Meghan applies makeup to her eyes and adds a touch of gloss to her lips. Her phone buzzes. She looks down at the text.
I’m here. Waiting outside.
Meghan’s heart beats faster. She pushes everything into the bathroom drawer and slams it shut.
I’ll be right down, she types. She throws her phone into her purse, slips on her black boots, and grabs her jacket and keys as she runs out the door, locking the dead bolt behind her.
She takes a couple of deep breaths to calm herself before opening the apartment front door. She can’t miss his car—it’s parked right out front. She’s never seen a car like his before, but that’s what happens when you make eight million a year. She only remembers his salary because she heard people at work talking about contracts and how much certain players make.
He gets out of the driver’s side and walks around the car to greet her. Does he do this for all of his dates? He must be trying real hard to score.
“Hi,” he says with lit-up eyes, leaning against his car.
Her stomach feels like it’s rising and falling the closer she gets. He opens her side door and she gets in as slowly as she can, making sure she doesn’t hit his door with her boot. A scratch on a car like this can make a grown man cry.
“Are we taking a drive on the highway?” she asks, smiling.
Jared pulls out of the entrance and onto the street. “Maybe next time. Have you eaten? I know a great sushi place.”
“Sounds good. I’m hungry,” she says, remembering when Stu would take her out to dinner, he would ask her why couldn’t she finish her meal if she said she was so hungry. Then he would tell her she could use the extra pounds, which always got to her. She was happy with how her body looked; she worked hard at her toned legs and arms thanks to running. Why hadn’t she seen the way Stu was before? On the other hand, it’s just a dinner date and maybe a kiss if she’s lucky. There will never be anything more; he wouldn’t want more from her. She’s excited sitting next to a hot guy, in an expensive sports car. This is what she needs, to be out with someone she least expected, a time to clear her mind of any past relationship woes. This is her time and she’s going to make the most of it and practice dating. That’s what it is, she tells herself, and she grows calmer.
“Great! I guess I should have asked if you like sushi.”
“Love it!”
“I found a place not far from here that I’ve been going to.”
Meghan takes in the interior, rubbing her hand along the piping of the leather seat.
“What made you buy this?”
With one hand on the steering wheel, he looks over. “I’ve always wanted one.”
“I’ve never heard of a Porsche Spyder before.” But then she doesn’t know a lot about luxury cars.
“My cousin . . .” He clears his throat. “We said when we got our jobs we’d buy Porsches because that’s what we both liked.”
“So your cousin has a matching one?”
“No,” he says, staring straight ahead, his face changing. “How’s your Fiat? Like it?”
“Good.” She laughs at his seriousness. “It gets me to where I need to go.”
Jared parallel parks in front of the restaurant. Thank goodness it’s dark, Meghan thinks, or people would all be staring at them and wondering who was driving this car. Even though she doesn’t know much about cars, this one is hard to miss.
“Hello,” the hostess greets them. She leads them to a booth by the window, setting down menus in front of them.
“What do you like?” Jared asks, leaning over the table. “Do you eat the raw stuff?”
She feels all tingly at the back of her head. He is so good to look at, with his broad shoulders and oceanlike eyes.
“No, I stick to the vegetable rolls and miso soup.”
“So do I.”
The waitress comes by asking if she can take their order.
“Miso soup?” Jared asks Meghan.
She nods.
“Okay, we’ll have two miso soups,” he tells the waitress and then looks at Meghan. “Do you like chicken teriyaki?”
“Yes.” She smiles at him.
“We’ll have two chicken teriyaki dinners, please, and an order of kappa and avocado rolls.” Jared turns his attention to Meghan. “Anything else?”
“No, that’s good.”
“That’s it,” Jared says, handing the waitress their menus.
“So tell me,” Jared says, “Are you from Vancouver?”
“I grew up in White Rock. I moved into the city when I was working for a public relations firm. It was too long of a commute to live outside of Vancouver.”
The waitress places their bowls of miso soup in front of them.
“How do you like living here?” she asks, stirring her soup with the spoon and watching the broth turn cloudy before taking a sip.
“I like it.” Jared brings the bowl to his mouth.
“You must miss your family?”
“I’m used to it.” He shrugs. “I haven’t lived in Brampton since I was fifteen. It’s home because my family is there. I miss seeing my nephew. He’s the kid I don’t have.”
Meghan decides to pick up her bowl and drink from it.
“He’s a good kid.” Jared pushes his empty bowl to the edge of the table.
A plate of rolls is placed between them along with side plates. Neither makes a move to take one.
“I wonder how Beckham will be with having a sibling.”
“I’m sure he’ll be a good big brother. Are you close to your brothers?”
“For the most part. My younger brother enjoyed tormenting me.” She takes a sip of her soup. “Most brothers do, I think.”
“I couldn’t with Jane.” Jared breaks apart his chopsticks and rubs them together. He mixes soy sauce, ginger, and wasabi together in a bowl before dipping a roll in it. “She was tough. I remember cutting her dolls’ hair off. She freaked out and pulled apart my Transformers.” He smirks. “I grew up not messing with Jane.”
