The Sport of Romance: A Multi-Author Box Set

by Cari Quinn

  “No, I’m fine. They’re discharging me tomorrow morning.” Sarah smiled despite the squirm-inducing conversation. Rob was one of the guys she loved to banter with and tease. “Should I keep the fact you’re a nice guy to myself? I’d hate to ruin your macho, studly reputation.”

  Rob laughed and feigned innocence, his eyes wide. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. What reputation?”

  “Let’s just say I’ve seen scantily clad women leaving your room on the road a time or two. Plus, walls are thin, my friend, and, well, you seem to cultivate screamers…” Sarah grinned as Rob colored, and then she snorted. “Like you’re embarrassed by that.”

  “I’m not embarrassed by my behavior. I’m a stud. But I am embarrassed if you’ve ever, um, overheard things.” He shook his head, smiling. He went to the door then turned, waving at her as he departed. “See you soon, I hope!”

  “Me too.” Sarah rolled over carefully. Rob was right. Marcy was right. She needed to get over Sebastian. It would be best for the future of both of their careers.

  She groaned, cursing her predicament, and closed her eyes. They’d given her a pain pill with dinner. Hopefully she’d fall into a blessedly dreamless sleep.

  * * *

  Sebastian was staring at the television, but his mind was a million miles away when Rob got home. His friend must’ve read something in his expression, because Rob said, “You went to see her, didn’t you?”

  “I had to know how she was.”

  Rob snorted. “Yeah. I figured you’d been there. I stopped by to bring her some of her stuff from the rink.” Rob sat on the couch, shrugging off his light coat and tossing it toward the other end. “You guys need to stop this. I told her that tonight too. Rick mentioned something about how you were after the accident. Dude, that’s not good.”

  Sebastian had half-risen, angry that Rob had interfered, before realizing what he was doing. He sank back down. “He did?” I hope Sarah didn’t freak. “What did she say?”

  “She said there wasn’t anything to stop.”

  “Well, she’s right. There isn’t.” He sounded defensive, but dammit, it wasn’t like they were actually a couple.

  Rob shook his head. “You guys are both bad liars.”

  “We’re not dating. I kissed her once. That’s it.”

  “You kissed her? When did that happen?”

  “A couple of weeks ago.”

  “Well, it’s pretty obvious you still want her. If my guess is right, she wants you too, but that scares her, as well it should.”

  Sebastian prayed Rob was right and Sarah wanted him too, but her mixed signals were driving him crazy. He began to argue.

  Rob held up his hand. “Hear me out, man. You made the team. You got your dream. But don’t forget, if you play like crap, you’ll be sent down to Rochester in a heartbeat. Don’t take this chance for granted.”

  “I’m not,” Sebastian grumbled, not wanting to admit the other man was right and his focus wasn’t entirely on his game.

  “Sure as hell looks like you are.”

  “Hey, I bust my ass out there!”

  “Yeah, but what about your head? Is your head in the game?”

  “Of course my head is in the game!” During the game, anyway.

  Rob stood and walked toward the kitchen. When he reached the doorjamb, he pivoted and leaned against it. “Look, dude. I’m just trying to watch out for you. For her, too. She insists there’s nothing between you. I don’t know why she bothered to lie to me. I can see it in both of you.”

  Rob sighed. “Just make sure if you do this it’s for the right reasons. If you think it’s more than just lust and you’re willing to do what it takes to have a real relationship with her, one with a future, that’s different. If you just wanna sleep with her, find someone else.” He pivoted once more and left the room.

  Sebastian fell back against the cushions of the chair. He wasn’t sure what he wanted, but he couldn’t leave her alone, even if it was the smart thing to do for both of them.

  Chapter Six

  After coming home from the hospital, Sarah sat around the house for a week, per the doctor’s orders. She wasn’t used to this level of inactivity. Since the season had begun she’d hardly had time to breathe.

