“Plans? Like going to the hospital?” Because now that the idea was in my mind, it was the only thing I could think of. The only thing I wanted to do. The sooner I could get there and find this nurse, the sooner I’d be able to breathe again.
“We can do that tomorrow,” Drew promised. “It’s kind of late for that tonight. This is something else.” He broke away from me and took my hand, then led me back over to the table. “Sit. Eat. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” Then he took off down the hall toward his bedroom.
I was still starving, and now my stomach was full of excitement instead of dread and guilt, so I picked up the rest of my sandwich and finished it off.
A few minutes later, Drew came back to join me. He’d taken off his clothes other than his boxer-briefs, showing off his chest, abs, and those amazingly strong arms. There wasn’t any point in pretending I didn’t enjoy the view.
He dropped his head down and kissed me on the cheek before reaching across the table for what remained of his beer. “Ready?” he asked.
“For what?”
“You’ll see. Bring your beer.” Then he laced his fingers through mine and led me back to his bedroom. Or more accurately, to his bathroom.
The lights were out, and he had lit candles spread throughout the bathroom. The soft light bounced off the mirrors and reflected off the water in his massive garden tub. The tub I’d been eyeing every time I was here but hadn’t dared to get into because it seemed like such an indulgence, and I’d never been one to indulge.
Drew dipped his head from behind me again, kissing a trail along the tendons in my neck. I shivered.
“What’s this about?” I asked. My voice came out all breathy and sexy, even though it was confusion and nerves causing it to seize up more so than me trying to pull off the part of the seductress.
“Tallie mentioned it might be a good idea for me to spoil you,” Drew said between kisses. “I thought she had a point. Because I doubt you’ve ever been spoiled.”
That would be a safe bet to take.
He reached around in front of me and started undoing the buttons of my shirt, and the whirlwind of emotions coursing through me over the last hour took yet another sharp turn—this time heading straight toward lust.
Or maybe even love. Do not pass go. Do not collect two hundred dollars.
Drew crushed his mouth to mine, and I welcomed his tongue inside as we worked together to get rid of all our clothes. He carefully tied my dreads up on top of my head so they wouldn’t get wet and helped me into the tub. It was steaming hot and deep enough I could soak every inch of my body.
I reached for him to drag him in with me, but he winked and shook his head.
“Not just yet,” he said.
Then he took out his phone and turned on some music. “Wicked Games” by Chris Isaak bounced off the walls surrounding us as Drew reached into a small brown paper bag and took out what looked like an orange tennis ball. He tossed it into the water, and it started to fizz and give off the most delightful, sexy scents.
“Now I’m ready,” he said.
I leaned forward as he climbed in behind me, not that he needed the space. The tub was more than big enough for the both of us.
Once he settled into place, he drew me back against him, nestling my hips between his powerful thighs and resting my head against his chest. I tipped my head back for another kiss. It was deep and slow and languorous.
It was perfect.
And this time, I didn’t feel the need to run and hide. Because Drew had already shown me that even when I fell apart, he was ready to catch as many pieces as he could and hold on to them with his big hands until I was able to glue myself back together again.
THE DAY BEFORE our season opener, Gary Asher dropped a bomb on the team. He pulled off a last-minute trade: my regular line mate, Gustav Gunnarsson, had been sent to the Islanders in exchange for an American hotshot right wing named Hayes Lennon.
All the hockey insiders said it was an absolute coup for the T-Birds. The Isles had to make a move in order to get under the salary cap, so they ended up getting the short end of the stick in this trade, apparently. The truth was that Lennon was a true top-line winger, unlike Goose, who’d been filling the role reasonably well for the last couple of seasons, considering he would be a much better fit on the Islanders’ third line.
The other truth about Lennon was that he was an egotistical asswipe who had never been much of a team player on any team he’d been part of. Stories of locker room brawls with teammates and other similar incidents had made their way throughout the league.
Gary made it clear that Zee and I—as Lennon’s new line mates, in addition to being the two primary leaders of the team—were responsible for keeping the son of a bitch in line and making sure his antics didn’t screw up what we’d been building.
Quite a tall order, if you asked me, and that was even before meeting him.
He and his girlfriend flew in that afternoon, the same as my parents did. Gary and Spurs both went to the airport to meet Lennon and help get him settled in a hotel until such time as he could sort out his housing situation.
Ravyn and I were at the airport at the same time to welcome my folks in.
We’d gone to the hospital and found the nurse, like Tallie’s father had recommended. Mr. Roth had even come with us so he could help all of us, including the nurse, feel comfortable that everything said and done was completely above board and legal.
Ever since then, though, Ravyn had been improving dramatically with her depression. She was opening up to me more. We’d actually gone on a few real dates, instead of just hanging out at my house and jumping into bed together every chance we got.
And now, she was starting to see all the ways she could fit into my life.
I’d tried to let her take it at her own pace, but today things were escalating because of my parents’ arrival. I couldn’t exactly put them off, and I’d told them about her, so they expected to meet her.
She was nervous as hell at the moment, and I couldn’t say I blamed her. I mean, I knew my parents were awesome, but she didn’t have the first clue about that other than what I’d told her—she’d never experienced anything firsthand with them to prove my claims.
