The boys watched her go, and the room fell into silence. Of course Sam was the one to break it.
“She’s cute.”
Mark watched the white stripes on her skirt disappear from sight. Sure she was an attractive girl, but they didn’t know the real Chelsea.
“I like ze short womenz.”
“You like any womenz.”
Vlad shrugged his big Russian shoulders and pointed toward the doorway. “And bringz the beer too.”
“Damn. I need myself an assistant.” Sam raised his Corona to his lips and took a long drink. “Better than a wife. Less trouble than a girlfriend.”
Mark shook his head. “You just saw her good side. She’s pushy and annoying. She’s a mini pit bull.” He pointed his stiff middle finger at them. “Just like her twin sister. Remember that.”
At the thought of Bo Ross they all winced, except Andre. “I’ve always thought Mini Pit was cute. Kind of feisty.”
“I like ze feizty womenz.”
They room fell quiet for several moments. The guys all looked at one another as if they were waiting for something. Then Walker leaned forward and placed his forearms on his thighs. “Listen, Mark. We all need to know something.” He dangled the Corona from one hand and got to the real reason they’d all shown up on his doorstep. “Where were you the other night?” He turned his head and looked at Mark. “We thought you’d be there.”
He didn’t have to elaborate. Mark knew what night he meant.
“We all talked about it beforehand. If we won, Savage was going to immediately hand the cup to you because you were our captain long before him. He did a hell of a job filling your shoes after the accident. He was great and all the guys like and respect him, but he isn’t you. He could never be you, and to his credit, he never tried.” Walker looked at the other men in the room. He was the alternate captain. The second in charge when the captain wasn’t around. He was a good man and a leader, and there was a reason he wore the A on his jersey. “Playing without you wasn’t easy on anyone. We were worried about you, trying to get used to Savage, and battling for the cup. You were on this team for eight years. You built it and you led us to the playoffs. We didn’t win the cup because we had Savage. He’s a damn good hockey player and we were lucky to get him. We won because of the hard work we all put into it. The hard work that you put into it, and you should have been there the night we won. Why weren’t you?”
They needed an answer, and he supposed he could lie and they’d all go home happy. But they deserved better, and he’d always told them the truth. “I have really mixed feelings about that night,” he said, and unscrewed the top to his Evian. “I could lie to you all, but I won’t. I’m glad you guys won. Beyond happy for every one of you. You deserve it, and I mean that to my core.” He placed his right hand against his chest. “But at the same time, I am pissed that I couldn’t win the cup with you. I am pissed that it was Savage and not me. I could have gone that night and pretended it didn’t matter. That everything was sunshine and rainbows, but you all would have seen through the bullshit.”
He took a drink of water, then screwed the cap back on. “My whole life, that’s the only dream I’ve ever had. The one thing I’ve ever really wanted, but a freak accident took it from me.” He dropped his hand to his side. “Everyone tells me that I should just feel grateful to be alive. Well, I don’t. I don’t feel much of anything at all. Just anger.” A burning ball of anger that he didn’t know how to get rid of. “I’m sorry. I’m a selfish dick. I’m sorry if I let you down. You’re right. I should have been there with you guys, but I just couldn’t.”
“Thanks for being honest.” Walker sat back. “I can’t say that I understand, though. More than anyone in this room, you deserved to be the first man to hold the cup. The fact that you didn’t play in the playoffs doesn’t change that.”
Sam agreed. “That’s right.”
Mark looked across at Sam. “Just because I wasn’t there, doesn’t mean I didn’t see the game. I watched right here.” He pointed to the couch. “And that penalty you drew in the second frame was stupid and could have cost the game. And instead of partying and pouring beer from the cup onto women in bikinis, you’d be bawling your eyes out like a girl.”
“Savage was thrown in the box too.”
“Savage was hit from behind. You weren’t. When are you going to get it into your head that you’re not an enforcer? That’s Andre’s job.”
Sam grinned.
Daniel chuckled.
Vlad rocked back on his heels and smiled.
