Austin inched a little closer. “So, she wasn’t angry? You know—about the request?”
Evan laughed. “Maggie is a tough nut. That girl is laser focused on her job. I knew it the second I interviewed her. Nothing stands in the way of what she wants. However, every nut will crack under the right kind of pressure.”
Austin studied him thoughtfully. He was sure Evan was trying to tell him something.
“Maggie has difficulty letting new people into her life. She puts up this wall, and then uses her drive to succeed as an excuse to keep people out.”
Evan quickly looked away, nervous, like he thought he’d said too much. Maybe he had. Austin had slammed into that wall a lot lately. “Where is she now?”
“In her room getting ready. I’m on my way to set up the interview area. The hotel is letting us have a conference room.”
“What’s the room number?”
“The conference room is down the hall on the left.”
Austin shook his head. Poor guy. He was totally clueless. “No. I meant Magnolia’s room number.”
Evan’s eyes lit up. “Oh.” Then he bit his lip. “Uhh—well.”
Austin smiled. “I’ll tell her the desk gave it to me.”
Evan’s nervousness eased. “Promise?”
Austin snorted. Magnolia had them all ducking for cover. Maybe Evan wasn’t as clueless as he thought. “Just give me the room number.”
He quickly scribbled it on a piece of paper, and Austin hobbled his way to the elevator, hoping one of the trainers didn’t see him. Technically, he was on bed rest until they were scheduled to leave that night. The interview would be the only exception. He was usually a pretty strict rule-follower when it came to injuries, but today was different. Pretty much every day of his life had been different since he met Magnolia. He made his way down the long hallway, searching for her room number. He quickly figured out that finding it was the easiest part. Austin stood outside the door to Magnolia’s room longer than was socially appropriate. All he had to do was knock. Except, now that he was here, knowing she was just on the other side, he felt a little weird. Actually, he felt a little giddy, and that pissed him off. Guys weren’t meant to be giddy.
His fingers nervously played with the foam around the handle of his crutch, and sweat developed at the back of his neck.
Knock. All he had to do was knock.
Evan said she’d been worried about him. He hadn’t expected that. Worry implied she cared. Did he want her to care? He knew he didn’t want her to be angry. He wanted her to ease up and be a little more carefree. It was only because he wanted to flirt shamelessly with her without that scowling look on her face.
It wasn’t just about the flirting, though. He wanted Magnolia to tell him about Georgia, and why she pushed everyone away.
Shit. Did he care about her?
He stepped back from the door. This—whatever this was—had gotten way out of control. Magnolia Cross was a reporter. Just another woman. He flirted with her, she got pissed about it, and he apologized. Why hadn’t he just let it go?
She was beautiful. The think-about-her-when-she’s-gone kind of beautiful. The kind you used as a standard to compare every other woman, only to realize Magnolia was still a ten and you didn’t recognize when the others smiled at you anymore.
Fuck.
He liked her.
Legitimately liked her too. Magnolia wasn’t one-night stand material. No, Magnolia was make-a-home material. He wasn’t sure he was ready for that. Sure, it worked out well and dandy for Henrik and Leila. They were stupid happy. He wasn’t there yet.
He hadn’t gone out on the town in a couple weeks. That was only because that purple haired seductress strapped him to a headboard and robbed him. He was a little cautious with strange women now. He’d get over it. Eventually.
Maybe.
Purple was ruined for him, though. Forever.
He stared at the door. He wasn’t ready for this. He wasn’t ready for Magnolia. Yet…damn, he wanted to knock on that door.
So he did. In fact, he banged on it. He banged on the door like his last surviving breath was trapped inside. There was noise on the other side. A commotion erupted, and the door jerked open three inches, catching on the metal chain. “What the hell, Evan?”
Magnolia’s eyes rounded at the sight of him. Austin returned it in full. She held the front of a sheer white blouse together with her hand, exposing just an inch of delicate skin at her waist.
“Austin?” She jerked the chain loose and pulled the door open.