Given her history with her own parents, it couldn’t be easy to believe that some families were actually like what you saw in sitcoms. Mine sure had been. Plus, she’d never really done the whole meet-the-parents thing before, or at least not in a very long time, and the only positive parental figures in her life were Rick and his wife.
Her anxiety was only compounded by having my coach and general manager trying to make small talk with her while we all stood at baggage claim.
“Have you met Dana Zellinger yet?” Gary asked her, his hands tucked into the pockets of his slacks as he rocked back and forth on his feet.
She sent me a slightly panicked look.
I squeezed her hand and turned to the GM. “A couple of times. Ravyn’s starting to come to a couple of games, getting to know the other WAGs.”
“Dana’s a good one to get to know,” he said, either oblivious to the fact that I’d been the one to answer when he’d questioned Ravyn or simply trying to ignore her discomfort in order to put her at ease. “She’s going to be putting together an auction for our Hockey Fights Cancer night. I’m sure she could use your help with that. All the players’ wives and girlfriends get involved.”
Spurs winked. “Not just the players’ wives. They always drag the coaches’ wives into things, too, and probably half the front office.”
“It’s a real team effort, on and off the ice,” Gary agreed.
“I’ll be sure to find out what I can do,” Ravyn said quietly, but she seemed like she was trying to crawl into my side and disappear, so I knew she was getting to be overwhelmed.
We’d started small, in terms of bringing her around the team.
She already knew London because of the support group, and she’d briefly met a few others that day at
my pool. But now she was starting to get together with some of the rest of them. She’d had a day of garage sale shopping with Tallie and Tori while Hunter did a daddy-daughter day with Harper.
The next time Carter flew down to spend the weekend with his father, we’d invited the two of them and Snoopy over to hang out at the pool—not the whole team, this time, but just a few of us—even though it was getting to be too cold for any of us but the puppy to get in the water.
As far as I was concerned, it wasn’t just about Ravyn getting to know the people in my life, either. One night, we’d invited Rick and Shannon over for dinner, and another time, Dagger had come with Ravyn to one of our exhibition games. It happened to be one that the Jernigans attended. The look on Mrs. J’s face when I’d walked out of the arena with my arm around Ravyn’s waist and a guy with a spiky Mohawk ambling alongside us was one I wouldn’t soon forget. I wished I’d had a camera at the ready, because that was one expression I doubted I’d ever be able to replicate.
A big crowd started to head our way, which meant one of the two flights had landed. I caught sight of Lennon in the crowd. Couldn’t miss the guy, actually. He was six foot four and solid muscle, so he stood a head above just about everyone around him. The guy had a shock of overly long blond hair, and he was screaming bloody murder at the petite blonde rushing to keep up with him.
I couldn’t make out what the guy was saying, but it didn’t matter. She was in tears, and the fact that he was berating her in such a public way made him a Grade A douche canoe in my book.
I didn’t like him before I met him, but there wasn’t a chance in hell I’d change my mind about him now.
“If you’ll excuse us,” Gary said to me and Ravyn, concern drawing his brows together.
Yeah, he should be concerned if this was the kind of player he thought he should bring in to take the T-Birds to the next level. But then he and Spurs rushed over to defuse the situation before the team ended up in the news again for all the wrong reasons.
The good thing was this meant Ravyn didn’t need to try to impress those two anymore. Now she could restrict her worrying to the thought of meeting my parents.
“He’s your new teammate?” she asked.
“Apparently so.”
And at the moment, Gary and Spurs were essentially standing between Lennon and his girlfriend, like they were protecting her. Good Lord, what a clusterfuck this trade was going to be.
I had half a mind to go over and help out, but it seemed like they were getting things under control. And besides, Ravyn didn’t need to be in the middle of all that, especially with the way her anxiety was practically seeping out of her pores.
“I should have cut off my hair and died it a nice, tame brown,” she said.
“Why the hell would you do something like that?” I demanded.
“Because then I wouldn’t look like quite as much of a freak. I’d still have the tattoos and piercings, but…”
“But nothing. I like you exactly the way you are. And my parents will, too. Besides, I’ve already shown them pictures. It’s not like they don’t know.”
“Seeing pictures of someone with purple dreads isn’t the same as seeing them in person.”
“Stop worrying,” I said. I tugged her into my arms and hugged her to calm her down. That was something I’d been doing more and more lately. Whenever she got too worked up about anything, I’d hold her hand or hug her, something to be in physical contact with her. So far, it didn’t seem like she’d caught on to my reasons for doing it, and it appeared to be working. Plus, it meant I got to touch her more often, which was always a boon in my book.
“You do realize that I don’t know how to not worry, right?” she said, laughing. The laughter was a good sign. A very good sign. It didn’t mean her worry was gone, but maybe I’d managed to alleviate it somewhat.
But she wouldn’t have to worry much longer, because my parents were making their way toward us with huge smiles on their faces.
“Come on,” I said to Ravyn, squeezing her hand and heading over to meet my folks halfway. “They’re here.”
