I didn’t like being beholden to my bestie. To anyone really, but it would be rude not to accept and enjoy Sue’s gift. Especially on such short notice. Unless I wanted to traipse through the Calpurnia’s lobby wearing the hotel’s white terry bathrobe.
I chuckled to myself at the mortified look the front desk clerk of the exclusive hotel would have over that one. I trotted back into the bathroom to complete my makeup and hair, settling for a subtle look with soft colors and a half-up and half-down style that showcased my high cheekbones and chocolate brown eyes.
After donning my new outfit, I stood back and admired the effect in the full-length mirror. Sue had outdone herself because the baby blue color really did bring out the red in my auburn hair.
When I was satisfied I’d pass muster, even for a man I’d never seen before, I called down for my car and grabbed my purse. We were meeting at Tavern on the Hill, which had my favorite food and ambiance. Score one for Andrew for that selection. Unless he’d been coached by Sue. Either way, he had great taste or he was a great listener, and that made me predisposed to like him.
Tavern boasted Duluth’s largest outdoor dining and the temperate evening would provide the perfect backdrop to a great date where we could sit outside and enjoy the unseasonably warm weather while getting to know each other. As well as drink in the stellar view. As dusk approached, the waters of Lake Superior glistened in the soft glow of a hazy night sky. A shiver crawled up my spine in anticipation.
After the short drive to Tavern, I pulled into a parking spot and slid to a stop. One more glance at my make-up and hair in the rear-view mirror, and I felt ready to meet my date. I inhaled a cleansing breath and sauntered inside, careful not to get any parking lot dust on my shiny new outfit.
Maybe he won’t be here, I worried as I approached the hostess stand. As a jolt of nervous energy tore through me, I imagined myself stood up like some kind of pathetic loser. I hated these damn first date jitters, and tamped them down with a breezy display of forced confidence. Nothing like avoidance behavior to keep a woman safe from unwanted embarrassment. Of course, the same avoidance also kept a woman safe from everything else. All the deliciousness that came with a romantic relationship.
I gave my head a firm shake and smiled at the young college student behind the podium. Andrew hadn’t yet arrived so I checked my phone and decided to wait in the bar.
The flat screen across the room featured the Caribou, skating their pre-game warm-up. Ever since my first year in junior high, I’d loved it, and my brother played all through high school. I used to lace up my white figure skates and try to emulate Blake as I wobbled around holding a stick larger than my head. The Minnesota Caribou were still my favorite team and some of the Duluth college players and other Minnesota-born guys had made it to the pros throughout the years, including Reed Matheson. Last I heard, that poor guy had fallen into a pile of steaming shit courtesy of a cheating wife that stole everything he had and then some.
Over time, I’d become too busy with my work to follow the Caribou like a true fan. But I did know they had drafted superstar Adam Spencer out of Michigan State. The guy was so fast they said he was like lightning in a bottle. Since I kind of knew him, I believed every glowing word.
I’d have to pay close attention until Andrew arrived to see if I could get a gander at the spectacular play of Mr. Spencer, a Duluth native who’d played varsity hockey with my brother. I’d met him once at my house and he’d left an impression. That guy was dreamy with a capital “D”.
The hostess returned a few minutes later, directing a blond haired cutie to my table in the bar. Around six feet tall, his hair was spiked up in the front and his blue button down complimented his eyes. Jeans and loafers completed his date look.
My God, we match.
I couldn’t keep myself from going there and wondered if Sue had coached him on what I’d be wearing so the ludicrous wardrobe coordination would be complete. Jesus, could it all get any more obvious? He offered a smile as he took a seat across from me and ordered a local draft beer on tap from the waitress hovering at my elbow.
“Hi there, I’m Andrew,” he said, extending a massive hand across the table.
“Julia.” I smiled as I shook his giant paw, which was warm and inviting with just the right amount of pressure. Maybe there was hope.