“She got you to fear her, didn’t she?” Meghan says.
“It worked.” He laughs, using his chopsticks to pick up a roll. “Jane kept her eye out for me though. She was like another mom.”
“I think she misses you.”
He swallows. “She’s big on get-togethers. Loves entertaining.”
The waitress places a dish of teriyaki in front of them.
“I always wanted a sister,” Meghan says, pushing her empty bowl to the side and taking a roll from the middle plate. “We want what we can’t have.”
Like you.
Jared nods and eats another roll.
“That’s true,” he says after he swallows his food. “Or sometimes we have what we want and don’t realize it until it’s gone.”
She watches Jared take a bite. “You must be grateful for what you have.”
“Always.”
Meghan scoops the chicken teriyaki onto her side plate, taking small bites and eating as carefully as she can with her chopsticks, afraid of making a mess. Why does she care what he thinks of her? They are just having dinner. Jared is probably lonely and needs someone to eat with. After this, she won’t see him again. There will be another woman flagging him for attention, then she’ll be forgotten.
“Did you have big dreams?” he asks.
She smiles. “I don’t know . . . I guess I’m living my dream, doing what I want to do. I didn’t realize that until I broke off my engagement.”
“You were engaged?”
“I know, it’s sounds pathetic, but I learned more about myself after the fact.” She shakes her head, looking down at her saucy meal and wondering why she is telling him all of this. He doesn’t want to hear her sob story.
“Are you talking about the same guy you just broke up with?”
“No. My ex-fiancé, Colton. Thankfully I didn’t marry him. Gosh, I don’t know why I thought that was going to work out.”
“Why didn’t it?”
She puts down
her chopsticks and glances at him hesitantly, not knowing what he thinks about her. He’s definitely not going to want to see her again. Who wants to hear about someone’s past?
“He spent more money than he made . . . drinking with his buddies became more important and I couldn’t get him to see what he was doing to . . . us.”
“Then why did you accept his proposal?”
“You’re really interested, aren’t you?” she teases, smiling because he’s smiling. For a second she imagines that they are a couple and how much she can’t wait to go home with him.
“Sorry, I shouldn’t ask. It’s none of my business.”
“No, it’s okay. I haven’t spoken about it for some time.” Meghan folds her arms together, leaning on the table. “I thought I loved him because it seemed like he wanted the same things as me, but before our wedding, he was acting like he was still single, going out with his friends until early morning, arriving late for work. He wasn’t taking us seriously. He took advantage of me because I was always there, taking care of him, cooking dinner and doing what I needed to do. He changed. . . .” She looks out the window at the sprinkle of rain and people are stopping to ogle at Jared’s car. “Do you ever get used to all the attention?”
“Nah.” He takes a bite of a roll, reaches for his cup of green tea, and sips to wash it down. “That I can do without.”
His eyes are soft and she imagines what he is thinking about. He rubs his thumb along the grooves of the pottery cup. “It’s not easy.”
“People wanting a piece of you?” she asks, meeting his eye.
“I get that people like what I do and I’m flattered.” His voice is low, seductive.
Meghan holds on to every word, trying to understand him, but she still doesn’t get why Jared can’t suck it up and make appearances. It’s not like he gets all the attention and is required to make a speech.
“It gets a little much sometimes, but that’s the job. I can’t complain.”
“There’s sacrifices with every successful career,” she says, pushing her plate away.
“I guess there is,” he says, and asks for the check when the waitress arrives to clear dishes.
“Game tomorrow,” she says as they walk out of the restaurant.
“Against Montreal,” he says, pulling out his keys, unlocking his doors. Jared ignores the people gawking at his car and he slides into the seat with ease. As he pulls out onto the road, he punches the gas. Meghan’s back presses against the seat. The humming of the car vibrates her insides, or is it Jared that’s causing the excitement?
“Do you have any pregame rituals?” she asks.
“Huh.” Jared stares out the window. “I don’t know.”
“I heard about this one guy never washing his shirt before a game or another guy who ate almond butter with breadsticks before a game. Stuff like that.”
“No, not me.” He watches the road and then snickers.
“What’s yours?”
It takes him a few seconds to respond. “I have a key chain that I have to touch before leaving the dressing room.” He slows down to turn the corner, checking in his side mirror and watching the road in front of him. He pulls to the side of the road. “I have a few superstitions.”
Meghan raises an eyebrow. “You pulled over to tell me that?” She then laughs.
“I have to kiss a girl the night before the game.”
She lowers her chin, staring at him. “You’re kidding.”
“Nope.” He’s leaning in closer.
Meghan glances out her side window and when she brings her head back to meet Jared’s, he has brought himself closer. She swallows hard, staring into his eyes. She can feel his breath on her face.
