Seductive Suspensions: A Slapshot Novella (Slapshot Series Book 7) Read online

  Once we were in the car, I started the engine and proceeded to drive out of the player parking lot, which was located under the ice rink. The black Cadillac SUV roared to life and I felt myself squeeze my finger tighter around the rubber steering wheel. I loved driving this car.

  “You’re quiet,” I murmured once we drove through the post-Gulls game traffic.

  It was true. Rose wasn’t overly talkative, but she did manage to start conversations after the game, especially after we lost. It helped distract me from thinking too hard on everything I had done wrong.

  “I’m just...” She let her voice trail off and shook her head. “It’s fine, Drew. Just don’t worry about it.”

  “Rose,” I began, insisting she speak with me.

  “Drew, I get that this is a big decision,” she said, looking at my profile. I kept my eyes on the road in front of me rather than on her. “And I know you need a few days to think about it... but if you know this isn’t going to work out, I would rather know now.”

  “I just need some time,” I mumbled. “Just give me a few days. It is a big decision.”

  Rose nodded her head and looked back at her nail beds. I swore she muttered, “It really shouldn’t be, though.”

  4

  Kira

  I tried to pretend like yesterday was a fluke. My friends always pointed out that Drew Stefano looked at me a lot during warm-ups. He was probably looking at the people in front of me, behind me, not directly at me. Anyway, he had a girlfriend, a long-term girlfriend he lived with and had been with for a long time. My friends checked her Instagram and not only was she gorgeous, she was also a small-time actress who had a supporting part on one of those cop shows.

  He was probably just being nice. I hadn’t recognized him at first, so I couldn’t compare his interaction with me to anyone else. It didn’t matter anyway. He was exactly the sort of player I imagined he would be: personable, professional, and warm. There were times he came across as standoffish, but I though that was because he wasn’t used to the attention and didn’t know how to handle it.

  There was no game scheduled until the following Tuesday, because of the AllStar game that weekend. That was all the sports channels could talk about, leaving Stefano’s suspension swept under the rug. It would be interesting to see how people took said suspension after more hits were made. One of the things every single announcer said was that comparison was not helpful and that each hit reviewed by Player Safety was looked at on its own merit, without looking at what came before.

  I thought that was bullshit, but it wasn’t my job and I didn’t understand it, so I wasn’t going to argue.

  Thursday came quickly. I found myself putting more care into the outfit I planned to wear to the game that evening. Drew was still suspended, but maybe I would get to see him again.

  But no. Probably not.

  What were the chances?

  I shook my head, reminding myself that he had a girlfriend. I reminded myself that he was taken and happy and me looking for another excuse to be in his presence and to feel his gaze upon mine was selfish and pathetic.

  I hated to admit that there was a part of me that really didn’t give a shit.

  That was the part of me that picked out my outfit for tonight - black jeans, a white Gulls shirt, a zip up blue Gulls hoodie left unzipped, and Chucks on my feet.

  I straightened my hair, added makeup, and headed out the door. I would meet up with Tierney, her sister Aislinn, and our friend Clare, and we would head over to the Ice Palace in one car. We took turns driving because we got parking with our season tickets and since we didn’t want to pay for parking or park too far away to walk, we made it a point to prioritize carpooling.

  We took our seats once we got there. I couldn’t help but flicker my eyes over to the concession stand to see if I could catch a glimpse of him, but I didn’t see him there from my vantage point.

  It was okay. I would have a good time no matter what.

  However, when I got to the front, I realized that he was here once again, this time in a black suit and a white t-shirt.

  “Funny seeing you here,” he said when he saw me, a small smile playing on his lips.

  “This is my usual place,” I told him. “If anything, you’re the one following me.”

  “I just go where they tell me to go,” Stefano said with a shrug of his shoulder. “Let me guess: water, popcorn, and m&ms?”

  I nodded. “I’m surprised you remembered,” I told him.

  He shrugged as he started gathering the items. “I pay attention sometimes,” he said.

  He was getting more comfortable being behind the counter because he got my food and water quicker than before. I handed him my cash and he rang me up.

  “Good luck Thursday,” I told him. “I’m really excited to watch you get back out there. I’m sure the entire team misses you.”

  He smiled in return.

  I was all ready to leave, but he called me back. “Hey Kira,” he called out to me. I stopped, turning to face him. “I didn’t get a chance to tell you Thursday, but I appreciate what you said about the suspension. I guess I really needed to hear it, even if I had heard it before.”

  “Oh.” I felt my cheeks turn pink and I nodded my head. “No problem. I’m glad I could help, even in some small way.”

  “It wasn’t small,” he said. “At least, not to me.”

  I didn’t know what to say to that. There was nothing to say. As such, I gave him a small nod, collected my things, and headed back to my seat, ready for the game to start.

  5

  Drew

  I avoided Rose the next two days. I knew I was being chickenshit, but I had a lot of thinking to do and it was hard to worry about such a major decision in my life when I was part of a team that would potentially make the playoffs this year. We would be going to Vegas in a few weeks to play the newest NHL franchise, the Blackjacks, the newest team in the Pacific Division. This meant we really needed the win to get the two points.