Magnolia’s gaze went directly to the crutches, and then the knee brace. “No cast.”
It took him a moment to process what she said. His eyes were still on her skin. “It’s not broken. Nothing is torn.”
She leaped forward, her hand dropping from the blouse, and she hugged him. He almost fell over. He lost a crutch and had to put his foot down to catch his balance. It hurt like hell.
It was awesome.
She pulled back quickly, her eyes locked on his face. “So, you’ll be back soon? This isn’t serious? I mean, I know it’s serious, but it’s not like career-ending serious. Right?”
She was rambling. It was sort of cute. Well, at least it would have been cute if he could have managed to stop staring at the red bra beneath her now open blouse, and absolutely everything that bra accentuated, which was a whole damn lot.
That bra deserved an award.
“Uhh…what?”
Her eyes followed his and dropped down. Damn it, she noticed. She pulled her shirt back together, quickly buttoning it. She gave him a look.
He smiled. What else could he do? He was guilty.
“I’ll be fine.” He tried to bring his attention back to what she asked him. “It’s only sprained. The doctor here said I’d be out a week or so, but I won’t know for sure until I get back to New York and I get re-evaluated by the Rangers staff.”
She nodded, her annoyance turning back to relief. “That’s great.”
They both sighed a little, and he picked up his crutch. Then the awkward silence set in. They were worse than two pimple-faced middle schoolers. He bit his lip and tapped his fingers on the handles of his crutches. Magnolia scuffed her perfectly manicured toes on the carpet and looked anywhere but at him. It was ridiculous. They were adults, for crying out loud. They should be able to talk to each other, and he should be able to do that inside her hotel room.
He waited for her to invite him in.
She didn’t. So, he stood there longer.
Magnolia laughed. It was soft and she inadvertently glanced at the open door behind her. This was it.
“I should really finish getting ready.” She tugged on the end of her long hair. “We have an interview soon.”
He nodded. She was right. He didn’t need in that room. Not yet anyway.
“Yeah. Sure. I wanted to make sure we were cool.” He gave her a sympathy-inducing smile. Then added some puppy dog eyes. That had been his mission all along. He wanted to know she wasn’t mad about the cross country trip. “Are we okay?”
He knew he sounded nervous. He could have sworn his voice cracked. Magnolia smiled, tucking the strand of hair she played with behind her ear, revealing the row of diamond studs. “Yes, Blakely. We’re okay.”
“Good.” He nodded way too much. Why couldn’t he stop nodding? “Great.”
Again they looked at each other. What the hell was wrong with him?
Magnolia peeked at the empty room behind her again and smiled. “So…I should go.”
“Okay.” He didn’t move. Not even an inch.
She smiled again, a hint of blush touching her cheeks. She slowly backed into the room. “Bye, Austin.”
He gave her a slight wave and watched her shut the door in his face. His mind was made up. He would eventually make it inside that damn room. Maybe not today or even next week. But it would happen.
It wasn’t a game anymore.
Chapter Thirteen
MAGNOLIA’S EXCLUSIVE
Austin waited for her outside the conference room. He’d showered and changed. Of course he changed, because he lived to torture her. Gone were the sweatpants and comfortable hoodie. He was back in his suit, his knee brace covering the dark linen pants. His chestnut hair was loose. The stubble she’d noticed while watching the game last night was more of a five o-clock shadow now. She thought it would look odd on his boyish face, but it didn’t. It worked. It worked really well.
He noticed her and smiled. Torture. The boy was constant torture.
She slowly smiled back. “I see you’re ready.”
“Of course.” He absently ran a hand through his hair, causing the ends to fall flawlessly around his eyes. “I wouldn’t want to be anything but professional with you, Miss Cross.”
Ahh. There it was.
“I never said you had a problem with looking professional.”
His grin was uneven. “I’m determined to prove to you that this can work. Plus, I figured since I had them fly you all the way here, I owed you one.”
