Going All In
Page 27
And as the singer continued to sing about the cool memories he’d had with the woman he missed the most despite whatever else he was doing, he skated with Mel. Gave her breathing room, let her think about what she wanted. Because in his mind, it was very clear. What he wanted was her.
*****
She wanted to say yes. Oh dear God she wanted to say yes. “What about your coach?”
“Coach benched me,” he whispered. “I don’t give a shit about what that asshole says. And I genuinely mean it.”
“But here…”
“Arnie. He knew I wanted to see you. So he pulled rank and here I am.”
She nodded. That meant her family…her mom and sister, approved. No wonder Em was so concerned about her not making it. “You sure you want this? Because what if…”
“Stop it,” he said, reaching down to pull a tendril of hair out of her face. “Stop over-thinking, don’t imagine any crazy potential scenarios. And kiss me.”
Being the romantic she was, she did, to a crowd that cheered her on.
*****
After the event ended and they’d changed into more comfortable clothing, she’d agreed to go to ‘The Elk’ to celebrate the fact she’d agreed to consider their relationship again. “I’m not sure,” she’d said, focusing on him. They’d just gotten into Manhattan and she was half on his lap, half on the seat, slightly negating the blunt force of her words.
He nodded slowly. “Really?”
“Really. Because you say you don’t give a shit about your coach, but what if something happens? What if you end up regretting me because it hampers the rest of your career?”
“Ah, Mel,” he said, grinning at her, kissing her cheek. “Let me show you the ways I won’t regret you.” He reached into his pocket with one hand and pulled her close with the other.
“Oh, that way?” she asked, sauce and humor in her voice.
He grinned back even as he pulled out his phone. “Maybe later. But now,” he said as he used his thumb to navigate the spreadsheets he linked through his home screen, “I want to show you this.”
She nodded and took the phone, and as he watched her looking at the rather impressive evidence of what he’d been doing with his money and his free time over the years he’d been playing hockey, he felt nervous. She’d seen the results up close and personal but had never actually looked at the hard data.
“Wow,” she said. “This is…amazing.”
He smiled, yet before he could answer, he heard the sound his phone made to indicate he had a new text. He looked at her and then, as she nodded, took back the phone to see if it was something he had to deal with immediately. And as he caught a glimpse of the text, he gasped. “Oh shit. I have to go to back to Fort Greene. Coach…”
“I’ll come with you,” she said, his gladiatrix, his fighter.
“I love you,” he replied. And even though they didn’t say anything until they pulled back up the complex they’d left not long ago, he knew everything was going to be fine, no matter what happened.
*****
When Chris got up to the coach’s office, Michaels was talking with the GM, a former player for one of the other New York area teams. He waited as patiently as he could, letting them talk and trying to breathe.
“So what happened?” asked Arnie Dawes, as he walked into the room. “Did you and my Melanie figure it out this afternoon?”
He smiled at the man who’d been wonderful to him and Melanie throughout the insanity that had been their lives for the last few weeks. “Actually, we did, I think, Mr. Dawes. We’ll be all right.”
Dawes was just about to reply, when through the silence Coach Michaels made an interesting sound.
“What the fuck?” The coach interjected. “I was just going to tell you that you were ready to come back and play, you fucking moron. Dammit Emerson, don’t you realize that sluts like that corset girl are trouble? Fucking hell. You need to focus, maybe have a fuck buddy every once in a while, but not that stupid little bitch who can’t keep her own damn nose out of fucking trouble, least of all yours. Back on the bench. Maybe down to Stratford.”
“Peter, really?” The GM shook his head, staring at Dawes in silent accord. “You benched him, and though we disagreed with your choices, you are the coach.”
“But,” Dawes interjected, “when you continue to bench a player for no good reason and stopped his goal scoring streak…”
And as Dawes and the GM continued to list Michaels’ faults, Chris found himself flabbergasted.
“Not to mention,” Dawes pronounced, “you called my niece a slut. You’re gone.”
“She’s your niece?” Michaels muttered as he left the room.
“Yes,” Dawes replied. “She’s my best friend’s daughter. Now get the fuck out of here before I call the cops.”
And if nothing else was going to surprise the shit out of Chris, it was that. Well, he hedged, either that or the look on Mac’s face when he was called into the office.
*****
Melanie found herself pacing back and forth in the lobby of the Empires’ headquarters. She got up from the chair she’d been sitting in, paced and then sat back down. She couldn’t concentrate. Dammit.