“What?” Mark asked. “What’s so damn funny?”
“You sound like your old self,” Walker answered.
He would never be his old self. If he ever forgot it, the ache in his hip and thigh was a constant reminder.
“You should talk to someone about the coaching job,” Daniel suggested. “At the press conference the other day, Darby said there would always be a place for you in the Chinooks’ organization.”
“I think he was blowing smoke.” The thought of driving to work at the Key Arena turned and twisted the burning anger in his gut.
“I don’t believe that,” Walker said. “You should think about it.”
They’d come here today for an answer. But they’d also come because they wanted him to be okay. He could see it in their eyes. Because they seemed to want to believe it so badly, he opened his mouth and lied. “I’ll think about it.”
NINE
“I know what you need?”
He looked into her small face, half covered in shadows. “What?”
She ran her small hands up his bare chest and rose onto the balls of her feet. “This.” She kissed the side of his neck. The hot, moist pull of her mouth on his skin slammed into his chest, forcing the air from his lungs. “You need this.” Her warm breath brushed across his throat, and he shuddered. His whole body was alive, every cell and pleasure receptor sensitive to her satin touch.
“Yes.” He raised his hands and tangled his fingers in her blond and red hair. He brought her head back and gazed into her lust-heavy blue eyes as he lowered his mouth. Down to her sweet, wet lips. She tasted good, like the pleasure he’d been missing in his life. Like sex. Like hot, hungry sex. The kind that ripped a man apart. The kind that left him battered and bloody and willing to die for more.
Her tongue slid into his mouth, slick and wanting. He fed from her long, hungry kisses as her hands slid over his body. Her fingers combed through the short hair on his chest. Touching him and leaving little trails of fire across his flesh.
He raised his head, gasping, and looked into her face, at her lips, pouty and wet, and her eyes, shining with desire. She stepped back and pulled her dress over her head. Except for a pair of white panties, she was naked beneath. He didn’t bother to check his response. To go easy. He went to that wild primal place beating in his chest and groin and he pushed her down onto the chaise. Her panties disappeared along with his clothes, and he lay down on her soft, warm body.
“Yes,” she whispered as he pulled back and drove into her. Her back arched and she smiled. “This is what you need.”
Mark’s eyes flew open and he stared up at his dark ceiling. The black blades of his fan disturbed the air and pushed it across his face. His heart pounded in his chest and his groin ached. Desire, both sharp and dull, pulled at his testicles and he slid his hands beneath the sheets just to make sure he wasn’t dreaming that part too. He laid his palm across his boxers and on top of an impressive hard-on. He sucked in a breath through his teeth at both the pleasure and the pain. His erection heated the cotton of his underwear and warmed his palm and he curled his fingers around the long, hard length of it. Because of an erotic dream about his little assistant, he was as hard as a steel club. He didn’t know whether to be alarmed, or to be horrified, or to fall to his knees on the side of the bed and praise Jesus.
Chelsea cracked open her eyes and winced as the morning light stabbed her corneas. Pain squeezed her forehead, and
her mouth felt like she’d eaten socks. She stared into her sister’s face on the pillow next to hers, just like when they’d been kids. Had something happened? Where had they been the night before?
“Oh God,” she groaned. Karaoke at Ozzie’s Road-house flashed before her scratchy eyes, an excruciating memory of her and Bo belting out “Like a Virgin” and “I’m Too Sexy” at the tops of their lungs. There was only one person on the planet with a worse voice than Chelsea. Bo. Bo was worse, and Chelsea was shocked the crowd at Ozzie’s hadn’t tossed them outside.
She sat up and waited for the pounding in her head to dull before she swung her feet over the side of the bed. With her eyes half closed, she wandered down the hall and into the bathroom. The vinyl floor felt cool beneath her feet, and she stuck her mouth under the faucet and turned on the cold water. She drank like a camel, then rose to look at herself in the mirror. Black smudges circled her eyes and her hair stuck out on one side. She looked as good as she felt and reached for the Tylenol. She downed three Caplets and wandered back toward the bedroom.