“I don’t want to be just a girl to kiss. That means you’ve had plenty and that’s not for me,” she whispers, looking at his clean-shaven face and cheekbones. His eyes are what’s drawing her in. She bites her bottom lip. Jared leans into her and grazes his mouth on hers. What she thought would be a quick peck turns out to be an enjoyable reaction. She kisses him back, feeling her body sink into the seat a little more. She will not touch him, she tells herself. As much as she wants to curl his hair around her fingers and run her hand down his neck and feel his muscular back, it’s taking every effort to keep her hands to herself. Is she done with the flirting? It feels over faster than it started. She’s mastered it now. Practice makes perfect and if she can call herself a master at getting a guy this far, she’s done it.
The kiss intensifies, making them each hungrier for the other.
He lets go and sits back in his seat and drives away.
It takes a moment to cool off. “Don’t blame me if you have a crappy game,” she teases.
“I should be good to score one goal at least.”
“You have more rituals? And don’t tell me you sleep with a woman either,” she teases.
“How did you guess?” He smirks.
“Your sister was right, she said you knew how to relax.”
“What else did Jane say? You’ve got me now. I’m curious.”
“She did tell me you are a private person.”
“There’s reasons for that.”
“Tell me.”
“Maybe another time.” Jared drives another block.
“What’s your other ritual? Or is that a secret?”
He gives her a half smile. “I can’t tell.”
“Tell me! I want to know.”
“I don’t have anything crazy to tell you.”
“How long have you been hanging on to that key chain for?”
“Ten years.” He turns down her street.
“I guess it’s working for you.”
Jared parks out front of her building, turns off the ignition. “It keeps me focused.”
There’s a moment when they are looking at each other.
“Thanks for dinner,” she says.
“Am I going to see you again?” he asks as she clicks open her door.
“I don’t know.” His question surprises her.
“You don’t want to see me again?” he asks, turning sideways and throwing an arm around the steering wheel.
“It’s not that.”
“What is it?”
“I . . .” She stops herself, finding the words to tell him that he doesn’t want her, he wants someone who isn’t looking for serious. How does she tell a guy that she doesn’t want him because she knows what he’s after? She grins and changes her tune. “Sure. You’re going on the road this week, right?”
“I’ll call you when I get back.”
“The day before Halloween you’re only doing the West Coast,” she says.
“That’s right. We’re playing in California and then we’re home.”
“Don’t forget, there’s an event happening at Children’s Hospital.”
“When’s that?”
“The day before you go.”
“You know my schedule better than I do.”
“My job depends on the Warriors’ schedule.”
“Thanks, Meghan. I had a good time.”
She smiles and gives a little wave. “Good luck tomorrow,” she says, and shuts the door, making her way to the front entrance. As she opens the door and steps inside, Jared watches her and then drives off.
What does Jared want? It’s hard to believe he would want the same things as she does.
As Meghan walks to the elevator, she tries to shake Jared out of her mind, but the thought of kissing him again is burned into her mind. She wants more of him like she’s never wanted anyone before. If she can practice a little more, see how far she can get with him, then call it quits; it will help her to find out what she really wants from a guy. She won’t let herself fall for him, although she knows that she’s never felt like this before about someone. It scares her to think she likes a guy she can’t have. Imagining having him to herself has her wondering if she has a chance.
Chapter 10
“Hey, man,” Mason Ward says, holding a t
all-neck bottle of beer in one hand and shaking Jared’s hand with the other when he comes through the front door of his penthouse suite in downtown Vancouver. “You made it. No costume?”
“I brought a mask,” Jared says, taking it out of the back pocket of his jeans. “Batman.”
“Did you steal it from some kid?”
“I picked it up at the drugstore.”
“Grab a beer, cooler is open in the kitchen,” Mason tells him.
“Thanks.”
Another player shoves him on the shoulder. “Good to see you.” Jared keeps walking to find the beer. He needs to relax. He should have invited Meghan here. She would have fit in. It looks to be mostly the team, a few unrecognizable faces, probably because it’s a Halloween party. He reaches into the ice cooler, pulls out a light beer, and gets stuck talking to a group of girls, one wearing a bikini with a crown on her head and a Miss Universe banner across her body. The other is a cheerleader and her friend is a nurse.
“Where’s your costume?” Miss Universe asks, cuddling up to Jared’s arm.
“Dressing up isn’t my thing.” He brings the bottle to his mouth.
“It’s not?” she asks, batting her eyes. Cheerleader joins him on his other arm. “We could change that, couldn’t we?” She swings her hips, causing her pigtails to sway.
Jared drinks his beer, thinking about Meghan. Why didn’t he ask her to come with him tonight? A pang of guilt hits him. He should be with Meghan. If he is serious about getting to know her and wants to be with her, why not call her to see what she’s up to? Although he can guess, she’s not home.
As he looks up, across the room, there’s a woman wearing a bridal gown with long, blond hair. His heart feels like it stopped beating as he studies the woman in white and wearing a veil that is covering her cheeks. She is talking, laughing with another woman.
It’s her.
He can’t even hang out at a teammate’s party without running into his ex. How did she get in here? Doesn’t she get that they’re over?
Practice Makes Perfect Page 10