As Melanie untied the sash of hers, she glanced over at Austin, waiting to see what he might say to her. She slipped the heavy wool off her shoulders and handed it to him. When he turned in her direction, a lump formed in his throat. The red silk clung to her body in such provocative way that he didn’t have words at the moment.
“What do think,” she shimmied her hips from side to side.
“Wow, you look amazing,” he let out a low whisper. “I’m going to have to beat them off with a stick.”
“Excuse me?” she cocked her head to the side.
“The men,” he gestured towards the ballroom. “I’m gonna have my work cut out for me tonight. They’re not gonna stay away from you.”
“There’s only one man that I’m interested in tonight,” she smiled saucily.
“Do I know him,” he teased.
“I’m not sure. Come on, I’ll introduce you,” she giggled as they may their way to the ballroom.
ooooooooooo
It was decorated beautifully inside. There were candles everywhere, and holly and red berries adorned the tables. White china and crystal place settings were out on the tables and gold covers were on the chairs.
“Wow, they went all out for this, didn’t they?” Austin gasped.
“Yeah, my father used to attend these all the time. It seemed every year they made them more elaborate,” she glanced around. “Whoever plans these must try to ‘out do’ the person from the previous year.”
“Melanie,” came a voice from behind them.
When Melanie turned around, she saw William walking forward.
“Hi William,” she smiled. “This is Austin Montgomery. Austin this is Dr. William Thompson. We’ve been friends since we were kids.”
The men shook hands and Melanie noticed Austin glare at William. She glanced between them and seeing the obvious tension decided that they should head over to the bar area. “Wanna go get a drink with me?“ she turned to walk with Austin over to the bar area. He was stiff as he moved along beside her and he pressed his hand into her lower back. When they reached the bar, he wrapped his arm more securely around her waist and squeezed her hip almost possessively like he was marking his territory.
“What’s wrong? I’ve never seen you act like this,” she whispered in his ear.
“I don‘t like the way he was looking at you,” he growled as he turned in her direction and she noticed a slight tick in his jaw.
“What? We‘ve been friends since we were four. You‘ve got nothing to worry about,” she smiled at him and ran a finger down his chest seductively. “I’m here with you, remember?”
“Well you might not see it, but he’s got a thing for you,” Austin kissed her on the cheek.
“Dance with me?” she cocked her head to the side.
Sighing, he relented and the two made their way to the dance floor and stayed there until dinner was served. When they made their way around the tables to find their seats, they noticed that they were seated at William’s table.
“Great,” Austin sighed as he ran his hand across the back of his neck.
“I’m sorry Austin, I asked to be seated with William. I didn‘t think you‘d object. I‘m telling you, you have nothing to worry about,” she rubbed his arm.
Minutes later, Jason walked up. “Hi, it’s funny seeing you here,” he smiled.
“Oh, Jason, how are you?” she grinned.
“Austin, this is Dr. Jason McKinley. He’s my new neighbor and a neurosurgeon at the hospital,” she leaned into him and placed her hand on his thigh.
“Nice to meet you,” Austin reached up and shook his hand, not wanting to stand and break the intimate contact.
Soon the servers began bringing out the dinner as an uncomfortable silence settled over the table. Melanie had left her hand on Austin’s thigh, but had been absentmindedly rubbing back and forth moving higher with each pass. He wondered how long she would continue. He could tell by the look on her face that she didn’t even realize that she was doing it, or what effect it was having.
He shifted uncomfortably and leaned in next to her ear whispering, “We’re going to have to leave if you keep doing that.”
Her body suddenly went rigid as her face turned crimson. “I’m so sorry,” she returned, embarrassed that she had been so forward.
“Hey, I didn’t say I didn’t like it,” he grinned at her and pecked her cheek. “I just didn’t think that you’d want me walking around with you in that condition.”
Her face flamed again and she yanked her hand back into her own lap.
“William, how do you know Melanie?” Jason asked, bringing her attention back to the rest of the group.
“We grew up around the corner from each other and went to school together,” William smiled at her with a wistful look on his face.
Austin stood upon hearing this and went to make his way back to the bar, “I need a drink, would you like anything, dear?”
“A white wine, please,” she smiled her thanks as he stormed away.
After dinner, Melanie excused herself to the ladies room. She was growing rather tired of Austin’s jealous act. She had done nothing to encourage William to show her affection, and they had always been friends. He’d always stood by her through every part of her life. There was no way that he had romantic feelings for her. He was the one that told her about Sean wanting to date her. He was the one that was always encouraging her to meet people after Sean died. Was Austin seeing something that she wasn’t?
