by Misty Wright
"I asked you for your name," he repeated, undeterred by her reply. That's because he saw where her eyes went. There was an attraction there, even if she didn't act like it. When a woman looked at a man's mouth, she was interested. It was brief, but he noticed it. He was experienced enough to pick out the most subtle hints and hell, she was subtle.
"Are you interested in buying an arrangement?" she said, avoiding the question. She had to or she was going to start ogling him again. If he said no, then he'd hopefully leave because she somehow couldn't find the words to say to him. At the same time, she was thinking that if he was crazy, it was a complete waste of a gorgeous man. Could god be that cruel? Who knew? Well, at least he wasn't gay. No one could accuse him of that, especially with how aggressively flirtatious he was with her.
Ah, Mark thought, feeling his ego rise to the challenge, so that's the way it was. Well, he was a patient man. There hadn't been one time that he could remember when he didn't get a woman he wanted, so if she wanted to play that way, he'd oblige her. He looked around at the colorful displays.
"Sure, why not?" He gestured toward the store entrance without taking his eyes off her. "For someone special," he said. "A beautiful woman. I wouldn't mind if you helped me pick out the flowers. Do you have time?"
She gave him a pleasant smile. "It's what I do," she said. Well, the man had the audacity to hit on her but buy flowers for someone else! Now she thought he was crazy and arrogant to boot. How many women did he have chasing him?
"Then I chose right."
She paused ever so slightly as he waved an arm toward the open door of her and her sister's shop. He said it as if it had nothing to do with flowers. She actually started to get a little irritated. He was still hitting on her but buying flowers for another woman? She didn't think she'd ever met a more egocentric man in her life.
Janine had just hung up from speaking with his wife when Mark started following the woman in the store. Then he turned and held up his splayed fingers, mouthing "five minutes." Janine lifted his arm and tapped his watch, but he couldn't stop the smile that pulled across his face.
Mark shrugged sheepishly. Then he waved an arm toward her backside just before she went in the store. He followed it with a grin, causing Janine to laugh. It was an expression that said, Can you blame me? Janine didn't mind waiting for him at all, if Mark didn't mind the repercussions.
*
It was odd, really, because Mark always had women around him and had his pick, yet he made him pull over so he could check out this one. It was interesting, and he really didn't mind sticking around to see how it went.
Twenty minutes later, he was back in the car with a bouquet of flowers
"What the hell is that?" Janine asked as Mark turned and set them in the back seat.
"Give them to Jennifer." He gave him a look of defenselessness and turned away.
Janine erupted into laughter while starting the engine. "You are a sucker. I take it she turned you down?" he said, pulling out of the parking space into the flowing traffic while glancing at Mark. Obviously, whatever had happened didn't go well, because Jennifer wasn't the flower type and Mark went as far as buying them to impress the girl. Well, if Mark bought them, Jennifer would probably be flattered because that wasn't typical of him at all.
Come to think of it, not impressing the flower girl was kind of surprising, because Mark certainly didn't have any trouble winning attention from the opposite sex. He was oddly quiet after that. Janine looked at him again.
He had his elbow on the window ledge and was caressing the stubble of his jaw with his thumb and forefinger in thought. Janine was hoping he'd let him in on what was going on, but he still hadn't. How long had it been going on? Is this why he seemed preoccupied lately? Janine wanted to ask because Mark was his best friend, but he wouldn't pry. If and when Mark wanted to say something, he would do so when he was ready.
Jennifer, his wife, made him describe the woman to him over the phone. He was glad that she was secure in their relationship, because some of the things he said would make any other wife raging with jealousy, but Jennifer knew that she was the love of his life because not one day went by that he didn't tell her. Besides, as far as he was concerned, there was no other woman more beautiful than her. And she was the mother of his son, which was another plus. So, if Mark was going out of his way for a woman, like him, his wife was very curious.
Mark was a nice-looking man with black hair, brown eyes, and a strong athletic build. He had no shortage of female admirers. Janine should know; he and Mark had been friends since they were in preschool, so for more than twenty years, and they knew each other well. They had been drafted at the age of 20 for different teams, but didn't get together again until they were 23. He, Mark, and Eric, his right winger, were the best offensive line in the league.
Janine glanced at his watch again and shook his head. They were going to pay for being late for the first practice of the season with the team. It didn't matter that Mark and Janine had diligently been on the ice for the last two weeks unofficially because his father insisted on it to help the two new rookies. He would still be angry with them over this. People who didn't know the dynamics of the team might think it was crazy that a 28-year-old man still took orders from his father, but his father was the General Manager of their team.
Janine's father wasn't just the General Manager; he and Jennifer owned part of the team. It used to belong to his father-in-law, who had left it to him in the will, but Janine didn't want it and neither did his wife. However, he managed to finally convince her to accept it, and she gave half ownership to his father. He thought she should have part of the legacy that her father had built, despite the way he had treated her.
