Breakout (San Francisco Strikers Book 1)

by Stephanie Kay

  Penny ignored the proffered hand and got up, swiping at her ass and straightening her shirt. “Leave me alone. I’ve had a bad week, and today was a nightmare. Can’t you just let me work out in peace?”

  “Okay. This calls for reinforcements. And we will discuss your behavior or whatever the hell is up your ass over takeout.”

  “What kind of reinforcements? And will there be wine?” If she was going to suffer through an interrogation, she might as well have a buzz.

  “I’m calling Lexi. I’m sure Grant can watch Abby. Obviously, this is an emergency,” Amanda said, that stupid grin still in place.

  “Don’t make a big deal about this,” Penny grumbled as they walked back to the locker room, and Amanda quickly grabbed her phone, tapping out a message.

  “She’ll be at your place in fifteen,” Amanda said, clearly proud of herself.

  Fuck. Her plans of gorging on carbs and disappearing into a bottle of wine by herself vanished. She refused to pout, but she was not looking forward to this at all.

  It was a short walk back to her townhouse, one of the few reasons she used to convince herself to attend the class at least once a week. She needed to ramp it up to at least twice a week, but she had so many legit reasons to skip it. TV, her Kindle, her sweats…all viable motives to stay home.

  “Don’t you just feel so refreshed?” Amanda asked, as she followed Penny through the front door of Penny’s townhouse a few minutes later, and headed for the kitchen.

  “Normally yes, but you two are going to grill me, so refreshed isn’t exactly what I’m feeling right now,” Penny said, grabbing the menu—not that she needed it. It was going to be an orange chicken and rice night. White rice, that was slightly healthier than fried rice, right?

  “If you provide us with the info we need then we won’t need to grill you. Apparently, more is going on than you’ve told us, so you’re going to fess up. I’ll grab the first shower,” Amanda said, before heading down the hallway to the bathroom. “Don’t forget to order me an eggroll.”

  “I don’t think you deserve an eggroll,” Penny muttered, pulling up the restaurant’s info on her phone. She quickly placed their order and then plopped down on the couch.

  Penny was still trying to figure out how to tell her best friends that the man she’d had crazy rebound sex with was her boss’s nephew, when Amanda came back down the hall ten minutes later.

  “Your turn.”

  “Money’s on the counter,” Penny replied as she escaped to take a quick shower. She focused on thoughts of orange chicken and rice and refused to let Ethan creep into her mind.

  “Food’s here. And so is Lexi,” Amanda yelled just as Penny made her way back into the living room ten minutes later. “Now, what is going on?”

  “Yes. What is going on with you? Is it Ethan? Did you track him down?” Lexi asked.

  Penny put her wet curls up into a clip. “Can I make up my plate first? I’m famished.”

  Amanda laughed. “Of course. You definitely worked up an appetite. I can’t remember the last time you were so energetic in class. But be quick about it, no stalling.”

  As Penny filled her plate, Amanda and Lexi settled around the coffee table.

  “Is this going to cut it, or do we need something stronger?” Amanda asked, holding up a bottle of wine.

  “I hope not, and I do have to work tomorrow. Wine should be fine.”

  “Okay.” Amanda filled her own plate, snatching up an egg roll.

  “You know you can have mine,” Penny said.

  “I don’t know why you don’t like these. They’re so good.”

  Penny wrinkled her nose. “No thanks. Too much green stuff inside.” She really wasn’t a fan of vegetables.

  “Just tastes like fried yummy goodness to me. Your loss. Anyway. So, what’s going on?”

  “With what?” She knew she shouldn’t stall.

  “Umm, with you beating the shit out of that bag tonight. You getting flustered when I mentioned Ethan. I know you’ve been holding out on us, and that hurts, Penny,” Amanda said, feigning pain.

  “I’m just a little frustrated.”

  “So, spill. You get me for at least an hour and then I should probably head home. Grant is great with Abby, but I don’t want to miss bedtime,” Lexi said, and Penny’s chest squeezed.

