Playing His Part: A York Bombers Hockey Romance (The York Bombers Book 7)

by Lisa B. Kamps

  "Then you can ride with me."

  "I don't think—"

  "No more excuses." Haley tilted her head to the side again, those clear hazel eyes once more focused on her. "Unless there's another reason you don't feel like going?"

  Natalie chewed on her lower lip, once again wondering if going with the three women was a wise choice. All she had to do was tell them she changed her mind and they'd leave it at that then go to wherever they were planning to go without her.

  In the end, she said nothing, just quickly shook her head.

  Haley offered her a smile that almost seemed too bright. "Good. I'll clean these up while you put on your shoes. Jenny and Megan, why don't you two head on over and grab us a table?"

  Haley's instructions surprised her. Why would the other two women leave when it would only take her a few minutes to get ready? There was no reason they couldn't all go together.

  And then she realized that, for reasons she didn't understand, Haley wanted to get her alone. Natalie considered changing her mind after all and telling the women she was going to stay here. No, she couldn't do that. She wanted to go.

  She'd just have to be very careful with what she said around Haley, and make sure that she thought first before answering any of the woman's questions.

  Because there was no doubt in Natalie's mind that she was about to be interrogated.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Natalie focused on the passing landscape, trying to memorize the route they were taking. It was an exercise in futility because she had no idea where they were and would never be able to find her way back to Ben's place if she had to. Thankfully, it wouldn't come to that since Haley was driving.

  Unless the woman got so frustrated with her non-answers that she pulled over and kicked Natalie out and made her walk back to Ben's, in which case she'd really be in trouble.

  But so far, so good. The questions had been fairly innocent, nothing more than generic small talk and the occasional getting-to-know-you question. Where in New York did she live? Where was she from? What did she think of the game the other night? Did she like burgers and wings?

  Natalie wondered if the woman was trying to put her at ease first so she'd relax then slip up and reveal something more personal as the night went on. If that was her plan, she was going to be disappointed. Natalie doubted if she'd ever relax that much. Not here, not now.

  Not in a long time.

  Haley stopped at a traffic light and slid a casual glance in her direction as she drummed her fingers against the steering wheel. "You should have come to Savannah's last night, you would have had fun."

  Natalie shrugged, not sure what to say. Another one of the women—Jenny, she thought—had said the same thing when they first showed up at Ben's tonight. Natalie hadn't really given them an excuse then, either. What was she going to tell them? That she'd forgotten? That she had no interest in going? That she had no way of contacting anyone if she had? She could have answered all of the above because every answer was true—but they didn't need to know that.

  "Well, maybe next weekend."

  Natalie seized the out she'd been given. "Yeah. Maybe."

  "You'll have to make sure Ben leaves his car for you again."

  "Yeah. Of course."

  The light turned and Haley moved the car forward through the intersection. "Even though you don't know how to drive."

  Natalie turned her head so quickly that her neck cracked. Haley was focusing on the traffic but there was no doubt that the other woman noticed her surprised reaction. She opened her mouth, ready to stammer out a response, but Haley was already talking.

  "That is kind of funny when you think about it. Ben leaving his car for you even though you don't know how to drive, I mean."

  "He just—" Natalie bit off the lie she'd been about to utter. She couldn't make up a story about how Ben didn't care if she drove his expensive sports car without a license—even she wouldn't believe that. And neither would the woman sitting next to her. "I don't think he knows. It, uh, it never came up in conversation."

  "Hm. And how long have you two known each other?"

  It was another trick question. Natalie frowned, tried to remember the brief conversation she'd had with this woman the other night at the game. "I told you, we met when we were growing up."

  "That's right, you did." They stopped at another traffic light and this time Haley turned in her seat and pinned Natalie with a piercing look. "But that's not really an answer, is it?"

  The irritation that had been simmering just below the surface finally erupted. This woman had no right to be asking such personal questions. She had no right to be asking any questions. It didn't matter if she was the wife of one of Ben's teammates—Natalie didn't know her and owed her nothing. "Our relationship is really none of your business. Now if you don't mind, I think it would be best if you took me back to Ben's."

  Haley stared at her for a long time—long enough that the car behind her blew its horn when she failed to move after the light had turned green. She muttered something under her breath, the words too low for Natalie to make out, then eased the car forward. She turned into the parking lot of a small shopping center but instead of heading back in the direction they'd come, she pulled into an empty space and threw the car into Park. She turned in her seat, reached up to push the thick red curls from her face, then stared directly at Natalie. The hazel eyes that pinned her in place were clear. Direct.

  "Is he hitting you?"

  Haley lobbed the question at her with no hint of hesitation and absolutely no finesse. The question was so casual, so matter-of-fact, that Natalie didn't quite understand it at first. And then her mind finally comprehended what the other woman was asking and her mouth dropped open in shock.

  "What? No! Why would you—" Natalie snapped her mouth shut, took a deep breath and shook her head. "No. Ben is not hitting me."

  And oh God, why would she even ask something like that? Did Ben have a temper? Was he the kind of man who would hit a woman and think nothing of it? Natalie didn't think so, hadn't picked up that kind of vibe from him—which meant absolutely nothing because she didn't know Ben. At all.