  I understood Rose’s perspective, honestly I did, but just because I understood it didn’t mean I wanted it. The only reason I was even considering this was because I cared about her. She deserved to get something for being with me for so long.

  After morning skate, instead of taking a nap like I usually did, I grabbed Simba and decided to head out to the dog park. After the success of Huntington’s Dog Park on the Beach, Newport decided to open one on the Balboa Peninsula. I had been a couple of times before. Simba liked socializing with other dogs, but I preferred the solitude of a run. I tried to compromise but in the end, I was running more and he was socializing less.

  I had no idea that going to the dog park would put me face-to-face with none other than Kira.

  I saw her before she saw me, so I took advantage of that and let myself stare for longer than was strictly necessary.

  Her dirty blonde hair was pulled into a high messy ponytail, with frizzy locks escaping from their confines to frame her face. Freckles, green eyes, dimples in her cheeks. She was pretty in a girl-next-door sort of way. I couldn’t compare Rose to Kira just because they were two completely different women, beautiful in their own right.

  There was something about Kira though. Something alluring. Something that drew me to her even if I didn’t want to be.

  She was playing with a basset hound. I would guess that the dog belonged to her, judging from the way her eyes sparkled when she played. It almost seemed as though she was as crazy about her dog as I was about Simba.

  Before I knew what I was doing, my feet proceeded to lead me towards her. A voice in my head told me what a bad idea this was, and I couldn’t help but agree. Still, that didn’t stop me from continuing over to her, my footsteps heavy in the sand. The waves crashed to the shore. My heart beat in double time. My hands started to sweat. I was thirty years old and somehow was reacting like I was a teenager.

  This was not good.

  I watched as Kira noticed Simba first. She beamed when she saw him
and knelt down to let him smell her before rubbing his head with both of her hands. He knocked her over, excited for the attention she was giving him. Instead of screeching or getting annoyed, she started laughing. Even when Simba wouldn’t let her up because he wanted her to rub him even more, kissing her face with his long, sticky tongue, she continued to laugh.

  I grinned at the sight. It was nice to see someone who truly understood what it was like to love dogs.

  When I finally reached her, I gently chided Simba about calming down and giving her some space. I offered her my hand, and without looking at me, she took it and pulled herself up. When she saw that it was me, she nearly lost her footing again. I chuckled. I wasn’t the sort of good looking that caused women to fall off their feet. I wasn’t incredibly tall and I didn’t have muscle. Everything else about me, I liked to think, was proportionate, fit, and aesthetically pleasing to the eye. Unfortunately, there was no accounting for taste. She could think I was some guy who wasn’t worth looking twice at... not that I cared at all what some woman who was not Rose thought about me.

  “Hi,” she got out, releasing my hand, so she could dust off her jeans.

  Simba still wagged his tail with excitement.

  “Hi,” I said, cocking my head to the side. “Funny running into you here.”

  “I’m not stalking you, I swear,” she said and immediately turned an adorable shade of red.

  Adorable. Huh.

  I never thought I would use a word like adorable to describe an adult woman. Beautiful, gorgeous, stunning, Sure, but adorable? No.

  Until now, it would seem.

  “That actually hadn’t crossed my mind,” I told her. “Although now, maybe it should.”

  Kira laughed, looking away, pushing back the stray strands of hair from her face. “Is this beautiful dog yours?” she asked.

  I nodded. My cheeks pinched with how much I was smiling. Not exactly a wide, beaming smile, but a grin nonetheless. Not something I typically did. Not for a while.

  “That’s Simba,” I said. “Rescued him. It was the first thing I did when I got here. He was just a little puppy, one of those that were given at Christmas and then turned into a shelter when the family realized there’s more to raising a puppy than oohing and awing over how cute it is.”

  “That is so sad,” she said. “Why adopt if you can’t even take care of the puppy? Oh, stuff like that just breaks my heart.”

  I nodded my head. My eyes went out to the ocean and I watched the sun shine its rays on the surface of the water. This was beautiful. Stunning. Just like Kira’s smile.

  “Did you want to go for a walk?” I had no idea why I suggested such a thing. Guilt immediately filled my chest. I should take what I said back. “Simba loves walking on the shoreline and getting his paws wet.”

  For a moment, Kira said nothing. Instead, she just looked at me. The gentle sea breeze picked up her hair from her face and tossed it into the wind, scattering it across her face, some of it shot behind her like gold bands of light.

  In that silence, my guilt started to take hold of me even more, sinking deeper and deeper into my stomach like an anchor at sea. If our positions were reversed and this happened with Rose, some guy - a fan - asked her to take a walk at the dog park, would I want her accepting it?

  Right then was when I realized that I was fine either way. If she wanted to go, she could go. I wouldn’t be jealous.

  Except I was a jealous person. I didn’t show it, but I tended to be protective of those few people I cared about.

  Before i could tease out that realization, Kira nodded.

  “Yes,” she said. “I would love to go for a walk.”

  6

  Kira

  I had no idea Drew Stefano lived anywhere near Balboa Peninsula. I also had no idea he had a beautiful golden retriever that he actually took to the dog park right on the beach. I also had no idea he would remember me, let alone my name.