Magnolia studied him. He definitely owed her. Not just for the ridiculous interview or the horrible restless night on a plane. He ruined her days with thoughts of his cheesy grin and her nights with fantasies of everything else. She absolutely had to stop thinking of him like that. He’d teach her how to avoid Ferocia. They’d put on a show of friendship, and then they would move on. This notion of a crush would go away. It was only a phase.
“You promise none of your Canadian gibberish this time?”
Austin smiled. That smile made her forget her future. “I’m not even Canadian.”
She rolled her eyes and started unloading stuff out of her bag. “Sure, you’re not.”
Austin stepped back, offended. “I’m not.”
“Whatever you say, eh?” She set her bag down and pulled out her notebook.
“First of all. That was a horrible Canadian accent, and I do not sound like that.” He shuffled forward on his crutches, his eyes narrowed. “Second. I’m American. I was born in St. Paul.”
“Minnesota. Canada. Same difference.” She grinned, remembering his nonchalant sentiment about North Carolina and Georgia he made that first night she met him.
“No, it’s not.” He was annoyed. He was adorable when he was annoyed.
Maybe this flirting off camera thing wasn’t so bad after all.
Her motto flashed in her mind but she ignored it. They weren’t technically on camera. Then again, now she didn’t know who could be watching and when.
Evan walked by and handed her a stack of papers, and then darted away. It was Austin’s update. She scanned the information, but she knew Austin still watched her.
She glanced up in time to watch his mouth pop open. “Hey.” He jerked something out of the stack of papers on the table. “Why do you have this?”
It was the issue of The Whisperer she’d stolen from Evan at the bar. Austin held it away from his body as if it might bite him. She cocked her head to the side. “You mean you haven’t seen it yet?”
Austin looked confused. He didn’t know about their two-page spread. She took a breath and tried again. “Evan had it at the bar last night.”
Austin balanced himself on his crutches so he could look through it with both hands. His face fell. “Shit.”
“You were right. Avoiding an interview only made her suspicion grow.”
“I can’t believe she had someone follow you. Magnolia, I’m—”
“Don’t. I won’t accept it.” She took a deep breath. “Obviously, my way didn’t work. I’m willing to try it your way. I don’t want in that magazine anymore, Austin. I want you to teach me how to avoid her.”
“I will.”
The room around them was loud, but the space between them quiet. The acknowledgment of the promise was too heady for words. Magnolia looked away first. “There is something else.”
“More?”
“Page five. There is a picture of Henrik.”
Austin made a face at the magazine. “There normally is. They snap pictures of him all the time leaving practice.”
“No.” Magnolia shook her head. He didn’t understand. “It has a picture of Henrik’s family. Your niece at the park. It doesn’t look like something a photographer just snapped.”
Austin’s face paled. He jerked the magazine open, flipping through it until he spotted it. Henrik with his wife and daughter, all facing the camera, smiling.
The magazine fell to the floor with a flutter.
Austin’s hand went to his pocket, but he gritted his teeth. “Can I borrow your phone? I need to call Henrik.”
“Of course.” Magnolia dug through her bag. “Where’s yours?”
He winced. “It was stolen.” He made another face; this time it looked pained. “I took that picture of Henrik and my sister at the park with my niece. It was on my phone.”
Realization hit her like a brick. “You think Ferocia stole your phone?”
Austin looked like he might puke. “Not exactly.”
Magnolia handed him her phone, and he stepped aside to call Henrik. The conversation was intense. Austin switched back and forth between looking like he might cry and angry enough to punch a hole through the wall. He turned his face away from her, his hands fisted in his hair. There was something on Austin’s old cell phone he didn’t want the rest of the world to see. When he returned, he was still visibly upset. He tried to bend down to pick up the magazine, but she rushed to help him. “Thanks.” He tucked it under his arm. “Do you care if I take it?”
“No, you can keep it.”
