by Debra Kayn
The phone rang. She rushed over, came to a careening stop, pressed her hand to her chest, and forced herself to cool down. She answered, calmer than she was feeling. “Hello?”
“Hey,” Shauna said. “Do you have a cold?”
Her shoulders sagged. “No. Why?”
“You sound funny. All airy and depressed … have you been drinking?”
“Of course not.” She rolled her eyes. “I’m fine.”
“Yay. Good.” Shauna laughed. “I’m picking you up in ten minutes. Wear something sexy and cute. Do you still have that pink sweater with the scooped neck you wore during the Valentine’s dance at the hotel?”
“Yes, but I’m not — ”
“Perfect! Wear a pair of ass fitting jeans and your black boots. Not too dressy, but casual hot.” Diana’s muffled voice came across the phone. “Sorry, Grayson came in the room, and I didn’t want him to overhear me or he’d wonder what I was doing.”
“Are you still denying him sex?”
Shauna snorted. “Are you kidding me? Grayson blew it. That man was all over me … but who can blame him, right?”
“Shauna … ” Diana groaned. “Let’s not talk about your late-blooming sex life tonight.”
“Okay. Good plan, because tonight is all about you. Get ready, I’ll be there soon, and I plan to show you the best time of your life. Whatever you do, don’t leave your hotel room until I get there. Pinky swear?”
“Um, tonight isn’t a good night, babe.” She sank down in the chair. “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you. I’ve decided to stay in, take a bath, and … and do laundry.”
Silence came over the line. Shauna cleared her throat. “I know Dominic’s in town. He and Grayson are up to something, and I’m not going to let you keep beating yourself up over him. So get off your ass, get dressed, and be ready. No excuses.”
The phone disconnected. Diana groaned and closed her eyes, clutching the phone to her chest. Dominic probably wanted to tell her he was in town to visit Grayson, and his being here had nothing to do with her. He didn’t even show up after making a fool of her downstairs. She touched her lips. Damn him.
A voicemail would do for whatever he had to tell her. He didn’t have to kiss her.
She opened her eyes and pulled herself out of the chair. Knowing Shauna, she’d be here before her ten minutes expired. She walked to the bedroom, dressed in the outfit Shauna picked out for her, and even put on her makeup.
By the time she pulled on her boots and decided she looked okay for whatever they were going to do, she’d worked up enough anger over Dominic not showing up, all she wanted to do was get out of the hotel and go somewhere to forget she ever fell in love with the big, sexy, Russian.
Knock, knock, knock.
She hurried into the sitting area, grabbed her purse, and opened the door. Shauna eyed her up and down, nodded, and pulled her out of the room. Diana locked the door, and, linking her arm through Shauna’s, left the hotel.
A quarter a mile away, Shauna drove past Quayside Lounge. Diana frowned. “I thought you were taking me out for a drink.”
“Change of plans,” Shauna muttered.
She shifted in the passenger seat. “What are we doing?”
“You’ll see,” Shauna said.
“You’re getting freaky again. The last time you acted secretive, I knew to expect a load of trouble coming your way.” Diana nudged Shauna’s arm. “I thought you said everything was okay between you and Grayson.”
“Yeah. We’re great.” Shauna jolted. “Oh, turn the radio up. I love this song.”
Diana shook her head, but turned the music louder. For the next mile, she let herself listen to the lyrics, wondering what Shauna heard in a song about breaking up when she had the ultimate love life. She, on the other hand, sunk further into a funk.
The car slowed down. She raised her gaze and frowned. “What are you doing here?”
“Don’t ask.” Shauna pulled into the driveway of the Ferriday house and came to a complete stop. “You know I love you, babe, but you need to get out of my car.”
“W-what?” Her jaw dropped before anger consumed her. “I can’t believe you,” she whispered.
“Diana, I — ”
She raised her hand. “Stop. You knew I lost my big chance, and you still brought me here. Why? I can’t — ” She clamped her lips shut and muffled her scream. “Never mind. I’ll get out of the car, because I’ll walk back to the hotel by myself.”
“Diana!”
She slammed the car door. Behind her, she heard Shauna yell she was sorry. She whirled around and pointed. “Go!”
Standing in the driveway of someone else’s pride and joy, and her broken dream, she watched Shauna back the car down the driveway and leave her behind. What in the world was Shauna thinking?
Never, in all the years they’d been friends, had Shauna been cruel or insensitive to her feelings. She kicked at the gravel on the driveway. There was no excuse for dumping her here. Even if she won the lottery, the house would still be unattainable to her. Gone. Never to be hers.
A hammering bang, bang, bang went off behind her. She whirled around. Shocked that someone would be out here at this time of night, she ducked behind the fence.
The windows on the bottom level of the Ferriday House were lit up and the noise came from inside. She brushed the tears from her eyes. All the times she’d walked through the house, she’d never viewed the house with the power on. For the first time in years, the place looked alive.
The serenity and majestic lay of the grand house took her breath away. How many times had she stood on the porch, looking out across the large span of yard and dreamed about turning the place into the best bed and breakfast in the county?
