“Which one of your hundred and twenty-six girlfriends are you going to celebrate with after the win?” Jace asked.
“My mom and pops will be here tonight. The ladies will just have to wait.” Austin winked. His little sister, Annie, had impetuously told his close friends how he had a hundred and twenty-six girlfriends. It was a revolving door, constantly rotating to allow new girlfriends in. Everyone had teased him about it, especially because women flocked to him. What could he say? He was irresistible to beautiful ladies, and he was not about to complain about it.
Austin was grateful that his parents would be at the game tonight. They tried to attend every game they could, but the eleven-year-old twins and his eight-year-old little sister couldn’t miss school every week. Tonight, his siblings would stay with Mama Strong in Colorado. He missed his large, crazy family and his Colorado mountains with an almost constant ache, but college, hockey, and girls kept him too busy to dwell on it for long.
He heard a shout of “Austin!” from a nearby dining area next to the food court. He turned with a grin and a raised hand.
An exquisite angel blocked his view of whoever had called out. She was walking in the other direction and moving his way the exact moment he’d turned to wave. Their gazes caught and held, and Austin felt like somebody had just slammed him onto the ice. His head was foggy and his body felt disjointed, but he could clearly see her bright blue eyes and full, appetizing lips. Her hair was a long sheet of strawberry-blond softness that he wanted to reach out and touch.
She was staring at him with a slightly open mouth, appearing as awestruck as he felt. He’d dated countless girls and women, but never had he longed to just sit and stare at someone, to work for hours to secure one smile from her, to give up honor and glory to have her in his arms.
Wham! Austin’s feet had kept moving even as his head had swiveled to maintain eye contact. He slammed into a glass wall and went down hard on his backside. People exclaimed in surprise and concern and gathered around him to see if he was all right. Austin didn’t care about hitting the wall; he was used to slamming into glass, ice, and other hockey players, and a little hit like that didn’t even hurt. The only thing that hurt was his pride, but more importantly, he couldn’t see his redheaded angel through the crowd.
Jace pulled him to his feet. “What was that?” He didn’t even try to hide his mirth. “The superstar can’t be bested on the ice, but a wall can take him out?”
“Impressive wall.” Austin tried to play it cool, but he was searching over the crowds. At six-four, he could see over most heads, but it was difficult with this crowd. People were surging in, worried about him, and girls tugged at him to see if he needed to be kissed better. Gah! He needed to find that girl. The way her blue eyes had connected with his … it was insane. He had no plans of settling down. He had too much success awaiting him in the NHL. But a woman like that? He’d hang up his skates indefinitely for a taste of those luscious lips.
He scowled. What was he thinking? He’d fought his whole life to be where he was and where he was going. He couldn’t give it up for a woman. Yet …
“Did you see the redhead?” he asked Jace, for once ignoring all his fans.
Jace shook his head. “Redhead?”
“I have to find her.” Austin pushed his way through the crowd. “Excuse me. Sorry. Please let me through.” Despair cloaked him. It was an unfamiliar feeling. Everything always went his way. Yet with thirty thousand students at UMass, how was he going to find his perfect woman again?
With a slightly open mouth, Kate Joy stared into the deep brown eyes of the most appealing man she’d ever seen. It wasn’t just that he was over six feet of glorious muscle with a model-handsome face to match. There was a connection between them, a longing to be close to him, a sense of déjà vu—like she’d just come across the man she was meant to be with forever.
He suddenly slammed into a wall and hit the ground hard. Kate cried out in surprise. She wanted to run back to him and see if he was all right, but he was quickly surrounded by students, mostly females, crying out to him to see if he was hurt, asking if he needed to have it “kissed better.” Ugh. She didn’t want to fawn over some guy who had every girl within a two-hundred-mile radius kissing the ground he walked on. Not that it was a shock, considering how irresistibly handsome he was.
“What was that all about?” Jenny, her roommate and close friend, asked from her elbow.
