Shot at Love

by Melody Heck Gatto

  Well shit. This isn’t going to go well at all. “O’Conner, you wouldn’t be interested. You’ve got the old ball and chain now. You can’t possibly remember what it’s like to have all the honeys after you. And not for your on-ice skill.” Luc laid it on extra thick in the hope that Kaden would back off.

  “Oh, I remember. Don’t worry,” Kaden responded, sitting back with a big smile on his face.

  “O’Conner, is there something I need to tell Ali?” Paige commented with sass from the back of the plane.

  Kaden sat back and slid on his headphones, directing his attention to his iPad as he calmly said, “Nope. Not a thing, Paige.”

  The plane took off, and everyone was seated and quiet until the captain turned off the seatbelt sign.

  Melanie sat in the empty seat in front of Luc and turned around to face him. “So, tell me about your girl problem.”

  “Girl problem? Please. I don’t have girl problems.” Luc didn’t want to do this now, with Kaden sitting right across the plane from him.

  “Look at me, Luc. I know when someone has relationship problems. And you, my friend, have problems. So, talk.” Melanie stared at him and waited patiently.

  Sam started, with a smirk. “So, there’s this girl…”

  “Dude, shut up.” He didn’t want to do this at all, but specifically not with Kaden here.

  “I’m waiting.” Melanie pulled out a nail file from her purse and started to file her nails. “And I have nowhere to be, not for about the next hour. So, it’s best to spill it, Marcella.”

  “Fine.” Luc sighed. He knew Mel wouldn’t let this go. “Yeah, there’s a girl.”

  “Isn’t there always?” Kaden interjected.

  “Except there’s usually more than just one,” Patrick added.

  “Guys, let Luc talk,” Melanie said with a smile. “Go on, Marcella. So, there’s a girl…”

  “We’ve been seeing a lot of each other.” Some catcalls came from the back of the plane. “Shut up, morons. Don’t be assholes. They’re like a bunch of fucking eight graders.”

  “So, you’re dating this girl?” Melanie prodded.

  “Um, kind of. It’s nothing serious.” Luc shrugged her off.

  “But you want it to be?” Melanie suggested.

  “Yeah, I guess. Doesn’t everybody want that?” Luc said, his voice lower than before.

  “Absolutely. It’s no fun to always be by yourself.”

  “Yeah. We have fun together, no matter what we do. It’s just… it’s easy.” That was something it had never been before. Fangirls were clingy and needy or just around for a notch on their lipstick case. It had never been easy like it was with Kassie.

  Mel tilted her head with a look of understanding. “Luc.” She moved in closer and her voice was low. “It’s supposed to be easy. You really like this girl?”

  Luc nodded.

  “Luc, all I can tell you is, when you meet that someone special, she’ll change your life and everything you know will be turned upside down. And you’ll love every minute of it. No one will have to tell you she’s the one for you; you’ll just know.”

  “Is that what this is, Rock-Star?” Sam asked.

  Luc knew what he was asking, since he knew who this mystery woman was. All he could do was nod. He couldn’t give away his secret yet.

  “Wow. Luc has eyes for one special lady! Alert the presses!” Patrick commented.

  “Hear that? That’s the sound of bunnies everywhere crying,” Roman remarked from a few rows back.

  “Ha, ha. You guys are so fucking funny.” Luc snarled. If any of them knew who the girl was, they’d keep their comments to themselves, if for no other reason than for fear of getting their asses kicked.

  “So, Puck-Star is contemplating an actual relationship? Wow, what magic did this girl use on you?” Kaden asked.

  This conversation was uncomfortable, even though Kaden didn’t know who they were talking about. “Let’s stop talking about me; it’s really not that unbelievable.”

  “Rock-Star is in a relationship, but nothing to see here folks!” Kyler called. “Please! That news should be on the front page of TMZ.”

  Luc took a deep breath and looked at Melanie. She mouthed the words “I’m sorry,” and snuck back to her seat.

  Sam nudged his elbow as the guys were still making dumb and crude remarks about his status. “Dude, are you for real?”

  “I am,” Luc whispered.