“Wow, Sue said you were a knockout. She wasn’t kidding.” Andrew’s compliment was followed by a low whistle.
“Oh, thank you.” I could feel myself blushing from the roots of my hair to the tips of my red polished toes. Even though I’d heard it all before, growing up with an older brother made it more likely I’d get teased and tormented about every little thing than to get any validation of my looks. Blake had loved to call me elephant ears and in high school had moved on to calling me Pigeon due to my slightly inward toes. Thank God I’d outgrown that one before adulthood.
“So, I hear from Sue Ann you’ve lived here in Duluth your entire life,” Andrew commented. “I really like it here so far. The people are really warm and welcoming.”
“Totally. That’s why I started my business here. I’d never dream of leaving.” It was hard to keep the passion out of my voice over my quaint hometown and I didn’t even want to try. Duluth, Minnesota was a wonderful place to live and work. My only complaint was the harsh winters and the cold wind and weather that blew in straight off the lake.
I leaned back, convinced I might actually enjoy myself since Andrew wasn’t firing questions at me like we were in some kind of crazy job interview. Dating had always sucked for me. If it wasn’t my own broken picker, it was my beefy and controlling older brother jumping in to scare the shit out of any potential suitor who held real promise. He’d find something wrong with the guy and he’d bail. But now … Blake was married and starting his own family, so he’d backed off. A little. I probably used my family as an excuse, but my friends knew that my fledgling business was my life.
“So, Sue said that you’re a major hockey fan.”
“Yeah, I grew up in a small town and hockey was nearly the only entertainment we had. My brother, Blake Wales, played for UMD. He was a really great center and would have been drafted until he hurt his knee,” I said with a sigh. Blake’s bum knee still haunts him, making him long for the life he could’ve had. “It ended his NHL hopes. He still plays in Europe, but his heart is broken.”
“That sucks,” Andrew nodded. “Do you like any other sports or are you just a die-hard hockey chick?”
“Just hockey. I never got any of the other sports. Hockey just makes sense to me. And it’s such a rush to be outside in the winter air. You feel so free and alive.”
Andrew rubbed his chin and started droning on about the Vikings. After a while, I tuned him out and glanced at the game behind my head. The Caribou were getting murdered. They only had ten shots on goal to the Red Wings twenty-five and they were losing the battle in the corners.
Oh, Adam, where are you? Your team needs you, I thought as I bit into my mozzarella stick dripping in marinara.
“So, do you have a favorite team?”
“Of course, the Caribou. It’s where my brother would have played if he’d been drafted.”
“Really? Even though they’re on a losing streak?”
I glanced at him, only slightly forgiving his ignorance for underestimating my team. What kind of Minnesotan was this guy?
“They’re struggling without Adam, but once he comes back…”
“Spencer’s not coming back,” Andrew said with a shake of his head in the negative.
“Oh, he will,” I argued, unable to stop myself from going there.
Douchebag. My feelings turned on a dime. He’d snuffed out my hope of another date on the wings of his negative words. Now I just wanted to get away from him as quickly as possible.
“What makes you so certain? With an ACL injury that bad, most are forced out of the game.”
“He’ll find a way. He loves the game too much. Doesn’t care too much
for the fame though.”
My mind drifted back to the one time Adam had skated on our family pond with my brother. Blake had been a freshman with a serious case of senior worship. Adam had thrown Blake a bone because coach had said he had promise. Adam Spencer had loved skating outside so much he’d bent down and kissed the surface of the ice.
“You say that like you know him,” Andrew countered.
“I know of him,” I replied, wondering about my fierce need to protect a guy I barely knew. “He was a senior the year my brother made varsity as a freshman. I don’t know him well and I’m sure he wouldn’t know me if he saw me on the street.”
You’re such a dick. Why did I even bother coming on this stupid date? Oh yeah, that’s right. Sue insisted I needed to get out more, complete with designer outfit from her boutique.
