by Jennie Marts
What did he mean by the “destruction of the dynamic duo”? Had Owen done something to hurt the team or to wreck his relationship with his brother?
That couldn’t be right. She’d seen him and Bane together the night before. And even though Bane had seemed annoyed at Owen, their relationship was obviously close and seemed solid to her.
But then again, what did she know? She’d apparently been making out in the ladies room with a famous hockey player and hadn’t even recognized the guy. She shook her head at her earlier guesses. So, not a CEO, a notorious mobster, or a celebrity. Well, a celebrity of sorts.
Certainly a celebrity to hockey fans. He was famous enough to have a story placed in the news about him. And not a flattering one. Just the kind of story that he’d obviously been trying to avoid.
No wonder he and his brother assumed she knew he was. But she didn’t have time to follow sports and didn’t think she’d ever even seen a hockey game. No wonder she didn’t recognize the guy.
She focused back on the sportscaster’s commentary.
“After last week’s game, it’s rumored that one, or both, of the Bannister brothers could be benched for the season. Or worse.”
What was worse than being benched for the season? Kicked off the team? No wonder Owen was upset. Especially if whatever had happened at last week’s game had been his fault. And she assumed from his behavior and his comments the night before that it had been.
Poor guy.
There was no point in her worrying about it now, though. She had enough on her plate, and it appeared Owen did too. At least Bridget, or Brittany, or whatever her name was, got her picture on television. She might not have ended up with Owen, but Gabby had a feeling the girl was more interested in the notoriety than actually making out with the hockey player anyway.
Instead, Gabby had been the one to make out with him. Well, not exactly make out. But he did kiss her.
Oh my God, did he ever kiss her.
Memories of the night before seeped into her thoughts. Who was she kidding? She’d been thinking about that kiss all night—and several times this morning.
After leaving the hotel, she’d still had to go down to the county jail to bail out her brother. He’d been happy to see her and thankful and full of his normal apologies and excuses. She’d dropped him off at his apartment and fallen into bed around two o’clock in the morning.
And had dreamt of Owen Bannister.
She didn’t have time for daydreams now, though. She had work to do and a lot of it. She’d thought after last night that she could count on her brother’s help today, but he’d already texted her with another flimsy excuse of why he couldn’t make it. So, she was on her own. As usual.
Flipping off the TV, she grabbed her coat and the basket of supplies, said goodbye to Thor, and headed down the back stairs of the apartment.
Circling around the front of the building, she couldn’t have been more surprised to see Owen Bannister himself standing on the sidewalk peering through the window of the bakery.
Her heart pounded in triple time against her chest as she stared at him. She couldn’t believe he was here, standing right in front of her. She could barely breathe. “What are you doing here?”
He turned and a grin lit his gorgeous face. “Looking for an angel. And it appears that I’ve found her.”
Oh brother. What a line. Did that actually work?
Apparently it seemed to work on her, because she still hadn’t been able to move. Instead she stood frozen in place, too stunned to take another step forward, her breath frosty in the chilly winter air.
He reached for the box of supplies she was holding. “Here, let me get that for you. It’s cold out here. You must be freezing.” He wore jeans and a gray ski jacket. His coat was open, and he had on a snug black sweater underneath.
She let him take the box and pulled the keys from her pocket. Unlocking the door of the bakery, he followed her inside, and she locked up behind him.
He set the box on the counter and looked around the bakery. A long glass counter ran in front of the back wall and a few assorted tables and chairs filled the front of the store.
The store was decorated like a tea room, using classic white accented with candy pink, teal, purple, and mint green. Tea cups lined the shelves of an old fashioned cupboard and a few assorted knick-knacks were available to purchase.
He inhaled the scent of the room. “It smells amazing in here—like frosting and vanilla and cookies.” The corner of his lip turned up in a mischievous smile. “Kind of like you do.”
She raised an eyebrow at him. Was he for real? Did he want something from her?
Maybe he was buttering her up to make sure she didn’t talk to the press about what happened last night. “Okay, enough. You are killing me with the bad lines. Seriously, what are you doing here?”
He sighed and gave her a sheepish grin. “I’m here to humbly apologize for what an idiot I was last night and to tell you thanks for helping me out. And for being discreet about it.”
“Oh gosh, you don’t have to thank me. I’m used to it.”
“Used to taking care of drunk guys in women’s restrooms? Wow, the life of a caterer must be pretty exciting.”
She laughed. “No, not so much at work. But my little brother is always getting into scrapes, and I feel like I’m always helping him out.”
“Like last night. You really had your hands full. First me, then you still had your brother to deal with. Did you get him bailed out of jail last night?”
She cringed. “I don’t know why I told you all that stuff. I was kind of hoping you’d been too drunk to remember any of it.”
“I was pretty drunk, but I remember a lot of what happened last night. The important stuff at least.”
The important stuff? Did he mean the kiss? She glanced up at him.
He was looking at her lips. Oh my gosh. He had to mean the kiss. A dart of heat shot up her spine, and she could feel warmth color her cheeks.