He nodded and Evan called for them. It was time for the interview. Magnolia found her seat beneath the lights and turned on her microphone in silence. Austin’s answers were quick and precise. He was friendly enough, but there were no secret smiles or quick jokes. He was a complete professional. No one would suspect what that magazine displayed so perfectly in those photos of them in the parking lot. Cressida was right. She had a crush on Austin.
Once the lights went out and the crew started packing up, Magnolia found herself lingering behind. Austin made his necessary rounds with the crew, but didn’t dare step a foot in her direction again. He only gave her a quick glance as he hobbled his way out of the room. When he was gone, Evan walked up beside her, an all-knowing smirk across his face. “What?”
“I think Blakley likes you.”
She tried very hard not to smile. “Why do you say that?”
Evan held out a small cocktail napkin. “Why else would a grown man pass notes?”
Magnolia grabbed it, turning it over to read the small, scribbled writing on the back:
Don’t do anything until you hear from me.
Magnolia looked up to Evan. He held up his hands. “I didn’t read it.”
She let out a small sigh. “I guess this means I’m going back to Midtown.”
***
Magnolia flew back to Manhattan directly after the interview. Evan continued with the team to Vancouver. She hadn’t seen or heard from Austin since that day in Calgary. Three whole days. Not that she expected him to call her. The guy didn’t have a cell phone, and she hadn’t offered him her number.
Magnolia sat at her desk, half watching the clock, half looking through The Whisperer website for the hundredth time. Nothing new. Maybe Stella was right. Maybe Ferocia was stocking up for something big. Something that didn’t involve her. Her finger nervously clicked down the page. A photo from Austin’s stolen phone ended up in the magazine. Ferocia showed up in person to a minor league hockey game. The shirtless interview. The two-page emotional extravaganza spread of their fight. Right now, the only common variable was Austin.
Why hadn’t the idiot reported his phone stolen?
Magnolia forced herself to click off the page. A dull throb formed behind her brow from thinking about it. She wanted to go down there and wait for the team to arrive home from the airport. Austin was in charge now. She would give him his chance
to prove he knew what he was doing. He said not to do anything until she heard from him again.
Someone squealed down the hall. Magnolia jumped up in her seat as if coming out of a daze. She looked at the clock. An hour! Had she really been sitting there thinking about Austin for an entire hour? Someone squealed again, a high pitch shriek filled with excitement. It was Cressida. Magnolia stood up to go see what the fuss was about when her door burst open.
Cressida bounced inside as if jumping on a cheer trampoline. “Maggie!”
Magnolia ran a tired hand down her face. “I swear, Cressida. If this is about that Starbucks gift card I left in your mailbox—”
Cressida pretended to throw confetti in the air and dance around. “You, Magnolia Cross, are officially my hero.”
Magnolia continued to rub her head. Her thoughts kept drifting back to Austin. He’d be back in Manhattan by now. Probably arriving home, preparing to take a nap after the long trip, or maybe a shower.
Cressida shoved a giant red envelope in her face. “Look what just came for you.”
Magnolia leaned back so she could see the card Cressida held three inches from her face. She slowly took it from her hand. The red envelope was fancy, the paper thick and crisp. She flipped it over to see a gold seal on the front. It was two hockey sticks with a Santa hat strung over the corner. Her name was written beneath it in perfect calligraphy.
Cressida continued to hop up and down. “Do you have any idea what this means?”
Magnolia studied the envelope before looking up at her best friend. “No.”
Cressida squealed again. “This is an invitation to the most top secret event in Rangers history.” She grabbed the invitation and shook it in Magnolia’s face. “You’re invited to the Players’ Secret Santa Party.”
Magnolia removed the envelope from Cressida’s death grip and opened it. She pulled out a stark white card, to which Cressida gasped in awe. “I’ve never seen inside one of these before.” She leaned closer, examining it like a hidden treasure.
Magnolia flipped the card over, the same sophisticated calligraphy scrawling down the middle. It had her name again, and the title of the event, but there was no date or time. Not even a place. She turned the card over. Nothing.
The Girl With Diamonds (Midtown Brotherhood Book 2) Page 10
