Falling for the Backup

by Toni Aleo

  Falling for the Backup is a work of fiction. Names, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  A Loveswept eBook Original

  Copyright © 2013 by Toni Aleo

  Excerpt from Empty Net by Toni Aleo copyright © 2012 by Toni Aleo.

  All Rights Reserved.

  Published in the United States by Loveswept, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

  LOVESWEPT and colophon are trademarks of Random House, Inc.

  eISBN: 978-0-345-54971-6

  www.ReadLoveSwept.com

  Cover photograph: Claudio Marinesco

  v3.1

  BOOKS BY TONI ALEO

  Taking Shots

  Trying to Score

  Empty Net

  Falling for the Backup

  Blue Lines

  All part of the Assassins hockey series

  Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Other Books by This Author

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  The Editor’s Corner

  Excerpt from Empty Net

  Thank you so much for being there for me, for believing in me and encouraging me to do what I love to do. I never expected to have such amazing people behind me, and because of you I am living my dreams.

  So here’s to the best fans a girl could get, my beautiful puck bunnies.

  Thank you.

  Chapter 1

  “Yeah, the meeting went fine, Dad. I feel good about it.”

  Jordan Ryan hustled through the Buffalo Niagara International Airport, heading to the terminal where he’d catch his flight back home to Nashville, Tennessee. It had been a long day. He’d flown out that morning to meet with the Rangers and the Sabres NHL hockey teams. Both appointments, though stressful, were over before lunch. Now late in the day he was hungry, tired, and a little anxious. Based on the interviews, it seemed that neither team wanted him, which he knew he couldn’t share. Jordan loved his father, but Bill Ryan, who was not only his father but also his agent, did not accept anything but perfection. Since Jordan hadn’t been perfect for the last two years, he had learned it was best to keep disappointing details out of their conversations.

  “Good, I’m glad. So you’ll fly home for the game tomorrow, take a break, another home game, then to Carolina for a meeting with the IceCats?” Bill Ryan asked.

  “Yeah,” Jordan said, as he arrived at the departure gate and took the first seat he found available. Leaning his head back, Jordan closed his eyes and finally began to relax.

  He hated traveling so much, but right now it was necessary. After tearing the meniscus in his left knee two years ago, he went through surgery and rounds and rounds of physical therapy. Eighteen months of rehab later, he was finally able to play again, but because of his long absence he had been replaced by Tate Odder, who was now considered the best goalie in the league. Fucking A.

  As a result, Coach Bacter wasn’t giving Jordan enough playing time—that is, not until Tate’s girlfriend was brutally beaten. When Tate took the much-needed time off from the game, Jordan became the starting goalie. Jordan had missed playing, and being back between the two steel pipes was like coming home. Unfortunately, that was short-lived. His knee had not quite healed, and it went out during the game. Bacter then took him out for good and brought in another backup. Yup. Fucking A.

  Jordan understood Bacter’s concern—hell, he had been concerned too—but what he didn’t understand was why he hadn’t played since. He’d had clearance from his doctor for almost six months now, and after a little R and R his knee was fully healed. Not playing was driving him crazy, and even though he loved the Assassins and didn’t want to leave the team that had started his career, he knew he had no choice. He was never going to get playing time being the backup goalie to Tate Odder.

  With a defeated sigh, Jordan opened his eyes as his dad continued to talk.

  “Fantastic. I feel good about South Carolina. Be good to have you home.”

  Nashville is my home, Jordan thought.

  He loved Nashville and couldn’t imagine living anywhere else—or playing for another team—but he was going to have to start imagining it. It was happening, and going home to South Carolina was for the best. His whole family lived in South Carolina, and he did like the idea of being there with them rather than living thousands of miles away. Plus, as a kid, he had always dreamed of playing for the IceCats. When growing up he’d practically lived in the IceCats arena, watching his favorite player, Guy Richardson, defend the goal while his own dreams took shape. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. Maybe he would finally find his place in South Carolina.

  “Yeah, it would,” he agreed as he heard the attendant’s announcement. “Hey, Dad, I gotta go. They’re boarding now. I’ll send you a text when I land.”

  “Sounds good, Jordy. Talk to you soon,” and his dad hung up.

  Jordan grabbed his things and rushed to board the plane. Once seated by the window, he stretched out his legs before reaching into his duffel bag for his neck pillow. His teammates always made fun of his pillow, but he reminded them he never had the neck pain they were plagued with after long trips. Neck pain—no. Knee pain—another story. While situating his pillow, he glanced to the aisle and paused when he saw her.

  Wow. She had red hair, long and lustrous. He had the insane urge to smell it. Smell her. He had always loved redheads. Her face was round, with freckles scattered along her nose and cheeks. Her lips were full and luscious but were completely overshadowed by her eyes. They were a light green and sexy as hell. As she moved down the aisle, she looked at her ticket, then right at the row where Jordan was sitting. The day was definitely starting to improve.

