Breakout (San Francisco Strikers Book 1)

by Stephanie Kay

  She’d kept to herself for the most part. Luckily, Ethan had back-to-back away games this week, so she didn’t have to show her face at the arena. He’d been fired up in both, with multiple points spread between the two games. And he’d been fired up about where they stood, constantly calling her, checking in to see how she was doing. It was sweet and maddening at the same time. He’d be home tonight, and they were planning to spend the weekend together. She just had to get through today.

  “Knock, knock,” her mother’s voice came through Penny’s office door before she peeked her head into Penny’s office.

  Penny looked toward the ceiling. Really?

  “Mom. Ahh, what are you doing here?” she asked, tucking her hair behind her ears, hoping she looked presentable.

  “Can’t a mother stop by to take her daughter to lunch?”

  “A normal mother,” Penny mumbled under her breath.

  “You look tired.” Her mother stopped at the corner of Penny’s desk.

  “It’s been a long week. So, what are you doing here?” she asked again.

  “I want to take to you to lunch. We don’t spend enough time together. I haven’t seen you in a few weeks.”

  Right. Since Christmas when they’d practically thrown Michael on her.

  “You’ve never stopped by for lunch before.”

  “Stop arguing with me and let a mother take her daughter out for lunch.” There was steel under her mother’s smile. Her father may bluster, but her mother inspired a healthy level of fear. Not physically, of course, but her temper simmered like a dormant volcano before it exploded, and pity whoever got in her way.

  Penny pulled on her jacket and smoothed down her skirt as she walked around her desk. “I can spare an hour,” she said as she followed her mother out of the office.

  “That’s fine, dear. I just want to enjoy a nice lunch.” Why did Penny doubt that statement?

  They went to a café down the street from Penny’s office and quickly ordered. A glass of wine and a salad for her mother. Penny wanted a cheeseburger but settled on grilled chicken on a salad. She’d need a candy bar after this lunch. Luckily, she had three of them in her desk. She eyed her mother, three might not be enough.

  “How are you, dear?” her mother asked after the waiter left to grab their drinks.

  “I’m good.”

  “It was so great to see you at Christmas. I can’t wait to start planning Jill’s baby shower.”

  “I think we can hold off on that for at least a few months,” she replied.

  “I know. I just get so excited. I’m finally going to be a grandmother.”

  “Yes, it is exciting,” Penny said.

  “And it was so nice for Michael to join us for dinner. I just wish you hadn’t left so abruptly.”

  “Gee, I wonder why I left,” Penny said. “Could it be because you blindsided me with my cheating ex?”

  “Really Penny, there’s no need to get snippy,” her mother admonished.

  “Are you kidding me? Why would you think that inviting the man who cheated on me would be a good idea?” she bit out. Dammit. She wished she’d ordered a glass of wine. Or maybe a shot.

  “Calm down, dear. You two needed to talk it out,” her mother replied before she daintily dabbed her lips with her napkin, and then draped it across her lap. Like they were having lunch at a country club or something. Appearances were everything. And a heated conversation at lunch was not appropriate.

  “Why did you invite him? In fact, why are we having lunch? If it’s to talk about him, Michael and I are over. Why can’t you understand that? He cheated on me. I can’t forgive that.” Penny felt her cheeks heat. She knew that she’d raised her voice toward the end and she glanced around to see if anyone had noticed. Luckily, they were in a back corner, and the lunch rush had yet to arrive.

  “Have you talked to him? Did he explain that it was a one-time mistake?”

  “Wait. Did you talk to him? Is that what he told you?”

  “That’s what he told your father. Penny, mistakes like this happen. We’re only human. You two have a history that you can’t just walk away from.”

  “Actually, I can walk away from it. I deserve better, and as my mother, I wish you would support that. I’m sorry that I’ve ruined your perfect family image, but I’m not going to take him back just to make the gossip go away at dad’s office. How could you ask that of me?”