A shadow walked by the window. She crept closer, being quiet in case whoever was inside caught her trespassing. One little peek, that’s all, and then she’d leave. She had to see what the inside looked like with all the lights chasing away the dust and cobwebs.
The porch step creaked when she took her first step. She froze, watching the door. In the night, she could’ve sworn the sound echoed.
Before she could advance to the window, the door opened. A large darkened form filled the doorway, the inside lights casting his face in shadows. She gasped. Only one man could make that big of a silhouette.
“What are you doing here?” She stepped up on the porch.
Dominic moved back inside in the light. “I want to show you something. Come in.”
In one day, he’d changed from his slacks and a dress shirt from this morning into an old pair of jeans with a frayed rip on the thigh, faded spots on his knees, and a worn T-shirt. His mussed hair held up a pair of safety goggles. Her gaze went back down his body to the tool belt buckled low on his hips. She blinked at the hammer in his hand.
“Oh my freaking God. Are you crazy?” She stomped into the house. “You can’t break into this house. Someone bought it.”
“I know,” he said. “I’m only tearing something apart.”
She threw her hands up to her sides. “You are — ” She clamped her lips together and shook her head. “So freaking in trouble. Stop doing whatever you are doing and get out of here.”
She hated the way her voice broke and the way she showed how much seeing him here hurt. Sure, he was Dominic Chekovsky, famous hockey player, but he couldn’t do whatever he wanted. Cottage Grove police would throw him in jail for breaking and entering. Not to mention destroying a perfectly spectacular historical home.
“Follow me.” He motioned with his hand and walked into the kitchen.
She didn’t want to. She wanted to get out of here before someone caught them. But she couldn’t stop herself from absorbing everything about the entryway with the old chandelier glowing. The crown molding, a highlight of the original woodwork, only needed sanding and polishing.
In the living room, she scanned the long sectional wooden floor. She’d always assumed she’d need to have a new floor built, but
the wood planks were gorgeous. She ran her hand across her cheek. God, she would’ve loved to varnish the floors to a shine. The history they told with their age would attract all the guests’ attention during their stay.
She stepped into the kitchen and her heart dropped. “Oh my God, what have you done?”
“I ripped out the old stove and cabinet. It’s in the backyard.” He moved over to the fireplace. “Did you know the chimney’s still intact and seems in good condition?”
Of course she did. She’d dug up every piece of information she could find on the house. She’d spent numerous hours being nosey, scouring the property, doing research in the library. She knew the cellar door on the outside remained broken, and the foundation on the east corner needed fixing, but the beams under the house were solid and in good condition. At one time, there was a winery in the backyard, but had since been torn down. Nothing he told her now would surprise her.
Except why he was standing in the house pretending he had permission to rip apart the kitchen.
“Dom … you’re killing me,” she whispered.
He approached her and took her hands in his. “We need to talk.”
“There’s nothing to say. I did my part for you. Someone else bought this house. I’m working at the hotel until I can make other plans.” She lifted her gaze. “And you have a hockey career you must take seriously. If you are caught vandalizing this house, you can kiss everything goodbye. We need to leave. Now.”
He shook his head. “I have a bigger problem.”
Despite telling herself he was none of her business, she asked, “What?”
“You failed to do what I hired you for.” He lifted her hands and kissed her knuckles.
She cringed. “The women are bothering you again?”
“No.” He chuckled. “They ignore me.”
She tugged on her hands, but he refused to let her go. “Well, I’m sorry that disappoints you. I’m sure you can do whatever you do and have them back.”
“I don’t want them,” he whispered. “I want you. You see, I realized that having you around all the time wasn’t what made them stay away from me. I didn’t need your protection.”
Kill me now. She glared. “Fine. I guess you’re here to ask for your money back. You’re too late. I tore the check in half and mailed it to your house already. I don’t want your money, and seeing how you don’t think I did my job, we can both be happy.”
“I didn’t say I wasn’t happy.” His jaw twitched. “I said it wasn’t you who made all the women stop chasing me. I did that.”
“God. You are a conceited ass — ”
“They stopped throwing themselves at me because I fell in love with you.” He pressed her hands to his chest and held them there. “In my heart, I was taken the moment you came home with me. When you are around, all I can see is you. I went to bed thinking about you, and woke up anxious to be with you. Nothing else exists. The women, they know I’ll never see anything in them because you are my everything.”
Okay. That was perfect.
“I am?” she mouthed.
He leaned forward and put his lips to her ear. “You are, sweetcheeks,” he whispered.
“Oh my God.” She pulled her hands out of his grasp and dived into his arms. “I fell in love with you too. I wanted to tell you, but I thought you only hired me to do a job. Then I didn’t think I deserved you, because I whored myself out to you and you were not the player I thought you were.”
“It was never a job. The first time I saw you, I wanted you.” He tilted her face. “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” she said.
He kissed her. There were no words to describe what they said with their lips. Her confession topped with finally having her mouth on him again was soul shattering and thorough. Deep and hypnotic. It was better than anything she’d ever dreamed.
His mouth was the perfect mold for her lips. His tongue tangled with hers. He held her still, wanting her to accept him, and she did without any question.
There was nothing but him and her. And the feelings they finally let out into the open.