When she returned to the ballroom, Austin was standing over next to Jason, deep in conversation. Melanie marched with purpose over to him, tapped him on the shoulder, and crossed her arms waiting to be noticed.
“I wanna talk to you,” she glared.
“Why‘s that?” he grumbled.
“I wanna know what I’ve done tonight to make you act like this,” she tapped her foot.
“I’ll talk to you later,” Jason excused himself from the group and walked away.
Austin’s temper began to flare out of control. He grabbed Melanie by the elbow and stalked out into the hallway of the ballroom. His jaw was clenched and he was continually balling his free hand into a fist. When they had moved far enough away to have some privacy, he released her and took a step back. Melanie had never seen him like this and wasn’t sure how to deal with it. He took a deep breath to calm himself.
“It’s quite obvious that you’re jealous, Mr. Montgomery, and I want to know why?” she shrugged. “What have I done to show you that I have any interest in anyone here other than you?”
“Melanie I don‘t like the way he looks at you. He sees you the way I do. You know that what we’ve got here,” he gestured between them, “it’s special. We’ve been building this for months.”
Melanie dropped her eyes to the floor. “I know, and don‘t worry. I don‘t feel that way about William. He is one of my oldest friends though. We‘ve been through a lot together. He was there to help me put my life back together after Sean died. He‘s done more for me than I could have ever asked for.”
“I know, and I‘m going to do my best not to kill him. He‘s got to stop with the lost little puppy looks he keeps throwing your way, though,” he sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.
“What do you want me to do, Austin? We work together on a daily basis. I spend time with him outside of work. He’s almost like a brother to me,” she pleaded.
“I just…I want…oh screw it,” he muttered and advanced forward before she had time to react. He grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her back against wall crushing his body against hers. She gasped in reaction to the quick movement and sighed when his lips made contact. His kiss was urgent and demanding, nothing like they had been in the past. It was like he was marking her as his and only his. His thrust his tongue into her mouth and drug his hand down her sides gripping her hips and molding his body to hers. She brought her hands up and threaded her fingers in his hair. Knowing that they needed to stop, she gave it a
light tug and caused him to break the kiss and give her a quizzical look. She smiled seductively and then uttered, “Don’t ever doubt me again.”
“It’s not you I’m worried about,” he sighed as he stepped back to give her some room.
“I‘ll talk to him. He‘s been there for me a lot in the past ten years, though. He helped me through one of my most difficult times,” Melanie tilted her head so she could look him in the eyes.
“Ok,” he sighed. “I’m sorry I acted like that. I’ll try to not ruin the rest of the night. Besides, I bet William’s never gotten to do this,” he leaned forward and placed a kiss to her lips.
She leaned into him, deepening the kiss and soon heard feet shuffling in the background. When she broke away from him. She saw William retreating down the hall back to the ballroom. Melanie sighed and shook her head before smiling up at him. She knew she was going to have to sit down with William and get to the bottom of this, but tonight was not going to be the night. She refused to let him take up anymore of her time. Tonight was about Austin, and she was determined to finish the night on the right note. They made their way back into the ballroom just as the last dance was being announced.
“Shall we?” he reached for her to guide her out onto the dance floor.
“I’d love to,” she smiled at him.
He led her to the center of the dance floor and wrapped his arms around her just as the words to Taylor Swift’s “Crazier” began to filter through the air. As she leaned into him, she relaxed, placing her head on his chest and releasing a sigh.
Austin leaned down next to her ear, “Did I tell you how beautiful you look tonight?”
“Thank you, you‘re not so bad yourself,” she raised her head and smiled up at him.
“You know this song makes me think of you,” he murmured. “You make me crazier than I think I’ve ever been. Just being near you brings out a whole new side of me. One that I never even knew existed,” he chuckled.
“You’re the only one I want, Austin. Please believe me,” she smiled up at him as the music was ending. “No matter who might look my way, you’re the one I’m looking back at.”
“I believe you, I really do, and I’m sorry. I’ve never been good at sharing,” he sighed.
She glanced at her watch, “I think we should head out. It’s getting late and you still have to take Hannah home.”
“You’re right, and you have to work early tomorrow, too. Maybe I can stop by and have lunch with you or something?” he asked as he led her to the door of the ballroom.
“Sure, if you can control your temper. I’m working with William tomorrow,” she smirked.
“Are you trying to make me jealous, Dr. Andrews?” he grinned.
“I don’t know, is it working?” she giggled as she scampered in the direction of the coat check. Austin trotted after her mumbling under his breath, “Oh, you are so going to get it.”
Once they collected their coats, they made their way out front and waited for the car to pull around. The driver appeared within a few moments and stepped out to open their doors. Melanie and Austin settled into the back seat and snuggled together trying to ward off the winter chill of the night.