  “You seriously have a death wish, don’t you?” Sam remarked. “I still can’t believe you—”

  Kaden looked at them, and nodded to the conversation.

  Sam completed his sentence, obviously a little differently than he planned. “—are serious about a girl. You dawg.”

  Luc didn’t want to talk about this anymore. Sitting back in his seat, he slipped on the in-flight earphones, and pulled out his cell phone. He quickly typed a text message to Kassie, since she was on his mind.

  Luc: I’m looking forward to dinner tomorrow.

  Kassie: You on your way home?

  Okay, so she was avoiding talking about dinner. Luc’s heart sank, and he wondered if she was thinking about backing out of the date. He decided not to push it, and texted an answer to her question.

  Luc: Yep, in the air now. Did you see the game?

  Kassie: I did.

  Luc: Yeah. You don’t have to say anything.

  Kassie: Sorry. But either of you could’ve got that OT goal.

  Luc: Yeah. Dom is pretty mad. You probably know how he gets.

  Kassie: I do. Is he okay?

  Luc: Yeah. Melanie took care of it. He’s fine now.

  Luc: So, do you know where you want to go to dinner tomorrow?

  Kassie: I do. There’s a steakhouse on Fifth Avenue that I’ve been wanting to try.

  Luc: Then that’s where we’ll go.

  He wanted to add that he missed her and couldn’t wait to see her, but that might be pushing things.

  Kassie: Hey Luc.

  Luc: Yeah? What’s up, Kass?

  Kassie: I’m looking forward to dinner, too.

  Luc: Me too.

  That was better than nothing. His heart lifted, and a smile crept onto his lips. Maybe she did feel the same way he did.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  Kassie

  Kassie pulled the plastic curlers out of her hair and brushed out the loose, bouncy curls. She dusted on a little blush and applied eyeliner, then topped it all off with a little glittery lip gloss. She wasn’t a big makeup wearer, but something made her want to look nice for the dinner with Luc that she had won fair and square.

  She still regretted that their almost kiss hadn’t happened, that she hadn’t let herself give in to the moment, and she hoped there’d be another opportunity. There was bound to be more flirting tonight, and actually, she was counting on it. But how far would she let things go? That was the question.

  Their dinner wasn’t a true date, but she still chose to wear a comfortable short-sleeved dress and flat sandals anyway. She didn’t go out often, so why not make the most of the night?

  The lobby buzzer rang, and the video feed showed it was Luc. He looked handsome in snug blue jeans and a leather jacket. Kassie buzzed him in and took a deep breath, trying to mentally prepare herself for seeing him again. Her mom’s words kept going through her mind. But it was ultimately up to her.

  “Hey.” Kassie opened the door just as he reached her apartment.

  Luc’s eyes moved over her, and a small smirk slid across his lips. He slowly swiped his hand across his chin as he spoke. “Wow, you look nice. I’m afraid that I’m highly under dressed. Kassie… you… Wow.”

  She laughed at his reaction. “You already said that. But thanks.” She swept a glance over him, and couldn’t help thinking he looked hot in his jeans and fitted t-shirt. “You look nice, too.”

  “I guess you’re ready to go to dinner?” Luc held out his hand to her.

  “I can’t wait to try this place.” Kassie had exp
lored a lot around Pittsburgh since she’d moved here and had found some great restaurants and nightclubs.

  “Sounds good to me. Shall we go?” This time Luc held out his elbow for her to loop her arm around.

  Her mind was reluctant for such physical contact with him, but her body was quick to loop her arm in his. The bodily connection made her feel like she was on an official date instead of just taking the victory spoils from a bet. This level of closeness had her knees buckling and her breath shallow.

  The waiter brought their food to the table. The aroma of steak and potatoes infiltrated her senses and made her stomach growl. “Yeah, this was a good choice.”

  Luc nodded in agreement as he took a bite of steak. “Absolutely.”

  “I talked to my brother this morning. They’re having a party.” She felt silly mentioning it. Kaden always invited the whole team, so obviously Luc had also gotten an invite. She was mainly just trying to make conversation, but she also had another reason for mentioning it.

