Risky Business

by Melissa Cutler

  Harper raised her glass in a toast. “And it takes getting older and wiser for women to figure out that we’re better off providing for our own security.”

  “I’ll drink to that,” Presley said.

  They all clinked glasses. Before Harper’s toast, Allison hadn’t put it together that Harper and her friends were all single business owners, though Presley was engaged, so that statistic would be changing soon.

  Harper owned the tavern. Presley had her own bookkeeping firm. Olivia, in addition to being a high school teacher, co-owned and managed an apartment complex with Liam, and the week before, Allison had learned that Marlena owned a holistic healing and yoga business. Allison couldn’t wait for her life to settle down enough for her to take a yoga class.

  Allison had joined their ranks. That realization made her proud. She’d come a long way in a short time. She still had a long way to go before she was even half the businesswomen that her new friends were, but with her and Theo’s truce, she was confident that she’d get there.

  Olivia sighed. “I still wish I had a man to be my partner in one of Marlena’s tantric sex classes.”

  Allison nearly choked on the beer she was drinking. The first impression she’d had of Marlena being serene and sweet was quickly becoming more complicated in a very interesting way.

  “Not what you had in mind when I told you I was a holistic healer?”

  “Uh, no.”

  Marlena offered her a sly smile. “There’s all kinds of different types of healing.”

  Presley’s finger sliced through the air. “Do not get her started singing ‘Sexual Healing.’ Every time she does, I get it stuck in my head for days. Wait—too late.” She groaned.

  Marlena laughed and started to sing the chorus, but her song was eclipsed by applause as the players took to the ice to warm up. Katie kicked and squealed. She loved this part.

  Allison’s heart got all fluttery at the sight of Theo in uniform, skating hard and fast around the rink, utter focus written on his features. Knowing what his skin tasted like, knowing how excellent a kisser he was, made him look even sexier and manlier than he had before.

  When the Bomb Squad players rounded the corner, putting Theo on a direct path past the scorekeeper’s table, his eyes were on Allison. Her cheeks flush and her pulse sped at his approach.

  She hadn’t felt this way since eighteen, when the boy she’d dated was the water polo team captain at his college. It was a giddy mixture of lust and pride that the star athlete, the stud of studs in the game, only had eyes for her.

  She didn’t know whether to smile, wave, or play it cool. She settled on what she hoped was a private smile, subtle and just for him. He didn’t smile back, but he touched the Plexiglass with his glove as he zoomed past.

  She hummed under her breath. It was going to be a long game. And she was going to need to kiss that man again when it was done, of that she was sure.

  Harper leaned in with a nudge to Allison’s shoulder. “He doesn’t hate you anymore.”

  “No. We agreed to a truce.”

  “I don’t know how you managed that, but I’m impressed. Really impressed. What happened?”

  She wasn’t sure, honestly. She must have looked pretty pathetic last night, scared for Katie, Chelsea nowhere to be found, braving the storm to get medicine. “I think he finally took pity on me.” She knew that wasn’t it, but it was the best answer she could come up with. She knew intrinsically that Theo’s actions the night before had been about more than pity. He definitely hadn’t kissed her out of pity, even if that had been the original reason behind his hot cocoa gesture.

  “Theo doesn’t believe in pity.”

  All right, she’d try a different answer then. “I’m giving him Lanette, free and clear.”

  Harper nodded approvingly. “Good for you. There’s nothing Theo loves more than that boat. And hockey, of course.”

  “The gesture is years too late, but it’s the best I can do to right Lowell’s wrongs.”

  She was saved from further discussion by Chelsea, who slid a beer onto the table in front of Allison, then poked her between the ribs. “You didn’t tell me he was going to be here playing hockey tonight.”

  “Who, Theo? You knew that.”

  “No, Brandon. I had no idea. I mean, he only has one leg. I could have used the warning that he’d be here,” she said out of the corner of her mouth, adding a head tilt toward the ice. She said it in a panicked way, which probably meant that the two of them had already slept together. Just terrific.