Andrew didn’t respond, which felt like a small victory for Duluth’s tight-knit hockey community where outsiders weren’t always welcome. Especially, when they didn’t bleed the Caribou green and gold. I steered the conversation back to mundane small talk because I didn’t really want to hear any more of his ignorant opinions. I was over it all before it had even gotten started.
I glanced up to the screen where a special broadcast had interrupted the game. The big screen images showed a wreck involving a semi and a Dodge pickup. Suddenly, Adam’s picture appeared to the left of the screen in a small outlined square. What the hell? Had Adam Spencer been involved in an accident?
“Shoot! I’m so sorry. I forgot I was supposed to meet a client tonight about their barn conversion.”
“Now?” Andrew’s face turned down in a confused grimace. “It’s almost ten and you haven’t even finished your cheese sticks.”
“Yeah, the client owns his own tech company and he works twenty-four seven since it’s a start up. I really have to go.” My face reflected my upset and understanding that I was feeding him a line of complete bullshit. He’d probably call Sue and tattle as soon as my back retreated out the front door.
Andrew stood and gave me a quick hug in a last ditch effort to hang on. “Maybe, we can do this again—”
“It was nice to meet you.” I cut him off as I grabbed my purse and started rummaging for my wallet.
“No, I’ve got it,” he said as he put a hand over mine to stop me from paying my fair share.
“Thanks,” I mumbled as I turned toward the door. I had to get out of the restaurant so I could look up the accident details on my phone. And call Blake. I opened the door to my Ford Escape and tossed my purse on the center console. The iPhone felt like ice in my hand. I hit the button for Safari and quickly typed in Adam Spencer Car Accident.
Nothing. Probably too soon for an online report.
I turned the key in the ignition and hit the radio button, searching for KFAN, the local sports talk radio. The DJ was talking about the accident. It sounded bad and they didn’t know if Adam would even make it. Apparently, he’d been trying to drive from his farm to the neighboring property and he’d been drinking.
I shook my head, unable to believe it. Drinking and driving was so not like him. That guy always seemed to have his shit together. His folks were pillars of the community before the tragedy. I wondered what might have prompted him to do something so rash, stupid and dangerous as to get behind the wheel of a truck while impaired.
I’d already reached a red light a block away from my hotel suite when they announced that Adam had been transported to Duluth General. The hospital was only a red light away from where my Ford sat idling at this intersection. I stared at the blue “H” sign, until honking notified me the light had turned green.
Adam’s folks had been killed in a combine accident five years ago while my brother and I were in college. The scene was gruesome and the sorrow had ripped through our town and lasted for months. Gail and Jim Spencer had been beloved and had worked their farm for generations. Maybe Adam didn’t have anyone to sit with him right now in his time of need. Maybe he had no one to care about him.
Chapter 3
Adam
Beep … beep … beep.
The sound of the heart monitor echoed through the room, piercing my consciousness. I tried to pry open my heavy eyelids, but the pounding pain in my brain and limbs prevented me from moving. At all.
As I took inventory of my body, a small river of relief flowed when I found I could move my fingers and toes. At least I wasn’t paralyzed. The last thing I remembered was flinging Heather’s shit out onto the lawn of the farm. Pretty much everything else was a blur. I knew I’d been drinking and nothing good ever came from the intimate relationship of Adam Spencer and straight whiskey.
I slowly raised my bruised hand to my forehead and hit the bandage above my right eye. There was a window in my private room, but the blinds were closed and it was gloomy. Blessedly dark. It had to be nighttime because the floodlights outside created dancing shadows across the grey walls of my room. As I continued taking stock of what I could see without moving my neck, my eyes darted over a shape outlined in the padded chair pushed into the corner.
My eyes must be deceiving me. A woman was curled up under a white cotton hospital blanket with only one side of my face exposed. But her hair. Glorious waves of auburn silk flowed over the arm of the chair with the tips almost touching the tile below. I’d know that hair anywhere. Flashbacks of the first time I’d seen it flitted across my brain. The day her girlish giggles had pealed out over the snow covered pond as she twirled by me on battered white figure skates and that mass of thick hair had spun around her shoulders from underneath her pom-pom covered stocking hat.