  “Yeah. I got the invite, too. You going?” He gazed long at her, as he took a bite of food and waited for her answer.

  A heavy sigh preceded her words. “I’m supposed to. Yeah. Kaden wants me to bring a date. Ali agreed and offered to set me up with someone.” Kassie shrugged her shoulders and mindlessly moved her food around her plate. “I wish they didn’t worry about me so much. Can’t they put that energy into Kaleb? I’m a big girl, and I can find my own dates.” She was looking at the table, trying hard not to meet Luc’s stare.

  There was a long pause before either of them spoke. They both concentrated on their food, the tension between them obvious now. Kassie knew who she’d want to take as her date, but getting the courage to ask was a different story.

  Luc finally broke the silence, with a smirk. “Well, isn’t this awkward?”

  “Okay, maybe a little.” The nervous laugh crept up on her again. This time she couldn’t mask it.

  Luc tilted his head and scrunched up his face. “I know I’m normally pretty amusing, but even I didn’t think my comment was that funny.”

  “Yeah, well…” Her face filled with heat at his remark. What else can I do, other than explain it to him? She was already embarrassed, so she had nothing else to lose. “I have this weird reflex. When I get nervous, I tend to laugh. Sometimes I can hide it, other times, I just look like a weirdo.” Like right now.

  The left half of Luc’s mouth curled up into a smile. “I wouldn’t say it’s weird. Cute, maybe. But not weird.”

  Her face still burned, but this time it wasn’t from embarrassment. Well, not the bad kind, anyway. This was caused by him and his flirtatious comments. “Oh. Thank you.”

  “You were at the last party Kaden had, weren’t you?”

  His change of subject threw her off. “Yes. I probably spent most of my time with Ali and my nephew.”

  “Yeah, you did. I saw you. I didn’t know you were Kaden’s sister, though. Because I… yeah. Found out you were Kaden’s sister.” He stopped himself as if he was going to or wanted to say something more. He cleared his throat then took a drink, ending whatever it was he was going to say.

  “Kaden’s sister. Yep. Like it or not, that’s a label I’ll never outgrow. Some days I wish I could.” She pushed her plate away, her appetite gone. Did being Kaden’s sister mean something bad? It sure sounded that way.

  Luc’s eyes never left her. “Don’t look so down, sweets. I promised you a treat after dinner. And I always make good on my promises.” As if he was matching her movements, Luc pushed his plate away, adding a sly grin. “I’m done with dinner. How about you?”

  “Luc, you don’t have to. Dinner was the deal, and it was enough. It was delicious and just what I wanted.”

  Luc put his hand up in protest. “Nope. I promised. Let’s get out of here and get something sweet, sweets.”

  Getting out of Luc’s sports car, Kassie looked around and realized she was familiar with this place. The Pink Ribbon Cupcakery. It was on the same street as Ali’s Pet Salon. She could see the closed salon from here. Ali had even brought a box of cupcakes home once.

  It was the cutest little cupcake shop. The motif was pink, like cotton-candy pink and white. Very candy inspired. The owner, a young woman with cotton-candy pink colored hair and a small diamond stud in her nose, was behind the counter.

  Kassie had a hard time deciding between the cupcake with pink icing and the cupcake with white icing that claimed to be champagne flavored. After some deciding, she was drawn in by the color and chose the pink.

  Luc easily chose a vanilla peanut butter cupcake with chocolate icing.

  Sitting at the small, pale pink table, Luc nibbled at the icing around the edges of his cupcake. “You’re staring at me.”

  “Oh, sorry. I just never heard of a peanut butter cupcake before.” She made a sour face.

  “What’s wrong with a peanut butter cupcake? It’s actually vanilla batter flavored like peanut butter. You should try a piece.”

  “No.” She shook her head more at the idea of sharing a bite of cupcake with him than at the flavor. She’d been known to try anything once.

  “C’mon. Try it. Just a piece.”

  His persuasiveness had her weak. Too weak to fight. Her eyes followed the chocolate-topped cupcake as he took a bite, leaving little cake crumbs on his lips until he swiped his tongue to clear them off. She was left speechless, and unable to look away.