“Nothing. I’m going to be late for class.” Kate forced herself to speed-walk out of the Campus Center building into the crisp winter’s air, though she longed to turn around and push all those other women out of the way. That man should have her name engraved on his forehead, and she should be the one to kiss him better.
“Did you see Austin Strong staring at you and then slam into the wall?” Jenny asked, jogging to keep up. “Baby steps, friend, please.”
Kate laughed uneasily. Jenny was five foot nothing, and Kate’s long legs that supported her five-ten frame ate up ground like nobody’s business. She slowed down. “Who’s Austin Strong?” Though she could easily guess it was the amazingly attractive man who oozed confidence and charm. He made her want to follow him around and forget her life mission to free her mother, forget about achieving all of her career dreams and goals to pull herself and her mom out of poverty.
“Who’s Austin Strong? Who’s Austin Strong?” Jenny shook her head. “Only the superstar of the Minutemen hockey team, the stud every woman is chasing, the hottest guy on campus. Do you live under a textbook?”
“Most of the time.” Kate was going to be a defense attorney and change the world. She would start with her own mom, who was in prison on a false murder charge. It was a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and somehow, Kate was going to prove it, set her mother free, and then help right other injustices. She was putting herself through her undergrad on scholarships, grants, and a part-time job waiting tables at a twenty-four-hour coffee shop and diner at night. She’d also become an expert at watching over her shoulder, always afraid that Michael Callan, the brother of the man her mother was accused of killing, might find her and kill her like he’d killed two other people he had vendettas against. She didn’t have time to worry about the “hottest guy on campus,” and Austin Strong appeared to have plenty of other women to keep him occupied. Why that made her so upset was beyond her.
“Wait!” They heard a loud yell from behind them, followed by the pounding of heavy footsteps. “Wait! My beautiful angel, please wait!”
Kate and Jenny spun around to see who the guy was yelling at. When Kate recognized the incredible dark-eyed guy who’d run into the wall, her shoes seemed to freeze to the icy sidewalk. Or maybe that was just a result of vicious winter temps in Amherst, Massachusetts.
“Did he just call you his beautiful angel?” Jenny whispered.
Kate’s heart lurched. She was pretty sure he had. It probably meant nothing. She imagined that he’d said the same line to hundreds of women.
A huge smile covered his face as he raced up to them, stopping just short of plowing Kate over. He didn’t even appear out of breath from his sprint across campus, but that made sense if he was really some hockey superstar. His eyes slowly traveled over her, and Kate felt warm from head to toe. His smile softened to a charming grin, and he gave her a smoldering look that made her feel a little weak.
“Oh my,” Jenny muttered. “He’s not even looking at me, but I think I’ve died and gone to heaven.”
Austin gave her roommate a brief smile before focusing back on Kate. “I found you,” he murmured, stepping in closer and softly touching her cheek. His touch sent warmth searing through her like a flash of electricity.
Kate thought he was incredible, irresistible, but she wasn’t some flighty girl who fell for the superstar. Her life was much too focused to allow for a distraction like Austin Strong. It took an unreal act of self-control, but she stepped back.
His hand dropped to his side, and Jenny cursed loudl
y.
“Please,” he said, leaning in but not touching her again. “Please say you felt the connection when our eyes met?” He smiled briefly. “I felt it so strongly, I ran into a wall.”
He felt the connection? Irrational happiness bubbled inside of her. She hadn’t felt so giddy since she was eight and thought she was getting a pony for Christmas. Now she recognized that it was an irrational dream, but when she’d gotten a stuffed pony instead, her young heart had broken. That’s all Austin Strong was. He looked like a thoroughbred stallion, but he was really a stuffed pony. Not the real thing. Not that she was looking for any kind of pony or stallion.
He leaned in so close, she could smell a heady mix of manly, expensive cologne. His sheer size, presence, charm, and smell was messing with her head. “Please say you felt it,” he repeated.