  “I didn’t know I was supposed to fill you in on that.” Anxious for a subject change, Allison gestured to the bleachers. “Chelsea, these are my friends. You already know Harper, and this is Olivia, Marlena, and Presley.”

  Chelsea waved her nachos in their direction and gave them a perfunctory greeting, but all her focus was on Brandon. Olivia, Marlena, and Presley greeted her back, though it was clear they weren’t all that impressed with Chelsea, which was understandable because Allison wasn’t all that impressed with her at the moment either.

  As if he could sense that he was being discussed, Brandon turned. His gaze went first to Harper, then to Chelsea. His expression turning as panicky as Chelsea’s tone had been. Yep. They’d slept together, all right.

  He skated their way.

  Chelsea groaned. “Shoot. This isn’t good.”

  Allison agreed. With Harper right there, this was bound to be awkward.

  “Really, Chelsea?” Allison muttered under her breath.

  “What? You knew it was going to happen.”

  “Hi,” Brandon said to Chelsea. “What are you doing here?”

  He sounded defensive, as though her presence meant she’d misrepresented herself as a no-strings-screw. Like he fully expected her to turn into his groupie now or make romantic demands on him.

  Chelsea tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, looking much younger than the worldly-wise twenty-four-year-old she was. “Hi. Um, you play hockey.”

  On her other side, Harper shifted, diverting Allison’s attention. She expected to see hurt in Harper’s expression, but she had her gaze locked on Brandon and the only emotion present in her eyes was challenge.

  “Uh, yeah,” Brandon said. “I think I told you that.” He rolled his eyes like he was trying to think back. “I can’t remember, actually.” Finally, he acknowledged Harper with a look in her direction. “Hey.”

  “Having fun?”

  Yikes. Awkward didn’t even begin to describe the mood.

  Brandon’s expression hardened save for a fire that had lit in his eyes. He slid over to stand directly before Harper. “Don’t be like that. You made your choice—and it wasn’t me.”

  Harper twirled her pen. “I hope you score the winning goal tonight.” The statement oozed subtext in every harshly spoken word.

  They stared at each other for a long, heavy moment. Then Brandon swallowed hard. “I can’t steal the glory every game.”

  Harper’s brow raised, calling him on his lie pointedly enough.

  They stared at each other for the span of another breath before he shook his head and skated away.

  Behind Harper, Marlena, Olivia, and Presley sat in uncharacteristic silence, looking concerned for Harper.

  Chelsea set a hand on Harper’s shoulder. “I figured you and he had an understanding, but he hurt you. I’m sorry for my part in that. That wasn’t my intention.”

  Harper pasted a weary smile on her lips. “You don’t have anything to feel bad about. Don’t take this the wrong way, but I hope he didn’t lead you on like you two were exclusive.”

  “No. He and I were very clear up front about where this was going, which was nowhere.”

  “Good. Going nowhere is all he’s capable of. Or, more accurately, all he wants to believe he’s capable of. Usually, it’s the girls he sleeps
with who get the wrong impression. They start dreaming up a future with him and sit rink-side like ice bunny groupies.”

  Allison had called it, why he’d looked so alarmed about Chelsea’s presence. But, boy, he couldn’t have been more wrong about Chelsea.

  Sure enough, Chelsea groaned. “Not me. I didn’t even know he played ice hockey. I just thought he was one of Theo’s friends.”

  Presley cleared her throat. “What did he mean by ‘you made your choice’? I thought he was the one who kept pushing you away.”

  “Complicated,” Harper said. “He professed his feelings for me once, but it wasn’t right. He wasn’t any different then than he is now. He wasn’t willing to change for me, so he made his choice, too.”

  Marlena gave a melancholy smile. “I get what you’re saying, Harper. I’ve been in that same situation. It doesn’t matter how much you like a guy. If your instinct is telling you he’s not good for you, then you have to honor that feeling. I think you’re right to stay away from Brandon.”

  “Thank you, Marlena,” Harper said.

