - it was impossible for her to see it and not feel her own lips turn upward in response. "And no, I mean, I guess you're not 'famous'," he added, making a dopey face and air quotations with his fingertips. "But this is about repairing my image right? I mean... Look at you," he gestured to Julia again and she felt herself redden slightly. "You're everything my image needs. Wholesome, boring, career girl. It'll work fine."

  Julia opened her mouth to object to ‘boring’ but found herself unable to think of a rebuttal. "That… Actually makes a lot of sense," she said, disgruntled. Yaro made a smug, satisfied face and crossed his arms.

  "Yeah I got some good ones every now and again," he said. "Even if I am a hockey player."

  Julia's face flushed again, "I didn't mean -"

  "Well," Yaro interrupted her, rising to his feet and full imposing height, draining what remained of his last vodka and shrugging on his jacket. "This has been an evening, but I'm going to head home. I guess I'll see you tomorrow sweet cheeks," he smacked a demonstrative kiss on her cheek and gave her a big grin before spinning on his heel and striding out of the restaurant.

  Julia was left alone once more at the bar and fought the urge to buy an entire bottle of gin to take home with her.

  "Can I get you anything else, miss?" The bartender asked politely, stopping in front of her and smiling.

  "No, thank you. Just the bill, please," Julia replied wearily. "I've had quite enough for tonight."

  —

  By the time Yaro got home, the idea of joining his buddies at poker night no longer held any appeal. Amid much ribbing, they'd agreed to skip his hosting night and jump it instead to his oldest teammate Nate. Nate’s apartment was located in the West End, just a short cab ride away. But Yaro found himself in a rare introverted mood and was inclined to indulge it.

  He heard Max barking as soon as his key was in the door and smiled as his boxer came bounding into view, ecstatic to see him as always. After he'd poured Max a hearty helping of dog food and pulled a beer out of the fridge, he sat himself down on the couch and turned on the TV, flicking through the channels. Anything but sports.

  He finally settled on an old Simpsons episode. He had a nostalgia for the show. Mainlining episodes was how he'd picked up English so fast when he'd landed in a brand-new country as a scared-shitless (yet six foot) fourteen-year-old. Plus, it was a show you didn't have to concentrate too hard on, and he was having a bit of trouble concentrating on anything just now.

  He couldn't get that kiss with Julia out of his mind, which he found especially curious given that he'd never really considered her at all before. Sure, he'd seen her around at meetings and team events, on the sidelines at games, peeping anxiously through the glass onto the ice, no doubt wondering if he was going to make her life difficult or not.

  He'd always thought she was pretty. All the guys did, and how could he not? Her brown eyes were wide and comically animated, and her frame was petite by his standards, although she must have been around 5'7. She was trim and athletic, something he always appreciated on a woman, and her hair, shoulder-length and sandy-coloured was usually swept out of her face in a bun, like an afterthought. He liked that. Blonde hair, for a lot of women - including the two he'd met tonight, he realized, was usually treated as a crowning glory to be displayed and admired. For Julia, it was an afterthought.

  Something about that made him smile.

  And then there had been that moment, when their lips met and she'd come unfrozen against him like a warm pool of liquid. Her lips had been soft and supple and he'd felt, he was fairly certain, the tip of a tongue against his own that had made a chill run down his spine. And when it had finished, she'd gazed up at him with those big doe eyes, fluttering and unsure and bit her lip - and...

  He cleared his throat, eyeing Max guiltily. He was getting carried away here. He wondered now if his suggestion had been completely altruistic - sure it was a solution to a problem to have Julia take Cassie's place in Operation Public Appeasement. But it was also an idea that intrigued him for reasons he wasn't entirely clear on yet. Still. Yaro had always been one to act as his gut instructed. It had yet to steer him wrong - save for the odd night in the can.

  He set his jaw and took a deep sip of beer, smiling against the bottle. It was set to be an interesting few weeks.

  *******

  "Okay," Christina's voice came through the end of the telephone, exasperation incarnate. "Can you explain this to me one more time?"

  Julia heaved a deep sigh and burrowed deeper into her comforter, which she'd fashioned into a sort of cocoon on the edge of her bed. "Do I have to?"

  "I'm just struggling to comprehend how you could have screwed this up so badly in the space of a few hours," Christina said, sounding earnestly baffled. "I just... How?"

  Julia explained the events of the evening again in slow, plodding detail. When she'd f
inished, for the third time, Christina was silent for a moment.

  "Wow," she said at last. "Okay. And your solution is for YOU to replace... Cassie West?"

  "It isn't MY solution," Julia said miserably. "It’s Yaro's."

  "I don't know whether that's better or worse," Christina said.

  "Are you going to tell Clive?" Julia asked at last and Christina sighed deeply. For a moment there was silence.

  "Do you think you can actually do this?" She asked at last.

  I have to, Julia thought.

  "Yes," she said in a voice much firmer than she thought she could command at the present moment.

  "Then there's nothing to tell," Christina said. "I'll do as Mr. Sharapova suggested and link Cassie with someone else if she's still keen. And for you - all I can say is good luck."

  "Thanks," Julia said glumly. I sure as hell need it.

  "I'll see you on Monday then," Christina said, sounding as dubious as Julia felt.

  "Yep," Julia muttered, hanging up the phone and burrowing back into her blanket cocoon- stuffing a hand into the bowl of microwave popcorn she'd prepared almost immediately upon arriving home from her debacle of an evening. She'd eschewed romantic comedies for the time being and settled on an old Simpsons rerun - always good for comforting nostalgia. How was she going to pull this off?

  She had never felt less like dating anyone, and unlike Cassie West, she was no actress. In fact, she had trouble hiding anything from anyone. How was she going to make this appear convincing? She shook her head. This was a problem for future - sober - Julia. But for now? Bed.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  "IS THIS REALLY what you enjoy doing on a Sunday morning?" Yaro asked, his butt in the air and his head near the ground as he slipped into his fifth downward dog of the morning.

  "Shhh!" Hissed Julia, her gaze flicking towards the front of the room where her instructor, a boneless-seeming older woman named Beverly, was serenely conducting the 9am Ashtanga class.