by Kat Mizera
17
He finished eating and excused himself to go get his bag before the headed to the airport for the flight to Washington D.C. He called Ashleigh, hoping she was up.
“Hey! We just got in the car to head to the set.”
“Good morning.” His voice was subdued.
“What’s wrong?”
“Am I on speaker?”
“Yeah, why?”
“I need to tell you something…private.”
He heard the rustling sound of movement and then Ashleigh’s voice seemed much closer. “Okay, it’s just us. What’s up?”
He told her what he’d heard.
“Shit.” She huffed out a breath. “Well, obviously that’s impossible, but it’s not a huge deal. The only issue would be the producers of Vampire Legend hearing about it and thinking I’m leaving the show, but I’ll make sure they know I’m not pregnant.”
“I’m sorry. I had no idea it would go in this direction.”
She chuckled. “Of all the things I was worried about, that never crossed my mind. I guess it should have—if one of my friends did something like this, that’s what I’d think.”
“I guess since we’re not sleeping together, it’s not on our radar.”
She giggled. “The sex or getting pregnant?”
He laughed. “Well, sex definitely is, but I wouldn’t think about pregnancy until we’d done it at least once…”
She laughed, too. “Okay, well, happy Monday to both of us… Uh, hang on. Just a second, Bella wants to say hi.”
“When are you coming home, Brock?” Bella’s chirpy little voice made him smile.
“I have to go back to Las Vegas, kiddo. I still have to play hockey.”
“Aren’t you coming to Atlanta?”
“Not right away. The team is in Las Vegas so that’s where I have to be.”
“When will we see you?”
“Whenever we have a little time off,” he responded gently. “But when hockey season is over, I’ll come to Atlanta right away.”
“Yay!” Bella said happily. “I can’t wait for you to be with us because I have a question.”
“Shoot.”
“Will you teach me to play hockey?”
“Um, sure.” What the hell else could he say? “As long as Ashleigh says it’s okay.”
“Can we start this summer?”
“Well, you have to learn to skate before you can play hockey,” he pointed out. “We’ll start with that, okay?”
“Yay! Thanks, Brock.”
“You’re welcome, kiddo.”
“I can’t wait for you to get here.”
“Me too, honey.” Brock had to take a breath as the full impact of her words hit him: it might be soon, but in her eyes they were a family and she hadn’t hesitated to immerse herself in his life.
“Bye!”
“Bye, honey.” He was glad to hear Ashleigh’s voice on the line again.
“You should send me the rest of your schedule,” she said. “So I know where you are, when you’re traveling and all that.”
“This is going to be complicated for a while, huh?”
“We knew this would happen if I agreed to do the movie.”
“Why did you take it?” he asked after a moment. “Won’t you have to go back to the show not long after it’s done?”
“Yeah, but the money is good and it gets me a co-starring role with a big player, which could be the next step for me.”
“I make plenty of money, Ash.”
“You do, but that’s not my money.”
“I know. I understand.” He sighed. “Money will have to be item number two hundred and fifty-one for us to discuss.”
She chuckled. “It’s going to take a while to get through them all.”
“I’ll come to wherever you are as soon as hockey season is over, and I can stay in L.A. with you until early September. That should be plenty of time to talk about all those things.”
“When do you think they’ll offer you a new contract?” she asked quietly.
He paused, formulating his response carefully. “Probably July. After the entry draft is over in June, they’ll start making moves.”
“What if they trade you?”
He sighed. “I can’t think about that, babe. It can happen, it’s part of the life, but I’m going to do everything in my power to stay where I am.”
“But…”
“Let’s not worry about it until we have to, okay?”
“Unless you got traded to L.A.,” she suggested with a snicker.
He chuckled. “Yeah, that would be convenient. Then you might be stuck with me.”
“I could handle that.” Her voice got a little husky.
“Me too,” he said softly.
“Well, uh, we just got to the set, so I’ve got to run. I’ll call you later.”
“Have a good day.”
“You too.”
Sonya had planned a casual first day with a catered lunch so the actors and crew could have the opportunity to get to know each other. Ashleigh got Bella situated with a video game and head phones as the meeting started. Jolinda had been delayed taking care of a family matter so she wouldn’t be arriving until later tonight and Ashleigh hadn’t had a choice but to bring Bella along. Sonya hadn’t minded since today’s meeting was informal, and Ashleigh was gratified to see everyone appeared friendly and anxious to start working.
Jet and his girlfriend, Maya Harlow, waited until the meeting was over to approach Ashleigh.
“It’s nice to meet you.” He put out his hand, a friendly smile on his face.
“Likewise.” Ashleigh smiled back and shook his hand.
“I freakin’ love Vampire Legend,” Maya said, grinning. “I’m going to binge watch the episodes since Christmas—they’re on our DVR—and I can’t wait to see what happens!”
“It’s a cliffhanger…” Ashleigh laughed.
Maya rolled her eyes. “Why am I not surprised?”
“Who’s this?” Jet asked, glancing down at Bella as she came and nestled against Ashleigh’s side.
“This is Bella.” Ashleigh smiled. “Bella, can you say hi to Jet and Maya?”
