It had snuck into her being, and now it was hard to imagine her life without Aggie’s frank observations, or Darius’s snarky teasing or Brett’s sibling loyalty, or Cooper’s...everything.
She didn’t want to imagine her life without Cooper.
Jeannie elbowed her, but instead of taking the pen, Lainey jumped to her feet. “My bar’s not for sale.”
Twin looks of disbelief greeted her sudden announcement.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Bashir. Your offer is more than fair. But my situation has changed.”
“I’m afraid I don’t understand.”
Lainey shook her head, trying to figure out exactly what she meant. “I don’t understand, either. When Mar—when my father left me the Sportsman, all I wanted was to sell it and get back to my life.
“I never thought I’d come to care about the people who work there. Or that I’d reconcile with my little brother or meet the guy who makes me want to face my past and overcome my fears.”
Lainey shrugged. “But it happened. And now the bar kind of feels like...home.” Admitting it aloud brought a warmth to her chest, a sense of belonging that had been missing for a long time.
“Family matters are often complicated.”
Bashir’s words blindsided her, stung the back of her eyes.
Family.
It was something she’d thought she’d lost when her dad walked out, when the car crash stole her mom too soon. But now she’d been given a second chance, and she’d be damned if she was going to give it up without a fight. She had to act fast.
“I have to go. I’m so sorry I wasted your time.”
She hurried through the lobby of Mr. Bashir’s gleaming office building, not slowing down until she found herself outside in the warm Portland evening.
There was a cab waiting on the corner, so she abandoned her Uber plan and crawled into the waiting vehicle.
“Can you take me to the Portland Dome, please?”
The cabbie complied, and Lainey mentally reviewed her to-do list.
She had a ride to the game.
She had tickets to the game.
There was only one thing left.
“I know it’s in here somewhere.” Lainey rifled through her purse until she found a creased business card in its depths and punched the numbers into her phone, bouncing her knee as she waited for the call to connect. “Pick up, pick up...”
“Hello?”
“Holly. Hi. It’s Lainey Harper. I don’t know if you remember me but—”
“Of course. What can I do for you, Lainey?”
“I was hoping you could help me out with something...”
* * *
THIS WAS IT—the biggest game of his career. As Cooper stood on the blue line looking up at the thousands of hockey fans standing, hands on hearts, as the final notes of the American national anthem played, he tried to absorb the moment. This was huge. Game seven of the championship series. Tonight, he could be part of sports history, have his name engraved on the trophy he’d coveted since the first time he’d strapped on a pair of skates. But as he stood there, beside his teammates, moments away from the puck drop, Cooper could only think of Lainey.
She wanted a future with him, had put herself out there to tell him that, and he’d been so afraid to admit to himself he wanted the same thing that he’d actually told her that hockey was the most important part of his life.
It had been, but it wasn’t anymore, he realized. Lots of guys in the league did the long-distance thing so their kids had a stable home and weren’t being jerked out of school and away from their friends with every trade. Surely two childless people with the means to buy airplane tickets could make a go of it.
As the lights in the arena came up, the players moved into position.
And Cooper made his choice.
He was at the box in four long strides.
“Sillinger.”
“Dude, what are you doing over here? The game’s about to start.”
“I know.” Coop reached over the boards and unlatched the gate. “You’d better get out there before the ref blows the whistle.”
“But I—”
“I’m giving you your shot—go show these guys what you’re made of. Go!”
The look of awe on Sillinger’s face was priceless. “Thanks, Coop. I won’t let you down.”
Brett scrambled off the bench, shoving past Cooper and skating toward the Storm’s side of the face-off circle, just in time for the puck drop.
Eric won the face-off cleanly, and slapped the puck back to Brett...who bobbled it, and had to skate all the way back to the blue line to retrieve it before he finally passed it up the wing to Luke.
“Mead! What the hell’s going on? Why is Sillinger out there?”
“I’ve got a concussion.”
Taggert swore. “And you figured now was the best time to tell me?”
“It was the only time to tell you, Coach. Because I didn’t realize how messed up I was until a few minutes ago.”
“Shit, Mead. You need me to get the doc out here?”
Cooper shook his head. “Actually, I think I’m gonna be okay.”
Three periods later, Cooper worried that he’d spoken too soon.
They were up 2-1, but Wisconsin was hitting them with heavy pressure, and the majority of the third period had taken place in the Storm’s end of the rink.
When one of the Blades’ forwards got the puck and swung out wide, beating Sillinger on the outside, Cooper thought they were in trouble. But instead of freaking out, Brett regrouped and executed a textbook poke-check to steal the puck back. He lobbed an incredible pass up the left side to Cubs, who was all alone as he buried one of his legendary wrist shots in the back of the net to give the Storm a commanding 3-1 lead with a minute left in the third.
The bench erupted with cheers.
“Holy shit!” Fourth-line defenseman Doug Kowalchuk punched Cooper in the shoulder pad out of sheer excitement. “Did you see that pass? The rookie is on fire tonight!”