  “When have you been in that kind of situation?” Olivia said.

  Marlena shook her head. “It’s no big deal. I only mentioned it now because Harper’s not the only one who’s been through that.”

  Chelsea had quietly been eating her nachos while Harper and her friends talked. Now that she was past the Brandon crisis, she was back to acting odd, probably planning her escape from Destiny Falls.

  Allison returned a few of Katie’s toys that she’d thrown on the floor, then scanned the players until she found her own Number Sixteen, who happened to be skating her way. This time, Theo stopped in front of the table and pulled a face at Katie.

  “How’s Katie? Any sign of fever?”

  “No. She’s a little tired and sniffly, but no fever. I would have stayed home with her if she’d had one.”

  “I was worried about her with how cold it is here at the rink.”

  Allison patted the puffball at the top of Katie’s knitted cap. “I’ve got her bundled up good.”

  They both watched Katie follow a cluster of players as they whooshed past Theo’s back. She squealed and reached out, trying to touch them.

  The hint of a smile settled on Theo’s lips. “She’s enjoying this.”

  “She likes the movement of the skaters and the noise of the crowd. It gets her so excited that it wears her out. I bet she’ll be asleep by the end of the second period.”

  “As long as you don’t fall asleep during the game.”

  “Are you kidding? Not a chance.”

  He nodded toward the Kegerators’ goal. “You see over there, the men in blue fleece? They’re Wounded Veterans International officials. We weren’t expecting them tonight, but I think Duke knows something he’s not telling us. Make sure you stick around after the game.”

  The buzzer warning of the game’s imminent start drowned out her answer. Katie’s arms and legs flailed in surprise, then she started to cry. That buzzer was the only part of the game she didn’t enjoy.

  Theo cringed and skated backward. “That’s my cue.”

  “Good luck.”

  He spun away to face the center circle, where he knocked gloves with the Kegerator captain and got ready for the puck drop. Allison didn’t try to be subtle as she watched him bend over, resting his stick and hands on his knees while he waited for the drop.

  Chelsea poked her in the shoulder. “You were so lying about what’s going on between the two of you. Truce, my ass.”

  “I’m with Chelsea on this,” Harper said.

  Allison smiled, but she couldn’t find it in her to take her eyes off Theo’s butt. “What’s a truce supposed to look like? Why don’t you two tell me so Theo and I can work on it?”

  Allison was keeping it together with a Cheshire Cat smile until Marlena started singing the chorus to “Sexual Healing” again. This time, Olivia, Presley, Harper, and Chelsea joined in.

  Lucky for Allison, the song or the teasing didn’t last long because the ref blew his whistle and the game got underway.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Bomb Squad was on fire. The Albion Kegerators didn’t stand a chance, not with the Wounded Veterans International executives in the stands and Bomb Squad pumped up about a possible post-game announcement.

  Allison jumped to her feet when Will scored a goal early in the second period. Yes, it was by accident after the puck deflected off his stick, but still. The look on his face was priceless.

  The first time Theo was sent to the penalty box, he glanced her way and gave her a brief eyebrow raise of acknowledgement. As they were throughout every game, his eyes were filled with aggression and focus, with testosterone rolling off his body as thick as his sweat. She could still see a glimmer of the man who’d kissed her so slowly they melted into each other, but more than that, she saw the bear who threatened to devour her that first night. She saw the man who’d kissed her that second time in the kitchen, harder and deeper, with tongue, pushing his body against hers, letting her feel his arousal.

  A tendril of desire coiled inside her. She needed an orgasm with someone other than herself, and fast, but she needed so much more than that. She needed Theo’s huge hands, that soft mouth. She wanted to crawl inside that anti-hero complex of his that she had a tenderness for and learn all his secrets.

  She took a sip of beer, trying to cool down before she combusted right there at the scorekeeper’s table. Goddamn. How could she be so ready for something, yet so unprepared to handle it? Then again, would she ever be ready? How, exactly, did one prepare, mentally, to sleep with a man like Theo—if that was, indeed, where they were headed? It was enough to make her light-headed. Over the rim of her beer cup, she watched him push out of the penalty box, releasing her breath in a slow stream.

