I hurried down the stairs and into the bottom level, closest to the ice. It was even colder on the first floor. I shouldn’t have left my coat in the car. I wrapped my arms across my chest to warm up.
As soon as I turned the corner, I was struck by just how immense he was. Holy shit. Now that we were on the same level, he was taller in person than I expected. His shoulders seemed broader. The shadows fell across half his face as he leaned against the concrete wall.
“You made it,” he said it as if I had to hike to the base of a mountain to see him. His skates were laced, adding inches to his height.
“I thought I’d be polite.” I needed to create an excuse to backpedal right out of this mess. I immediately realized how monumental my mistake was. My body rang with curiosity and excitement. I couldn’t afford to be curious about men. I had to be certain. It was a good thing camp was almost over. There was no reason to cross paths again.
“That’s what brought you down? Good manners?”
“Good manners are important.” It sounded like something I would say to Phoebe, not to a man who was flirting with me.
He chuckled. “Do you want to walk in the tunnel with me? I can show you around. It’s right through here.” He extended his hand and I thought about taking it. I thought about what it would mean if for just a few minutes I let myself be led through the darkness by a handsome stranger. If I let him put his free hand on the small of my back and stood close to me. How being with a man like this—one who liked children and was born with a killer smile. Even in the shadows I could see how white and perfect his teeth were. All of him looked perfect.
That was the problem.
I shook my head. “I don’t think I should. I don’t want to distract Phoebe. And if she sees me, then she might not skate as well.” The truth was this man was sex on a stick, and I needed to stay away from his kind of temptation.
“That’s kind of a lame excuse, don’t you think?” he taunted.
I was about to respond when a group of adolescent boys burst through the hallway, running on their skates toward the visitors’ locker room. They were chanting and hollering. One of them bumped into Jack. I watched as the kid’s stick cracked him right above the knee. He almost doubled over.
I rushed toward him. “Are you okay?”
He grimaced, gripping his leg. “Yeah. Just not wearing any pads. The little girls don’t hit like that. I don’t have to dress out until the older kids hit the ice. Bad choice on my part.”
“Here. Let me help you.” I wrapped an arm around his waist, although once I placed my hand on him, I realized how absurd it was. I’d be crushed under his weight if he fell.
“Thanks.” He took a giant breath as we sat together in the cool space of the tunnel. It was lined with chairs and benches. It looked like a place where everyone dumped equipment and gear.
“It’s really bad, isn’t it?” I asked, watching how he refused to release his leg.
“It’s better than it was.” His forehead was pinched together.
“One of the dads told me you broke it. That you weren’t supposed to skate again.”
He raised his eyebrows. “That’s the rumor? No one thought I’d play hockey. Hmm.”
I nodded. “You know it doesn’t matter what people are saying about your leg. What can I do? Do you need something? Should I find someone who can help you? A doctor maybe? Is there a medical person in the building I could try to call?” I stared into his eyes. Mistake. Huge mistake. They swirled with rivets of obsidian and dark topaz. As if in his gaze he signaled there were two sides to him. One side layered with warmth and charisma, the other coated with hurt and caution.
“I don’t need a doc. I’m fine. Really.”
“You don’t look fine,” I argued.
“What if I told you I paid that boy to hit my leg in order to finally convince you to sit in the tunnel with me? It was all a big setup.”
“I’d be mad.” I twisted my lips together playfully. I couldn’t tear my eyes from him now.
“Okay. Then I did not do that.” He smiled. “But it did work. I should pay him anyway.”
I laughed. I couldn’t help myself. He stretched his leg forward, the big hockey skate seemed monstrous at the end of his foot. It dripped with melted ice.
“How do you like Richmond so far?” It seemed we should sit for a few more minutes.
“I haven’t seen much of it. I moved into an apartment. I do PT every day and skate. That’s it.”
“That’s it? That’s not much fun.”