  Thankfully, Marcy called every day, which kept Sarah from actually climbing the walls. She also unpacked a bunch of boxes she hadn’t had a chance to get to yet, but still found herself going crazy with boredom.

  Sarah considered Rob’s and Marcy’s advice and decided to do what she could to get over her growing attraction to Sebastian. After going through and discarding a bunch of different methods to meet people, she settled on speed dating. It was all she had time for anyway since she was going back to work soon. Plus she wouldn’t be meeting strangers in a bar; something she wasn’t sure she’d ever be able to do. She went online and found a session scheduled in two days’ time and signed up for it before she could chicken out.

  Marcy was enthusiastic about the idea, but Sarah couldn’t shake her nerves as she rearranged the folds of her red, raw silk dress for the millionth time then strode into the restaurant, trying not to totter too much in her heels. Wearing all those track suits meant getting dressed up again was even more uncomfortable, and being so nervous didn’t help.

  Sarah would meet with eight different men for eight minutes each. At the end of the hour, she would turn in a list of any of the guys she’d liked. If that man handed in her code number as well, they would both receive each other’s contact information.

  She got a glass of Sauvignon Blanc and had a quick peek at the others before the event started. There was a mix of people, from college-aged to quite older, in attendance. When the bell rang, she sat at the nearest table.

  Her date was older than her by about ten years and wearing a button-down shirt with a cardigan sweater over it. He should be hanging out at the park and throwing bread to the ducks as he reminisces about the good old days. He was friendly enough, but as it became obvious he was fascinated by her job but not her, she had to temper her annoyance. Mercifully, the buzzer sounded, and she moved to the next table.

  The next guy was closer to her age and an accountant. As he talked about his interests, Sarah had to fight to pay attention. She hated stereotyping, but this guy was the textbook definition of a nerdy accountant. He had an ink stain at the bottom of his chest pocket and his hair was a rumpled mess.

  If he’d known he was coming to something like this, he could’ve at least run a comb through his hair.

  It was difficult to keep a straight face when he said his hobbies were stamp collecting, working on old cars, and raising poodles. Sarah could just see a life filled with walking fluffy dogs covered in grease to which several valuable postage stamps had affixed. Eight minutes had never seemed so long.

  Sarah was beginning to get discouraged about speed dating when the buzzer sounded again. She was out of her chair like she’d been shot from a cannon.

  She sat at the next table and gazed with a wary eye at her partner. He had a friendly face with wide-set brown eyes, a strong nose, and wavy brown hair. He wore a sweater with a dress shirt underneath.

  An improvement over the previous men.

  “Hi, I’m Dan.” He stuck out his hand. “This is pretty crazy, huh?”

  Sarah nodded, relieved, and shook his hand. “Yeah, it is.”

  “Sooo,” he glanced at her name tag, “Sarah.” Her face burned. She’d never given him her name. “What do you do for a living?”

  “I work for the Storm.” She didn’t feel like elaborating until she knew he was worth the effort.

  “Really? That’s cool. I’m a chiropractor. Are you from the area?”

  Pleased he hadn’t launched into a dissertation of what the Storm was doing right and wrong like the first guy had, she said, “No, I’m not. I just moved here from Ithaca.”

  “Me neither. I grew up here, but I was living in Raleigh until my father broke his hip a few months ago.”

>   “Oh, I’m sorry.” Dan appeared to be like a nice, decent guy. It must’ve been difficult for him to uproot his entire life to take care of his father.

  “It’s okay. That’s why I’m here today though. I’ve been so busy taking care of my dad and setting up my new practice I haven’t had time to meet anybody. So, I figured, why meet women one at a time when I can meet eight at once? It’s much more efficient this way.” Dan smiled, revealing straight, white teeth, and Sarah laughed.

  He was funny. Thank God. “Yeah, that was my thought too. Regular dating seems like so much effort.”

  She and Dan continued to chat, until they both jumped as the bell sounded.

  “Nice meeting you,” Sarah said, getting up from her chair with a tinge of regret.

  “You too.” Dan flashed a grin.