She stumbled along beside me, muttering, “Oh shit.”
“It’ll be fine,” I promised just before my father dropped his carry-on bag on the ground and wrapped me up in a massive bear hug.
Mom essentially did the same to Ravyn. I probably should have warned her that we were a touchy-feely sort of family, but it was too late now. She was going to have to sink or swim. Good thing I’d seen her swim through any number of other situations that would have sunk a lot of people.
“Look at you!” Mom said, patting Ravyn on the cheek. “Even prettier in person. I never would have guessed your hair would be so soft!” She probably had no clue that what she was saying could be seen as offensive, but it didn’t look like Ravyn was taking it badly. She was in too much shock, to be honest.
And then Dad took over where Mom had left off, lifting Ravyn off her feet, while Mom took her turn with me. They told us about their flight, and we caught them up on the ongoing draught in Oklahoma—it had been close to a year since we’d had any decent rainfall—while we waited to collect their checked bags from the conveyors.
On our way out to the parking lot, we had to go directly past Gary, Spurs, Lennon, and his girlfriend. The situation there was still as much of a mess as before, even if the son of a bitch was no longer screaming loudly enough for everyone as far away as Dallas to hear him.
“So that’s your new teammate, huh?” Dad said once we were outside. “The one who’s supposed to be so great for your team?”
“Not just my new teammate. My new line mate, too, if everything goes down the way Gary said it would.” I guided them toward the SUV I’d rented for the duration of their visit since my car was just a two-seater, wheeling both of the larger checked bags behind me.
“He’s a real treat,” Dad said.
We reached the SUV, and Dad and I loaded all of the bags into the back while Mom and Ravyn climbed in. Apparently, Mom took the opportunity of having Ravyn all to herself to start up a conversation. In my rearview mirror, I caught the panicked look in Ravyn’s eyes when Mom said, “So Drew’s told us all about you.”
Because, of course, that was a loaded statement. And while my mother might assume I’d told them everything there was to know about Ravyn, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Her secrets were her own for as long as she wanted them to be.
“Not exactly all about her, Mom,” I said, putting on my seat belt while Dad did the same and laughed.
“Well, no, not everything,” Mom conceded. “But more than enough to be going on with.”
“What Marcie means to say,” Dad put in, turning his head toward the two women in the back, with a full eye roll evident in his tone, “is he’s told us you’re an artist.”
I tried to catch her eye in the mirror, hoping to convey through my gaze that she didn’t have anything to worry about. If she didn’t want them to know she was HIV-positive, they didn’t have to know. If she wasn’t ready to tell anyone else about Devon, I wasn’t going to be the one to break that trust. It was entirely up to her how much to tell my parents, my friends, her friends…
She visibly swallowed, and I winked. I barely caught her slight nod before she turned a smile toward my father. “Did he mention I’m a tattoo artist?”
“Not just a tattoo artist,” I added, winking at her in the rearview mirror. “Ravyn also does watercolors. She’s got a spot in a local gallery where her paintings are displayed and sold.”
“Actually,” Mom said, “I seem to recall Drew telling us he got a tattoo himself.”
“Hey, now!” I complained. “This wasn’t supposed to be about all the things I’ve done wrong.”
“Your mother didn’t say you’d done anything wrong by getting a tattoo,” Dad said.
“But honestly, Drew,” Mom said, fully in Mom-voice, “didn’t you think it was a bad idea because of the HIV?”
“Actually, it’s complet
ely safe, as long as the tattooist is using proper hygiene techniques,” Ravyn put in.
“Is that so?” Dad asked. He winked over at me. “Whaddya know? Learn something new every day.”
And just like that, Mom stopped giving me a hard time over getting inked. To be honest, I got the impression that she’d just gone off on that tack to help Ravyn feel more comfortable, to bring her into the conversation more. And it had worked brilliantly. Just one more reason I adored my parents.
The more time I spent with Ravyn, and the better I came to understand how bad things could be with parents who weren’t as loving and devoted as mine, the more thankful I was for them.
Mom angled herself in the backseat so she could look fully at Ravyn. “Did you do it for him, then?” Not that she needed to ask that. She already knew the answer, because I’d told her back when I first got it done.
“I did.” Ravyn sounded a hell of a lot more relaxed now that they were talking about things she was comfortable with. “In fact, that was how he convinced me to spend time with him. He came in as a paying client, so I kind of had to be around him for a while, whether I wanted to be or not.”
Both my parents burst out laughing, and Ravyn smiled—a big one that went from ear to ear.
“And we all know what a chore that can be,” Dad said when his laughter subsided.
See, they love you. Just like I do. Those words were on the tip of my tongue. But now wasn’t the time. The first time I told her I loved her shouldn’t be such a high-pressure situation for her, with my parents sitting there to see her reaction.
I didn’t have a clue what her reaction would be. All I knew was I needed her in my life, and while she’d made a ton of progress, I couldn’t be sure how she’d take my declaration.
But at least now she could see for herself that she’d be a welcome part of my family.
I really had hit the parenting jackpot.
And the girlfriend jackpot, too. But now I needed to make Ravyn see it.
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