“I’m focused on skating with the team next week. I have to be a hundred percent or I’m not going to start. There are only a few more weeks in the season before playoffs. I need to get back in the game.”
“And you couldn’t take off the rest of the season to heal? Don’t players do that?”
“If I took that time I might not have been picked up. I’ve already been out close to four months. I’m lucky I’m here. I’m lucky there was a team willing to pick me up after I was cut. I just need to get through the next few weeks and I’ll have the summer to recover.”
I glanced at him. “That seems kind of backward. Shouldn’t you recover first?” I knew it sounded judgmental and I was throwing in my opinion without a sports or medical background, but it seemed like common sense.
“I have. The bone is good. The docs cleared me. I’m working with the team trainers. I’m fine.”
“You say fine a lot.” I peered at him from the corner of my eye. “Especially for someone who was just taken down by a twelve-year old.”
“I’m not wearing any pads. It was a direct hit to my leg. It doesn’t matter. Freak thing.”
I wasn’t convinced. But his male stubbornness wasn’t my problem. Camp had to be almost over. I needed to collect Phoebe.
“I hope you like living here, Jack Novak.” I paused to rise from the bench. “And I hope you have a good season with the Dires. I know Phoebe will be rooting for you.”
“Are you leaving?” He looked surprised.
I glanced at my wrist. “The girls will be done any minute. I’m going to head out.”
“Wait.” Jack stood tall and almost stole my breath. The man wasn’t intimidating, he was enthralling. I struggled to tell my body to stop reacting to him. “Do you want to have dinner with me?”
I blinked. I was speechless.
“Noelle?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m asking you out. To dinner. Do you want to go tonight? I’ll pick you up at seven.”
I nodded slowly before any words tumbled out of my mouth. He tugged the phone from my hands and typed in his number.
“Okay. Text me your address.” He handed it back to me. “I’ll be there. Seven.”
I stared at the contact open on my screen. Jack Novak.
I had a date.
10
Jack
The problem with not unpacking was now I had a pile of wrinkled shirts and pants. No iron. No time to hit the dry cleaners. I’d thrown a few shirts in the dryer, but there wasn’t enough heat to make them look like I hadn’t pulled them out from a wadded-up laundry pile under my bed. I wasn’t in college. I didn’t want to look like I was.
I typed in a quick search on my phone for a men’s clothing store nearby. Millers was the first listing that popped up. I knew the brands they carried. There was one in Milwaukee. It was where most of my teammates were fitted for travel suits and NHL events. I grabbed my keys and followed the directions to the store.
By the time I bought a couple of new shirts and stepped outside the Millers brass doors, the sun had set far behind the tree line. Winter in Richmond was nothing like the chill in Milwaukee. It didn’t even compare to the pervasive cold.
I pressed the ignition and turned out of the parking lot. Noelle lived only fifteen minutes from the store.
When I parked in the driveway, I tried to take everything in the cottage. I already knew a few things about her just from an outside quick take. She liked flowers. Lots of flowe
rs. There were pots running up and down both sides of the steps. There were even hanging baskets on the porch. I imagined in the spring they would be bright and colorful.
There was a wooden swing hanging from a giant branch in the front yard. I spotted two bikes parked next to the house, one short enough for Phoebe and the other a tall beach cruiser. There was a basket of sidewalk chalk and a pair of roller skates, littered on the side of the walkway.
It didn’t last long, but a thump of envy punched my chest. I didn’t know what a childhood like that could be like. It wasn’t what I experienced, not even close. They spent time outside together and they played.
I climbed the stairs and knocked on the door.
“Hi.” Phoebe had beaten everyone to the door and smiled up at me. Her babysitter ran up behind her.
“Phoebe, you’re not supposed to answer the door by yourself,” she scolded. “Seriously not safe.”
“Hi, I’m Jack. I’m picking up Noelle.”
The girl stared at me. “She’s still getting ready.”
“Hi, kid.” I grinned at Phoebe.