  “I’m so happy for you, Lexi. Grant is amazing,” Penny said. It’d only been four months since Lexi had gotten her shit together and worked everything out with Grant, and Penny wanted that. The love in their eyes whenever they saw each other or talked about each other. She’d thought she’d had that with Michael. That was a lie. She knew she hadn’t had that. But she’d thought they’d be happy together, until it had come crashing down around her. Shit, her life had done that a few times in the last few months.

  “Yes, he’s amazing. Now stop stalling and spill your guts,” Lexi said.

  “Yes, you blew us both off about Ethan, and we want to know what is going on,” Amanda chimed in.

  She had to stop stalling. They were her friends—her best friends. They’d been there to pick her up off the floor—literally, at her bachelorette party, and Amanda still offered, almost daily, to run Michael over with her car.

  She’d tried to put her life back in order after she’d returned from Italy, but things were still strained with her family. And Michael. He needed to stop trying to get in touch with her. She’d spoken with him when she’d returned from Italy, telling him it was over. But he still called. And called.

  And then there was Ethan. Fuck, this was a nightmare. She pinched herself, but the only result was a bruise on her arm and a reality she didn’t want to face. When Amanda and Lexi had picked her up from the airport, she’d looked like a puffy, messy fright from all her crying. They’d consoled her over comfort food and wine that night, assuming she’d still been upset about Michael, which had angered them even more. Their shock when she’d told them about Ethan almost made her chuckle. Not that she’d told them everything.

  “So, um, yes, that was Italian Ethan and, funny story, he’s pissed because we didn’t really say goodbye. I kind of left him a note saying thanks for a good time and that checkout was at eleven,” she said, shoving a piece of orange chicken in her mouth, munching away like nothing was wrong. Until this moment, she’d kept that little nugget from her friends, and she held back her laugh as they both gaped at her.

  “Seriously?” Lexi asked, dropping her fork.

  “Wow. That’s kind of brutal, Penny. I’m sort of impressed,” Amanda said.

  “Amanda, really? You’re impressed?” Lexi asked.

  “She was sad and finally threw caution—and her lists, most likely—to the wind and had some fun. She needed it,” Amanda said.

  “I agree, but that note might’ve been a bit much. You really said that checkout was at eleven?” Lexi asked, shaking her head.

  “I sent him room service to soften the blow,” Penny said, playing with her wine glass. Yeah, it hadn’t been her finest moment, but she’d panicked. She did that a lot around him.

  Amanda chuckled. “Baller move, Penny. So not like you.”

  “You know I felt bad. You saw me come off that plane. I just didn’t know what to do about him, so I bolted instead of talking to him,” Penny said.

  “Which is exactly what you did when you saw him in the bar,” Lexi said.

  “I know. Ethan said the same thing today.”

  “Today?” Amanda asked.

  “You saw him again? Today?” Lexi asked.

  “So, another funny story. He’s Robert’s nephew.”

  “Robert? Like our boss, Robert?” Lexi asked, her eyes wide.

  “Umm. Yes,” Penny stuttered.

  “No, that’s not possible. How is that possible?” Lexi asked.

  “Yes, how the hell is that possible?” Amanda piped in. “Wow. Fate is freaking crazy.”

  “I wouldn’t call it fate. Just horrible, horrible bad luck,” Penny grumbled.

  “So
how did you see him?” Lexi asked.

  “I was in Robert’s office earlier today, and Ethan walked in to take his uncle out to lunch.”

  “Oh shit,” Amanda said.

  “Oh shit, is right. When Robert introduced us, I claimed not to know Ethan and then Robert joked about how we’d both been in Italy at the same time and wouldn’t it be funny if we’d run into each other.”

  “Oh crap.”

  “It’s not funny,” Penny said, glaring at Amanda, while Lexi just stared, her mouth hanging open.

  “Damn. I can’t believe I missed seeing him. And, wow. What are the odds?” Lexi said.

  “I’ll tell you what the odds are. They should’ve been freaking minimal, like non-existent,” Penny bit out, knocking back the rest of her wine and holding out her empty glass to Lexi. “Load me up. I need it.”

  “Yeah you do,” Amanda said between chuckles.

  “This is not funny,” Penny grumbled.

  “Then what happened?” Lexi asked.