Nothing compared to their kiss. Nothing. Not her independence or her broken dreams. Not his pushy ways or his career or even all the women he came into contact with on a daily basis. Not any of the hurdles she knew they’d need to jump would keep her from Dominic again.
When he lifted his head a fraction of an inch, he placed his forehead against hers. She breathed deep, feeling the tingles on her sensitized lips after the kiss and knew he felt it too.
Finally, he spoke. “Diana, will you — ”
A loud roar of cars grew close to the house, followed by slamming doors, pulling them apart. She gaped at Dom before jumping into action.
“Run!” She grabbed his sleeve and pulled.
He caught her around the waist. “Diana, it’s okay.”
“No, it’s not. This is Cottage Grove. Being a hockey player won’t get you out of being charged with trespassing and damaging someone else’s property.” She kicked out when he lifted her off the ground. “I don’t want to go to jail.”
The front door banged open. She stilled in Dominic’s arms as footsteps pounded over the wooden floor growing closer.
Shauna skidded to a stop in the kitchen. “I’m so sorry, Diana. Don’t be mad. It’s Grayson’s fault. He wouldn’t tell me what was going on, but I overheard him talking to Dominic at the tennis center and I couldn’t let — ”
Grayson appeared behind Shauna and covered her mouth with his hand. “Sorry, you two. She slipped away from me.”
Diana sagged in relief and smiled at Shauna. Everything about tonight made more sense now that Dominic had confessed his love to her. “It’s okay.”
Shauna squealed behind Grayson’s hand and gave her two thumbs up. Diana laughed, leaning into Dominic. God, she loved her friends. Their friends.
“We’ll be going now,” Grayson mumbled, picking Shauna up and packing her out of the house.
When the door closed, Diana turned to Dominic. “We really do need to leave. The house isn’t for sale anymore. Someone bought it before I could put an offer down.”
“Just a moment.” He took a deep breath. “I can’t spend another day without you. I know we have a lot to figure out, but the possibilities of spending the rest of my life with you and figuring all this out as we go makes me feel alive.” He paused, and sucked more air into his chest. “Diana, will you marry me?”
She covered her mouth. Moisture blurred her vision.
“Sweetcheeks … ?”
She nodded. Tears leaked through her eyelashes and spilled down her cheeks as she answered him.
Dominic laughed. “I have no idea what you said. You’ll have to move your hand off your mouth.”
She removed her hand and jumped into his arms. Against his neck, she chanted, “Yes, yes, yes, yes.”
He carried her as he kissed her all over her face. Her butt hit a flat surface and she pulled back, seeing he’d put her on the counter by the sink. She ran her hands over his gorgeous face, unable to believe he loved her as much as she loved him.
She grinned, shimmying on the old, dusty counter. “We’re getting married.”
“I’ve been busy the last several days, and haven’t had time to buy you a ring,” he said, taking off his tool belt.
She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. We have time.”
“That’s not good enough for my girl.” He dug in his back pocket. “So I thought maybe this would make it easier to wait until we can both go in together and pick out a ring.”
She tilted her head and took the piece of paper from him. “What is it?”
“Read it,” he said.
She unfolded the paper, rubbed her eyes, and bent her head forward. After reading the first line, she gasped.
“I couldn’t let your dream slip away,” he whispered. “You’ve worked too hard. The Ferriday house is yours. Free and clear. On one condition … ”
She pressed
the paper to her chest. “What?”
“You give my jersey back to me that you stole.” He kissed her hard. “Then you wear it every night in my bed.”
She wrapped herself around him and planted her head in his neck. Life, at that moment, was perfect. She put her lips to his ear and whispered, “You’ve got deal, big guy. I love you.”
About the Author
Top Selling Romance Author, Debra Kayn, lives with her family in the beautiful coastal mountains of Oregon on a hobby farm. She enjoys riding motorcycles, gardening, playing tennis, and fishing. A huge animal lover, she always has a dog under her desk when she writes and chickens standing at the front door looking for a treat. She’s famous in her family for teaching a 270 pound hog named Harley to jog with her every morning.
Her love of family ties and laughter makes her a natural to write heartwarming contemporary stories to the delight of her readers. Oh, let’s cut to the chase. She loves to write about REAL MEN and the WOMEN who love them.
When Debra was nineteen years old, a man kissed her without introducing himself. When they finally came up for air, the first words out of his mouth were … will you have my babies? Considering Debra’s weakness for a sexy, badass man who is strong enough to survive her attitude, she said yes. A quick wedding at the House of Amour and four babies later, she’s living her own romance book.
www.debrakayn.com
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Conveniently
Book 3 in the Playing for Hearts Series
Debra Kayn
Avon, Massachusetts
This edition published by
Crimson Romance
an imprint of F+W Media, Inc.
10151 Carver Road, Suite 200
Blue Ash, Ohio 45242
www.crimsonromance.com
Copyright © 2013 by Debra Kayn
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, corporations, institutions, organizations, events, or locales in this novel are either the product of the author’s imagination or, if real, used fictitiously. The resemblance of any character to actual persons (living or dead) is entirely coincidental.