“Thanks for putting up with me and my crappy mood tonight. I’ll see you Sunday night, Viv.”
She nodded and had to swallow before she could speak.
“Sunday.”
His smile widened before he turned and walked back to his truck.
She didn’t close the door until he got inand drove away. And when she turned around and saw her sister leaning against the wall, she actually let out a little yelp because she hadn’t seen or heard her.
“Damn it, Aly. Are you trying to give me a heart attack?”
Grinning like a loon, her sister shook her head. “Nah, who would I find to split the utilities with?”
Viv rolled her eyes then dedicated herself to taking off her jacket and hanging it in the closet. Normally, she’d just throw it over the chair by the door but she needed a little time to catch her breath so she couldn’t embarrass herself.
Aly would never let her live down the fact that Vivi had been taken off guard by a man.
By Justin.
“So how was the game?” Aly’s question let her know she wasn’t really interested in the game.
“Not great.” She closed the closet door and headed for the stairs, her sister’s grin taunting her with every step. “They lost.”
“I guess you and Justin went for a drink after the game.”
“Actually, we didn’t.” She didn’t stop at the bottom of the step where Aly was, just kept going. “We went for pie.”
“Is that what they’re calling making out these days? Pie?”
Vivi didn’t stop until she hit the top of the stairs. Then she turned to look down. But her sister wasn’t about to be intimidated into giving up.
“And was it cherry pie?”
Rolling her eyes, Vivi sighed. “You’re not gonna give up, are you?”
“Nope.” Aly’s shit-eating grin appeared. “But I will take pity on you because I’ve got to be up for work. I just happened to get up to go to the bathroom and heard the door and then I didn’t hear it close so I came to investigate.”
“Sure you did. You’re just nosy.”
Aly shrugged. “Maybe a little. So?”
“So what?”
Aly gave an amused little huff. “So I’m kinda surprised he left.”
And Vivi was disappointed. And frustrated. But she wasn’t about to admit that to her sister. She’d never hear the end of it.
“They leave on a road trip tomorrow morning.”
“Ah. Well, that makes more sense then.”
She tried not to take the bait but Vivi couldn’t help herself. Aly had had all her life to learn how to pull Vivi’s strings.
She turned and gave her sister the look. The death glare. Aly just smiled.
“It’s not like I sleep with every guy I date.”
That made her sister’s eyes narrow in a split second.
“Hey, you know that’s not what I meant.” Then her expression lightened. “But I find it interesting that you’re trying to deflect.”
Vivi wanted to throw up her hands and scream in frustration…and knew that’s exactly what her sister was going for.
“This is payback, isn’t it?” Vivi asked. “For all the times I’ve tormented you.”
“Can’t help if I’m enjoying watching you flounder a little.”
“I’m not floundering.”
“You don’t know what to do with him, do you? He’s not like any other guy you’ve dated. And I mean that in a good way.”
Vivi literally had to bite her tongue not to take issue with that. Instead, she took a deep breath.
“You’re right. He’s not.”
“Of course, I’m right. So what are you going to do with him?”
That was an easy question to answer. “I’m going to jump his bones. I just need to convince him it’s what he wants to do.”
“I have a feeling you’re gonna need to go a lot slower than you normally do.”
“I already figured that out.”
Aly’s grin turned a little wicked. “Frustration isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Just makes the payoff at the end that much better.”
“And what if I’m more of an instant gratification girl?”
“Old dog. New tricks.”
“Did you just call me a dog?”
“No, but I will call you a bitch if you keep yanking my chain tonight. I’m tired and I have to be up for work at six-thirty.”
“Then why are you standing here talking to me?”
“Because I know you, Viv. He’s a nice guy. Don’t talk yourself out of spending time with him. I think he’s just what you need.”
Chapter Six
“Goddammit.”
Justin tossed his helmet into the locker as soon as the coach left after he’d finished reaming the team on another loss.
This time it’d been to the second worst team in the division. The Maine Flying Foxes had handed them their asses in a shutout. Due in some part to Justin’s sloppy passing.
He’d been completely off his game tonight and he’d turned over two pucks to the opposition. The Foxes had scored on one of those turnovers.
Redtails goalie Kyle Deangelo, who’d joined the team before Christmas, probably wanted his head on a stick. Or to shove that stick in one of Justin’s orifices. Yeah, most of the team had been off tonight, but Justin had been taught not to shirk his responsibilities.
He’d sucked and at least two of the goals Maine had scored had been while he’d been on the ice.
Shit.
The room was fairly silent except for the sound of gear being removed. No one had anything to say. Even Derek was quiet, which was a minor miracle. And showed just how pissed off and dejected the entire team was.
“Perry. Coach wants to talk to you after you shower.”
Justin glanced up at the assistant coach standing in the doorway to the hall and nodded. He’d been expecting to get pulled aside. He’d had an absolutely shitty night and he’d affected the ability of the team to work together.
“Be right there.”
He didn’t talk to anyone as he made his way to the showers. After, he dressed and headed to the away coach’s office. It was barely big enough for a desk and two chairs, but it had a door and Justin closed it behind him.
