Chapter 2
2106 Words
“Good morning,” I say to my assistant, Tedi.
She glances up and blows a strand of her dark hair away from her face. “There’s nothing good about the morning.”
I drop a pastry bag on her desk and her eyes light up. “Unless there’s a chocolate croissant in there.” I smile at her before walking past her desk, and I hear her open up the bag to discover that there is, in fact, a chocolate croissant for her. “Oh, I love you.”
Our office is small, but we tried to work out of my apartment, and I kept finding her on the couch, watching reality television and saying she’s a great multi-tasker. Not that all the blame is on her—she’d suck me in and then I’d start doing my client’s social media from the couch in my pajamas.
She takes the croissant out of the bag and stares at it as if it’s a naked Chippendale dancer. “Come to mama!” She takes a huge bite.
I giggle and set my coffee on the desk before shrugging out of my jacket. Although we’re in Florida, it’s winter. There may not be snow, but it’s freezing outside. You’d never guess I’m originally an Idaho girl.
“How was your night?” I ask.
“Good. How was your date with Joran on New Year’s Eve?”
I sit down in my chair and pick up a pen, teetering it back and forth.
Tedi groans. “I don’t understand why you’re still dating him.”
“Because he’s the most decent guy since…”
“Asshole. Repeat after me… Ass. Hole.”
“I don’t want to talk about Jeremy.”
She throws her arms in the air. “Now you’ve ruined my day. You know I can’t stand his name.”
“He’s my ex.”
“Yes, but I had to endure him all the same.”
“It’s been two years,” I remind her.
Tedi was our neighbor when I moved down here to Florida with Jeremy. She’s the one who told me about him cheating when I went to work, and we’ve been best friends ever since.
“Anyway, I’m not sure how much longer it’ll last with Joran.” I speak honestly because I tell Tedi everything, although I haven’t told her about my encounter with Aiden Drake. Mostly because she’s a hockey fanatic and would make a bigger deal out of it than it is. When Joran had invited me to the New Year’s party, I wasn’t even sure if anyone from the team would be attending. I just knew it would be a bunch of rich people out of my league if they were invited by the Gerhardts.
She leans her chair back and crosses her ankles on the edge of the desk. “What happened?” she mumbles around her croissant.
“New Year’s was kind of a bust and the other night, I went to the Fury game with him.”
“Seriously? And you didn’t invite me?”
“I was in a box with him and people from his office. I spent most of the game watching it on my own, even though I don’t know much about hockey. Joran said there was some rookie kid in the box he wanted to impress. I honestly wondered why he even brought me in the first place.”
“I could’ve been your tutor,” she says.
“You’ve tried, remember? I’ll never understand why they come and go off the bench so much and what it all means.”
She laughs. “For someone who does social media for athletes, you might wanna try harder.”
I stick out my tongue at her and she laughs.
“Watch out, your face might freeze like that.”
“Anyway. Aiden—”
“Drake?” Her eyes light up. “He’s out of his funk. Did you hear?” She twirls in her chair. “He had an amazing game.”
I watched from the box, elated for a man I barely know. Joran might as well have orgasmed by the third goal, screaming so loud that families below the box were staring at us. I can’t deny that after I got home and turned on the television, I listened to the announcers talk about his slump, showing pictures of the amazingly strong man’s head hung in defeat after so many other bad games, a huge smile pulled on my face that he’d finally scored again. Not only once, but three times in one game.
“Saige?” Tedi says with a tone of curiosity.
I snap back to the present. “Yeah?”
She circles her finger in front of my face. “That.”
I wipe at my face with my hand. I scarfed down a muffin on the way here and must’ve left some evidence behind.
“There’s nothing on your face except that you look like you just woke up from one helluva wet dream.”
“Tedi,” I groan.
She laughs and finishes her croissant, grabbing the coffee she brought from home in her Go Florida Fury travel mug. I will say that after seeing a game like the one last night, I see why people like hockey. It’s fast-paced, and when someone scores, the screams from the fans are contagious.
“I told you, those hockey players are hot. I love it when they fight.” Her gaze drifts up to the ceiling as if she’s in a dream-like state.
I roll my eyes. There’s no denying they’re attractive. Aiden especially. He has these eyes I swear see into your soul. Dark and dangerous. “I’m not sure I love the fighting.”
“Oh my god, you’re crazy. You know Maksim Petrov? He’s a defender.”
I nod. I’m supposed to have a meeting with Maksim tomorrow, and I’m thinking an off-site meeting might be better so Tedi doesn’t try to climb him like a tree.
We’re mid-conversation when our office door opens. Because we’re appointment only, we rarely get drop-ins except the mail carrier, so I’m shocked to find Aiden Drake standing there. He walks in, passes Tedi’s open mouth, and comes over to me, placing a wine glass and a bottle of white wine on my desk.
“Aiden,” I say, sliding my desk chair back.
He doesn’t sugarcoat his reason for being here. “I need you to throw this drink in my face.”
I stare at him with surprise, then amusement. He’s got to be kidding me.
“Listen.” He looks back at Tedi—who I’m shocked hasn’t chimed in, then grabs the chair from in front of my desk and sits on the edge of it, leaning forward and placing his forearms on my desk.
Yep, still drool-worthy.
“I told you how I was in a slump on New Year’s Eve, right?”
“Oh, you dirty little—”
I raise my hand to stop Tedi from continuing. Aiden glances over his shoulder for a second before returning his attention to me.