He must have seen the blush because he chuckled softly—a low rumble that came from his chest and made her insides turn a little gooey.
Geez. What was happening to her? She prided herself on being responsible and practical—not ruled by her emotions. Like her brother. And her step-father.
But one little chuckle from a good-looking guy, and she was melting into a puddle.
Okay, to be fair, he wasn’t just good-looking. He was Greek god, hot as hell, ridiculously good-looking. And he’d had his tongue in her mouth only a few hours ago. Those facts might warrant a little emotion on her part.
“Look, I really am sorry,” he said. “And I do appreciate what you did. I’d like to make it up to you. Maybe take you to lunch today?”
Lunch? Not dinner? What did that mean? Dinner implied a date. Lunch usually stood for just friends—two buddies grabbing a bite together. Or maybe he really had been excited to see her and didn’t want to wait until tonight. He had shown up at the bakery before nine o’clock in the morning.
It didn’t matter. She didn’t have time for either one today.
“I really appreciate the offer. But I don’t have time for lunch today. I have a huge order that I’m working on this morning, and I have to take the cupcake truck out to try to grab the lunchtime crowd. Thanks to my brother, I’ll be working straight through any lunch break I might have had today. I bailed him out of jail last night, and he turned around and bailed out on working for me today.”
“Then that’s how I can make amends for last night. I’ll stand in for your brother and help you out today.” Owen rubbed his hands together. “Put me to work. Just show me what to do?”
She planted her fists on her hips and gave him a skeptical look. “You? You’re going to help me make cupcakes? And drive the truck around? The truck with a big pink cupcake painted on its side?”
“Sure, why not?” He gave her a devilish grin. “I’m man enough to handle some pink.”
“Um—maybe because you’re a famou
s hockey player. Why bother helping me?”
The grin fell from his face, and she swore she saw a look of hurt pass through his eyes. “You knew who I was this whole time? But last night—”
“No, I didn’t. Sorry to break it to you, Mr. Famous, but I had no idea who you were last night.”
“I’m not insulted that you didn’t recognize me. It’s just that last night, you acted like I was just a regular guy.”
She rolled her eyes. “Geez. You are a regular guy. Except that you’re insanely gorgeous and happen to be good at playing hockey.” Her eyes widened. Shit. Had she really just said that? Out loud? Maybe he didn’t notice.
The naughty glint in his eye told her he noticed.
Keep talking. Distract him. “I run my own business. I don’t have time to follow sports. The only reason I know who are now is because I saw you on the news this morning.”
His eyes widened, all traces of fun gone. “The news? What news? When?”
“The morning news. The local Denver station, I guess. They ran a story about you this morning. It was on as I was walking out the door, so it probably aired about fifteen minutes ago.”
“Did you leak it?”
“Me? No. What are talking about? I told you—I didn’t even know who you were until I saw your picture on the television this morning.”
He shook his head, his mouth set in a hard line. “Sorry. You’re right. That was a gut reaction. I didn’t really think you leaked it. There are pictures? How bad are they?”
“There was only one. It was you and your party-girl, Bridget—or Brittany. Sorry, don’t remember which.”
He shrugged. “Whatever. I don’t remember for sure either. And she was no girl of mine. I’d just met her in the club last night. And now I’m wondering if that was all a set-up anyway.”
“A set-up? What for?”
He let out a sigh. “Oh, you’d be amazed at what people do just to get their fifteen minutes of fame. Don’t get me wrong, I love the fans of The Summit. Most of them are great people. But there are those that only want to use you because they think you can do something for them. Spend money on them, introduce them to someone, or just get their name in the paper or on television.”
She had no idea. Even though he had to have known that the notoriety came with the profession, she felt a little sorry for him. She certainly knew what it was like to be used. Not for fame or recognition, but definitely for money. And she had much less than Owen did. Much, much less.
His phone buzzed, and he pulled it from his pocket. “Shit. That’s Bane. He must have heard about the news story. He’s gonna be pissed.”
Chapter Three
Owen held the phone up to his ear to answer the call. “Hey, brother.”
“Hey, O. I just saw you and some blonde having a party on the news. It looks like they got your good side.” Bane’s sarcasm sounded light, but Owen knew he had to be mad. “Have you seen it?”
“No, I didn’t see the piece, but I just now heard about it. Have you heard from Harvey?”
“Oh, yeah I have. He called me within minutes of the spot airing. He’s not a happy camper.”
Harvey Skaggs was the team’s publicist, and he wasn’t often a happy camper when it came to Owen. “Great. I’m sure he’s gonna chew my ass a good one for this. I wonder why he hasn’t called me yet.”
“He was going to, but I told him not to worry about it. I told him I’d call you and pass along the information.”
An uneasy feeling settled in Owen’s gut. “What information?”
“He wants to see us both in his office at four o’clock this afternoon.”
“Both? Why? You didn’t have anything to do with this.”
“You know why.”