“Yeah, he is,” Coop agreed, “so let’s show him some respect and call him by his name. He’s not a rookie anymore.”
He’d spent the entire game worried that he wouldn’t feel like part of the team if he wasn’t out there, but in that moment, Cooper was pretty sure he couldn’t have been prouder if he’d made the play himself.
When the buzzer finally sounded after the longest sixty seconds of Cooper’s life, the Portland Dome exploded in cheers and Cooper joined his team as they scrambled over the boards and flooded onto the ice.
19
LAINEY FOLLOWED CLOSELY behind Holly and her cameraman, Jay, as they headed down the corridor that led to the ice, flashing the Women’s Sport Network press pass Holly had given her at the appropriate checkpoints until they were finally allowed out onto the rink. She hesitated for a moment before she stepped through the gate, inhaling that unique mix of cold and rubber and sweat. The scent of hockey. It had been a long time.
This was it. The moment she’d avoided for so long. Ice level, where all her bad memories lived. But as she stood there, surrounded by people who were still able to play the game she loved, she realized something.
When her father hurt her, she’d cut him with a couple of official name-change documents.
When hockey hurt her, she’d cut it out of her life just as swiftly.
But out on that ice were two people who were worth the risk of getting hurt again.
With a deep breath, Lainey stood up to her deepest fears and stepped onto the ice.
It was easier than she’d thought it would be.
“We’re going to go do some interviews,” Holly yelled over the din of the cheering crowd and the booming baseline of “We Are the Champions,” as it blared througho
ut the arena. “You got it from here?”
Lainey nodded, tearing her eyes from the jubilant crowd and the navy, white and teal confetti that spilled from the rafters. Thanks to the press pass, she’d gained a head start, but they’d be ushering the players’ families down to the ice to join in the celebration and then it would be near impossible to find—
“Lainey?” Brett skated toward her so fast that the blades of his skates sprayed snow on her boots when he stopped in front of her. “Lainey! You’re here! Did you see how much ice time I got? And my assist on Cubs’s goal? Nobody called me ‘Rookie’ during the whole game! This is the best night of my life!”
Lainey couldn’t help but smile at his enthusiasm. He was practically bouncing, he was so excited. She’d always thought this moment would make her jealous, but it was a different emotion winding its way through her chest now. It was pride.
She’d spent so much time cutting hockey out of her life, but it was a part of her. A part of her family.
It took all her meager acting abilities to wipe the smile from her face before she heaved a fake sigh and held her arms out.
Her abrupt change in demeanor subdued Brett, and he shoved sweaty dark curls off his forehead. “What?”
“I owe you a hug, don’t I?”
She hadn’t thought his grin could get any bigger, but not even his scraggly playoff beard could hide the joy on his face.
He reeked of the hot-sour stench of hockey equipment as he wrapped his arms around her waist and swung her in a circle. Beneath the roar of the crowd and the interviews and the music, Brett spoke softly in her ear. “Thanks for coming, Elaine.”
It ranked among the top five hugs of her life.
He set her down and she tried to wipe the tear from her cheek before he noticed.
“Are you crying?”
It didn’t work.
“I can’t help it, okay?” Lainey crossed her arms. “I’m so happy you can finally shave that ridiculous excuse for a beard.”
Brett chuckled at the jibe, but it was far too somber for a man who’d just played an integral role in securing a national championship. “Hey, what I said before? About you being like Dad? You’re not.”
She waved away the apology. “Go. Take your victory lap. Celebrate with your team. We can talk that stuff out later. Right now, you need to enjoy the moment. You did good tonight.”
The warm glow in the pit of her stomach dissipated as she watched Brett skate away, back to the thick of the celebration. Because now was the moment of truth.
Cooper was standing with his back to her, decked out in full Storm gear, his last name and the number sixteen gleaming against the navy jersey, exchanging a word and a bro hug with his team captain, and Lainey didn’t think she’d ever been more in danger of puking in her entire life. Even waiting to find out if she’d made the national team paled in comparison to this. She walked toward him slowly, not because she was worried about falling, but, she realized, lips twisting at the irony, because she’d already fallen.
She’d fallen hard for the infuriating, sexy man who was a mere ten feet from her now. Luke noticed her as she stopped to wipe her sweaty hands on her jeans and compose herself.
Their eyes met for a moment before Luke tipped his chin in her direction, causing Cooper to glance over his shoulder. There was a jolt in her chest as they stared at each other, as if her nervous system had short-circuited, and her heartbeat went from zero to tachycardia in the space of a second.
Cooper turned and pushed off his back blade in one fluid motion. Despite the revelry in the arena, all she could hear was the scrape of his skates as he stopped in front of her. He was always tall and broad, but in full equipment, he was massive. She did her best to focus on his eyes. They were wary, but they were familiar, and she clung to that as she forced herself to say what she’d come here to say.
“I forgot.”
She’d surprised him. She knew him well enough to recognize the almost imperceptible twitch of his eyebrow, which was his tell.
“Forgot what?”
