“That’s what I call one hell of a comeback.”
Callen wiped the sweat from his brow with the neck of his jersey. “Thanks. It feels good. Really fucking good.”
“Hell, yeah, it should feel good,” Austin said, grabbing him around the shoulders. “You’ll be on every highlight reel in the nation tonight. Especially that last wraparound shot. I’ve never seen you move that fast.”
Henrik smirked. “Yeah, you looked like a different man out there tonight.”
Austin patted him on the head. “Whatever you did different this week…do it again.”
In an attempt to hide his amusement, Henrik snorted. “Trust me. I bet he will.”
Callen glared at him, and Austin caught it. “What do you mean?”
Henrik shrugged and walked over to his locker. “Nothing. It’s not my story to tell.”
Austin turned on him. “Well, spill it. What’s so funny?”
“Nothing. Absolutely nothing is funny, and Henrik needs to keep his mouth shut.”
Everyone in the room went back to their normal after game routine. The coach would come in the room in a minute to congratulate them before they started to pack up and go home. Austin wasn’t about to let him enjoy his good night. Henrik chuckled from his seat at his locker.
Asshole.
Austin stepped in front of him, his massive body blocking his view of everything else. “Cali? What did you do different this week?”
Callen’s gaze darted around the room as he tried to figure a way out of being one of those kiss ’n’ tell kind of guys. “I made up with Penny last night.”
“That’s awesome, man. I’m happy for you.” Austin gave him a giant sized slap on the shoulder.
Henrik cleared his throat. “Ask for details, Blakie. Trust me.”
Austin turned back to him, his eyes rounding in anticipation. “What happened?”
Callen crossed his arms over his chest. “We’re a couple now.”
“And…” Henrik prodded.
Callen pursed his lips. “And it’s none of your business.”
Austin smirked. “You slept with her.”
Callen didn’t answer. Henrik threw a pad across the room at his head. “I don’t know about that, but he definitely spent the night.”
Austin gave his shoulder a gentle shove. “Well, if that gets you a hat trick every night, I think you need to spend the night more often.”
Callen rolled his eyes. He couldn’t wait to get back to Manhattan and celebrate. Maybe his good night would turn luck back his way. The management wouldn’t be able to ignore that kind of performance. If he could at least make them question their decision these next couple of games, it would be worth it. He wasn’t worried as much about it as he was before, though. Penny’s words kept running through his head.
We’ll figure it out.
They caught a plane back to New York that night, and had individual workouts in Tarrytown early the next morning. They had three home games that week. Three games until the trade deadline. If it hadn’t been for Penny, he would have been a complete mess. But he had something better to do than sit around all day and worry about the game the next night. He had a girlfriend, and he missed her.
He searched through his closet, actually putting a little thought into his clothes for the night. His favorite white Knicks shirt stuck out underneath the black, fitted hoodie. He even put product in his hair and added cologne. He was in full out boyfriend mode, and he liked it. He parked out front of her apartment. He had to make himself not run up the steps. Once he made it to her apartment, Callen took in a deep breath and knocked on the door. Penny answered it in perfect Penny fashion. She had this flowery skirt that skimmed across the middle of her thigh, and a sheer white shirt, accompanied with her long compass necklace. Her hair was half up, braided around the side and pinned back by a daisy. He could have breathed her in like fresh air. It hadn’t even been a full forty-eight hours since he’d seen her, but he still felt parched, and starved of her attention. “Wow. You’re awfully dressed up. Are you going somewhere?”
Penny flung herself at him. Her arms engulfed him. “You’re back!”
He touched her hair because he had to. His fingers craved the sensation. “I told you I would be.”
“I figured you would be tired. I was going to call you in the morning.”
“Too tired to come see you? Never.”
He pulled back, studying her features. Excitement lit her eyes. “You didn’t answer my question. Are you going out?”
“Leila and Magnolia invited me over for a girls’ night.”
Callen huffed, taking in everything about her. He could smell her strawberry shampoo, and that lip gloss. It just begged to be smeared. “Of course they did.”
“I can cancel. I’d rather spend the night with you, anyway.”
“No,” he said, because he didn’t want her to cancel her plans for him. Especially when her plans involved his family. He wanted her to get to know the girls. “How about I tag along?”
Penny laughed. “You mean go together? You want to go to girls’ night?”
“Sure. They’ve crashed guys’ night at least a million and one times. I owe them one.”
Penny shrugged and went to get her jacket. “All right. As long as I get to spend the night with you.”
She put it on, and he immediately pulled her into his side. She wrapped her arms around his back. “Congratulations, by the way. That was quite a game you had last night.”
They walked down the hallway hand in hand. “You saw that, huh?”
“Saw it? I’m pretty sure my neighbors on the next street heard me cheering you on. I’m lucky I didn’t wake up to find an eviction notice on my door.”
They got on the elevator, and he pulled her around to face him. “Well, tomorrow night I want you in the stands. Will you come to the game?”
“Of course. If you want me there, I’ll be there.”
“Good.” The door to the elevator opened, and they stepped inside. “Drew already got you a ticket. He’ll pick you at five.”