  The rest of the evening passed without Sarah making any additional worthwhile connections. Her slip of paper had only one number on it, Dan’s, and she hoped he had reciprocated. It would be nice to have something to focus her time on besides work and attempting to vanquish her lust for Sebastian. With the first smile on her face for days, she left the restaurant.

  The next day, finally back at work, Sarah was packing up for the night when she heard a noise behind her. Turning, she spied Jaroslav skulking into her office and closing the door behind him. He threw her a wolfish smile.

  “Open the damn door,” Sarah snarled, hoping like hell he would take the hint and leave her alone. She’d been trying to give him the benefit of the doubt since she couldn’t ignore him completely—he was part of the team—but that appeared to have been a mistake.

  His demeanor changed as his eyes flashed, his smile turning into a full-out sneer. “No. We talk, now.”

  She was not in the mood for this. Her arm hurt and she was dead tired. “Jaroslav,” she used his full name to keep things professional and formal. “I’ve made this clear already. I have no intention of dating you. Ever. Get out of my way.” Sarah tried to shove her way past, but he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her to him.

  “I want you. I am done playing these games.” His erection pressed into her belly as he pushed his body against hers and she hoped her dinner would stay down as her stomach lurched.

  The crazy thought that her getting sick all over him might deter him nearly caused her to break out in hysterical laughter. He leaned toward her, his eyes heavily lidded, and she recoiled, straining against his hold. When he pushed in even closer, she froze, her mind flashing back to that terrible night with Liam. For long seconds, she just stood there, gasping for air and trying to force herself into action.

  At long last her self-defense training kicked in. I’ve had enough. Pushing away from him with her good arm, she drove her knee into his crotch with as much strength as she could muster.

  Jaroslav crumpled to the ground, grabbing at his groin and coughing, tears streaming out of his eyes. “Bitch!”

  “I told you,” Sarah replied, standing over him. “I’m not interested. Do you get the picture now? Are we clear?”

  She reached over him to yank open the door. Narrowly missing his head, she said, “Get out.” She poked his side with her sneaker none too gently. “If you leave now and agree to never bother me again, we can keep this little incident between us. However,” she paused, narrowing her eyes as he stared at her. “If you ever make a move on me again, or harass me in any way, I will go to management. You have a lot more to lose than I do, Jaroslav. It’s your choice.”

  He continued to hold his crotch, glaring at her.

  His expression would’ve terrified other women, but Sarah suspected in her gut he was more bark than bite and that remaining tough was the way to deal with him. “What’s it gonna be? Are you gonna skulk out of here like the dog you are, or are we going to go have a talk with management about your inability to understand the word ‘no’?”

  “Fuck you.”

  “You wish.” Sarah stepped around him. “Now get out of here.”

  Jaroslav stumbled to his feet, his face pale, but his eyes bright. “They won’t believe you even if you tell them. Who they believe? Their star defenseman or you, who has only been here two month?”

  Sarah wasn’t about to let another man intimidate her. “Maybe they won’t believe me, but like I said, you have more to lose than I do.”

  He moved into her personal space and glowered down at her. “You will not tell.”

  “Try me.” Sarah refused to back down from this jerk. “Do I have to tell you again or should I start screaming?”

  “I’m going. You not worth it anyway. I think you are, what is word, ah yes, tease. I could make you very happy, but I don’t want woman who hates men.”

  “Whatever,” Sarah muttered, shoving Jaroslav out the door then scooting back inside and throwing the lock.

  To make sure he’d gone, she stayed in her office for another hour, replaying the scene in her head and willing her heart rate to slow so she’d be able to drive. At least she could take comfort she hadn’t completely frozen and her self-defense training had kicked in. Who knew what would’ve happened if she hadn’t?

  She’d told Jaroslav she would keep the whole thing quiet, but now she wasn’t sure she should keep her word. Sarah had already committed that mistake once before. Jaro was a danger to women, and management should know about a troublesome player. From the organization’s point of view, getting blindsided after he’d attacked someone else would be disastrous.