Despite being the daughter of a billionaire, she wasn't spoiled by money. In fact, she really didn't want anything to do with her father's money or business. So as long as Dutch dealt with all of the business of the team, she would have a stake in it. If he had said no, chances were she would have sold it. None of them wanted the team to be owned by someone who didn't know how to deal with hockey or hockey players. His father was a star player in his youth and didn't just manage the team, he was on the ice for every practice. He also took care of the discipline aspect. Janine knew he and Mark would be disciplined for being late on the first official day of practice, and it wouldn't be pretty, either.
*
Half an hour later, they were more than forty minutes late for practice as they pulled into the arena.
"I'm letting Dad know that this is your fault," Janine said before getting out of the car. "You know this is going to hurt."
"I can take it," Mark replied with amusement despite knowing it was most likely going to be rough. Janine shot him a look of disbelief. Mark did have a better sense of humor than him, but there was nothing to joke about when it came to his father.
Four hours later, they were sitting side by side, exhausted and hunched over in the dressing room. They still had their full gear on, even though they were soaked with their own sweat. The others had left an hour ago, but as Janine had predicted, his father wasn't happy about their tardiness. They had sat down ten minutes ago, and still didn't have enough energy to even get undressed yet or even talk. Both of their faces were still flushed from exertion and sweat dripped off every inch of them.
"I hate you," Janine finally managed to say. "I've said it before, but I really mean it this time."
"I hate me, too," Mark said, wiping his brow with a towel. "I was hoping for a stroke so it would end. Jesus, don't you own the team?"
"Actually, my wife owns it," Janine admitted.
"Janine, you told me that you yourself inherited it in the will," Mark countered.
He grinned. "Yeah, but I gave it back to her for her 23rd birthday last month. It took some convincing, but she accepted it as long as Dad took fifty-one percent. I can't own the team. I'd have players bitching to me all the time if they found out. So, she gave the control to dad. She really doesn't want the r
esponsibility."
"Your father is the General Manager; he shouldn't have a stake in us. Your wife gives him too much free reign, then," Mark added with some irritation. He didn't miss the amusement in Janine's tone, either. It was his own fault, too, making him madder at himself than Dutch, so that didn't help. He'd made them late and joked about it. Now he had paid for it. "Not only that, but what type of General Manager insists on torturing the players on the ice?"
*
"Dad does." Janine glanced at him with a stern look from those pale blue eyes of his. "Besides, you knew better. You know what he's like. Remember what happened when I got caught up with a girl?" His father had worked them like slaves for several days straight until they could only think about hockey and nothing else. They had even dreamed about the bloody game. It worked, though; they had taken the championship.
"Seriously? You're using that incident to this one?" Mark said, incredulous at the comparison.
Janine grinned at his exasperation. "I am."
"If I remember correctly, that girl you got in so much trouble over is the one you married," Mark argued. "Janine, that was just mean."
Janine released a laugh, unable to contain it anymore. He couldn't help it. They both deserved this and they knew it. They had really screwed up by being late, especially on this day, of all days. As for the last time it had happened, Janine didn't regret it one bit.
"Yeah, and it was worth it-marrying her, I mean," said Janine. "You're right about today, though, it was hell."
Despite his protests, he could understand why Mark was frustrated. His father had always paired them together. If one got in trouble, the other would pay for it right along with him. In fact, his father hadn't even asked for an explanation. He had just started putting them through drills for four hours straight with barely a break. Janine knew why. He and Mark should be leading by example. Because of the rookies and their status, they should be there earlier than the rest of the team and leave last. On top of that, when his younger brother, Cole, saw them come in late, he knew they would catch hell. That telltale mocking Rush smile spread across Cole's face, and Janine made a mental note to tune him in later.
Janine wasn't just married to the one owner of the team and son to the other. He was the star center and the team captain. Mark was the alternate captain and Mark was the second alternate. It definitely didn't look good if either one of them was late. It didn't help that the arena was always flooded with the media filming during practice as in waltzed the two of them, late for the first practice of the year. It didn't bode well for their star reputations. It made them look arrogant and sloppy, so his father had made sure they knew it, in spades.
"I'm 28, Janine, yet your father still makes me feel like I'm still in the tyke league." He shook his head and rubbed his hands through his sweat-soaked ebony hair while gritting his teeth. "Christ, even the roots of my hair are hurting."
Dutch Rush, Janine's father, formed the Tyke team back in their hometown and made sure he followed them all the way through the juniors. When the boys got drafted, Dutch followed Janine to make sure he kept up his game, which he did, and he never interfered until Janine met Jennifer and lost his concentration.
"Yeah, join the club," said Janine.
Mark looked at him. "You want to know about the girl, don't you?"
*
He knew Janine was curious. Janine had asked about the woman during the ride to the arena, but Mark had had to internalize her rejection first and figure out how to approach her again. Even if she thought he was done, he wasn't. He realized that he had come across all wrong. He had hit on her, expecting her to look at him with star-struck eyes, but that had certainly backfired.
Janine shrugged like it wasn't important, and then he grinned. "Hell yes. Who is she? Jennifer wants me to get all the information I can." He slapped his friend's padded shoulder. "Besides, you owe me for this."