  “Are you ready to talk about it yet?” Harper twirled a pen in one hand like a baton, looking amused.

  “Nothing’s happening.”

  Presley chortled. “Okay, well, whatever is not happening between you two has my blessing, for what that’s worth.”

  Theo had been right about the post-game announcement. Not a minute after the third period ended and Bomb Squad won, Duke’s voice had come over a loudspeaker, asking people to stay in their seats. The WVI executives stepped forward and gave the good news. The Project: Hope Exhibition Game was coming to Destiny Falls, with Bomb Squad representing American veterans against the Russians.

  Allison didn’t think she’d ever heard such a small crowd cheer so loudly. Katie wailed, hating the hoots and whistles that had woken her up, but she just had to hang in there because there was no way Allison was going to leave in the midst of such joy. Theo sought her out during the team pileup mid-ice. The smile he flashed her was so genuine and boyish that she laughed and gave him a thumbs-up.

  She could only imagine the locker room celebration as she drove Chelsea and Katie home.

  “That was something else,” Chelsea said. “I’ve never cared much for sports, but I think I could easily turn into a hockey fan if I lived here.”

  “I’ve got to ask. Are you leaving soon? I’m getting a weird vibe from you today.”

  Chelsea sighed. “No plans to leave, but I do need to talk to you about something that I hope isn’t a big deal. Let’s get Katie in her crib.”

  The party at Locks was in full swing by the time Allison pulled into Cloud Nine’s parking lot. Katie was in a deep sleep and didn’t rouse when Allison put her down in her crib. Another hockey night miracle.

  Chelsea met her at the bottom of the stairs.

  Allison had been brainstorming the possible topics Chelsea might need to talk with her about, and though she would have bet money that Chelsea was going to tell her she was leaving, she’d already confirmed that she wasn’t, which gave Allison only one other solid idea. “Is this because of Harper finding out that you s
lept with Brandon? You don’t have to feel bad. Harper and Brandon were totally screwed up before you got involved.”

  “No, it’s not that. I was worried at first tonight, but you and Harper made it clear during the game that I wasn’t overstepping boundaries. But it is about last night, when I partied with Brandon.”

  She didn’t see where Chelsea was going with this, but she knew that no matter what her sister had done, whatever trouble she’d caused or was in, Allison would be there for her. She took Chelsea’s hand and led her to the couch. “You can talk to me. I promise not to judge you.”

  It was the kind of parent she wanted to be. The kind that her teenage daughter could come to and share her secrets with without fearing scorn.

  “Brandon and I saw Theo at Walmart buying Katie’s fever medicine. We’d stopped in to buy protection.”

  Allison blinked, trying to wrap her head around the idea that Theo was involved in that story, that their lives had somehow intersected at a store ten miles away in the middle of the night during a rain storm. “Go on.”

  “I was lit. I’d had a smoke of the good stuff at my show, and then Brandon started buying me drinks. I was toasted, big-time.”

  “I still don’t see . . .”

  Chelsea wrung her hands. “I invited Theo to join me and Brandon. I came on to him a little. A lot.”

  Not what Allison was expecting. She dropped her gaze to the floor. “Oh,” she croaked.

  There was no reason to be jealous. No reason to be mad. Nothing had happened. Last night, after Theo had bought the medicine, he returned to the car, drove her home, and kissed her. She’d sworn that pity had nothing to do with that kiss, but he’d just fielded an advance by her drugged up, drunk sister. He never breathed a word about it.

  She couldn’t fault him for that. It was the gentlemanly course of action. If anything, it made her like him all the more. It was sweet, and not at all vindictive, as he’d wanted to make her believe he was when she first came to Destiny Falls. He could have thrown that juicy bit of information about Chelsea in Allison’s face, given how angry he was with her for taking over ownership of Cloud Nine. But he hadn’t. So why was she upset?