  Her eyes met his and he knew he was in trouble. She blushed before looking away, color creeping up her neck. Jordan felt dizzy. A confident man would get up and help her with her bag before trying to seduce her. Unfortunately for him, Jordan wasn’t that kind of a man. The injury had changed him. He used to be the kind of guy who could talk a lady out of her panties and straight onto his lap, but now he was lucky if he could utter a word to the opposite sex.

  Jordan hated how much he had lost after his injury. Not only did he lose his number one spot, but he lost the woman he was convinced he was going to marry. Leanna Masterson was everything Jordan thought he wanted. Big blue eyes, long blond hair, hottest body ever, with legs that went on for days. He thought they’d be together forever, but when he woke up after surgery and the doctor told them that it was going to be a long and rough road to get to where he was before the injury, Leanna was out the door. Good riddance. He was glad she left.

  Too bad, though, that she took a part of him with her, a part he hadn’t been able to find since: his confidence. It had been a long time without the company of a woman, and he was lonely. He wanted someone to come home to, someone who would love him unconditionally, but he also knew that right now wasn’t the time. He didn’t know what his future held, and it would be unfair to get involved with someone.

  Looking at the beautiful redhead, though, he couldn’t help but think that maybe now he could find what he had lost. He stared down at the floor and took an unsteady breath in as she practically fell into the seat beside him.

  Glancing over at her, he noticed she was busy putting away her ticket. She was wearing a long pale-pink dre
ss that did wonders for her skin and also showed off a pair of very impressive breasts. Jordan could see that her freckles were everywhere. He wanted nothing more than to lean over and kiss her shoulder, then, freckle by freckle, play connect the dots with his tongue. Man, he had to get ahold of himself.

  She must have felt the power of his stare, because she glanced over at him. Her light-green eyes held his as she smiled, and suddenly Jordan wasn’t sure how much room he had left in his pants. He felt as light-headed as an awkward teenager. As he sputtered to say something, he jerked his hand up, bumping into her Starbucks coffee cup, and the next thing he knew, coffee was all over her lap and her.

  Shit.

  Aynslee Shaw was having a rough day.

  She wasn’t supposed to leave Buffalo until tomorrow but a call from her landlord informed her that a water main had burst in her beautiful Victorian home and her basement was flooded. She only wished she could have seen her niece get married this afternoon. True that she would probably be divorced in no time, but it stung that Lane had gotten married before her.

  Hell, everyone had.

  Four of her sisters as well as her two brothers were now married. Aynslee and her younger sister Quinn were the only ones left. Quinn was seventeen. She had time. But Aynslee was thirty-one, and her insane Irish family took every opportunity to remind her of her single status. Even though she was going home to face a massive mess, she was more than ready to leave the constant questioning behind.

  When was she going to settle down? Find a man? Have a baby?

  It wasn’t that Aynslee didn’t want those things—she did. It was just hard to find someone when she was busy with her new job and adjusting to a new town. After going to college in Knoxville, she’d worked in that city for the last seven years, teaching third grade at a nice private school. Aynslee had thought life was perfect. She had a beautiful condo, a well-paying job, and she had Dan McGee, her boyfriend since her senior year in college. They were happy, and things were great. She was sure they would marry eventually. Then suddenly it all felt wrong. She didn’t love Dan the way she had when they’d first started to date, and after Aynslee told him this, Dan said that he felt the same way.

  They parted on good terms, but after Dan left, Aynslee didn’t love Knoxville the way she had before. Her mother had begged her to come home, but she preferred being away—it took a lot of patience to handle her big family. She knew, though, that she needed a change. She checked out the job opportunities in other cities before deciding to look for something in Nashville. A week after applying to New Life Christian Private School, Aynslee learned she had gotten the job. Ecstatic with her good fortune, she packed up her life and made the three-hour trip to Nashville. She moved in to her little house and was beyond happy with how great everything had turned out for the last nine months. Things seemed to be unfolding nicely for her. Aynslee quickly became friends with the other third-grade teachers at New Life, as they all had so much in common. Soon her colleagues began to set her up on blind dates, and although the dates were fine, there was no one she wanted to see a second time. She didn’t know what it was, but she’d decided she couldn’t settle for average after Dan. She wanted that burning love, the one that she would feel from the tips of her toes to the top of her head, and if she had to wait for it, then she would. Her eggs could survive for a little while longer, despite what her mother said.

  After a week of her crazy family, Aynslee had been ready to change out of her bridesmaid’s dress and rush to the airport so she could get home. But that would have been too easy. When she went to change, her suitcase was nowhere to be found. She soon learned from Quinn that Aunt Fern must have “accidentally” taken her suitcase.

  Fantastic.

  So now she was stuck wearing the stupid pink bridesmaid’s dress, her boobs on display for God and everyone to see, while her feet ached in the stripper shoes that Lane wanted all of her bridesmaids to wear. With each painful step she took, the more she cursed herself for making the trip to Buffalo in the first place. She should have just stayed home and given some stupid excuse as to why she and her made-up boyfriend couldn’t attend. Good Lord, her cousin had five other bridesmaids to round out the wedding album, so one less would not have been missed. The only thing that kept Aynslee from balling up into a fetal position on the airplane seat and crying her eyes out was her cup of caramel macchiato from Starbucks. Thank God for Starbucks. Thank God for the sexy hottie it looked like she was going to be sitting next to on the flight.