“Drew?” Penny took a step back. “You want me to hang out all night with Drew?”
“Sure. Why not? They’re all dying to get to know you.”
Penny sucked in a breath then finally nodded. “Okay. I can do that, I guess.”
Callen didn’t understand why she suddenly looked so nervous. He eased her closer as the elevator started its decent. Her shoulders relaxed under the guidance of his hands. “I like your non-work look,” he said, grazing his fingers across the soft fabric of her shirt. “I mean, you look good in black, but this is much more…Penny.”
She leaned into him. “You keep looking at me like that, Callen Copley, and we won’t make it to girls’ night.”
His lips brushed hers. He could smell the fruity lip gloss. “We could always ditch and go to my place instead.”
She grinned up at him before placing a soft kiss on his lips. “Don’t tease me.”
He kissed her again. Forty-eight hours, and it felt like it had been years. “I’m not teasing.”
Penny stepped up on her tiptoes, latching her hand around his neck. “Screw girls’ night. I can paint my nails tomorrow.”
This—this—was what falling in love felt like. Desperation and passion. Fear and completeness. It consumed him.
She consumed him.
Callen practically carried Penny to his truck, her legs wrapped around his waist, her lips on his neck. They passed an old lady in the hallway. She looked familiar, but he couldn’t concentrate enough to be certain. Penny waved at her over his shoulder. “See you tomorrow, Mary.”
Callen set her up into the seat of his truck, drinking in the sight of her. Savoring it. He could practically hear her heartbeat, thrumming wildly beneath that barely there shirt that he wished he could discard on the sidewalk this very moment. He didn’t, though. Not yet. He had half a mind to take her back upstairs. The trip to his place would take at least forty-minutes with the
traffic. That was a long time to wait. He would, though. Only because he wanted her in his bed, beneath his sheets. He didn’t have a game or practice or anywhere he needed to be until at least three o’clock the next day. She would be his until then.
He shut the passenger side door and got in the driver’s seat. She smiled ear to ear at him. “If we were back in Anahim, and in this giant truck, where would you take me?”
He chuckled. “Are we playing games now?”
Penny shrugged, buckling her seatbelt. “I have to keep my mind occupied and my hands distracted on the drive some way. Appease me.”
Callen put the truck in gear and pulled out. “You realize just about anywhere I took you in Anahim would be private, right? You walk outside my back door, and there’s nothing. Nothing but mountains, and space as far as your eye can see. The possibilities are endless.”
She inched closer to him. “Name a place. If you had to choose…where would it be?”
“Big Pine Lake,” he said instantly.
She turned toward him, her hands in the seat between them. “Why?”
“I like it there. It’s quiet like every place else, but the view…it’s amazing. If you stand on the bank in the summer, you can still see the snowcapped peaks in the distance. In the early morning, a giant fog rolls into the valley.”
“Is that when you would take me?”
Callen shook his head, his fingers gripping the steering wheel a little tighter. Thankfully, the traffic wasn’t as bad as he predicted. He weaved through the cars seamlessly. “No. I’d take you there in the afternoon. Just on the edge of sunset. If you can catch the angle just right, the sun will set the mountains on fire. The snow turns a vivid orange. Even the water on the lake glows.”
“It sounds amazing.”
“Short of you, it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”
Penny’s smile was soft. “Will you take me there? For real, take me there?”
Callen studied her. She looked totally serious. “You want to go Anahim?”
“Yes.”
She sounded so sure, so determined in her resolve. “Okay. We’ll go this summer.”
Her smile grew. “After you win the Stanley Cup.”
“Definitely. We’ll take the Cup with us. My day with Stanley will be you, the cup, and the lake.”
She took his hand. “It sounds perfect.”
And it did.
When he pulled in the parking garage, her phone started ringing in her purse. He shoved the truck in park and grabbed her hand before she could fish out her phone. “Check it later,” he said, guiding her across the seat toward him. “You can call them back tomorrow.”
She crawled into his lap and glanced back at the clock on the dash. “What if it’s Leila and Magnolia? I’m officially late.”
“They’ll get over it. You can blame me.”
He kissed her, his hands gripping around her waist. “You’re very convincing,” she said, grinning against his lips.
“You haven’t seen anything yet.”
She laughed against his neck as he maneuvered them out of the truck. He locked it back with her phone still inside. She wouldn’t need it. He planned on distracting her enough that she wouldn’t even think of it again. He held her hand, showering her with kisses as he led her to his place. Once he got her inside the door, he breathed a little easier. She walked into his living room, her skirt dancing along the back of her thighs.
“Geez. This place is huge.” She ran over to look out the sliding doors at the view of the city. “You actually live here?”
Callen stuck his hands in pockets and followed her over. “Yeah. I inherited the place from Henrik and Austin. I used to live down the street. A one-bedroom place with no view, and the pipes sounded like a bass quartet every time my neighbor took a shower. When Austin got a new place with Maggie, I eagerly jumped on the chance to take over the bachelor pad.”
“So, you’ve all lived here?”