“Good morning, sunshine.”
Chelsea stopped and peered down the hall at the half-naked man standing in the kitchen. “What are you doing?”
“Eating breakfast,” Jules answered as he poured milk over a bowl of cereal.
“Why are you eating breakfast here?”
“I’m not surprised you don’t remember. Bo called me last night and I met the two of you. I was the only one in any condition to drive.”
Chelsea retraced her steps, grabbed a terry-cloth robe from the back of the bathroom door, and continued toward the kitchen. Tiny bits and pieces were starting to come back to her. “Why are you still here?” she asked as she tied the fluffy belt around her waist.
“Since I live in Kent, and it was after two in the morning, you and your sister told me to crash in Bo’s room.” He reached into a drawer and grabbed a spoon.
It was too bad she was hungover and her eyes hurt because she really couldn’t fully appreciate Jules’s developed chest or each muscle of his six-pack. She pointed to his tight leather pants. “Are you trying to be Tom Jones or Slash?”
“We talked about this last night when you accused me of having a metrosexual meltdown.” He took a bite. “But again, I’m not surprised you don’t remember. You were totally wrecked.”
“I remember.” Unfortunately, more than just bits and pieces of the night was starting to come back. The singing. The drinking. The flirting with college boys and tourists.
Jules pointed his spoon at her. “You look like shit.”
“Perfect. I feel like shit.”
“Want some granola?”
“Maybe.” She moved past him and grabbed a Coke out of the refrigerator. There was nothing like a sugary Coke to help with a hangover. Unless it was a Quarter Pounder with cheese and extra greasy fries. Pure hangover heaven.
“How’s Bo this morning?”
Chelsea raised the Coke to her lips and chugged half the can. “Still asleep,” she said when she lowered the soda. She had a vague memory of her sister and Jules making out while Chelsea was busy flirting with a tourist from Ireland. She’d ask Bo about it later. She poured herself a bowl of cereal and joined Jules at the kitchen table.
“How are things working out with Bressler?” he asked.
“The same. He resents that I’m there and gives me crappy stuff to do.” She took a bite, and the crunching in her head was so loud she could hardly think past the pain. “A bunch of hockey players came to his house and drank beer yesterday.”
“You mentioned it last night, but you never said who showed up.”
Chelsea thought of all those huge men in one room. She had to admit that she’d been a little intimidated. Not so much by their size. Most people were taller than she and Bo, but she’d seen them play hockey. She’d seen them slam into the boards so hard, the wood and Plexiglas shook. She’d seen them slam into other players equally hard. Walking into that room yesterday had been like walking into a wall of testosterone, but Chelsea was an actress. She’d auditioned in front of casting directors and producers, and she’d learned a long time ago to master her nerves. To appear calm and cool on the outside, no matter what she walked into. “There was the big Russian guy, Vlad,” she answered.
“Did he drop his pants?”
“No.”
“Good. I’d heard he doesn’t do that as much as he used to. Who else?” Jules took a bite and waited for her to answer.
“Let’s see. A guy with a black eye.” Within a few seconds of meeting the players, she’d discovered they really weren’t intimidating in person. They’d seemed like nice guys. Well, except for Mark. Although, surrounded by his teammates, Mark had been more relaxed. And yes, nicer. For him.
“There are quite a few guys with black eyes.”
“I think his name was Sam.”
“Sam Leclaire. He scored sixty-six goals this season. Ten of those—”
“Stop.” Chelsea held up one hand. “Spare me the stats.” She’d had to listen to him and Bo argue goals, points, and penalty minutes all the way home from Ozzie’s, and frankly, she’d wanted to shoot them both.
Jules laughed. “You remind me of Faith.”
“Who?”
“The owner of the Chinooks. When anyone starts talking stats, she goes all cross-eyed and zones out.”
Chelsea remembered now. The beautiful blond who’d been given a long, slow tongue kiss by the new captain, right in the middle of the Key, while an arena full of fans screamed and cheered them on. “Shouldn’t the owner of the team know about stats and stuff like that?” Chelsea tried another bite; this time she chewed slowly.