  “Be reasonable,” her mother said. The waiter stopped by and dropped off their drinks.

  Her mother’s Chardonnay looked pretty appealing at this point. “I can’t believe you want me to take him back. After everything he’s done.”

  “Yes, perhaps Christmas wasn’t the best time to invite him over, but you two were so happy and I hate to see you throw away that future because of one mistake. They happen, and successful relationships are about working through the tough spots and growing together.”

  Penny was tired of reading between the lines. “What aren’t you telling me? Why are you so determined to get us back together?”

  “I never wanted you girls to know, but I cheated on your father once.”

  Penny gasped. Sure, she assumed someone had cheated, but she expected it to have been her father. “Why would you do that to Dad? How could you?”

  “It was before you girls came along. It was a one-time stupid mistake after we’d been married for a few years. I’d miscarried our first child the year before and was so depressed and your father was always working.”

  Holy shit. The bombs just kept dropping.

  She reached out and grabbed her mother’s hand. “You never told us that you miscarried before us.”

  “It’s not something that I wanted to talk about.”

  “But then you cheated and Dad forgave you?” Penny asked.

  “Yes. It was a stupid mistake with a man I’d grown up with. Someone I thought was a friend, and one night, we were out to dinner and your father was at work. One thing led to another…” Her mother paused, shaking her head. “I told your father right after it happened. He was furious, but we talked it out. We went to counseling and we worked through it because we love each other and we weren’t ready to throw everything we had, everything we’d built, away.”

  “Wow. I—I don’t know what to say to that.”

  “I just don’t want you to give up what you have with Michael. He’s a part of our family and he’s so sorry about what happened.” Her mother looked so contrite, so sincere, but it wasn’t the same situation and the further she moved away from him, away from what happened, the more she realized that he wasn’t right for her. Possibly never had been.

  “I’m glad that you and Dad worked everything out, but I don’t want to move past this. I don’t want to forgive him. Michael and I aren’t right for each other. I know it makes work a little awkward for Dad, but I’ve moved on and I need you to accept that.”

  “Right. With that athlete.” Her mother said, with a flippant wave of her hand, and Penny bristled. Apparently, her mother had seen the pictures.

  “Yes. That athlete, who’s been nothing but wonderful to me,” she fired back.

  “You barely know him. How long has it been? A month? Two? He’s just going to disappoint you.”

  “You can’t know that, and actually, we met in Italy. I had a wild vacation fling with him in my honeymoon suite. It was glorious.” She wanted to burst out laughing at the shocked expression on her mother’s face. She hadn’t been able to resist throwing that last part out.

  “You what? In your honeymoon suite? What does that say about you?” her mother asked.

  “Me? After what you just told me about you cheating? You’re going to question something I did after I ended it with Michael? And it says that I was a single woman who wanted to have a good time, and I finally found a great guy.” She hated defending herself and her actions to her mother.

  “But how long will it last? He’s not known for serious relationships.”

  “And how would you k
now that? You can’t believe everything you read online.” She wanted this conversation to end. How dare her mother judge her.

  “It’s just a fling that will end with your heart broken again. Why not end it now? Save yourself the pain. Talk to Michael. Hear him out. You two were made for each other, and he’s heartbroken about what happened.”

  “Then maybe he should have kept his zipper up at work.”

  “Penny,” her mother chided. Penny glared back, refusing to apologize for her comment. It was the truth.

  “We won’t talk about Michael or this athlete. Tell me how work is going. Shouldn’t they be promoting you soon? You’ve been there for over four years now.” Story of her life. If her mother wasn’t harping on her love life, it was about how slowly she was moving up in her career. God, she needed something stronger than water if she was going to survive this lunch.

  “I know, and I’d hoped they would’ve promoted me by now, but it hasn’t happened. It can be very frustrating. And now I’m training another associate and…” she trailed off. “I don’t want to talk about work.”

