Playing for Hearts

by Debra Kayn

  She blinked several times. “This is so bizarre.”

  Loud voices reached them. She turned, but before she could say anything, Dominic’s x-team picked her up and set her to the side out of the way, and then took up their positions around Dominic. She huffed, a little put out with their rude behavior.

  Everything happened faster than she could react. Women — more women than she ever thought she’d see in Cottage Grove — rushed the field. Mothers left children unattended, yards away in strollers. Older children turned in a circle, searching for their mothers, lost. She scanned the mob. There were women screaming, crying, and pushing and — oh my God, did that woman faint?

  Shauna turned around and sought Dominic. Safely tucked behind the wall of bodyguards, he appeared seemingly unperturbed about the fanfare. He shrugged his large shoulders and mouthed I told you.

  The security team held the women back, but they couldn’t keep it up for long. They were severely outnumbered. Where had all the women come from?

  She’d have to act fast. A catastrophe was the last thing she needed on the opening day of the event.

  Shauna jogged over to the picnic table and climbed on the top. “Can I have your attention?” She cleared her throat. “Excuse me!”

  No one paid her any mind. They dedicated their pursuit to push and jump and scream in their need to get closer to Dominic. She stuck her fingers in her mouth and sent a deafening whistle over the crowd of females. They froze and turned to her without uttering a sound.

  “Dominic is willing to challenge everyone, one at a time, to try and get a goal past him.” She inhaled deeply. “That means every single woman, I mean person, will have his whole attention, but to do that you’ll have to listen. Dominic has requested that children go first.”

  The ladies groaned. She held out her hands and motioned for them to calm down. She’d never seen mass hysteria at this level over one male in her life.

  “If you all will line up, we can start organizing the event. Remember, its two dollars for one shot. The more money you spend, the more tries you’ll get.” She caught a group of women sneaking in front of the kids. “Children first!”

  Fifteen minutes later, she breathed a sigh of relief. The games had begun, and the women watched quietly, if not stubbornly, from their place in line. The cash box overflowed with money, already exceeding her projected goal. With more people heading toward the field, she walked toward her car to grab another container when she saw Diana.

  “Look at this crowd. Where did they all come from?” Diana gazed past Shauna.

  She hitched her thumb over her shoulder. “Dominic Chekovsky, professional hockey player, and apparently a babe magnet of mega proportions.”

  Diana groaned. “Ugh. Muscles wasted on the dumb.”

  “Do me a favor. Will you help the others keep control of the group? I need to find something else to hold all the money that’s coming in on this event. Those women are not going to stop paying until Dominic calls an end to his day. It’s insane. There are even women who I know are married making fools of themselves over him.”

  “Sure.” She smiled. “It’ll give me time to check out the eye candy, and make fun of our friends.”

  Shauna grinned. “Enjoy.”

  On the way to the parking lot, she dug her phone out of her jeans and checked her messages in case Grayson had called. Nothing.

  Not surprising, because Grayson had promised to help Bruce set up the trout pond at the lake and it was still early. An inflatable three-foot swimming pool stocked with fish from the closest hatchery would provide a guaranteed catch for the kids twelve years old and under. Bruce would divide his time between motivating the children and handing out fly-fishing tips to the adults.

  Shauna threw herself into keeping chaos from happening around Dominic and the rest of the day flashed by her in a blur. She’d missed lunch and dinner, and still Dominic continued to challenge the community. Her pockets bulged from the amount of money Dominic brought in, and she could only hope that the other athletes would do so well.

  A familiar laugh brought her gaze up and she smiled. Her dad stepped out on the field with a hockey stick in his hand. She stood up, moved to the front of the crowd, and whistled, happy he took time off from fixing cars to have a little fun.

  “Come on, Dad. You can win!” She clapped.

  Dominic raised his brows. “Oh, beautiful, you wound me. I always win.”

  She laughed. “You’re going down. That’s my dad, and he’s the best.”