“How the ice smells. It’s been a long time. I missed it, but it doesn’t hurt like I thought it would.” Saying it out loud made Lainey realize how true it was. She might have ended her hockey career on a low note, but there were good memories here on the blue line, too. Playing hockey wasn’t her future. But maybe, just maybe, the man in front of her could be. The thought gave her the courage to say, “I don’t miss it like I missed you.”
“I didn’t think you’d come.”
She shrugged. “Well, after I decided not to sell the bar, I had these hockey tickets that I figured shouldn’t go to waste.”
Cooper’s eyes widened at the announcement. “You’re staying?”
“It turns out that Portland has some redeeming qualities after all. Figured I might stick around and see what it has to offer.”
“Have you told Brett?”
“I wanted to tell you first. I thought it might be a good way to show you that I’ve made room for you in my life. And I know, after everything, you might not believe this, but I’m so sorry they wouldn’t let you play, Cooper. I know how important this game was to you. To your career.”
“You’re important to me,” he countered. “And when I took the ice tonight, I could hear you in my head, talking about the future, and I decided you were right. The risk wasn’t worth it. So I benched myself. Because if I’m going to keep up with you and your smart mouth, I’m going to need my brain to be functioning on all cylinders. That’s the price of falling in love with the smartest, hottest, toughest woman I’ve ever met, and...are you crying?”
“Maybe.” She swiped at the stupid tears on her stupid cheek. “And people say that I’m the one who knows how to fuck up a moment.”
“Oh, I’ll give you a moment.” Cooper grabbed her and hoisted her up so high that when she wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck, he was the one who had to look up at her. And when Lainey lowered her mouth to his, their kiss held the promise of a lifetime of moments to come.
* * * * *
If you loved this book, check out
Taryn Leigh Taylor’s other hot romances:
KISS AND MAKEUP
PLAYING TO WIN
Available now from Harlequin Blaze!
Keep reading for an excerpt from TEMPTING KATE by Jennifer Snow.
Join Harlequin My Rewards today and earn a FREE ebook!
Click here to Join Harlequin My Rewards
http://www.harlequin.com/myrewards.html?mt=loyalty&cmpid=EBOOBPBPA201602010003
We hope you enjoyed this Harlequin Blaze story.
You like it hot! Harlequin Blaze stories sizzle with strong heroines and irresistible heroes playing the game of modern love and lust. They’re fun, sexy and always steamy.
Enjoy four new stories from Harlequin Blaze every month!
Connect with us on Harlequin.com for info on our new releases, access to exclusive offers, free online reads and much more!
Other ways to keep in touch:
Harlequin.com/newsletters
Facebook.com/HarlequinBooks
Twitter.com/HarlequinBooks
HarlequinBlog.com
Join Harlequin My Rewards & Instantly earn a FREE ebook of your choice.
Earn points for every Harlequin print and ebook you buy, wherever & whenever you shop.
Turn your points into FREE BOOKS.
Don’t miss out. Reward the book lover in you!
Register Today & Earn a FREE BOOK*
*New members who join before December 31st, 2017 will receive 2000 points redeemable for eligible titles.
Click here to register
Or visit us online to register at
http://www.harlequin.com/myrewards.html?mt=loyalty&cmpid=EBOOBPBPA201602010001
/> Tempting Kate
by Jennifer Snow
1
“WE ARE LIVE in twenty seconds.”
Twenty seconds.
Kate Hartley scanned the set of Today’s Woman, but she couldn’t locate an escape.
The talk show’s host, Claire Jamison, nodded as she readjusted the microphone on the collar of her pale blue blouse. “Ready?” she asked her, tossing her long red hair over one shoulder.
No. Kate forced a confident smile. “Of course.” She sat straighter and slid her palms down the length of her tan pencil skirt. She crossed and recrossed her legs as the producer counted down the seconds to airtime.
When he signaled that they were live, Claire spoke. “Welcome back. Before the break, we saw Lario perform his hit ‘When We Were Us,’ and he will be back to perform again at the end of today’s show. Now, we are pleased to introduce our next guest—Hollywood’s own wedding planner Kate Hartley, from Belle Affairs.” Claire turned to look at her with a smile. “Kate, good to see you.”
“Thank you for having me,” Kate said, relieved that her steady voice revealed none of the anxiety threatening to suffocate her.
“So as if you weren’t busy enough planning the nuptials of some of Tinseltown’s most glamorous couples, you recently wrote a book.” Claire picked up the hardcover that had hit store shelves the week before and held it up to the camera. “How to Get Him Down the Aisle—great title, and I suspect a question many single women out there are dying to know the answer to. Tell us about it.”
“Essentially, the book is an added service that my company has recently started offering our clients. We refer to it as the ‘warm the cold feet’ effort,” she said. Her chest tightened even more. Breathe and smile. “Believe it or not, men want to get married just as much as women...they just need that extra reassurance, that push to get them to the altar.”
Didn’t she know it?
She brushed the thought away as her smile faltered.
Playing Dirty Page 18