“Well, my last game was killer. Three goals plus an assist. And…” He glances over his shoulder again. Tedi’s staring at him as if he’s her second chocolate croissant for the day. “Could we go somewhere private?”
Tedi narrows her eyes at me. “Oh, you’re in so much trouble.”
“It’s okay. Tedi knows whatever happens in here is private. Tedi, this is Aiden Drake.”
She gets up from her chair and comes over, hand out. To my surprise, Aiden doesn’t check her out the way I thought he might—Tedi’s very attractive. I haven’t found the nerve to Google Aiden yet—because I don’t want to find out he’s a womanizer and that on New Year’s Eve, I was just the girl who happened to be the one he thought he’d get into his bed for the night.
“I’m Tedi, president of your fan club,” she says, shaking his hand and staring at his much larger one. “Whoa, the damage you could do to a little thing like me with hands like those.”
“Tedi,” I sigh.
She laughs. “I’m totally joking. You’re not my type at all.”
Aiden’s eyebrows haven’t come down from being raised to his hairline yet. He glances at me then back at Tedi. “That’s good… I think.”
“You actually believed that?” She laughs and smacks him on the shoulder. “You’re everyone’s type, my man. I mean, center on a professional hockey team, team captain, chiseled jaw, dark hair, and those eyes. They always look like something filthy is going on behind them.”
I want to high-five Tedi—his eyes are exactly what drew me to him. It was like he was undressing me with his eyes and envisioning what he would do to me if we were alone.
Aiden nods. “Thanks?”
“You’re welcome. I don’t mind boosting a guy’s ego once in a while, but don’t hurt my best friend here. Ask her what happened to the other guy who hurt her.” Tedi’s tone grows serious, and her face actually makes her threat believable. Though other than helping me toss Jeremy’s clothes over the balcony, I’m not sure I remember anything else she did to him.
He raises his hand. “I’m only here for her to throw a drink in my face.”
“Which I’m not going to do,” I chime in and earn his attention. Big mistake having those dark eyes on me again.
His shoulders fall. “You have to. If you don’t, I won’t be able to score tonight.”
I laugh. I understand superstitions—I’ve had my own throughout my life—but this is way out there. “I thought you didn’t believe in superstitions?”
Tedi grabs her chair and wheels it over, getting comfortable, sitting with her legs crossed.
Aiden looks from her back to me. “I didn’t until that game. Everything about my life was normal until the night we met.”
“You should’ve slept with him. Imagine what would’ve happened then,” Tedi says.
“I’m going to put duct tape across your mouth if you don’t stop talking,” I warn her.
She raises her hands, smiling. “I’m just saying, then you’d have to sleep with him before every game. I bet you’re good in bed. I mean all that training… the stamina you must have.”
Aiden’s mouth opens and shuts as though he has no idea how he should answer. “I do all right.”
Even I know he could probably press me to a wall and f**k my brains out until he had no choice but to lay me down to recuperate.
Tedi laughs and says nothing.
“The drink in the face means nothing,” I say, hoping to end this.
“What do you want in return? Season tickets? Done.”
“I don’t watch hockey.”
Tedi raises her hand. “I’ll do it for season tickets. I’m your biggest fan.”
“Clothes? A shopping spree?” he asks.
I cross my legs. “You’re not going to buy me anything. I’m not looking for a sugar daddy.”
“I’ll give you anything, just name it. A date with me?” He winks.
I hope he’s joking. “Let’s remember, I’m kind of dating your agent.”
His smile falters. “Come on. I’m begging. Do you want me down on my knees?” He moves to stand, and I put up my hand.
“I’ll gladly go down on my knees for the season tickets.”
“Tedi!” I screech.
She knows me well and can see I’ve reached my limit, so she stands and wheels her chair away. “I’ll just go mind my business over here. But I gotta say, you might as well experiment. See if it works this time. Maybe it was a fluke, but you won’t know until you do it another time.”
I narrow my eyes at her while Aiden points at her. “She has a point.”
I groan and put my head on my desk. Why am I really arguing this? He’s not asking for anything more than a drink in the face.
“Fine.” I pick up my head, grab the bottle, and pour a glass.
“Really?” Aiden stands. “Should we mimic the way we were standing?”
“How were you standing?” Tedi asks as if it’s a juicy piece of gossip.
“I don’t think that’s necessary,” I say, picking up the glass and tossing the wine in his face.
His eyes widen in shock and his tongue slides out and licks his lips. “I’m not much of a wine guy, but I’m starting to enjoy the sweetness.” He winks. “I’ve got a game in two nights. I’ll be back.” He grabs a piece of paper and scribbles down his number, pushing it my way. “That’s my number if you need me.”
I stare at it for a moment, then catch Tedi’s eyes widening, her mouth ajar.
“Thanks, Saige. This means a lot to me.”
His sincerity hits me right in the chest and a warm feeling radiates outward.
“I’ll put two tickets at will call under your name for tonight.” He picks up one of my business cards and twirls it in his fingers. “And remember when I shoot that goal, it’s all because of you.”
Then he’s out the door. I slump back into my office chair to calm my breathing.
“Oh yeah, I can totally see that you’re not interested in that guy,” Tedi says, shaking her head.
I have to tread carefully here because Tedi’s right. But things could get out of control fast with a man like Aiden Drake, and I swore a long time ago that I’d never date a professional athlete again.
Been there.
Done that.
Shattered heart to prove it.
- Writer