  As Dominic lined up to shoot the ball into the goal, Tony turned around, smiled, and sent a wink toward the crowd. Shauna followed his line of vision and found her mom clapping on the sidelines a few yards away from her. She scowled. The thought of her dad enjoying the day with someone else, particularly the woman who’d left her own family, left her nauseous.

  When was the last time she’d convinced her dad to take time off and go out to dinner with her or see a movie? She swallowed hard. Her new job took so much of her time, she’d put off connecting with him since she got back home. Shit. I’m the worst daughter.

  She studied her mother. While she’d been gone, the years hadn’t been kind to her. The soft, young face Shauna remembered was replaced with lined wrinkles around tired eyes and a thinner mouth. She’d cut her long black hair short, and there were gray streaks through her bangs. The smile — she glanced away — was the same.

  Not able to face how disconnected she felt around her family, she took her box to another worker to oversee, and made her excuses. She hurried through the park to her car. In the safety of her vehicle, away from the memories, she called Grayson. He picked up on the first ring.

  “Hey, you.” She let her head fall back on the seat. “I’m so glad you answered.”

  “Is everything okay?”

  “Yeah.” She swallowed. “I’m starving, and thought I’d stop and pick up a pizza. What do you think about having me deliver it to your house? I won’t even ask you to tip me.”

  “Sounds delicious.”

  She smiled. “Great. I’ll be there in a little bit.”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  “Oh.” Shauna groaned loud and long. “Yes!”

  Grayson moved lower. “Right here?”

  “Mm hm.” She waited, braced for the pressure, and clawed at the floor as Grayson lunged against her. “That. Feels. So. G-good.”

  The door slammed. Grayson never stopped. She turned her head to see who came in and groaned out in pleasure.

  “Hey, Dominic. How did the — ” She moaned, and waited until Grayson finished messaging her back and moved off of her. “How did your event go?”

  “The women are insane. They are still there. I can’t get rid of them.” Dominic rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m afraid they won’t leave the park. It took my security team a half hour driving down a lot of roads before they could sneak me back here without any of them following us.”

  She clicked her tongue and stood up. “Poor baby. Come here and lie down on the floor. My back is killing me. I can only imagine how you’re feeling after facing so many challenges all day long.”

  Dominic stepped over and lay down on his stomach. Shauna reached for Grayson’s hands for leverage, and then stepped barefooted onto Dominic’s broad back. He groaned, and she grinned at Grayson. “We could go into business together. You could do messages, and I could take my frustrations out on people by stomping on them. Tell me again why we’re busting our asses making money for Cottage Grove?”

  “It’s our home.” Grayson leaned over and kissed her.

  “This is good.” Dominic closed his eyes. “Are you sure you’re not fantasizing about me? You don’t have a foot fetish, do you?”

  “Nope.” She laughed. “I might as well be your sister for how much I’m not attracted to you.”

  “Strange,” Dominic muttered. “I think something is wrong with your woman, Grayson.”

  She dug her toes into Dominic’s ribs. “Hey. Watch it. You’
re not in the position to make insults.”

  “You’re hurting his feelings.” Grayson laughed.

  A few minutes later, soft snores floated in the room and Shauna gently stepped off Dominic’s back. She motioned Grayson to follow her. In the kitchen, she put the extra food left over from dinner in the fridge.

  “Make sure you wake him up in a little bit and send him to bed. Dominic worked harder than I ever expected. He deserves a full night’s sleep.” She closed the fridge. “Is it always like that for him? The women, I mean … they’re savages around him. They treated him as if he’s some sex slave come to earth to please them. Some of their comments made me want to slap them. I can’t imagine how he keeps his cool. They have no idea what a nice man he is. They only see him for a sexy jock, and that’s wrong. I don’t think he enjoys all the women’s attention.”