  “I’m sorry you are disappointed at work. You know if you’d only pursued a law degree like we wanted, you would be a partner at your father’s firm by now.” And the hits just kept coming. Her parents had wanted her to become a lawyer like her father. They’d pressured her when she was in college, but she had no desire to follow in her father’s footsteps. She loved being an accountant.

  “I never wanted to be a lawyer. That was all you and dad. And I enjoy what I do, I’d just hoped to be further along in my career by now. I’ve been thinking about going out on my own, actually, but it’s too much of a risk to give up my steady paycheck.” Why did she tell her mother that?

  “I’m sure that if you decided to go out on your own, your father would love to help you. Perhaps send a few high-profile clients your way,” her mother said.

  “And in return for me smoothing things over with Michael, I’m sure.”

  “Really dear, why must you think the worst of us? We just want to support you and help you become as successful as you should be,” her mother said, but Penny could spot the requirements behind her mother’s statement, and she was not interested.

  “I don’t want your help,” she replied. Or the guilt trip that would surely come along with it.

  “Think about it. And maybe you could come over for dinner again.”

  “So you can ambush me with Michael again? I think not.”

  “You’re so dramatic, Penny. I still think you need to give Michael another chance. What’s the harm in talking to him?”

  “The harm? I don’t know, maybe the fact that he cheated on me and my family thinks I should just get over that. I’m moving on, but I will never forgive Michael for what he did. Nor do I want to.” Penny set her napkin down and pushed back from the table. “I’m sorry, mother, but I have to get back to the office.” Before she lost her shit.

  The brief attempt at compassion she’d felt toward her mother after her mother’s confession vanished with each comment that Penny should forgive Michael. It wasn’t happening.

  “Okay, dear. Just think about what we talked about and enjoy the rest of your day,” her mother said at a slightly higher decibel. God forbid the strangers in the restaurant discover that her mother had been stormed out on by her daughter. Penny shook her head as she escaped the restaurant. She needed those candy bars. Stat.

  “The good luck charm is back,” Sully said, sliding onto the bench next to Ethan after their first shift of the night.

  “What?” His gaze immediately went to the penalty box, and he scanned the surrounding seats, but didn’t see her. “Where?”

  “The lower bowl, loge two, a few rows back. Where some of the WAGs like to sit when they want to be close to the action,” Sully said, and Ethan spotted her.

  She gave him a wave, holding up her blue-flagged book. The flags were dwindling. She’d be an expert in no time.

  “Hi,” he mouthed and then felt like an idiot when the guys caught him and snickered. He’d given her a security pass and introduced her to a few of the wives and girlfriends of the other players at the last game, but he loved that she’d rather watch him play up close than hang out in the WAGs room.

  “Wow, she finds your playing so boring that she has to bring a book?” Baz asked with a loud guffaw.

  “No, ass. She’s learning about hockey because it’s something I care about,” he shot back, and immediately regretted those last words as Baz laughed harder.

  “You two done chit-chatting, over here? I need you to focus,” Coach said, nudging Ethan in the back so he’d know exactly who that comment was directed to.

  “I’m focused,” he muttered.

  “On the game. Not the girl,” Baz teased.

  “Don’t worry Bugsy, she’s his good luck charm. We’ll win now,” Sully said.

  “Don’t get cocky. Pittsburgh is at the top of their conference, and we need these points,” Bugsy said.

  Ethan nodded in agreement, and slid down the bench. They were hanging out in wild card range, but a win tonight, as long as Anaheim lost, would bump them to third in their division. It was all a numbers game, which was probably why it fascinated Penny so much. He bit back a smile, not wanting the guys to tease him again, but she was so freaking adorable when she wanted to talk stats. Her interest in what he loved wasn’t just superficial and that thrilled him.

  “Let’s get out there and show everyone how well your good luck charm works,” Sully said, hopping over the boards, Ethan following behind him, tapping his stick on the ice for Millsy to pass him the puck.