“I felt it,” she heard herself say, all breathless and sappy. She blinked and sucked in a breath. That was nothing she should be admitting to. Even if this perfect specimen thought they had a connection, he’d be moving on to the next hundred girls in line before she could read another case study.
A charming smile lit up his face, and the world around them faded away. He reached out both hands to her, and she placed her palms against his. Warmth and happiness radiated through her at the simple touch. If he kissed her, she might explode with joy.
“I’m Austin Strong,” he said in a deep, ultra-appealing voice.
“Kate Joy,” she said. Everything except his hands on hers and his handsome face felt out of focus, even her own voice.
“Joy? I love that. My mom’s name was Kari Love before she married my dad.” His voice deepened again. “She brought him love. Please say you’ll bring me joy.”
“You’re teasing me.”
“No. I wouldn’t tease about that.” But he smiled and winked. “I can’t believe this,” he murmured. “I never thought I’d find … you.”
“What do you mean?”
He squeezed her hands, still giving her a secretive grin she wasn’t sure she understood. Was the grin meant for her, or was he setting her up to knock her down? “My family and friends tease me that I have a hundred and twenty-six girlfriends.”
Reality was creeping in too fast with those words. Her stomach squirmed, and she tugged her hands free.
He frowned but continued, “But my uncles are always telling me I only need one … if she’s the right one.” His eyes swept over her face again, then met her gaze. She should’ve heard clanging warning bells, but they were drowned out by his appealing voice. “I think I’ve found her,” he said, so quietly she barely heard the words. But hear them she did, and unrealistic exhilaration surged through her. What was he doing to her?
“I’m late for class,” she muttered dumbly. There was no such thing as love at first sight. She wasn’t sure there was such a thing as real love. The right one? She shook her head. He was a player and knew exactly what to say to get some action. She started to back away.
“Please meet me after the game tonight,” he begged.
“What if I don’t?” she asked, though she wanted to promise she’d meet him every night.
His dark eyes became pleading, like a puppy dog’s. He pushed his hand through his incredible hair: it was twists of gold and dark that looked almost fake. How a guy so manly and handsome could suddenly look like a lost little boy was beyond her. “You’ll break my heart,” he said.
“I doubt that. You have a hundred and twenty-six girlfriends,” she reminded him.
His mouth tightened and his eyes got determined again. “You’re the only one I need,” he said fiercely.
This guy was too much. She’d cave to him and regret it for the rest of her life. Even if she could let herself fall in love, she couldn’t risk entangling him in her messed-up life. She backed up a few more steps and then turned and walked away, ignoring Jenny’s gasp of outrage.
“You can’t walk away from true love, Kate Joy,” he called to her.
She looked over her shoulder and said with much more sass or confidence than she felt, “Watch me.”
“I will.” There was a promise in his deep brown eyes and the curve of his lips that she felt clear through to her bones.
She whipped back around, picked up her pace, and smiled to herself. Austin Strong. He was either the biggest player she’d ever met, or the connection that arced between them was as strong for him as it was for her.
Fear tainted the joy of their interaction. Sappy feelings for an incredible man couldn’t deter her from her course. Her dad had died of a drug overdose four years ago, and she was her mom’s last hope. Her mom needed her, and Kate would never, ever quit on her mom like her dad had. Someday soon, they’d be a family again. Kate couldn’t let her down. Though it had been years since anyone had heard from the murderer Michael Callan he was still at large and might someday find her. She couldn’t allow her nightmare past to hurt someone pure and amazing like Austin.
She walked faster, anxious to leave behind the confusion and happiness that Austin had sparked inside her.