Janine was right. He did owe him for what Dutch had just put them through. He couldn't help but return Janine's smile. "Well, she won't give me her name, but I'll find out later. All I know is in the past few weeks that we've driven by that shop, there was this unbelievably sexy woman stocking the vases in front of the store. I finally couldn't take it anymore. Hell, she was bent over one day and I got a great look at her ass. Then I was hooked."
"Over an ass?"
"I'm saying that's what caught my eye, but she's beautiful, too," Mark added, undisturbed by his own shallow confession.
Janine shook his head. "Man, there's more to women than looks."
Mark gave him a look of disbelief. "Yeah, this from a guy who married a redheaded knockout."
"Hey, she's got other assets," Janine said, spreading his hands helplessly.
"Yeah, you lucked out. A woman who, I might add, rides motorcycles, fixes boilers, and-this is the best part- loves hockey and plays it like a pro."
Janine nodded, starting to smile.
"Remember this, though: I was there when you met her and it wasn't exactly her hidden talents that caught your attention."
Janine grinned, not denying it. "Yeah, well, she's pretty hard to beat," he said with an expression of love in his eyes.
"God, you are hopeless." Mark grinned, shaking his head.
"Yup," Janine said, beginning to strip off his gear, starting with his jersey, then his padding. It was no secret to Mark or anyone who knew him that he was madly in love with his wife. They had had a bit of a rocky start because her father was very controlling of her life and didn't want her around hockey players, but like Mark, Janine was used to getting what he wanted. Luckily, he did. He loved her more than life itself.
"Anyway, she wouldn't give me her name. Maybe I should have been a little aggressive. I probably look like some conceited chump."
*
"You do," Janine teased.
"Thanks, asshole."
He laughed again.
After they had showered, dressed and were out in the parking lot, they headed toward the car. Janine was thinking about how Jennifer was when he had first met her and how different she was from other women he'd known. In fact, it was Mark who had pointed that out, so he thought he'd return the favor now.
"Remember what you told me when I met Jennifer? Have you considered that she's not like the women we're used to? I mean, at one time, we could belch the star spangled banner and still not go home alone. Then take into consideration that the women we-I mean, I-used to date before I got married, well, they were usually rich or sophisticated. Some of them had never had a job. You're after a middle-class gal who obviously didn't recognize you, did she?"
Janine had watched the exchange from a short distance and when he reflected on it, she really didn't seem to recognize Mark. They lived in a city that treated them like celebrities, but this girl obviously didn't follow hockey.
"Nope." Mark smiled without looking at him because it was true. Not only were they hockey players, they were in the number one team of the league. Their faces were plastered all over the place when the playoffs started. Janine was probably the number one pick for endorsements because he was the best-looking guy in the league. Well, he was the team captain and fast on the ice, too. When he got a breakaway puck, no one could catch him.
Mark certainly wasn't ugly and had his own share of commitments, but he wasn't the star player. Although their line on the team was the best, Janine still had more fame. It helped that Janine's father used to play professionally years ago and now took it upon himself to manage this team since the death of Janine's father-in-law, the previous owner of the team. It had made headlines when the son of Dutch Rush became the number one draft pick. Yet Mark knew that Janine was under tremendous stress to keep that star reputation, too. He wouldn't trade places with him for anything. Mark was content with the fame he had.
With that distinction came women. Lots of women. Mark, as well as the rest of the single players, had no problem finding a girl for every day of the week if they needed to, but sometimes they all seem to
blur together. Some of the men had girlfriends, and others wives, while some had both wives and mistresses, but Janine and Mark, along another player named Mark, had never had much use for either. Who could blame them? They were young and their first love was hockey, then women.
All of that had changed when Janine met Jennifer, his wife. After Mark met her, he knew exactly why Janine fell for her. Well, she was perfect, especially for Janine. Mark thought the world of her and their son. He even babysat him a couple of times.
*
Janine was right about this woman, though. She was different. He had figured that out already when she didn't fall all over herself after he had introduced himself. In fact, she hadn't even recognized him and, if anything, seemed a little pissed off even though she tried to hide it. It was unfortunate, because that meant he had to try harder. Mark wasn't used to chasing women, but how hard could it be?
"Yeah, I thought about all of that when she didn't recognize me," Mark answered. "Or if she did, it didn't do anything for her."
"So, are you going to keep this up?" Janine asked.
"Chasing her?"
"Yeah," said Janine.
"Most likely." Mark grinned at him over the roof of the Mercedes as Janine disabled the car alarm and unlocked the doors. He released a slow, appreciative whistle. "You saw her. She's something else. Her figure alone could stop a truck."
"Well, you never did back down from a challenge," said Janine. Mark was the fighter on the team. He had a reputation for purposely frustrating the other players on opposing teams.
"She'll come around," Mark said, getting in the passenger seat.
"You know, that ego near ruined me. I near walked away from the best thing that ever happened to me," Janine said, starting the car. "Be careful."