“At some time or another until they met the right girl and moved on.” He winked at her. “Maybe it’s lucky.”
Her lips pressed tight together as she tried to hide her smile. “Maybe it is.”
She came over and kissed him. It wasn’t an innocent peck on the lips. No…Penny’s kiss had implications.
“Are you going to give me the tour?”
He laughed, his fingers pressing against the soft fabric that draped over her hips. “Definitely.”
He nodded and pointed behind him. “Kitchen is that way. Not important. You can see it in the morning.”
“The morning?” She scoffed like his assumption was offensive, but then broke out into a contagious grin. She glanced down the hallway to his right. “And that way?”
He took her by the hand, leading her down the hall. His fingers itched to raise the hem of that swishy skirt. He remembered those bare legs too well.
Knock. Knock.
Penny glanced back toward the door. Someone was outside, but he tugged on her hand anyway. “Ignore it. They’ll go away.”
He pulled her into his body, and she molded against him. His lips brushed her cheek.
“I know you’re in there.” Austin’s voice was distinctive through the door. “Your truck is in the garage. Open up.”
Callen growled, but stayed perfectly still. Maybe if they were really quiet, Austin would go away.
Knock!
“Open the door, Copley!”
He gritted his teeth, but then kissed Penny on the temple. “Give me one second.”
He stalked toward the door, stomping loudly so his soon-to-be dead American friend could hear it. He leaned against the door and yelled through it. “Go away, Blakie. I’m busy.”
“Open the door, Cali.” Shit. Henrik was out there too. What the hell were they both doing here?
Callen unlocked the door and flung it open. He really hoped they could read the hate on his face. “What?”
Austin gave him a sympathetic smile like he hadn’t just ruined his night. “Where’s Penny?”
Callen shrugged. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Henrik grinned, apparently very amused by his answer. “You know she’s missing girls’ night, right?”
Callen’s resolved didn’t falter. “What’s your point?”
Austin stuck the phone in his hand to his ear. “You were right. Penny’s here.”
Callen jerked the phone out of his hand and spoke to whoever was on the line. “That’s right. I stole my girlfriend. She’s been officially abducted from your presence until I leave for the game tomorrow evening. After that, you may steal a couple hours with her. Until then…she stays here.”
Callen pushed the end button before Magnolia, Leila, or anyone else could argue. He threw the phone back to Austin. “Good night.”
He tried to shut the door, but Henrik caught the edge, laughing. “You realize they are in the car. They’re probably already on their way up here.”
Callen groaned. “No. They can’t have her tonight. We’ve barely had time—”
The elevator dinged, and Callen held his breath, but Leila and Magnolia stepped out anyway. “Son of a bitch.”
He turned around, and Penny stood behind him, her eyes round and worried. “What’s wrong?”
He gritted his teeth and took a step back. “Take a look.”
Penny took a peek into the hallway, and the girls immediately perked up and started waving. “Hey! There you are. We tried to call you. We were worried you got lost.”
“Not lost,” she said, smiling apologetically. “More like distracted.”
Leila frowned at him, but he shrugged. “What? Am I supposed to look guilty? Because I’m not. Not even a little bit.”
“Tonight is always girls’ night. The same night…every month. You know this.”
“Yes, it might ring a bell now that I’m thinking about it, but she’s been my girlfriend for two days. I get to keep her to myself for a little while before I have to share her with
you.”
Austin stepped back and leaned against the wall, prepared to watch him face off against the girls on his own. “He has a point.”
Leila scowled at her big brother. “I know he has a point.”
Henrik stepped between them, holding out his wrist to showcase his watch. “Then let’s go. Drew and Sam will be at our house to drop Lucy off in twenty minutes.”
Leila huffed and then pointed her finger at Callen with an extreme, but loveable glint in her eyes. “The next time you steal her, you could at least let her call and cancel first, so we know some actually crazy person didn’t kidnap her.”
“Fine. Wish granted.” Callen pushed the door halfway closed. “Now go.”
Callen shut the door in their faces, but when he turned back around, Penny grinned triumphantly at him. “What?”
“They were worried about me.” Even her eyes smiled. He could see the pure happiness radiating in the swirl of blue. “I don’t think anyone has worried about me since my gran passed away.”
Callen cupped her face in his hands. “You’re wrong.”
He kissed her lips. He’d been worried about her. Worried about leaving New York…leaving her behind. Worried about her mother who had tracked her down to where she worked. He stroked her hair, not willing to let this moment with her go. Right now she wanted him. She was here, and everything was perfect. He wanted to ask her about her mother, but he didn’t want to ruin the moment.
The kiss deepened by her guidance. It was as if she was the one doing the distracting now, and it worked. Penny could make him forget his name. She smiled against his lips. “That tour…” She gave his hand a gentle tug in the direction of his bedroom. “I’m still waiting for it.”
He’d ask her about her mother tomorrow. Maybe in the morning. Or after the game. It could wait for now. His fingers brushed the hair away from her eyes. “This way.”
Everything in the world could wait for Penny.
***
The Girl With Daisies (Midtown Brotherhood #3) Page 14