Cary Lenville nodded as he entered the room.
“Tough game. You didn’t play up to your potential tonight, Justin. Something going on I need to know about?”
“No, Coach. Nothing going on. Just need to work harder.”
Coach leaned back in his chair, staring at him like he could read his mind. Justin wasn’t sure what he’d find there if he could. Honestly, his brain was a jumble of crap right now. And he really had no idea why he’d had such a crappy game.
Leaning back in his chair, Coach tapped a pen on the top of the desk. “You’re not the only one having some issues lately. Anything happening in the locker room? What you say stays here. I hope you know that.”
“I know. It’s not the team. I just…I’ll work harder.”
Coach nodded and Justin hoped that would be the end of this little talk. He hated being the center of attention and this was almost excruciating for him.
“I’m going to be switching up the lines.”
Justin held his breath, waiting to be benched.
“The Colonials are sending down Brody Mitchell for conditioning. I know you two played together in juniors and did pretty well. I know that was a while ago, but I’m pairing you for the game tomorrow night. He’ll meet us in Rochester.”
Well, hell. Brody Mitchell was being sent down.
The guy was one of the Colonials’ biggest up-and-coming stars. He was a year younger than Justin, but he’d come out of the draft in the first round and had landed a spot on the Colonials’ roster the very next season so he’d had two full seasons with the Colonials.
But a training injury over the summer had sidelined him and he hadn’t played at all this season. Justin had heard gossip that the injury hadn’t been in t
raining but the result of something else. Something the team wasn’t talking about and neither was Brody. Which was unusual because Brody was a lot like Derek when it came to his mouth. Whatever was in his head came out of his mouth. But where Derek was genuinely a decent guy, Brody was kind of a dick.
At least, he had been when Justin had played with him in juniors.
“Uh, sure. No problem, Coach.”
Cary’s expression showed he understood the hesitation in Justin’s voice. But his next words made it clear he wasn’t changing his mind.
“I think you two’ll work well together. He’s a little more offensive than you are and he should draw you out a little. He’s a damn good player and I know you can match him. Send Derek in, please. Thanks, Justin.”
The praise gave Justin a boost in his sorely failing confidence and he nodded as he stood and headed out the door.
But as he got closer to the locker room, the reality of the fact that he was going to have to deal with one of the biggest egos in the league, one he had a history with…
Yeah, that was gonna be fun.
Not.
*****
The doorbell rang and Vivi forced herself not to run out of the kitchen, throw open the door, and leap at Justin.
Aly was in Philly with Riley so she and Justin would have the house to themselves tonight. She’d been trying to manage her expectations for the past few days but every time she thought about him, she got…giddy.
Seriously, she couldn’t catch her breath and her heart pounded and she had that weird pit in her stomach.
She hadn’t felt like this for so long she’d almost forgotten what it was like.
It was kind of scary. And also exciting.
And maybe you really need to dial it back a little before you fall even harder.
She wasn’t even sure they were totally compatible.
Then again, that kiss…
She opened the door with a smile on her face and nearly swallowed her tongue at the man standing on her porch. Which was stupid because it wasn’t like she didn’t know what he looked like. He hadn’t changed in the past few days. Except for the black eye.
“Oh no!” Grabbing Justin’s arm, she pulled him through the door then put her hands on both of his cheeks and turned his face so she could look at that shiner. “How did that happen?”
His mouth curled up at the corners, making his eyes crinkle. “You do know I play hockey, right?”
Wrinkling her nose, she shut the door behind him and tugged him toward the kitchen.
“Smart-ass. I meant what exactly happened to give you a black eye. You didn’t get in a fight, did you?”
She couldn’t imagine he had. She didn’t think he was a fighter.
“Nothing that exciting. High stick in the face. Looks worse than it feels now.”
Leading him through the house to the kitchen, she sat him on one of the stools at the breakfast bar so she could get a better look.
“Then it must have hurt like a sonuvabitch when it happened. Do you need anything for it? Icepack? Ibuprofen? Want me to kiss it better?”
Batting her eyes at him, she smiled, pleased that he smiled back in a way that was more like the Justin she knew. He didn’t quite look like his normal self. He actually looked kind of angry. And that wasn’t like Justin at all.
And maybe you just don’t know him at all.
“I might take you up on that a little later. But I could go for the ibuprofen now, if you don’t mind. Last night’s game was tough.”
“Sure, hon.” Getting him a glass of water first, she dug the pain reliever out of the cabinet next to the sink and handed him the bottle. He shook out three.
He must be in more pain than he was letting on.
Letting out an almost inaudible sigh, he looked up again at her and smiled, a little wider this time.
“Thanks. Sorry. Didn’t mean to frighten you.”
“I’m not frightened. I’m worried. There’s a difference.”
His smile widened even more. “Nothing to worry about. A black eye’s common. A few broken bones can be an inconvenience. Now, if I tear a ligament, then I’ve got a real problem. The superficial stuff is just that.”
She couldn’t help herself. She reached out to run a finger along his clean-shaven jaw. He must have done that just before coming over, it was so smooth.