What was she doing here? I hadn’t seen her since Roger Daughtry’s kegger at the Alpha Nu Omega frat party right before college graduation. And the NHL draft when my entire life had changed. I could still remember how her clothes had clung to her new woman’s body. The halter top had hugged her full breasts and tiny waist. Not to mention the tight skinny jeans on her round ass. Blake’s sister was all grown up. The lust had hit me hard.
So fucking hard I’d gotten so hard I had to beat off multiple times that night to relieve the agony.
Inappropriate and pathetic though it was, I’d spent the entire party in her space, wanting to be close to her. Talk to her. But Julia Wales was so far above my dipshit jock ass, she could take flight like a jet and soar that far above me.
“They call that out punting your coverage, moron,” Jeff’s voice spoils the fantasy I’m having of Julia splayed out on my bed. Naked and attentive to my every whim. Every desire.
“I know,” I sigh as I run my fingers through my thick head of wavy hair that never quite keeps to its original style. “She’s breathtaking. There’s something about her and I want to push her up against the nearest wall and …”
“Like the pathetic loser you are,” Jeff continues chuckling at my expense. “You better talk to her before she leaves. She’s looking for her jacket right now.”
“I can’t,” I whimper, experiencing a pain so deep it finds and touches a new place inside me. “She’s Blake’s sister. Off limits.”
But Julia was here now and for the life of me, I had no idea why. We’d never shared more than a few sentences in all the years we’d known each other. Mainly because I was a pussy-whipped dipshit that couldn’t get out of my own way to make a move.
Julia’s eyes fluttered open as I shifted in the bed.
“Hi,” she said on a whisper as she brought her hands up to rub the sleep from her eyes. As she did so, the blanket fell down around her hips, revealing the layered lace top she wore. It had shifted with sleep and a dangerous amount of cleavage was exposed. If it wasn’t for the damn pounding in my head, I’d enjoy the view a lot more.
“Hi, yourself.”
I stared, not able to help myself. I wanted to ask her what the hell she was doing in my hospital room, but I waited. Waited for her to explain.
Julia jumped to her feet, the cotton blanket landing in a pool of white at her stiletto clad feet. Where th
e hell had she been dressed like that? Some party?
“I’m sorry … I thought … your folks. I thought you might be alone. How silly of me.” Her gorgeous face turned red, and she seemed acutely embarrassed as her hands flew through the air, highlighting her cute stammering. Damn cute. It had been a long time since I’d seen a woman so flustered around me.
“I’m sure Heather’s on her way,” she said in a flustered tone as she started toward the door. “I’m so sorry I bothered you, Adam.”
Don’t go.
“Don’t go.”
My softly spoken plea stopped Julia dead in her tracks. The only sign that she’d heard me was a slight gasp of breath that softened her rigid back. And that ass. Jesus. The woman was just as spectacular from the back as she was from the front. Just like in college.
Thank God I was in excruciating pain and welcoming it to keep me from saying or doing something completely inappropriate, like ask her to crawl into the bed beside me. So I concentrated on the throbbing agony. Felt it completely. Fully. Because it was the only damn thing keeping me from reaching for her.
The sound of Heather’s voice jolted me out of my haze of lust over the alluring Julia Wales. “I’m his fiancée. I have to see him right now.”
Heather’s shrill voice pierced the stillness of the hallway. It had to be after visiting hours. Leave it to my intense fiancée to make a scene. Why hadn’t I noticed her selfish flair for the dramatic before? Because I was blinded by her fake smile, fake personality, and knockout blonde beauty. But when compared to Julia, Heather paled in every way.
I inhaled and steeled my resolve for what was about to come. What I deserved for thinking I wanted to spend the rest of my life with someone like her.
Benched Page 2