  Hello, sex on legs.

  She had never been attracted to someone as suddenly as she was at that moment. He held her gaze for maybe a second before he looked down to situate his yellow neck pillow. She couldn’t keep her eyes off him as she put her laptop case up in the overhead bin, making sure to grab her Kindle and her own blue neck pillow. She knew for a fact that reading the new Kristan Higgins would never happen on this trip, especially with Mr. Sex sitting right beside her. But she had to act as if she was doing something, or she’d more than likely stare at him the whole flight back. Not that that didn’t sound like fun.

  Exhausted from the day, Aynslee practically fell into the seat beside him. She crossed her legs and rested her coffee on the seat beside her knee as she buckled her seat belt. Letting out a breath, she looked over, hoping to lock eyes with him. Thankfully, he did look over at her, but as her luck would have it, she didn’t receive a nice smile or a hello. Instead, she got a lap full of her hot coffee.

  “Ack!” Aynslee yelped as she jumped up, her Kindle going one way while her neck pillow went another.

  “Shit,” a deep voice said from beside her. “I’m so sorry. Can we have some napkins?” he said, the first to her and the next to the flight attendant who happened to be near their row.

  Aynslee was speechless and totally forgot the coffee as she looked up into Mr. Sex’s beautiful face. He was gorgeous and had long legs that made her think he was super tall. He had a strong jawline and light-blue eyes that were framed by thick brows. His nose was on the larger side, but she found it hot. Hell, everything about this man was hot. His lips were full, and his jaw was covered in stubbly hair. He had dark wavy hair that curled behind his ears and fell messily along his forehead. She had the craziest urge to run her fingers through it. And then lick him. Everywhere.

  His eyes were filled with concern as he helped her pat her dress dry, apologizing over and over again.

  “It’s okay, it was an accident,” she reassured him.

  She was proud of herself for being able to speak, but when he looked at her, Aynslee promptly forgot how to talk. Her dress was also forgotten as they stared at each other.

  Holy fireworks, Batman!

  “Ma’am, your things,” someone said, but Aynslee couldn’t tear her eyes from his.

  He glanced away first, freeing her from his intense gaze. She then turned and thanked a nice older lady for retrieving her things.

  As the woman went back to her seat, Aynslee used her free hand to pat the wet spot on her dress.

  “I am really sorry.”

  She knew if she looked at him again she wouldn’t be able to stop staring, so she just nodded as she continued to pat.

  “It’s okay.”

  “Do you have something you can change into before we take off?”

  Aynslee shook her head. “Nope. This is all I have.”

  She peeked over at him, and he seemed stricken.

  “I feel horrible.”

  She smiled as she waved him off. “Don’t worry about it. Happens all the time.”

  “It does?” he asked.

  “Actually, this is the first time it has happened to me.”

  He let out a hearty chuckle that caused her stomach to flutter with want. Jesus, he was hot.

  “That makes this even worse.”

  “No, I mean it, it’s okay. It will be a nice memory and a great story to tell my friends.” Spilled coffee and Mr. Sex. Yum.

  He gave her a perplexed look. “How is
having coffee spilled all over you a great story?” Mr. Sex asked.

  Aynslee smiled as she said, “Well, you see, it only adds to my horrible day—”

  “Terrific. I’m glad I could contribute to that,” he interrupted, with a shake of his head that caused her to laugh.

  “You should be—it really is a great horrible day. First, I have been in Buffalo for the past week for my eighteen-year-old niece’s wedding and was reminded every day that I am single. Then this morning, the day of the wedding, my landlord calls to tell me a water main broke in my house, flooding the basement. Fantastic, right? But it gets better,” she said, his horrified expression making her laugh again. “My klepto aunt Fern ‘grabbed’ my suitcase instead of hers, and now I have lost a week’s worth of clothes and shoes until my mother can get my bag back and send it to me. My feet are aching because my niece thought that her thirty-one-year-old aunt should wear stripper shoes, and now I’m soaked with coffee. I’m telling you, this is one of those days for the books.”

  “I’m not sure what to say. I feel horrible for being the cherry on top of your horrible-day cupcake.”

  She flashed him a grin as she jokingly said, “I think the least you could do is tell me your name so I can bad-mouth you later to my friends.”

  She could tell he wasn’t sure if she was joking or not, but soon he was smiling back at her.

  Holding out his hand, he said, “Jordan Ryan.”

  She looked down at his hand and then took it, enjoying the way his large fingers swallowed hers. With heat and tingles running up her arm and other places, she said, “I’m Aynslee Shaw.”

  Chapter 2

  “I like your name; it’s very unique,” Jordan said after the plane took off.

  Aynslee was holding her dress up from her lap as she held his gaze. He felt horrible for spilling her coffee, but in a way he was glad it happened. If it hadn’t, he probably would have slept the whole way home. Instead, he was now engaged in conversation with the beautiful redhead beside him.