She opened the door then grabbed Derek’s hand, who barely had a chance to blurt out a hello, and hustled him out and down the steps. She was out of breath by the time they reached the sidewalk.
“What’s the matter?” He gave her a quizzical look, hit a button on his remote, and the lights on his car flashed. “You ashamed of me?”
“No, it’s not that. My cousins have been giving me a hard time since that tabloid article. I didn’t want you to see us sniping at each other.”
“I apologize for that whole scene in my office. It never should have gotten that far.”
She bit her lip. “I’m partly to blame. Once you get a bad reputation, people never want to give you a second chance.”
“Well, we both know the truth, and I happen to be a big fan of second chances.” He opened the car door for her and helped her in. “We’re going to have a good time tonight. You won’t regret it.”
“So aren’t you going ask?”
“Ask what?”
“I’m sure you’re dying to know why you had to pick me up at my grandmother’s house.” Charisma looked him in the eye. “Truth is, I live with her.”
“I already knew the answer.”
“You did?”
“After a very difficult relationship you went back to the one place you felt the safest. I have a close relationship with my babushka too.”
“Oh.” A wave of relief washed over her.
“That means ‘grandma.’” He smiled. “She calls me her malen’kiy prints. That means ‘little prince.’”
“Interesno.”
“You speak Russian?”
“I know about ten words. Now I’m down to nine.” She laughed.
“Perhaps I’ll teach you a few more.” Derek closed the door and rounded the front of the car to get on the road.
Charisma looked in the direction of the house to see her grandma and her cousins staring out the window. Her grandmother smiled and waved. Dana and Melina looked like they wanted her to choke her for her fifty-yard dash out the door and to the car. The Reed family would have to wait until she returned home to get the details on this one. Derek pulled out of the spot and turned on the radio. She was half expecting heavy metal or some kind of hard-moving music she figured would energize someone who played a very physical sport like hockey. Instead, classical music drifted out of the speakers. It was so sharp and crisp, it was as if the symphony was in the backseat. Derek looked over at her and smiled.
Maybe she could relax and have a good time tonight.
* * *
Charisma was relieved they didn’t face nearly as much traffic as she thought they would getting onto the highways headed to New York. Derek effortlessly maneuvered through traffic while they got to know each other. He amused her with anecdotes about his childhood. Apparently he was very close with his grandmother too, like he’d said, and he told her about how she spoiled him senseless all his life. He missed being able to see her and went back to Russia as often as he could.
Derek’s history was interesting too. The son of a scientist and an art historian had shocked the family when he’d decided to take on hockey as a professional sport. He was met with some resistance, but the family gave their blessing after they saw how much he loved playing the game. He reminded her of her Trevor, a trailblazer who followed his own path. Derek and his brother Alex had been pretty homesick when they had relocated to America, but the feeling lessened as time wore on. His younger siblings, Sienna and Theo, were born in the US, so they weren’t affected by it as much.
He was fluent in English, Russian, Spanish, French, and German, and there were a few more languages on his bucket list to master. He’d embraced English pretty well, but there was something that wouldn’t let him give up his accent entirely, which accounted for it cropping up at times when he talked.
“I’ve gone on like an idiot for the last forty-five minutes,” he finally said, glancing at her. “Tell me something about yourself.”
She furrowed her eyebrows. “I think you have all the highlights. You have access to the Internet.”
“That’s not fair. I just poured my heart out to you and all I get in return is ‘you already know who I am’?”
“I come from a big family. There’s no place you can go in Philadelphia or its surrounding areas without meeting one of my cousins. It’s a blessing and a curse.” She shrugged. “Don’t get me wrong. I am blessed to have a big family, but they mostly make me want to curse.”
Derek chuckled. “Do you have any siblings?”
“Yes, a younger brother, Trevor. He’s about sixteen months younger, but you’d think he was the oldest. He’s the levelheaded, responsible one. He’s a photojournalist and he travels the world. He stays pretty busy, so we don’t stay in touch as much as I would like.”
“Sounds exciting.”
“But he really keeps away because of my mom. She can be suffocating where her kids are concerned. She had grand plans for both of us, and we failed her miserably by wanting to run our own lives.” She looked out the car window. She’d been avoiding her mother’s calls for a couple of weeks. Her mother was bound to show up soon.
“See that wasn’t so bad.” He smiled. “You just shared a little bit about yourself that no Internet search could have told me. You look gorgeous by the way.”
“Phew.” She pretended to wipe her forehead with her hand. “I was beginning to think I looked like a train wreck. You didn’t say anything when I answered the door.”
“If I had said what was on my mind when you opened the door, your grandmother would never have let you go out with me.” He winked and revved the Aston Martin engine.
The minute they stepped into the party, tension crept up the back of Charisma’s neck. Luke’s penthouse was crawling with celebrities. She saw a few familiar faces, including a few of those dreadful Queen Titans, the cliquish women who’d strung her along and made her think they’d let her join their group. If it weren’t for Morgan sticking up for her at the taping of that game show, she would have been totally humiliated. She couldn’t move, too scared to come face-to-face with them. She should never have come here. Tonight was going to be a disaster.