“I had a great time tonight,” she leaned her head on his shoulder. “Thanks for coming with me. I know this really isn‘t your idea of fun. You must go to these sorts of things all the time.”
“Anything that involves you, is my idea of fun,” Austin smiled. “I’ll do anything to spend time with you.”
She relaxed into his side as the car pulled away from the curb heading for her house. She was not looking forward to the inevitable talk that she would need to have with William in the future, but she would do it for Austin. At this point she realized that she would do anything for Austin. He had patched the cracks of her broken heart and was making her feel whole again. In the few short months that they’d known each other, he had completely changed her outlook on life. She never thought she could love again, but here she was hopelessly in love with him. As scary as it was, she was ready to move forward. She was ready to give him her whole heart.
She only hoped that he didn’t break her.
Chapter 18
Austin had come by bright and early to pick up the girls and take them to the ice rink. Katie was surprised that she was actually looking forward to going to the hockey game. She’d never really been into sports, but she had been bored sitting at home. There wasn’t a whole lot to do in the winter in Boston. Hannah had told her that she’d been to a few Bruins games with her dad and would try to explain how the game was played.
When they got to the arena, Austin told them he’d meet them by the front door after the game. He asked them to call him when the game finished and they were ready to be picked up. They waved “bye” to him and walked through the big glass doors of the ice rink.
When they entered, a big “whoosh” of cold air blasted them in the face. Katie shivered violently and pulled her coat tighter around herself. She stood wide-eyed, taking in her surroundings as Hannah fiddled with her scarf. Players were skating around on the ice warming up. To ward off the cold, they had decided to head over to the snack bar in the corner and buy some hot chocolate.
“It’s freezing in here,” Katie rubbed her hands up and down the sleeves of her coat and bounced on her feet, trying to generate some heat.
“It has to be to keep the ice frozen, silly,” Hannah shook her head. “Where do you want to sit?”
Katie looked around for a spot where she could see the game and also be comfortable.
“How about up there?” she pointed.
The girls made their way up the steps to the middle of the bleachers. They sat down and huddled together to keep warm while they surveyed the players on the ice.
“Patrick’s on The Blaze. They’re the red and black team. He plays forward,” Katie pointed to the guys warming up at one end of the rink.
Hannah shook her head, “How do you know all this?”
“He told me,” Katie shrugged. “We’re friends.”
“Unnn Huh,” Hannah smirked. “Friends…right.”
“What?” Katie looked puzzled.
“Nothing,” Hannah rolled her eyes and giggled.
Just then Patrick skated onto the ice, followed by a few other players that Hannah assumed must be the other starters. He tossed his helmet to the side and began to make sweeping circles with the other players. His blond hair was blowing in the wind he created. Katie waved enthusiastically at him and bounced in her seat. He saw her and waved back, smiling a toothy grin.
He skated over to the side of the rink in front of them and shouted, “You made it!”
“Good luck!” Katie shouted back as she continued to bounce.
He shook his head and chuckled, “Thanks. I’ll talk to you after the game.” He winked and skated back to where the rest of team was warming up.
Katie blushed and buried her nose in her cup of hot chocolate all the while giggling. As Hannah snickered and rolled her eyes, “Friends, sure thing Katie.”
Once the game started, Katie couldn’t take her eyes off the rink. She watched as the players glided across the ice with ease. Patrick was by far the best player on the team; he made the game look effortless. By the end of the second period, he’d scored two of the three goals that The Blaze had on their point total. Katie had long forgotten how cold she was as she and Hannah jumped up and down in their seats, squealing at the top of their lungs.
When the game came to an end, the girls made their way down to the glass. Patrick took off his helmet and tossed it on the ice. He was covered in sweat and his hair was plastered to his forehead. He shook his head from side to side slinging sweat droplets in the air. He peeled his gloves off and tossed them to the side, along with his stick. He was so hot you could literally see steam rising off his body against the cold air.
“So? What’d ya think?” he smiled as he skated over to where the girls were standing.
“That was awesome!” Ka
tie bounced on the balls of her feet. “I never thought I’d like hockey. You make it look so easy. I thought there were fights in hockey though?” she shrugged her shoulders with a lost look on her face.
Patrick threw his head back as a roar of laughter escaped him, “The fights, that’s what you came for? That’s pro hockey, babe.”
“I’m not your babe,” she crossed her arms over her chest and scowled at him. “How did you get so good at this?”
“Well, I’ve been skating since I was five, and playing since I was eight,” he shrugged. “Do you skate?” he looked at her with a mischievous smile.
Unbreak Me (Second Chances #1) Page 19