  “That’s why he was hiding out in his home country of Russia. He’s told me before that back there, the women ignore him and he can live normally. Staying in the States is hell for him. He can’t escape from the fanatics.” Grayson leaned against the counter. “No one really understands what makes women go crazy around him. He’s had a company hound him for the last couple of years, because they want to bottle his sweat. They believe he emits more pheromones than the average man.”

  She wrinkled her nose. “That’s gross.”

  “That’s what Dominic says.” Grayson pulled her over to him and looped his arms around her waist. “So tell me, do you really feel nothing around him?”

  “Of course not.” She cupped his face, running her thumb over the slight indention on his chin. “It’s all about you. You make me squeal and do silly things to get your attention. No one has ever come close to making me work as hard as you to gain your attention. That must make you worth all the trouble, huh?”

  “Yeah, you do have a way about you that makes me pay attention.” He grinned.

  She nodded. “I swear, next week I’ll go back to my normal stalker-like self. I’ll drive you nuts.”

  He kissed her softly. “I miss having you all to myself. I can’t wait until the charity event is over and our lives go back to normal. I want you in my bed every night.”

  She pressed against his chest. “Only your bed? Wow, you know how to sweet talk a lady, don’t you?”

  “You know what I mean. I miss you.” He laid her head in the nook between his neck and shoulder. “I’ve been a fool when it comes to you, and have a lot to make up for when my friends leave.”

  “That sounds perfect.” She closed her eyes and let him hold her. “You won’t find any argument from me.”

  “Figured not.” He chuckled.

  “I hate to go, but I’ll never make it through the rest of the events that are planned if I don’t head home, soak in the tub, and get some sleep.” She opened her eyes and leaned back. “You better rest up, the press is landing tomorrow, and you still have to play against the winners of the tournament on Sunday. I heard you have a couple of players you trained yourself gunning for you.”

  “Yeah, they talk big but have never seen me play full out in person before.” He kissed her once more, and tucked her hair behind her ear. “I’ll see you out.”

  Hand in hand, they walked back through the house, stepped over Dominic who was still out cold on the living room floor, and went out the front door. She gazed up at the sky. The stars twinkled in the sky.

  “I hope it doesn’t get too hot tomorrow. Bruce will be okay at the lake, but Crista has three runs she promised to do. Juan’s taken the high school gym. I figured that was the easiest place for him to show off his ski line, and sign autographs.” She slapped her forehead. “I forgot to let Gary know we switched him from the field at the school to the park. The maintenance crew thought it would be less hassle to leave everything set up from Dominic’s event and use it for Gary.”

  “Don’t worry. I’ll let him know,” Grayson said.

  “I think I need a drink.” She stopped at her car and wrapped her arms around his waist. “Let’s get drunk when this is all over.”

  “That’ll take two drinks.” He tickled her side. “You’re a lightweight.”

  “Gah. Don’t remind me.” She kissed him.

  “I’m worried about you. What you’ve done is a huge undertaking.” He ran his fingers through her hair. “With your mom back, you haven’t had any time to yourself. You’re going to have to face your family when all this is over. The stress isn’t good for you.”

  “I know.” She licked her bottom lip. “I miss my dad one minute, and then the next second I’m so mad.”

  “At your mom?”

  She nodded. “Dad, too. How can he let her come waltzing back into his life? It’s like he’s forgotten everything we went through after she left.”

  Grayson opened his mouth, hesitated, and closed his jaw. She frowned.

  “What were you going to say?” She waited.

  “Maybe there’s more to the story. You were young when she left.” He tilted her chin up. “It probably wouldn’t hurt to talk with her. Get everything out in the open.”

  “If you had the chance to talk to your parents again, to confront them for leaving you all alone, would you?”

  His mouth tightened.

  “Never mind.” She smoothed out the lines on his face with her hands. “That’s two separate problems, and I shouldn’t have asked.”

  He kissed her forehead. “Just think about what I said. If you decide to talk with them, I’ll be here for you, okay?”