  "If he is—"

  "He's not."

  "—I can help. Just tell me—"

  "There's nothing to tell and I don't even know why you'd think something so ridiculous."

  "Because—" Haley hesitated. Shifted in the seat and curled her hands around the steering wheel. Relaxed and turned back to Natalie. "Because of how you acted around him the other night. Because of the shadows in your eyes. Because of the expression on your face when you think nobody is looking."

  Natalie turned her face away and stared out the window. "You're seeing things."

  "No, I'm not. I've seen it before—last year, whenever I looked in the mirror."

  Natalie frowned and turned back to the woman. "You?"

  "Yeah. Me." She reached up with a trembling hand and undid the top two buttons of her blouse then eased the left edge to the side. There was enough light seeping into the car for Natalie to make out the ragged scar that ran from her collarbone down below disappearing behind the fabric of her shirt.

  She stared at it for a long time then looked away, swallowing against the rage and pity clenching her stomach. If Haley was aware of the conflicting emotions tearing through her, she gave no indication of it.

  "Who—" Natalie cleared her throat, tried to act as matter-of-fact about it as the woman sitting in the seat next to her. "I mean—it wasn't the guy I met Friday—"

  "No. God, no. Zach was the one who found me. If he hadn't...well, there's a good chance I wouldn't be here right now."

  Natalie curled her fingers into her palms and rested her hands against her thighs. It was the only to hide the way her hands were suddenly shaking. Even then, she was sure the other woman noticed. "I'm glad you're not with him anymore. The guy who did that, I mean."

  "We weren't together when he attacked me. I'd already broken things off with him." Haley r
ebuttoned her shirt then ran one hand through her thick hair. "If Ben—"

  "Ben hasn't touched me."

  "Then who—"

  "Nobody." The answer left her mouth quickly. Maybe too quickly because Haley tilted her head to the side and fixed her with another one of her direct gazes.

  "But you're running from someone, aren't you?"

  Natalie chewed on her lower lip for several seconds, wondering how much to say. Wondering if she should say anything. She hadn't even told Ben the whole story—he hadn't given her time, not before blindsiding her with that ridiculous proposal. Except it wasn't too ridiculous because she'd accepted it and then promptly forgot everything else.

  Including the reason why she'd jumped at his offer once she realized he was serious.

  "It's not like you think. My ex—he was never physical. It was just...he, uh, he liked to be in control. Didn't like it when anyone disagreed with him. That's all." Not really, not by a long shot. And when Brandon found out what she'd done, what she'd taken...he was going to be beyond pissed.

  "Is he still after you? Is that why you married Ben?"

  Natalie finally met the other woman's gaze. A second went by, then another, before she was able to paste a bright smile on her face. The smile felt too brittle, too forced, even to her, so she let it fade. "Wow. You don't believe in personal boundaries at all, do you?"

  "I'm sorry, I didn't mean—"

  Natalie interrupted her with a casual wave of her hand. "Yeah, you did. Don't ruin it with an apology you don't mean."

  The other woman said nothing for a long minute then finally put the car in gear and eased out of the parking space. "I didn't mean to get too personal. I just thought you might need a friend. Someone who understood. I guess I was wrong."

  Friend.

  The word unleashed a yearning deep inside Natalie, in a place she had long ago forgotten existed. When was the last time she'd had anyone she could call a friend? Not a casual acquaintance, not someone she ran into occasionally or met for drinks once a month, but a real friend? Someone she could tell all her secrets to. Someone she could call in the middle of the night just because she needed to hear an encouraging word.

  Not since...

  She frowned. No, that couldn't be right.

  But it was. Her last real friend, the only person she'd ever been able to tell secrets to, had been Ben's sister. And the last time she'd seen Donna had been nine years ago, right before her mother had abruptly moved them in the middle of the night, escaping an apartment she hadn't paid rent on in months and a boyfriend who had started paying too much attention to Natalie.

  When had she become such a recluse? When had she started holding so much of herself back? Maybe she always had and never realized it. No, she didn't trust easily—that was something she had known about herself for as long as she could remember. Maybe it made sense that she didn't have any close friends—you needed to open yourself up for that to happen, needed to trust the other person with your weaknesses and vulnerabilities.

  That odd yearning tugged at her again. She was so tired of being alone. So tired of playing roles to make everyone else happy. She'd done that for so long that she couldn't even be sure of who she really was anymore. All she knew was that she was suddenly tired of being that scared little girl who walked through life alone, not really living, just existing. Maybe, if she had learned to trust, if she'd had any real friends, she wouldn't have made as many mistakes as she had—including the one that had the biggest potential of coming back to haunt her.

  But was it too late to start now?

  She glanced at Haley, at the way the woman's brows were lowered over her eyes as she focused on driving through the parking lot. Had her offer of friendship been sincere—or were they merely empty words? She thought the woman had been sincere—what reason did she have for lying?—but Natalie wasn't sure if she could trust her own instincts anymore.

  She had to start somewhere, though. Right? So why not start here, right now?