“Are you OK?” Derek whispered into her ear.
“Yes. I just see a few not-so-friendly faces in the crowd. I was hoping they wouldn’t be here. I’ve had disagreements with a few of them.” She discreetly pointed to the perfectly coiffed women huddled together in a group shooting catty glances around the room.
“Don’t tell me. They’re the cool kids who don’t want to play with you.” Derek snagged two flutes of champagne from a passing waitress and handed her one.
“Yes.”
“Why on earth would you want to hang out with them?”
“They always looked so polished and glamorous. Their diamonds are sparkling from across the room.” She fingered grandmother’s necklace.
“Bigger isn’t always better. In most cases.” He winked at her.
She raised an eyebrow. “Because you’ve been known to carry a big hockey stick?”
“That’s one nickname for it.” He cleared his throat and continued. “I’ve been to enough of Luke’s parties to know the players. Two of your Queen Titans have propositioned me in the past, and one tried to give me a hand job in a coatroom. When I turned her down, she said she was drunk and thought I was her husband.”
Hearing the sordid details helped soothe her fears. Maybe these women weren’t so perfect after all. “Have you slept with anyone at the party?”
Luke, the host, approached before Derek could answer.
“Derek, so glad you could make it.” Luke gave him a hug.
“You know I never miss your parties. They’re too entertaining.” Derek smiled. “I’d like you to meet my date, Charisma Reed.”
“Yes, you’re Morgan’s cousin. We’ve attended a few of the same events.” Luke’s eyes sparkled.
“Guilty.” Oh no. Was he at the retirement party? She took a half step back, but
Derek grasped her elbow and stopped her.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Luke continued. “Derek said he was bringing someone special with him. I hope you have a great time.” He turned to Derek. “Derek, I hate to ambush you like this, but someone from Berkshire Athletics wants to meet you. They’ve been hounding me about getting you to endorse their wares for some time now.”
Derek leaned in close to her. “Do you mind if I slip away for a few minutes?”
“Not at all.” She plastered a smile on her face even though she was terrified to be swimming in this party’s shark-infested waters alone. “You go take care of business.”
“Thanks.” Derek kissed her on the cheek and went off with Luke.
Charisma took another glass of champagne from a passing waiter and gulped it down. She needed something to steel her nerves. If she were careful, she could stay out of the line of sight of the Queen Titans. But then she remembered what her grandmother said. Facing her own past actions was the only way to work through them.
She decided right there and then, she wasn’t going to hide from anyone tonight. Now if only it were that easy…
Derek talked with the executive from Berkshire for ten minutes, and the man seemed very eager for him to be the face of their company. Berkshire was an upscale athletic brand that made specialty sportswear for professional athletes. He might have been listening to a quick pitch about a lucrative deal, but his eyes were on Charisma as she awkwardly made her way around the party. He and Luke promised to set up a meeting to discuss advertising ideas in more detail. As soon as they were done, he excused himself because he wanted to get back to Charisma. But as he started across the room to her, he was sidetracked by some friends.
Andrew Story, the right wing for his team, gave him a hug. “Derek, glad you could make it. I thought you were going to Maui with us?”
“I had some things to take care of. I’m renovating the bar and I’ve been visiting family.”
“You still could have shown up for a few days. I thought for sure you’d come after that mess with Phoebe.”
The more he thought about Phoebe’s latest public meltdown, the more he felt like it had been orchestrated from beginning to end. He was just a notch in her tiered system to stardom. A high-profile athlete was a good battle scar to building a Hollywood A-list resume. There were still a few actresses that, when talked about in the media, always had their past flings with Seth mentioned. Now he’d be forever tied to Phoebe and the outburst at the bar.
Basketball player Kyle Westfield joined the conversation. “Popovich, did you just show up with Brayer’s ex?”
“So what if I did?”
“Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t mind hitting that, but she’s trouble with a capital T.”
“I could say that about half the women you’ve slept with, Westfield, including your wife,” Derek fired back. Kyle had been the talk of the town last year when his wife had burned their house down to the ground after she’d caught him cheating. But he knew Kyle was friends with Lamont. It was Kyle’s way of sticking up for his buddy in his absence.
“Yeah, but I found out they were crazy after the fact. You already know how it’s going to end.”
“Brayer made a big contribution to that craziness. I respect that he’s your friend, but don’t try to sell me on him being a great guy. I know better.”
“Hey, I’m just saying there’s two sides to every story.”
“Well, domestic abuse has been his side of the story involving three different women.”
“You know how women can be.”
Derek’s jaw ticked. “No, I don’t.”
A hush fell over the surrounding crowd.
“They don’t get what they want, so they make things up. From what I hear, Charisma Reed can push you to the point of madness, no matter how fine she is.”
“I think you’ve been hanging with Brayer too long if that’s your opinion of women. You feel like hitting somebody, come on down to my bar and we’ll go a few rounds.”
Andrew interrupted with a nervous laugh. “So when’s the bar reopening?”