  The puck hit Ethan’s tape, and he was off, deking past Pittsburgh’s captain, and heading toward the net. Pittsburgh’s goalie was a brick wall, but was weak on the blocker side, so Ethan took aim and fired. The clang of the puck hitting the pipes rang through his ears, and Cheesy got the rebound, knocking it into the back of the net. As the siren went off, the crowd roared to its feet, and Ethan slammed into the group hug, grins wide, backs slapped, before they skated past their bench, glove taps down the line.

  “Guess she is a good luck charm,” Bugsy yelled out as Ethan slid onto the bench.

  Tonight was definitely looking up.

  ***

  “You guys were amazing,” Penny said as he followed her into her house later that night.

  “The team wanted to say thanks to my good luck charm,” he said, pressing a kiss to her blush stained cheek. He’d had another great game, with a goal and an assist. They’d been tied until the last minute when Dom had scored the winning goal.

  And as excited as he’d been by the win, seeing Penny in the stands, cheering him on, waving when she caught his eye, meant everything. They’d stayed in for the week, and he’d avoided stopping by the office to take her to lunch. She’d asked him to stay away, and he’d reluctantly agreed. He’d been tempted to show up and roam the halls searching for the rumor-starting asshole and giving them a piece of his mind, or a taste of his fist.

  “I’m glad I could be of assistance,” she said. That twinkle in her eyes had faded a few days ago and he was grateful to see it back. Screw her damn co-workers. Now that Robert knew the truth, his uncle was happy for him, he only wished he’d had a heads-up.

  “If it gets tight toward the end, you might have to travel with us to away games,” he said, flashing her a grin. The guys had suggested that tonight in the locker room after the game, and Bugsy looked like he was almost considering it.

  “I don’t think I’d get approved for all that time off, especially during tax season,” she said.

  “I know. So how is work going?” he asked when they’d settled on the couch. He slung an arm around her shoulder, pulling her close, and she burrowed into his side, her breasts pressed against his ribs. He truly had no desire to talk about work or the game.

  She sighed. “It’s okay. Still getting looks. Kevin’s being his typical asshole self. But I’m ignoring it and putting extra effo
rt into my job. That’s all I can do.”

  “I’m sorry you’re dealing with this bullshit. Our relationship has nothing to do with your job. You’ve worked hard for this promotion, and you’re going to get it, if that’s what you want,” he said, his heart aching for her.

  “But if it happens, will the rumors overshadow it? Will it always be a question of how I got it?”

  “That’s bullshit and you know it. You’ve put in your time and you’ve worked your ass off for it.”

  “Yes, I have. But does that matter at this point?” She shook her head. “I don’t want to talk about work tonight.”

  “Okay. Just know that I’m here for you if you need anything. A shoulder to cry on, an ear to listen, a well-placed kick when we find out who started this nonsense. A mouth to kiss when you want to forget everything else.”

  She shifted, straddling his lap, and gave him a hard kiss. “Your list-making abilities are such a turn on.”

  He chuckled, and nipped her ear, enjoying the shudder that rocked through her.

  “And how did you know that was exactly what I wanted?”

  “Because I just know,” he whispered against her mouth, sinking his hands into her hair and anchoring her head to his, deepening the kiss.

  She sank into his body, her breasts pressed firmly against his chest, her hands gripping his shirt, her tongue meeting and tangling with his.

  He swallowed her moan, his hands trailing down her spine, and she shivered against him. He reached the hem of her jersey and slipped his hand underneath, pulling her shirt up to reach her warm, soft skin.

  She rocked against him, his cock hard between them, stretching his suit pants. He needed them naked now.

  He broke the kiss, quickly divesting her of her jersey and turtleneck. The flush had spread to her chest and he leaned in, pressing kisses along the top edge of her bra, scraping his thumb over her nipples and watching them pebble under his attention.