  She cleared her throat, noticed the other woman tense at the sound. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be such a bitch."

  "Sure. No problem, I get it." There was the barest hint of a chill in the woman's voice. Was Natalie surprised? No, not really. She couldn't blame her, either. And it would be so easy to stop right there. To just let everything drop and ask Haley to take her back to Ben's place.

  But she couldn't. She didn't want to. For reasons she didn't quite understand, she wanted to accept the fragile offer of friendship the woman offered.

  "My ex is in jail right now. Somewhere in Vegas."

  Haley glanced at her for a split second then returned her focus to the traffic. "Do you mind if I ask why?"

  "For theft. He, um, he was trying to use me to cover for him—" And no, she was not going to Haley how he was using her. "—so I turned him in."

  "You turned him in?"

  "Yeah." Natalie stared at the hands fisted in her lap and absently picked at her thumbnail. "Last week."

  There was a slight pause. "Last week. Before you and Ben got married?"

  "Yeah." Two days before, as a matter of fact.

  "Does Ben know?"

  "Yes, he knows." Natalie sighed and looked at the other woman. "That's why he married me—to protect me."

  The car stopped so suddenly that Natalie jerked forward, the seatbelt catching her before she hit the dash. She braced herself, waiting for someone to hit them from behind, then realized they were still in the parking lot. Thank God, too, because Haley was staring at her in open-mouth shock, completely unaware of their surroundings.

  "Ben did?"

  "Yeah." Natalie drew the word out, wondering why the other woman looked so surprised. Yes, a quickie wedding was a little unusual but not totally unheard of, especially not in Vegas.

  "Ben did? Really? I didn't think...he's not—" Haley snapped her mouth closed and moved the car forward again.

  "He's not, what?"

  "Nothing."

  "Haley, what is it? What aren't you telling me?" Oh God, had she gotten herself out of one bad situation only to land in an even worse one?

  "Nothing. I mean, not like whatever you're thinking, if the expression on your face means anything. It's just—that's not something I'd expect Ben to do, that's all."

  Some of the anxiety left Natalie—but only a little. There was something about the way Haley was watching her that kept her from leaning back in relief. "It's not something a lot of people would do."

  "No, I guess not—but especially not Ben. Not with what I know about him, anyway."

  "And what do you know about him?"

  "Actually, not a lot. I just know he has a bit of a reputation."

  "What kind of reputation?"

  "He's just...well, I mean—" Natalie sighed. Cleared her throat. Made a show of looking everywhere except at Natalie. "I think a few of the guys may have called him miserable. And, um, a selfish ass."

  Natalie watched the other woman for a long minute then released a sigh of her own and collapsed against the seat. "Maybe we should just head to the restaurant now."

  "You don't want to go back home?"

  "No. What I want is some food. And a drink. Maybe two. I have a feeling I'm going to need them when you guys tell me everything you know about my husband."

  Chapter Fourteen

  Frustration briefly sliced through the exhaustion weighing him down as he fumbled with the key and tried to insert the damn thing into the lock. All he was trying to do was unlock the fucking door, something he'd done a million times before. It shouldn't take this long and it sure as hell shouldn't be this hard. It was the exhaustion, it had to be. Ben refused to think it was for any other reason.

  Maybe like the sudden worry that his place would be silent and empty, the way it usually was when he got home from a road trip.

  The key finally slid into the lock and he turned it, eased the door open a crack and held his breath. Dim light from the small lamp on the corner table filled what he could
see of the living room. He pushed the door open wider, his gaze taking in the recliner. The easy chair. The tables and artwork hanging on the walls.

  The oversized sofa and the body curled on its side under a fleece throw blanket.

  He stepped into the condo and quietly shut the door behind him then just stood there, staring at the sleeping figure on his sofa.

  She was still here.

  Something that felt strangely like relief swept through him, easing some of the exhaustion that had hit him a few hours ago.

  Natalie was still here.

  The relief quickly turned into irritation, though whether it was irritation at being exhausted or irritation at being relieved, he couldn't tell. Maybe both. Maybe for another reason altogether.

  Of course she was still here. They were married.

  Not that he was foolish enough to think that had anything to do with it. Their days-old marriage was a sham and she sure as hell didn't have any kind of obligation to him. Just like he didn't have an obligation to her. She was here because she didn't have anywhere else to go and even if she did, he was fairly certain she didn't have the money to get there. He'd seen her place in New York, had been able to tell from the spartan furnishings and lack of belongings that she didn't have much and was probably living paycheck-to-paycheck.

  But he'd still been worried, especially when she didn't answer the phone when he called Saturday night after the game—and he had called more than once.

  Last night. This morning. This afternoon.

  He'd told himself that she was probably hesitant about answering his phone, even though she shouldn't be. Then he'd tried calling her cell—only to realize he didn't have her cell number. Hell, he didn't even know if she had a cell phone. He hadn't seen her with one so maybe she didn't.

  It didn't matter how many excuses he'd come up with, he still couldn't shake the unusual anxiety that had gripped him when he thought she might have left. Seeing his car in the same spot when Nathan dropped him off hadn't eased that anxiety.