“Mommy doesn’t know what she’s going to wear. She never does. It takes forever.”
I stepped inside the house. There were toys on the couch and a giant puzzle had been assembled on the floor.
“Nice cape.”
“Thanks.” Phoebe spun in a circle. “They won’t let me wear it to play hockey.”
“No. You can’t wear something like that on the ice. It’s a safety hazard for sure.”
I wondered if she thought it was strange I was taking her mom to dinner. If she did, she didn’t say anything. It was as if Phoebe thought it was normal that I showed up on her doorstep in a new shirt asking for her mom. I didn’t know anything about dating women with kids. I was out of my element here.
“Did the doorbell ring?” I heard her heels on the floor before her face came into view.
“Jack’s here,” Phoebe announced.
“I see that.” Noelle smiled at me from the hallway. We stared at each other.
She looked fucking gorgeous, wearing a simple black dress with long sleeves and a short hem. The boots covered her knees and there was a small gap that showed off her the bare skin on her thighs. Holy shit, it was the hottest style I’d ever seen on a woman.
“You two have fun,” the babysitter interrupted.
“Thanks, Lucy. I won’t be out late. But you can text, or call if it gets too late.” I couldn’t tell if Noelle was nervous. Was that a signal to the babysitter? Did she want a curfew?
I wanted to correct her. I wanted her to know there was a good chance it would be 2am before I returned her home. The night hadn’t started for us and I wasn’t ready to think about when it would end. But that’s not how it was going to go. There was a kid involved. She didn’t have absolute freedom the way I did.
Her eyes lifted to mine as she approached. “Is it cold out?”
I couldn’t take my eyes off her. “Coat. You do need a coat.”
She opened a small door and extracted a long coat from the closet. I reached for the collar so she could slide her arms inside the sleeves.
It felt as if we had an audience while our movements shadowed each other. Phoebe was watching everything I did, even more intently than she did on the ice. I swallowed. I’d never felt this kind of pressure before on a date. I held the door open for Noelle.
“Ready?”
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“I thought you could help me with that part.”
She grinned. “We’ll figure something out.”
“I do have a backup plan,” I added. I searched for the top ten restaurants and had made reservations at three of them. I wasn’t going to
She pulled her daughter into a hug. “Listen to Lucy. And only one movie. Don’t argue with her about bedtime.”
“I know, Mommy.”
“Goodnight.” I tapped Phoebe on the head.
“Will you bring me some dessert,” she whispered out of Noelle’s earshot.
I laughed. “Yeah. I can do that. Do you like chocolate?”
She nodded.
“All right. I’ve got it, kid. Be good.” I closed the door behind me. “You look amazing.” I trailed Noelle down the stairs. She turned at the bottom.
“Thank you. So do you.” The extra color on her cheeks was beautiful. She should always smile that way.
“It’s a new shirt.” I tugged on the navy collar. “I had to stop at Millers on my way over. I haven’t had time to unpack, or iron. It’s the iron really.” I wasn’t sure why I dropped the confession.
“Millers?” She halted in front of the car.
“I looked it up. I used to shop at one back home. It’s not far from here.”
“I know where it is. I used to work there.”
I rounded the front of the hood and opened the door for her. “You worked at Millers?”
Noelle slid into the seat as I jumped behind the wheel.
“How long ago did you work there?” I asked.
She sighed. “I quit last night, actually.” Her gaze dropped to her lap. “So I think that makes it less than twenty-four hours.” She gulped.
I started the engine. “You quit? Why? What happened?”
“I couldn’t stay there any longer. Things turned…” She trailed off. “But I like your shirt anyway.” She smiled. “I do have a full-time job at the art museum. Don’t worry, I’m not unemployed. I am a full-time working mom. It was only temporary at Millers.”
“I wasn’t worried. Sorry that didn’t work out.” There was more, but she was holding back.
“Maybe we should decide where we’re going for dinner.” We were still parked in the driveway. I thought I saw Phoebe’s face pressed to the living room glass.