“Do you have other ‘superficial’ bruises I need to be worried about? You know, if I want to…touch you anywhere else?”
His smile disappeared but the heat in his gaze burned hotter.
“It wouldn’t matter if I did. You can touch me wherever you want.”
She let her finger slip down to his chin then lightly tapped his bottom lip before pulling away.
“I’m going to hold you to that later. But for now I’m going to feed you.”
“Viv.”
She turned away from the stove where she’d turned on the heat under the pan of water for the pasta. She’d already made the sauce and not just from a jar.
“Thanks for having me over.”
“Oh, I totally have ulterior motives.” She gave him another smile. “I never get to cook for anyone anymore. Aly’s never home and my parents aren’t here.”
“You like to cook?”
She grabbed wineglasses off the counter, put them in front of him then held up a bottle. He nodded though she noticed he didn’t even look at the label.
As she opened the bottle and poured, she said, “I do. And don’t tell anyone but I love to watch all those shows on Food Network with all the different chefs. I really love Ina Garten’s recipes. Ree Drummond has these amazing desserts. And Giada’s sauces are great. The pasta sauce I made is one of hers. And you have no idea who I’m talking about, do you?”
He shook his head, huffing out a laugh. “Not at all. But I’m sure whatever you make I’ll love.”
“Damn, you’re easy to please. Gotta love a guy like that.”
His cheeks went pink and he shook his head, his smile tempering a little. “I’m not that easy.”
“Good. A challenge is fun, too.”
Still shaking his head, he reached for the glass of wine she’d poured. “And sometimes it’s too much work.”
“Who told you that?”
“No one. Just the sense I got when my girlfriend broke up with me.”
“Then she wasn’t the right woman for you. How long did you two go out?”
“Six years.”
Holy crap. She tried not to show her surprise, but her longest relationship had lasted less than eighteen months.
“That’s…a long time to finally realize someone’s too much work. So she was either lying or she was a total bitch.” For a second, she wondered if she’d offended him. “How long ago did you break up?”
“Last summer. Just before I returned for training camp. She wanted me to give up and come home.”
“Total bitch.”
He smiled but shook his head. “Nah. I think she just got sick of waiting for me to make it.”
“I don’t understand. Haven’t you made it already? You’re playing pro hockey, right? No, maybe you’re not at the top level yet, but Jesus, you’re only twenty-four. Not quite dead yet.”
And there was the smile she wanted to see more of. The one that made her insides go all gooey.
“Yeah, maybe if I haven’t made it by the time I’m thirty, I’ll figure out what’s next. Or maybe I’ll play until I can’t, no matter what league I’m in. And then maybe I’ll coach. Or go to college. I don’t know.”
“Sounds like she wanted you to have it all figured out. But life’s never easy like that. And who the hell was she to tell you when it was time to stop chasing your dream?”
Behind her the water started to boil and she turned to put the pasta in so she wasn’t facing him when he said, “Sounds like someone told you something similar.”
She stirred the pasta for a second before she turned back to face him. “My dad worked as a linesman for the
power company all his life. Made good money. My mom was a nurse. They’re on my ass constantly about getting a real job.” She shrugged. “I get it. I mean, sure, who wouldn’t want a steady paycheck and health care and a 401K? I just…don’t want to be tied to a job I hate for the rest of my life.”
“I get that. I love hockey. I can’t imagine doing anything else. And if I can’t play professionally, then I’ll find some other way to be involved.”
“But your ex wanted you to do something else. Good riddance, if you ask me.”
“I kinda feel like I dodged a bullet. For a while, I thought…maybe I got lazy. Didn’t put the effort into the relationship and she was right. I should go home and make it work. And then she told me she was breaking up with me. And I was relieved. Makes me feel like a jerk sometimes.”
She shook her head. She didn’t think this sweetheart of a guy could do anything that would make him a jerk.
“No, this is on her. Besides, if she hadn’t broken up with you, you wouldn’t be here with me tonight and I’m glad you are.”
His smile made her want to climb over the island, crawl into his lap, and kiss him. This time with tongue. Lots of tongue. And hands. All over him.
Some of what she felt must have shown on her face because the flush on his cheeks got brighter and his gaze narrowed before slipping to her lips.
He totally wanted the same thing. But he wasn’t the type of guy to just take it. He was going to need permission.
And she was totally going to give him permission.
But first…she was going to feed him. A big guy like him needed fuel. Especially for what she wanted to do to him tonight.
Luckily, the timer went off, making her turn with a jerk to get the pasta.
She deliberately kept herself in line during dinner, kept the conversation low key. Justin didn’t push either, seemingly content to discuss the merits of wine versus beer, fresh pasta versus boxed, and the necessity of always wearing a cup when playing hockey.
That last conversation had her doubled over with laughter as he told her about a high school friend who’d learned that lesson the hard way.
“He couldn’t walk for days. He’s lucky he didn’t lose a testicle. I don’t think he was able to have sex for weeks and I’m pretty sure his girlfriend dumped him for being a dumb ass.”
The D-Man: Redtails Hockey 6 Page 9