“Hi.” Bella peeked out with one eye, giving a small smile.
“I didn’t know you had kids.” Jet met Ashleigh’s gaze curiously.
“I’m adopting her,” Ashleigh said, giving him a tiny shake of her head. He seemed to understand and glanced down at Maya, changing the subject.
“I don’t know if you heard, but Maya and I eloped in Miami. Same day you did.”
Ashleigh’s mouth fell open. “Oh, wow! I hadn’t heard. Congratulations!”
“I was hoping the four of us could get together for dinner or something but I guess your hubby is on the road?” His deep-set blue eyes met hers.
“I’m sure Brock would love to if we can swing it, but with the playoffs coming, I don’t know.”
“Their last game of the regular season is in Nashville on the eighth,” Jet said with an impish grin. “I checked the schedule. How about we meet him there so the four of us can hang out? I kind of have a thing about getting to know the significant others of my leading ladies—I don’t ever want it to be weird. I’ve done it since my first movie and it makes things more relaxed.”
Ashleigh nodded. “Of course. Like I said, I’m sure he’ll want to, but sometimes his coach puts restrictions on where they can go and what they can do. Let’s make a tentative plan for Nashville and I’ll talk to him.”
“Great.” He nodded enthusiastically and shook her hand again. “Looking forward to working with you. Bye, Bella!” He leaned over to squeeze her shoulder with a wink and Ashleigh nearly laughed at how Bella’s eyes rounded as she watched him walk away.
“He’s pretty,” she whispered to Ashleigh.
“He is,” Ashleigh whispered back.
“He’s going to be in your movie?” she asked as they started to walk.
“He’s the star.”
&nbs
p; “Aren’t you the star?”
“I’m the co-star,” she explained. “That means that we’re both the stars, but he’s more famous than I am so I think he’s more the star.”
“Do you like being famous?”
“Most of the time. Why?”
“Angel said it makes you stuck up.”
“Do you think I’m stuck up?”
“No. But sometimes we hide a lot…at the hotel, the big gates at Aunt Rachel’s house, all the security stuff in your apartment building. Why do you have to hide?”
“Well, if I didn’t take precautions, sometimes people want to meet me and they won’t stop trying. They’ll just keep coming and I get tired, like anyone else. Sometimes I want to go home and rest, but when you have thousands of fans, they don’t understand, so I have to avoid crowds when I need time to myself. And I now I have to protect you.”
“No one wants my autograph!” Bella said in surprise.
“No, but because you’re with me now, they’re going to want to know who you are and take pictures of you.”
“What about Brock?”
“What about him?”
“Is he famous, too?”
“In sports he is. Not as famous as I am, but he has a lot of fans.”
“I miss him,” she said simply.
“Already? Don’t you like when it’s just us girls?”
“I do, but Brock reminds me of my daddy.”
Ashleigh swallowed hard. Bella had never brought up her parents before. The last therapist she’d spoken to said she was probably repressing the memories because they hurt too much. “What was your daddy like?”
“He was big and snuggly like Brock, with a littler beard and big blue eyes, like me and Angel. Mommy had dark eyes but not me and Angel—we look like Daddy. Except the beard.” She giggled.
“Girls don’t have beards, silly.” Ashleigh ruffled her hair.
“Tito tore up the pictures,” the little girl sighed. “They were my only ones. It makes me sad.”
“I’m sorry, angel.” Ashleigh wanted to strangle him. “I’ll see if I can find any online or maybe there are some with your great-grandma in the nursing home.”
“Angel said she’s a demon.”
“A demon?” Ashleigh was startled.
“Demon-tied?” Bella wrinkled her nose. “It’s a word I can’t say.”
“Dementia, maybe?”
“That’s it! Angel says that.”
“It means she’s sick and her brain doesn’t remember anything anymore. But we can ask if they have pictures.”
“Okay.” Bella spied the security guard who’d given her a lollipop earlier and pulled away from Ashleigh, skipping over to him to tell him about her day.
Bella might be a little clingy, but Ashleigh liked the fact she made friends easily. She didn’t seem to have any friends her own age, but hopefully that would change when school started in September and she was able to be in a classroom with the same kids for the whole year. Ashleigh hated all these changes and was anxious to make their arrangement permanent. If Angel wasn’t willing to sign over custody, though, it could take years before she could legally adopt her and all Angel had to do was prove she’d cleaned up her act to try to get her back. That scared her the most, but she was going to do everything in her power so that didn’t happen.
18
Brock was on the bus heading back to the hotel when his phone buzzed and he smiled at the text.
Nice game! Bella shrieked so loud when you scored I thought security would show up…
He typed back with a grin. I saved the puck for her, since it was the game-winning goal. It was my 150th goal too.
When do I get a special puck?
He started to type something crude but stopped himself. She was his wife and they hadn’t yet slept together. He needed to go in another direction with his response and he bit his lip thoughtfully.
I have the puck from my 100th goal—do you want that one?
I didn’t know you then. I want something representative of you now.
Next puck is yours, babe.
I’m holding you to that… by the way, do you know your schedule in Nashville?