  “Thanks.” She ducked her chin. “Right now, I want to ignore the fact that she’s pushed herself back in my life. It was easier when she was gone. I’ll keep myself busy, and when this is all over, I’ll have a talk with my dad. We’ll figure it out. We always do.”

  He cupped the back of her neck and held her in place, while he took the kiss deeper. Her eyes closed and her legs shook as she melted under his touch. If she didn’t leave now, she’d talk herself into staying and both of them would suffer tomorrow when they were dragging themselves around to the events.

  She pulled away at the same time a bright flash lit up the driveway, blinding her. Grayson threw his arm around her shoulders and tucked her against his chest as he hurried to open the car door. She continued to blink away the dots clouding her vision.

  “Dammit. It’s the press. Get inside and drive away.” He put his hand on the top of her head and pushed her into the car. “Take the back roads into town, and make sure they don’t follow you to the hotel before you get out of the car. I’ll do my best to hold them here, and give you a head start. Go. Go!”

  She nodded. Her hands shook as she tried to start her car. She threw the gear in reverse, but there were two cameramen blocking her exit. She peered out at Grayson, not knowing what to do. He motioned her to go the other direction through the front lawn.

  Without thinking, and still struggling to see past the spots floating in front of her from the flash, she pressed the accelerator, shot forward, and left burn marks in Grayson’s perfectly manicured lawn.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Grayson kept his hands down at his sides, and watched Shauna tear out of his driveway. His breath lodged in his chest, and he forced himself to face the reporters.

  “Grayson, who’s the woman you were kissing?” A tall man shoved a microphone in front of his face. “Is she someone from your past?”

  Another man, shorter this time, held up a bright light. “Give us some background on your new love interest. Did you kick her out before the night was over? What happened to the last blond-haired woman you were seeing? Jessica? Is it true you dumped her for a supermodel?”

  Grayson reached into his pocket and held up his phone. “You’re on private property, and I’ll give you two minutes to get back in your van and leave.”

  “What’s her name?” The man remained standing in front of him.

  He pushed a button and glared at them. “Clock’s ticking, boys.”

  “Rumors are going aroun
d that she’s your mistress, and you’ve kept her hidden away for years. Is that true? Do you have plans to make this a permanent relationship?”

  “I’m not answering any questions. On Sunday, you’re all invited to the tournament and the final event. I will answer any question about my professional life there, but my personal life is off limits. Tomorrow, you’ll concentrate on the other athletes and do whatever needs to be done to support Cottage Grove. That’s why you’re here. Do you understand?” He stepped toward them, backing them up.

  “Sure, sure. Give us the woman’s name, and we won’t mention it until after the event.” The tall man motioned for the camera crew. “Get a close up. Let’s show the television viewers how we’ve caught the golden boy in the middle of having a private affair.”

  “That’s it. I’m calling the police.” He turned his back, punched the button for his own voice mail, and walked to the house. “Yes, this is Grayson Schyler at — ”

  Shouting commenced. He glanced behind him. The car doors slammed and the van engine revved. He shook his head in disgust. “Assholes.”

  He walked into the house, locked the door, and set the security alarm. After waking Dominic up and telling him to go to bed, he climbed the stairs to his room. The dinner he’d eaten earlier churned in his stomach and he popped a couple antacids from the nightstand in his mouth before moving over to the window.

  The press had cleared out from the front of his house, and he leaned his forehead against the glass. The relief he should’ve felt refused to come. His chest tightened, and he squeezed his eyes shut. He couldn’t let them put Shauna through the hell they were capable of or make her doubt their relationship. It’d destroy her.

  Too sweet and gentle, she’d fall apart under the pressure. They’d insinuate that he was using her, and belittle what they shared.

  Going to college was supposed to have been her one-way ticket away from him and the life that would’ve crumbled her love for him after time. She’d been too young, and he’d only wanted to keep her happy. He’d wanted her to achieve everything she deserved.