  “I escaped, and he followed me. Started asking me questions and accusing me of knowing who he was when we were in Italy. I stupidly talked about my frustrations at not being promoted a few times. I had no idea he was related to my boss. Jesus. How the hell could this happen?”

  “Wait. He accused you of knowing who he was? What, that you slept with him so he’d put in a good word for you with Robert? That’s ridiculous,” Lexi said, sitting up straighter, her anger apparent.

  “That bastard. How dare he,” Amanda said.

  “I set him straight on that and asked him to leave. He made a parting jab that he finally had the chance to say goodbye to me, right before he slammed my door. What if he tells Robert?”

  “Hopefully he won’t. Honestly, he sounds hurt,” Lexi said.

  “Oh please. I’m sure it’s just his pride. He’s basically a celebrity. I googled him and he always has a new girl on his arm. Who would skip out on a star hockey player, player being the correct term. Hopefully he’s not vindictive, but I have no idea. I’m dreading tomorrow. What if he shows up again?”

  “Then you ping me, and I’ll rush to your office and kick him out,” Lexi said.

  “I can’t believe this is happening,” Penny said, shaking her head.

  “We’ll figure it out. And I doubt that he’ll show up at the office that much. The season started two months ago, and this is the first time you’ve seen him, so he probably doesn’t stop in to take Robert to lunch all that often,” Lexi said.

  “I hope you’re right.”

  Penny dug back into her orange chicken. She didn’t want to talk about Ethan anymore, let alone think about him. He was a wild card she hadn’t planned on and that freaked her the hell out.

  “I’m grabbing the first round,” Colin O’Sullivan said Wednesday night when they walked into Byrne’s.

  “Damn straight you are,” Baz said. “Your pull-up performance was weak today.”

  “Yeah, yeah. You edged me out by one, but a bet is a bet,” Sully said, making his way toward the bar.

  They had two nights off, after playing—and winning—back-to-back games. Morning practice had been pushed back a few hours, so Ethan had agreed to a few drinks with some teammates. He should’ve known they’d head to Adam’s bar.

  The scene of the incident.

  He would not look around the room to see if Penny was here. No. Absolutely not. And he would not think about running into her at his uncle’s office earlier this week. What were the fucking odds of that? He was still having trouble processing that one. And he still felt like an ass for accusing her of knowing who he was in Italy. Her shock had been as clear as the glass around the rink when she’d seen him for the first time since Italy in this very bar last week.

  His gut reaction had been to accuse, and he wasn’t proud of that. Or his parting shot in her office. Usually, he wasn’t a disaster like this. Fuck. Why did she throw him so off balance?

  “So is she here?” Sully asked, when he brought over their drinks.

  “Is who here?” Baz asked, quickly scanning the bar.

  “That girl from last week. The one who ran out of here when she saw you,” Sully said.

  “Why am I just hearing about this? You chase another girl off, Hartless?” Baz asked.

  Fuck. He hated that nickname. He’d been hoping to leave it in New York. Most guys called him Harty, but Hartless came out whenever his dating life did. It’s not like he set out to hurt anyone. Every woman he dated knew the score going in. And he really didn’t want to talk about Penny with the guys. He was still trying to figure out what to do with the fact that she worked for his freaking uncle.

  “Ah, yeah. Ran into some girl I dated. It was nothing,” he said, trying to brush it off. “So, last night’s game was awesome. I think we’re really gelling as a team.”

  “Nope. You’re hiding something, and it sounds like it’s a doozy,” Baz said.

  He never should’ve agreed to come out tonight. Especially to this bar. He didn’t want to think about Penny, but he’d spend all night looking over his shoulder. Why did she do this to him? Her ditching him in Italy and bolting every time he’d seen her since should make her feelings and intentions clear. She wanted nothing to do with him.

  He refused to believe that was why he was interested. But it had to be. He’d rarely pursued anything that wasn’t a sure thing.

  The whole situation was insane. Shit. This was a disaster.

  “Hey, Hartless, give it up already and fill me in,” Baz said. Ethan glared at the guy. He was the worst gossip on the team, and Ethan had no desire to give him any fodder.

  “She’s just some girl I met over the summer before I moved here. Didn’t expect to see her again. No crazy story.” Had that come out as nonchalant as he’d hoped?