Yeah, he did. Bane being summoned to the office was another casualty of Owen’s reckless behavior. When would he learn? “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Bane said. “We’re in this together. This thing is just as much my fault as it is yours. Well, not the getting drunk and partying it up for the press last night—that’s all on you. I’ll see you at four o’clock.”
“All right, I’ll be there. Thanks, bro.” He hung up the phone.
“Are you in big trouble?” Gabby asked. Her eyes were filled with concern. Her gorgeous green eyes. A guy could get lost in those eyes.
His problem seemed to be that he was already lost. Maybe what he needed was to be found.
He sighed again. “It seems like I’m always in big trouble. But yeah, this one’s gonna be pretty bad. I screwed up royally this time.” He pasted on a smile and picked the box up off the counter. “All right, where does this go? Enough messing around, it sounds like we’ve got work to do.”
Stunned, she stared at him. “You still want to help me?”
“Of course, I do. I said I would, and I owe you after helping me last night.”
She shook her head. “No, you don’t. I didn’t really even do anything except keep you company.”
“You did more than keep me company. You kept me out of sight and called my brother to come get me. And kept me from making more of an ass of myself.” And she’d kissed the hell out of him. There was that. But now didn’t seem the best time to bring that up. He offered a grin. “And you let me sample your chocolate frosting. That’s gotta be worth a few hours of help in the kitchen.”
She laughed. “I don’t know if my chocolate’s that good.”
Oh, it was. Everything about her seemed to be that good.
She took a step closer and laid a hand on his arm. Looking up at him, he could see flecks of gold in her green eyes. “Really, Owen. You don’t have to do this.”
“I know. But I want to.” He gave her his most dashing grin. “You’ll actually be doing me a favor by keeping me busy and keeping my mind off the trouble I’m going to be in when I meet with the team’s publicist this afternoon.”
He could see her softening. “Okay. But I’m not taking it easy on you. Making cupcakes isn’t for sissies. If you’re really serious, I’ll put you to work.”
“Let’s do it.”
She led him into the kitchen and pointed to the big island counter in the center of the room. “You can set that box there.”
He put the box down and looked around the room. Industrial appliances lined one wall, and a big sink and drainer filled another. One set of shelves held baking supplies and cooking utensils. Stacks of cookie sheets and muffin tins filled another set. Every surface gleamed, and it was obvious she took pride in keeping a clean and tidy kitchen.
He took off his coat and threw it on a meticulously clean desk. “Don’t worry, Angel. I’m up to the challenge.”
“Okay. Let’s get busy,” she said.
He chuckled and loved the way a pink tinge colored her cheeks as she realized her double entendre.
***
Gabby’s mouth went dry as she watched Owen pull off his sweater and drop it on his coat. He wore a light blue T-shirt under the sweater and the snug cotton hugged his muscled chest. She’d never been so jealous of a shirt before.
The guy seemed sweet and funny. And cute. So freaking cute.
But she knew from his conversation and the things he’d told her the night before that he had a wild side that leaned toward self-destruction. And she knew that behavior all too well. She’d seen it in her brother more times than she could count.
She grimaced as she thought about that brother and that he was the one who’d left her without help this morning.
So, despite the distraction of his cute butt and perfect pecs, she needed Owen’s body. To line cupcake pans and mix batter. That was all. She did not need to get involved with another guy who was bent on destroying all the good things in his life.
She reached for two big mixing bowls and hooked them into the industrial mixers. “We need to get the batter going. I’ve got to make six dozen cupcakes for a special order. And I need to prepare a hundred more to take out on the truck to catch the noon-time crowd after
church.”
His eyes widened. “We’re making a hundred and seventy-two cupcakes this morning? Before noon?”
She grinned and led him to the sink to wash their hands. “Cute and good at math.”
He laughed and rubbed soap into his hands under the running water. “I do have a few skills.”
I bet you do. A shot of heat ran down her spine as his hand brushed hers. No time to think about his skills now. They had work to do and a lot of it.
She grabbed her favorite pink apron and pulled it over her head. The fabric was covered with images of pink and green frosted cupcakes.
“Where’s mine?” he teased.
She grabbed another apron, this one plain pink. Holding out the neck opening, she dared him to stick his head through.
Evidently he liked a dare.
“Just the one I would have picked. Pink is one of my favorite colors.” Owen winked and ducked his head through. She laughed as he turned and held his arms up for her to tie the strings in the back.
Her fingers fumbled as she tried to tie the strings into a bow. His back was like hard granite, and she had a sudden image of running her hands along his shoulders as he’d kissed her the night before.
Focus, girl.
Two large bins of sugar and flour sat on the floor under the big mixers, and she opened the lid to the flour and handed him a measuring cup. “I need two cups of flour in each bowl.”
“Sifted or unsifted?”
She raised an eyebrow at him. “It’s pre-sifted.”
“Hey, my mom raised a bunch of boys, and she loved having company in the kitchen. If we wanted cookies or dessert, we had to help her make them. She taught all of us how to cook.” He dipped the cup into the flour and used the edge of the lid to level the cup before he dumped it into the bowl. “I told you I had skills.”