  “Here.” Luc pulled a chunk of cupcake off with his fingers and held it across the table for her.

  She took a moment and looked at the cupcake in his fingers. It was too small for there to be any good way to take it out of his hand. It would just crumble.

  “Just taste it.” Luc urged with a half grin. He moved the treat closer to her mouth.

  It was a bad idea. Terrible idea. But she did it anyway. She ate the cake piece out of his hand. Before she could comprehend the sexual thoughts that quickly went through her mind after she took the sweet treat, he swiped his finger through the chocolate icing and put it up to her lips.

  “You really need to try it with the icing.” Luc put the chocolate icing right to her mouth, placing it just close enough that a dab touched her lips, forcing her to open up if she wanted to lick it off. When she did that, his finger grazed her lips, depositing the chocolate icing on her tongue.

  His deep eyes seemed darker than ever, and his smile devilish. She was afraid that her heart might beat out of her chest. She swirled her tongue around his icing-coated finger.

  Remembering they were in the middle of a very innocent sweets shop, she quickly pulled away. But the wave of sexual tension remained as he popped his finger into his own mouth, sucking off the remaining icing.

  Her breath caught in her throat, and a tingling sensation ran through her body. Holy shit. Kassie slid her chair back about an inch, just enough to give her room to breathe. Taking deep breaths, she stabilized her heart rate.

  “Good, huh?” Luc commented, breaking through her thoughts.

  “Yeah.” She had no idea. Her body was so busy focusing on him and his actions, her taste buds must’ve gone numb. Or at least the signal from her taste buds never reached her brain.

  The grin never left his face as he watched her from across the little table. Luc took another bite of his cupcake, but his stare stayed on her. After finishing his bite, he reached to her cupcake and took a swipe of pink icing.

  “How’s yours?” he asked, as he popped the icing into his mouth.

  “Good,” she replied, even though she hadn’t tasted it yet. Moving her eyes from him was difficult, but focusing on her cupcake was a better choice, unless she planned on going home with him. The way her body was tingling in all the right places told her that things were intensifying quickly.

  Kassie broke the bottom half of her cupcake off, and tossed it into her mouth.

  “You eat the bottom first?”

  “Always. I like the icing best, so I save it for last.”

  “H
uh. I’ll remember that.” He seemed amused and intrigued. Like he was putting that information away into his memory banks.

  She broke the top of the cupcake into two pieces, and then it took her two bites to finish each half. She couldn’t take one more accidental icing incident, so she was very careful to not smear any on her mouth.

  “Any thoughts yet?” Luc’s question was so vague that she had no idea what he was asking.

  She awkwardly swallowed the treat and had to cough to make sure it went down. “About?”

  “Who you’re going to take to the party?”

  She knew who she wanted to ask, but wasn’t sure if it was the best idea. What if he said no? He was going to be there anyway, and if he turned her down it would be awkward being there together. But then there was that whole cupcake thing that just happened…

  “Go with me,” Luc said calmly. His cupcake was gone and now all his focus was on her.

  “Like a date? No, wait, pretend I didn’t ask that.” Stupid, why did I ask that?

  Luc squared off his shoulders and gave a small shrug. “Absolutely like a date.”

  The idea sent chills through her. But then her mind went to her brother. She shook her head. It was Kaden’s party at his house. “No. I can’t be your date.”

  The grin that never left his face showed that he took no offense to her comment. “Why not?”

  “My brother… It’s his party. He won’t be happy about me bringing one of his teammates as my date.”

  “Kassie, c’mon. Be my date.”

  She knew what she wanted to say. She also knew what would be on the line if she did. But maybe they could make this work. His date. She couldn’t help herself. She slowly nodded her head. “Okay. Yes.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  Luc

  Dinner last night was supposed to just be about him making good on their bet. Maybe if he had stopped at dinner he could’ve kept it friendly. But he had to suggest cupcakes. That’s where it all took a dangerous turn. He was playing with fire, and he didn’t care if he got burned.