Chapter Two
During the game against UConn, Austin skated better than an Olympian. He was on fire, scoring twice and making two assists. They won 5–2. The entire game, he hoped and prayed that Kate was somewhere in the raucous crowd, cheering for him, planning to find him after. True love? Had he really said that to her? Wow. He’d charmed more women than he’d scored goals on the ice, but none of them had shaken him like Kate Joy. Yet what if she didn’t come tonight? Could he find her and chase her down? What would falling in love look like with his career goals? It’d be tough to manage everything, but he had an incredible starting salary, and even if she was a freshman, Boston was only an hour and a half away. They could live in the middle and both commute. He smiled. He was getting way ahead of himself, but this was true love. Any sacrifice was worth it when he’d been slammed to the ground by his perfect match.
The game finished with the crowd going nuts. Austin saluted his mom and dad and then hurried to shower. They’d be waiting for him. What if Kate was waiting as well? His parents were the coolest people he knew. His stepmom had come into their lives when he was only ten and he’d thought his dad was his oldest brother. Life had gotten turned upside down when his nightmare of a birth mother reappeared and tried to hurt them all, but they rolled with it. He’d been blessed with so much love from his huge family that he’d never questioned how loved he was or that he was going to do great things. Could he do them with Kate by his side? Was he insane to think he’d fallen in love from one look and brief conversation? Probably. It felt amazing.
He said goodbye to his teammates and rushed from the locker room and out to the lobby. There was a huge crowd still gathered, and a loud cheer went up when they glimpsed him. Austin waved, smiled, shook hands, and gave fist bumps, all while searching for a sheet of reddish-blond hair. His mom and dad stood off to the side. He fought his way through to them.
“Great game,” his dad said with half a grin, giving him a quick hug with a slap on the back. His dad didn’t often display emotion, but he was the best man Austin knew. His dad had given up playing college football and his NFL hopes to raise Austin. He was selfless and a rock.
“Thanks, Pops.” He turned to his mom, picked her off the ground, and laughed as she squealed. “Mom! I missed you.” He set her down but kept hugging her.
She stood on tiptoes and kissed his cheek. “So handsome. I was so proud of you! I screamed myself hoarse.” Her voice was indeed scratchy.
“Aw, thanks. You’re the best mom ever.”
His mom’s smile grew, and her blue eyes brightened. From the day Kari Love had come into his and his dad’s lives, Austin had never looked back. He didn’t even use terms like stepmom, because she was his mom a hundred percent.
Someone slapped him on the back, and other people were calling his name. Austin slung one arm around his mom’s shoulder as she wrapped hers around his waist. He acknowledged the people calling to him, but
his focus was searching for Kate.
“Are you looking for someone?” his dad asked.
“I …” Austin looked down into his mom’s blue eyes. “I think I fell in love.”
He heard his dad grunt. “You’re too young to fall in love.”
His mom’s eyes lit up. “Oh my goodness!” she shrieked. “I’m so excited right now. Who is she? Where is she?” His mom was a romance writer, and she loved happily ever afters like nobody’s business, but most of all, she loved him and wanted him to be happy. “Mama Strong is going to flip. She’s been praying for you to find the right one. Praying it will hit you like a brick wall, get you to give up all those other girlfriends.”
Austin smiled. It had hit him like a brick wall, or rather a glass wall. He loved his grandmother and knew she prayed for all of their large family nonstop. He was the oldest of nineteen grandchildren, and counting. He loved his family.
“Will and Sherisse are going to have to meet her,” his mom continued. His cousin Will was halfway through medical school in Texas. His wife was a sweetheart, working as an RN at the hospital where they’d met when he was doing rounds for school. They were expecting their first baby in a few months.
“He’s too young,” his dad muttered again from the other side of his mom. Austin could barely hear him, as the crowd still pushed at them from every direction, crying out for Austin’s attention.
“Don’t you dare crush his dreams.” His mom scowled and shoved at her husband’s shoulder.
Austin chuckled as he high-fived and nodded around at his fans. “I don’t think she came,” he finally admitted, his gut churning with uncertainty and worry. Kate had said she’d felt the connection, but maybe she hadn’t. Or maybe it hadn’t been as strong for her as it had been for him. Or maybe she’d been abducted. Yes, that was a better explanation than her not wanting Austin.
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