  She’d say something to Doug, get his opinion, and then proceed from there. Satisfied for the moment, she went home and immediately climbed into bed, only to have another nightmare, no doubt triggered by what had happened with Jaro. Once she was awake, she couldn’t get back to sleep and cursed Jaroslav the rest of the night as she stared at the ceiling, willing herself to let it go and fall asleep. The adrenaline crash had her freezing and shaking, and she hated him all the more for eliciting such a fierce reaction.

  The next morning she told Doug what had happened, and he urged her to go to management. She called upstairs and then headed up when Karen told her Keith was free. Doug had offered to come along, but she needed to do this alone to prove to herself she could, so she’d declined.

  Keith was working on his laptop when she entered his office. He glanced up and smiled. He’d been friendly lately and appeared to accept that she did valuable work. “Karen said you wanted to see me?”

  Sarah nodded and sat. “There’s something I think you should know about.”

  He frowned, his eyebrows drawing down. “This sounds serious.”

  “It is.” Now that she was here, she wasn’t sure what to say. Would Keith believe her? Would it be her word against Jaro’s? Keith wouldn’t be happy after she relayed her tale, but it was her duty to protect other innocent women. “Jaroslav has made several unwanted advances toward me, and last night things escalated.”

  Keith sat up straighter. “What do you mean?”

  Sarah knotted her fingers in her lap. “He tried to physically intimidate me. It never went as far as him tearing my clothes off or anything,” she shuddered, remembering how trapped she’d felt, “but it was far beyond the normal boundaries of acceptable behavior. I thought you would want to know about it.”

  “Can you give me details?”

  Taking a deep breath, she recounted all the times Jaro had asked her out and how she’d always declined and then gave Keith the full version of what had happened the night before. As she talked, Keith’s expression turned stormy.

  “Thank you for telling me. I’ll speak with him, his agent, and the NHLPA. Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time we’ve gotten word of him not taking ‘no’ for an answer. Do you want to press charges?”

  “No.” Having her reputation dragged through the mud and having to relive everything in a trial was not something she thought she could handle. “I just don’t want him to have the opportunity to do this to anyone else. I…” she debated how much to tell Keith. “I was attacked at Cornell,
and if Jaro went even further than he had… I’m not sure how I would’ve reacted.”

  “I’m so sorry, Sarah. I can’t make any guarantees, but it’s my job to make working for the Storm a safe environment, and I’ll do everything I can to ensure no woman ever has to fear working with someone within this organization.”

  She blew out a breath, a weight lifting from her shoulders. “Thank you. And thank you for taking me seriously.”

  “You’ve given me no reason not to trust you.”

  Sarah sighed. If he knew about what was happening with Sebastian he might feel differently.

  Jaro was sent to counseling and suspended by the team. Thankfully they hadn’t had to name who’d lodged the complaint against him.

  Sarah was sure he knew who it was, but if he was smart, he’d keep his mouth shut. Sebastian would not have reacted well to the news, if his actions after her accident were anything to go by. She had to admit, she felt safer at work knowing he wasn’t hiding around some corner waiting to attack her.

  The team went to Florida for a road trip and had a day and a half free before the next game. Her workload had increased with the loss of Jaro to the suspension and a couple of other key players to injury, and the respite couldn’t come soon enough.

  The guys had all brought their golf clubs and were already pairing off into foursomes on the plane ride down. Sarah was planning to go to the beach alone and sack out while she soaked up the sun. It sounded heavenly. Much as she loved the guys, she needed her alone time and a day on the beach with a book would hit the spot.

  Late to dinner as usual, after having got caught up in her book, Sarah rushed out of her hotel room, slamming the door behind her. She spun and plowed into someone coming down the hall. She stumbled and dropped her purse with a gasp as a sharp pain coursed through her still-tender arm.

  Strong hands caught her upper arms. She looked up to find Sebastian gazing at her with an eyebrow raised.