What the hell was going on up there? What was happening? Why…
She checked her watch, and it looked like time was standing still. She couldn’t believe this, couldn’t understand why this was taking so long. Dammit.
She found herself partially wishing that she hadn’t come, then decided that was insane. She needed to be there with him, needed to help him deal with whatever happened. And when the elevator doors opened, she lost her breath as she saw Uncle Arnie and Chris heading towards her.
“So, so, so? What happened? What happened?”
“Well,” he said as he put his arms around her. “You know all those things that I’d been planning to do if this meeting went south?”
She nodded, focusing up on him, even though Arnie grinned at the both of them from the chair where she’d been sitting.
“Well, I don’t have to use any of them more than normal, because they fired the coach!”
“Yes!” She grinned, kissed him as he leaned down towards her. His lips felt so perfect on her mouth, his tongue with hers. It was…simply wonderful.
“Now,” he said as he broke the kiss. “I’ve got my happy ending.”
She shook her head as she looked up at him. “You need one more piece of jewelry to get a real happy ending.”
He shook his head. “I want the cup,” he said. “But it won’t be worth anything without you to share it with.”
And then, he kissed her.
THE END…or not
About the Authors
Cassandra Carr is a multi-award winning erotic romance writer with Ellora's Cave, Siren Publishing, Sybarite Seductions, Decadent Publishing, and Loose Id. She lives in Western New York with her husband, Inspiration, and her daughter, Too Cute for Words. When not writing she enjoys watching hockey and hanging out online. Cassandra is the co-founder of two successful group blogs, Romancing the Jock and Dirty Birdies, and participates in several others as a contributor. Recently she was re-elected president of Western New York Romance Writers.
For more information about Cassandra, check out her website at http://www. booksbycassandracarr.com, "like" her Facebook fan page at http://www.facebook.com/ AuthorCassandraCarr or follow her on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/ Cassandra_Carr.
Isabo Kelly is the award-winning author of multiple science fiction, fantasy and paranormal romances. After finishing her Ph.D. in animal behavior in Ireland, Isabo settled down to write full time. She currently lives in New York City with her brilliant Irish husband, her two heroes-in-training sons, and her mad dog.
For more on Isabo and her books, visit her at www.isabokelly.com, follow her on Twitter www.twitter.com/IsaboKelly or friend her on Facebook www.facebook.com/IsaboKelly
Stacey Agdern is the two time award winning Romance Specialist at Posman Books,
an independent bookstore located in Grand Central Terminal. She has a regular column, ‘Dispatches from the TBR Pile’ at ‘HEA’, USA Today’s online romance blog. She has also written reviews and commentary for publications such as Barbara Vey’s ‘Beyond Her Book’ Column at Publishers Weekly’s online site, Heroes and Heartbreakers, Criminal Element, Romantic Times Magazine and Romance at Random. She has given presentations on the effective use of booksellers at regional and national conferences. You can find her on twitter at http://www.twitter.com/nystacey. She lives in New York, not very far from her favorite hockey team’s practice facility.
Going All In Blurbs
Professional hockey players Marcus, Alex, and Chris attend their team's Vegas Night fundraiser unaware their lives will change forever. Can they face their difficulties and win the most important game of their lives – the game of love? These guys are going all in…
HEDGING HIS BET: Cassandra Carr
Marcus Mitchell never thought he’d find the love of his life with champagne dripping from her shirt rather than walking the runway at Fashion Week like the models he usually preferred, but you can’t always plan these things. Annalise Alonso isn’t going to make it easy for him, though—he’s going to have to work for her love. Now, Marcus is taking a shot and hedging his bet on love.
CASTING THE DIE: Isabo Kelly
After she sees his murder in a vision, Nathalie Mendez has to warn star hockey goalie Alexander Semenov of the danger. To keep him alive, she risks exposing her many secrets. But once the die is cast, her biggest gamble involves her heart.
PLAYING HER GAME: Stacey Agdern
Melanie Gould has been dubbed ‘The Girl in the Lace Corset’. But she doesn’t always like to be the loud mouth defender of the romances she writes, and is definitely not good at playing the games relationships require. Of course, she’s never gone head to head with a guy like Chris Emerson. Chris is trying to behave, and someone like Melanie would destroy his plans to stay under the radar. So what happens when the ‘Girl in the Lace Corset’ and the NHL’s most infamous bad boy go one on one? Will they play her game? Will they play his? Or will they both end up in the penalty box?