  “So,” he said as we walked the shore, our dogs ahead of us, sniffing around. “What’s your story?”

  I furrowed my brow and looked at his sharp profile. “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “Everyone knows my story,” he said, stopping in front of the shoreline. A wave gently rolled up to shore and crashed a foot away from our feet. “Born and raised in Canada. Went to school at U of M, played hockey there. Was drafted by Quebec and stayed there until I was picked up by the Gulls five years ago. What’s your story? Where do you come from?”

  I felt my cheeks turn pink at the question. Nobody seemed particularly fascinated with my story.

  “I was born and raised here,” I said, shrugging my shoulders. “It’s actually pretty boring, to tell you the truth.”

  “Come on.” He smiled and I felt my breath catch in my throat. I had never seen him smile like this before. He might grin a little during interviews, but he was intensely focused and could come across as a bit of a snob if people didn’t know him. I wanted him to smile like that more often. “Everyone has a story. A passion, if you will.”

  I opened my mouth, ready to reject his claim, when I glanced down at Sherlock. He was currently sniffing a French Bulldog, happy as a clam. Despite the fact that he had just turned ten, he still liked to run - trot, really - and stay active.

  “Dogs, I guess,” I told him. “I’m a vet down the street.”

  “A vet?” Drew’s honey-colored eyes caught mine with interest embedded in them. “Are you serious?”

  “Do I not look like a vet to you?” I teased him. I realized this could potentially be seen as flirting and I definitely didn’t want him to think I was doing that when he had a girlfriend. “Yes, I work at the Bones Pets on Seventeenth and Newport Boulevard.”

  “I know that place,” he said. “I go to the one on Highland.”

  I nodded. “Good place,” I admitted.

  “I’ve always wanted to open my own shelter,” I admitted shyly. I had never told anyone that before, not my friends, not even my colleagues, even if they had the same goal. I didn’t know why. Maybe if it was real only to me. That way, if I failed at it, only I would know... which sounded pretty stupid, the more I thought about it.

  I had no idea why I felt comfortable enough to share it with him. I didn’t know if it was because I thought I would never see him again so it was safe to share with him, or if it was because I trusted him without really knowing him.

  The fact of the matter was, I’d told him a secret, and that meant something.

  “I’ve always wanted to open one too,” he said, surprising me.

  “Really?” I asked.

  “I’m actually in talks to partner with the pound,” he said. “I’m creating a T-shirt line where seventy-five percent of the profits will go to getting abandoned dogs homes and preventing euthinization as long as possible.”

  My eyes sparkled with genuine interest. “Oh my God, that’s awesome, Drew!” I exclaimed. Then, my face fell. “I’m sorry. Can I call you Drew? I shouldn’t have assumed one way or the other.”

  He interrupted me with another smile. “Of course you can call me Drew,” he said as though my question before hand was ridiculous. “That’s my name.”

  I nodded, feeling myself blush. If my intention was to make an ass out of myself in front of a professional hockey player, I was doing a damn good job of it.

  “Right,” I said, nodding. “Drew.”

  “Your dog,” he said, looking down at Sherlock. “How’s he doing? He looks older.”

  “Oh.” I looked at the dog and felt my lips curve up. “Yeah, ten years old. I adopted him a couple of years ago from the pound. I’d always wanted a basset hound and when I finally moved out into my own place, I thought about getting a dog. I didn’t want to get a young one because I didn’t have time to train it but I knew if I adopted an older one, he or she could be at home without my supervision. On top of that, I could always bring him to work with me if that didn’t work out.”

  I was babbling. Oh my God, I was babbling. He wa
s probably looking for any excuse to exit now - not that I blamed him at all.

  “Anyway...” I reached up and cupped the back of my neck.

  It was an overcast day, cool by the beach, the waves hitting the sand in a gentle crash. It was the perfect weather for taking Sherlock to the beach.

  “And you’re a season ticket holder?” he asked. “I’m sorry if that comes across a certain way. It’s just... I’ve never seen a group of young women in such good seats for every single game.”

  “We’re dedicated,” I said with a shrug. “We’ve been Gulls fans since we were kids. My dad had season tickets, the sisters’ dad had season tickets. Clare’s been the only one without a legacy, but she’s been a fan since high school. Once we all got jobs, we put in for the tickets. We’ve been lucky enough to have them for the past three years. Anyway, I’m talking too much, I’m sorry about that. I do that when I’m nervous.”

  He furrowed his brow, a look of disbelief on his face. “Why would you be nervous?” he asked.

  Was he serious?

  He was Drew Stefano. Of course I was going to be nervous. I was babbling like an asshole in front of a professional hockey player.

  “Come on,” I said. “You’re Drew Stefano.”

  “You’re right,” he said with a nod. “You should be nervous.”

  I laughed and instantly felt comfortable. I didn’t know how he was able to accomplish it, but he made me feel comfortable and nervous at the same time. One of his many talents, it would seem.

  7

  Drew

  I immediately felt guilty the minute I stepped into the house. Rose was already home, making us dinner, and I had completely forgotten to text her that I would be late and would grab us something on the way.