“In a few months. And I’ve instituted a new ‘no assholes’ policy. So don’t be offended if some of you won’t be able to get a reservation.”
Luke came rushing across the room and joined the group. “Guys, this is a party. What are we debating over here? World peace?”
“Actually, we were just having a riveting discussion about domestic violence,” Derek drawled and shot an icy glare at Kyle.
Luke frowned. “Really? I stopped pursuing a prospective client just last week because of the domestic abuse allegations made against him.”
They all knew who he was talking about. It had been the topic of every sports show for the past week.
“You do know he’s poised to make a huge deal with a team and endorsements?” Kyle said.
“Hey, I’m an agent not a sin eater. I have to be able to live with myself so I can get a good night’s sleep.”
“Amen.” Derek patted him on the back. He laughed to himself; the intuitive agent must have read the tension on everyone’s faces and come over to defuse things. He excused himself, partly for fear that he’d deck Westfield if he stuck around much longer, but also because he missed Charisma.
When he finally found her, she was being cornered near the dessert table by some of the Queen Titans. She had her arms crossed over her chest while clutching the champagne flute in one hand and was chewing on her bottom lip, the exact body language of someone afraid to go toe-to-toe with those venomous women. He hurried toward them and as he came closer, he picked up bits and pieces of the conversation and they were talking about…his bits and pieces.
Derek approached the group unnoticed because they were too busy waiting for an answer to the raunchy question about the size of his penis that Charisma couldn’t possibly answer. He slid in next to Charisma and slipped his arm around her waist. The ladies all had incredulous looks on their faces.
“Sorry ladies, Charisma and I have a deal. We don’t talk about our sexual adventures in public. The last thing I want to do is diminish the intimacy we share by inviting the world into our bedroom to spectate. I find that only immature boys like to brag or videotape their exploits, hoping to turn it into some kind of ridiculous urban legend. Don’t you find that to be true, ladies?”
“Yes.”
“Absolutely.”
He smiled indulgently. “Now if you don’t mind, I need Charisma for a moment.” He whisked her away toward the terrace. “How about we get some air?”
Although it was late spring, there was still a chill in the air tonight. Derek removed his suit jacket and placed it on Charisma’s shoulders. She smelled of something soft like lilac, and he looked forward to the scent lingering on his jacket when she gave it back. The bright lights of the city sparkled all around them, but he was more concerned with the shimmer of those light-brown eyes peeking up at him from beneath long lashes.
“So how was your chat with the ladies?” he asked.
“Just as I expected. They’re as catty and spoiled as they ever were. And were quite happy about my social demise until I told them I was at the party with you.”
“Well, at least you don’t have to worry about trying to fit in with them again.”
Charisma started to reply, but she clammed up and moved closer to him as if she were attempting to hide. Derek turned around to see Luke talking to none other than Lamont Brayer. It looked as if Luke was preventing him from coming onto the terrace.
“I didn’t know he was a client of Luke’s,” she said.
“He’s not.” Derek turned to get a better look. “Luke has a policy about repping people who are bad news. He’s probably here because one of his buddies called and told him we were here.”
She looked around quickly. “Is there another way out of here?”
He gave her a quizzical look. “Not without a bungee cord. And I don’t intend on hiding from him. He has to leave. Don’t
you have a restraining order against him?”
“It expired. After I gave him back his stuff, we had no contact for a while, so I thought I’d put it all behind me.”
“You should have renewed it.”
“When he started posting pics of some new chick, I thought he’d moved on.”
Derek tensed. “Well, he went at you pretty good online.”
“Technically, he made the comment to you. I violated wresting tag-in protocol and decided to wade into it with my own virtual folding chair.” She winced.
“If you had given me a few minutes, I would have responded.”
“Yeah, well a woman’s got to take the initiative these days and defend herself.”
“Come on,” he urged. “Let’s get back in there. No way does that idiot get to think you’re cowering on the terrace, too afraid to have contact with him.”
“You sound like I’m coming back from a time-out in the penalty box,” she huffed. “Turn down the testosterone. I can take care of myself.”
“I don’t doubt it. And I know you’re more than capable of handling it. But I’ve already flubbed once tonight. I don’t want your grandmother thinking I was raised in a barn.” He put his hands on her shoulders and smiled.
“Lamont pushes my buttons, but he forgets I know how to push back. Let’s be civilized. They’ll be no elbowing, high-sticking, or cross-checking at an elegant party like this.”
“I agree. No one else should have to go through a massive renovation because two athletes went at it at a fancy shindig. And if you’re making all these hockey references in the hopes that it’s turning me on, you’re right.”
“Ha. Ha,” she said in a deadpan voice.
All eyes were on them when he marched back into the party hand in hand with Charisma and went over to Luke and Lamont. Derek heard Luke saying something about coming uninvited.
“Brayer,” Derek said.
“Popovich. It’s been a while.” Lamont turned to Charisma. “I’m surprised to see you here. I thought you stopped running in these circles.”
Slap Shot Page 7