“She just inherited the team last April. Before that, she was like you and knew nothing about hockey. But she’s picked up the important stuff real fast.” He shrugged. “Now she has Ty to help her.”
“The captain?”
“Yeah. They’re in the Bahamas.”
“Doing what?”
Jules raised his green eyes from his cereal bowl and just looked at her.
“Oh.” She put the spoon down, unsure if her stomach could take more. “If she has Ty to help her out, are you worried about your job?”
He shook his head and shrugged again. “Not really. I think Ty’s going to take a job as a scout or have some role in player development, so she’ll still need an assistant. I’m going to talk to her about my role when she gets back.”
“When’s that?” Personally, she’d hate to think her job was up in the air. Well, any further in the air than it already was with Mark Bressler.
“Hopefully before the big celebration party.”
“There’s a celebration party?”
Jules sat back. “The cup celebration at the Four Seasons next month. The twenty-fourth maybe? It’s been put together in the past week, but I’m sure Bressler got an invitation. Or will shortly.”
Of course he hadn’t mentioned it.
“If you don’t get an invite, everyone is allowed one guest. You can go with Bo.”
Speaking of her sister, Bo moaned long and loud as she moved down the hall toward them.
“Damn you, Chelsea,” she croaked. “I haven’t been this hungover since the last time I visited you in L.A.” She shuffled to the table and sat down. “Did you make coffee?”
Chelsea shook her head and handed her sister the Coke.
“I did.” Jules got up and poured Bo a cup.
“We’re getting too old for this,” Bo said as she laid her head on the table.
Chelsea secretly agreed. They were both thirty, and at some point in anyone’s life, partying to excess lost its appeal. It just got pathetic, and before a girl knew it, she was one of those women who lived life on a bar stool. She tried another bite of her cereal and chewed carefully. Chelsea didn’t want to become one of those women with gravelly voices and overly processed hair. She didn’t want bad teeth and leathery skin. She didn’t want a boyfriend named Cooter who was doing ten t
o twenty for armed robbery.
Jules set the coffee in front of Bo, then returned to his place across the table. “You girls smell like the old Rainier brewery before they shut it down.”
Bo raised the coffee to her lips. “You’re not allowed to talk about beer for two days.”
“Okay.” Jules laughed. “Mini Pit.”
Last night, when Chelsea had told Bo that the hockey players called her Mini Pit, Jules had laughed until he’d choked. Neither twin had found it quite that funny, but to make Bo feel better, Chelsea had confessed that they called her Short Boss.
“Not today, Jules.” Bo set the coffee down. “Where’s your shirt?”
Jules grinned, raised his arms, and flexed like he was in a body-builder competition. “I thought you girls might enjoy the gun show.”
“Please,” Chelsea moaned. “We’re already sick.”
“I just vomited in my mouth,” her sister added.
Jules laughed and lowered his arm. “I’ll put the guns away until later.”
“God, I hate it when you’re all cheerful. Why aren’t you hungover?” Bo wanted to know.
“Because I was your designated driver. You don’t remember?”
“Barely.”
Chelsea wondered if her sister remembered making out with Jules. She wondered now if maybe she shouldn’t bring it up. Ever. There were times when not remembering was best. Like the time several years ago when she’d streaked at a party in the Hollywood Hills. Chelsea had never been one to run like a gazelle, and it hadn’t been pretty. Too bad she hadn’t remembered that until the next morning. Sheesh, now that she thought of it, maybe she was impulsive. Especially when she drank.
“Do you remember singing ‘Kiss’?”
“The Prince song?” Chelsea asked. She didn’t recall singing Prince. Madonna and Celine Dion had been bad enough.
“Yeah. And you girls really got into ‘I Will Survive.’”
Apparently they’d had quite the song list. Why hadn’t anyone stopped them? They’d undoubtedly been horrid. Chelsea turned and looked at her sister. “Do you remember ‘I Will Survive’?”
Nothing but Trouble Page 11