“Right. Dinner.” My hand rested on the gear shift. “I looked up a few places, but since you’re the local I thought you might have a favorite restaurant.”
“I get to decide?” Her eyebrows waggled. Thank God she wasn’t intimidated by making a decision.
“Ladies choice. Absolutely.”
“Hmm. If it’s not nuggets or mac and cheese I don’t know what we should eat,” she joked.
“Hey, I can be a mac and cheese man.”
She tapped her index finger to her chin. “I want you to experience something very southern. Something you never would have tried in Milwaukee. A welcome to Virginia dinner.”
“How exotic is the food here?” I was only slightly worried.
“Oh, I know the perfect place. It has a little bit of everything. All my favorites.” Noelle began to press the screen on the dash, inserting an address. “Just follow those directions. We’ll be there in ten minutes.”
“Okay. Let’s go.” I backed out of the driveway. “You aren’t going to make me eat something really weird, are you?”
She laughed. “No, it’s not weird. You’re going to love it. At least, I think you’ll love it.” She gazed at me from the passenger’s seat. I knew we were at the beginning of the date, but I wanted to reach into her lap and thread her fingers through mine. Her soft lotion scent filtered through the car. It was citrus and sunshine. Warmth bottled. Would I look like a maniac if I inhaled her neck?
I couldn’t explain it, but I’d never been this excited about a date, or a woman I barely knew.
There was something different about her. Something that drew me in, regardless of everything else happening in my life. The timing was off. More things were uncertain than they were steady. I had a commitment to my career I couldn’t let slide. However, I wanted this date. This night. This woman.
11
Noelle
If I thought sitting in the corner of a dimly lit rooftop would somehow conceal that I was on a date with an NHL player, I was wrong. Even though my back was to the patrons, I knew other diners made excuses to pass our table. One was bold enough to ask Jack for an autograph.
I stared at him in disbelief. “I guess you really are famo
us.”
He chuckled. “A little. I haven’t been anywhere in Richmond. I order take out. I guess this makes my first social appearance.”
“It’s not a secret anymore.”
“I guess not,” he replied.
“The hockey fans seem to be happy you’re here.” I thought about how much the dad at camp praised the Dires for acquiring Jack. It didn’t make an impression on me until now. He was recognizable and popular. He seemed to take the attention in stride.
“They haven’t seen me play yet.” He smirked. He lowered the menu when a couple approached and asked for a selfie.
“Should we go somewhere else?” I suggested. “I didn’t know it would be like this. Is it bothering you? I’m sorry. It’s really crowded here.”
“No. I think every table has had their chance. I don’t want to cut our evening early.”
The Southern Beer Garden was my favorite spot. The upper deck was enclosed for winter with plexiglass. It wasn’t completely sealed, so every once in a while, a blast of cold air would sneak its way through the cracks. The roof was heated with tabletop gas stoves and hundreds of candles. It was romantic and fun. The menu was going to be his test. A big test.
“I don’t either,” I admitted.
We looked at the menus again. After a few minutes I convinced him to try fried green tomatoes, grits cakes, pulled pork with short ribs, and bacon mac and cheese. We placed our order along with a bar order for local ciders.
When the ciders arrived, we held them in the air.
“To fresh starts?”
“And first dates.”
I nodded. “I like both of those.” I took a sip. It was refreshing and cold, the opposite of how I felt. Jack had a way of making the temperature rise from one heated stare.
“So, this is your date spot?”
I balked. “No. I never said that.”
“I’m teasing, Noelle.”
I tugged the edges of the napkin in my lap. “I haven’t been on a date in a year. At least.” I didn’t know how he would take that. There were ten different ways he could interpret my confession. I was a picky dater. I didn’t make time for men. No one asked me out. I was difficult and not a lot of fun. Men didn’t want to date a single mom. My head was spinning. It was possible all of those excuses were true.
Cold As Ice Page 5