I think we fly in Saturday from Chicago. Not sure if there’s a morning skate on Sunday yet—probably not with a 3:00 game. Fly home Monday morning. Why?
Jet Connor and his new wife want to do dinner. I guess he’s a hockey fan and suggested we go to the game in Nashville. If we drove in Saturday, do you think you could get away for dinner or would Coach say no?
I can probably work it out. Since we’ve clinched a playoff spot and that’s the last game of the season, he’ll probably put in some guys from Reno—our AHL affiliate. I may not even play that game, but I won’t know until last minute. Tell Jet I’m looking forward to meeting him and his wife and dinner sounds great. If something changes, I’ll let you know as soon as I can.
Awesome! I think I’ll leave Bella with Jolinda.
We’ll most likely have a day or two off to rest before the playoffs, so I’ll see if I can spend Monday in Atlanta with you guys before heading back to Vegas.
Don’t feel pressured because of us, okay? Just think about hockey. We’ll be here when the season is over.
Thanks, hon. That means a lot.
I’ve got to be in makeup at 7:00 so I’m going to bed. Talk tomorrow?
You bet.
Good night.
Nite, babe.
Ashleigh felt like she’d been pacing for hours instead of a mere forty-five minutes as she waited for Brock to arrive in the suite she’d booked for them in Nashville. She, Jet, and Maya had driven in to Nashville a few hours ago and Maya had gone to take a nap. Ashleigh had gone shopping for an hour or so before taking a cab back to the hotel. The team’s plane had landed at three thirty and Brock had texted her he’d be there soon. They had dinner reservations at seven and it was just four thirty now, so she was looking forward to spending some time alone with him before they went out. As much as she liked her new friends, she and Brock needed to take advantage of any time they had together, but dinner would be nice, too. Jet and Maya had turned out to be great; she’d spent a lot of time with them this week, and Maya had even gotten involved in helping Bella with her school work. Jet was a big hockey fan so he was excited about dinner with Brock, and Ashleigh was glad she wasn’t the center of attention for once.
She heard the lock in the door click open and she got to her feet, biting her lip nervously as she waited to see him. It hadn’t been that long, but when he stepped into the room she couldn’t hold back a soft sigh. He looked so good in the suit he traveled in. All six feet of him, with broad shoulders that seemed to fill up the room, she momentarily imagined peeling off his jacket and shirt to get to the hard ridges underneath. She’d seen him half-naked but not in a satisfying way. She wanted him to lay down and let her explore every ripple of every muscle, every inch of skin, right down to his—she started when she noticed him watching her and there was no doubt he knew exactly what she’d been thinking. Flushing, she gave a tentative smile as she walked forward.
“I would give everything I own to know what you were thinking just now,” he whispered huskily, using one arm to lift her off the ground and cover her lips with his.
The moment their mouths came together Ashleigh wondered why no one had ever kissed her like this before. He was gentle and tender, but it was so forceful and sexy a zing of excitement shot straight between her legs. That had never happened in her life.
“I think I missed you,” she admitted softly.
“I know I missed you.” He put her back on the ground and took her hand, leading her toward the bedroom. “And I need to kiss you. What time do we have to leave?”
“We’re having dinner down the street,” she said breathlessly. “So we’re meeting Jet and Maya in the lobby at five to seven.”
He glanced at his watch. “That gives me roughly two hours to get you begging again.”
“Uh huh.” She wa
s nervous but excited, too. She hadn’t expected to be so happy to see him, but now that he was here—she had to keep reminding herself they were married—she had free rein with him. He wouldn’t refuse sex, and though she wasn’t sure what had happened when he’d walked in, it was all she could think about.
“You devoured me with your eyes when I came in that door,” he said gruffly, kicking off his shoes and unbuttoning his jacket. “Why?”
“’C-cause you’re…pretty.” She giggled self-consciously as she repeated Bella’s description of Jet.
“Pretty, huh?” He yanked her against him, a smile on his lips. “Well, I think you’re gorgeous as fuck.” He slid his hands down her arms so they eventually rested on either side of her waist. “You’re looking at me like you want to eat me alive… You’d better tell me what you want, gorgeous, or I won’t be responsible for consummating this marriage.”
“We can’t, uh—I mean, we have dinner plans but…” She licked her bottom lip and met his hungry gaze. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. You walked in and all I could think about was undressing you…” She was blushing like crazy. “But we’re married, right? I can—” He cut her off by plunging his tongue between her lips and sucking hers right into his mouth. She whimpered, lifting up to her toes so she wouldn’t have to stretch so far.
“We are definitely married.” His voice was low, with a touch of sarcasm mingled with sensuality that made her skin tingle with need. “And we can do anything we want…can you tell me what you want?”
She swallowed hard but slowly nodded. “Y-yes?”
“Yes? With a question mark at the end? Tell you what: Kiss me. Kiss me until I tell you to stop. Kiss me the way you like, the way you’ve always fantasized about someone kissing you.”
She gazed up at him and then stood on her toes, a smile creasing her face. “I can’t reach that far!”
“So how do you want to do it?” He didn’t move, his eyes searching hers.
“I want you to lift me up, so I can wrap my legs around you and our faces can be level.”