  “Looked like a lot of drama to me,” Sully said.

  Ethan shrugged. “Just shock. Nothing more.”

  “Not sure I’m buying what you’re selling,” Baz said.

  “Not sure I care. Now, doesn’t Sully owe us drinks?” Ethan asked, trying to change the focus away from him.

  “Did you know she lived here?” Sully asked.

  “Yes. Just didn’t plan on seeing her again.”

  Baz laughed. “Hartless probably broke her heart. Not nice, Hartless. Not nice.”

  “She looked pretty shocked to see you,” Sully said.

  “Yeah. So, did we come here to drink or gossip?” Ethan asked. He’d given up the pretense of being subtle.

  “You have much to learn, my boy. We can do both, but I’ll let you off the hook for right now because I’m a nice guy. Although I make no promises after a few beers,” Baz said, with a loud laugh. “Sully, go grab a round.”

  “I wonder if Adam knows her. I should ask,” Sully said, a grin on his face.

  Ethan glared. “How about no.”

  “Are you sure? Maybe she’s a regular,” Sully said.

  Ethan bit back his groan, refusing to give up any more information. They didn’t need to know that Ethan could find Penny any time he wanted to. He just wouldn’t be inviting the guys to lunch with Robert any time soon. Not that lunch with his uncle was a normal occurrence, even if he’d made plans to do just that in a few days.

  “You don’t need to do that,” Ethan said.

  “He who doth protest too much, or some shit,” Baz said, his grin wide.

  “Doth protest? Who says that?”

  “I’m hooking up with a grad student. She’s studying Shakespeare or something,” Baz said.

  “Wow. So, she’s slumming it with you,” Ethan teased.

  “I’m very intelligent behind my rough exterior,” Baz said, running a hand down his long beard. At least the guy had put all his teeth back in tonight.

  “So, Sully, how about those beers?” Ethan asked.

  “On it. Baz, if you get anything out of him, I expect a full report,” Sully said before heading to the bar.

  “You two are like gossipy old hens,” Ethan muttered.


  “Old hens? Who says that?” Baz barked out.

  His grandmother used to say that. Man, he missed her. She would’ve loved Penny. He paused. Where the ever-loving fuck had that come from? Yep, he was a mess.

  “What did I miss?” Sully said, breaking into Ethan’s downward spiral a few minutes later.

  “I think we’ve lost him again to the girl who doesn’t mean anything,” Baz said, and Ethan glared at both of them, snagging a beer from Sully’s hand and gulping down half the pint.

  “You good?” Sully asked.

  “Just thirsty.”

  “So, I think we should play a game,” Baz said.

  Ethan eyed his teammate warily. “What kind of game?” He heard his fair share of stories about Baz and the man’s pranks and games that never went well for anyone aside from Baz.

  “We need to get you out of your doldrums after being bailed on by the mystery woman,” Baz teased.

  “This probably isn’t going to end well,” Sully said, echoing Ethan’s thoughts.

  “Probably not,” Ethan grumbled.

  “Come on. Have some fun. You clearly need it,” Baz said. “How long has it been since you’ve had any fun? Wait…when was the last time you got any?”

  “I’ve been busy. It’s been a crazy few months, the trade, moving, the start of the season,” Ethan said, surprised he hadn’t ticked that list off on his fingers. That was something Penny would’ve done. He bit back his smile. Her love of lists was epic. He’d invaded her lunch in Siena, the day after their vineyard meeting. She’d been nibbling on gelato as she flipped through her heavily flagged guide book. The pink bits of plastic on almost every page.

  He’d watched her remove a pink flag as she walked up the steps to the church, and he hadn’t been able to stop himself from asking.

  She’d told him that after she visited a landmark or museum, she removed the flag. That her goal was to remove every flag before she went home. How else would she have known she’d succeeded in seeing everything?

  It was oddly adorable, and he’d offered to help her clear that book. They’d started with the cathedral in Siena and visited every museum she’d flagged over the following days. It’d been the start of an unforgettable week. One that had ended with her bailing. She’d removed the last flag that final afternoon so he should’ve seen it coming. Fuck. It wasn’t supposed to sting.