Julie laughed. “Uh, he’s David Burke. I’m guessing he doesn’t get turned down a lot.” She paused. “I mean if it was that number twenty-two guy, Tricarico, I could understand. That boy looks like he walked into a light post.”

“You’re a big help. I’d like to think I have some pride.”

“Pride isn’t going to keep you warm tonight,” Julie said.

“No,” Kate began, “but it could keep me from being hurt again.”

*

David cursed as he walked through the tunnel. The other team was up by two goals and had held them to six shots on goal. Of course, he and his teammates were acting more like prom queens than pro athletes, so it was no wonder they were getting their asses kicked. He got snagged for an interview, since he’d actually managed to score a goal, along with his three penalties, but he really just wanted to tell their media guy to shove it. What was he going to say? He was going to shovel clichés at the interviewer about teamwork and coming out and working hard the last two periods. Blah, blah, blah. It was all bullshit.

But bullshit or not, he had to do it, so he turned on the charm and gave them what they wanted. When he entered the dressing room, the coach was already screaming at the defense.

“…we’ll be lucky if the fans don’t start throwing shit at your sorry asses.” Coach spun at David. “And you—what was your fucking problem? We don’t pay you to sit in the penalty box, Burke.”

David almost responded, but didn’t. As captain, he had to set a good example for the younger players, and with the coach being in such a shit-ass mood, anything David said would likely earn him a fine.

The tirade went on for several minutes, and David tuned it out. He kept thinking about Kate and how she looked at him. Why did he feel so guilty? He’d ditched women before. But his mind couldn’t let go of how she felt in his arms, and how she kissed him, and more than anything, how what he did for a living didn’t matter. She’d gone out with him in spite of his playing hockey for a living, not because of it. Finally when the coach slammed his office door, David refocused and checked his messages.

She’d responded with one word. “No.” She didn’t clarify it, didn’t rip his head off, she just said no. He wiped his face with a towel, glanced to his right, and saw Jay Hemmings with his head down. He was a perennial forty-goal scorer and one of David’s best friends, but tonight Jay hadn’t been able to get close to the net. “You okay, Hemmy?”

“I had a fight with Annie before I left.”

David slapped his friend on the back. Jay was so in love with his wife, it was almost scary. “Call her. You’re no good to us if you’re worried about where you’re sleeping when you get home.”

“Yeah.” Jay looked over. “What’s up with you?”

“I’ll tell you about it later.”

“It? Or her?” Jay asked. “Your face says you’re having woman problems.”

David grimaced. Jay knew him too well. Realizing he’d pretty well blown it with Kate, David looked across the dressing room toward Cam and nodded. They’d talked briefly about going out after the game, but he’d held off answering until he heard from Kate. Now that he had, David was going to his back-up plan, to get drunk and laid.

Sticking his phone back in his pocket, he thought about that for a second, and it helped him understand yet another reason why Kate probably didn’t want to see him.

Chapter 6

‡

Laura walked to the bus stop, fully intending to go to school. But when her friend Tracy pulled up in the shiny red Mustang she’d received as a seventeenth birthday present, Laura hopped in. The two girls looked at each other, smiled, and knew they weren’t going to school that day. Who the hell needed school, anyway?

“Breakfast first?” Tracy asked.

“Let’s go to the city. There’s more around, and then we can go shopping,” Laura said. She scooted into the seat, and rummaged through her purse for a pair of sunglasses. “I hate my mother.”

Tracy looked over and rolled her eyes. “I don’t know what your problem is. Your mom is like the nicest person on the planet.”

“She’s such a pain in the ass. I swear she has no clue what it’s like to live with her, with her questions and prying and always wanting to get into my life. She won’t give me the money for the Bahamas, which totally pissed off my dad, and, get this, I think there might be a guy in the picture.”

“That’s awesome! Who? Is he nice?”

“I have no idea. She and her friend were talking. I think it might be over, though. I dunno. I hope it is.”

“Why? Your dad has a girlfriend,” Tracy responded.

“That’s different. Marie is, well you know, she’s cool.”

“Marie is weird.”

“Whose side are you on, anyway?” Laura asked.

“Lor, I love you, but your mom got treated shitty by your dad. He talked to her like she was dirt and cheated on her. And Marie is creepy.”

“Dad said she deserved it.” Laura did not want to talk about this.

“No one deserves that. I hope she found some hot guy to date.”

“Not likely.”

“Why do you say that? Laura, your mother is gorgeous and famous. She could probably have any guy she wanted.”

Everything Tracy had said was true. Her mother was all those things and more, and Marie was a little off, but Laura still didn’t know what to believe. Who was telling her the truth? Maybe that was the problem. Her mother never told her anything.

“I don’t want to talk about her anymore. Can we go eat?”

Tracy shook her head and drove toward Philadelphia. There was a little café near Rittenhouse where they could eat, and hopefully Laura would cool off and relax.

*

They entered the café and were seated at a booth near the counter. No one questioned their presence. They didn’t look like two high school girls cutting school; they looked like two college girls out for a bite to eat, and they knew it.

They’d been there close to half an hour when Laura watched Tracy’s eyes go wide as she stared at the door. “Ohmigod, ohmigod, ohmigod!” Half whisper, half scream, her friend was barely breathing as spoke.

“What?”

“Tyler Graves and Jack Nelson just walked in.”

Laura turned in her seat and her own mouth dropped open. It was true. Coming toward them were two gorgeous hockey players. And the guys were looking right at her. Holy crap.

Tyler Graves was huge and good looking in tough kind of way, but Jack Nelson was so… he was just perfect.

“I think I’m dreaming.” Tall and buff, with light brown hair and amazing eyes, the twenty-one-year-old center was a vision. She always thought David Burke was the best-looking guy on the team, until she saw Jack in person.

“They are so hot,” Tracy whispered.

Laura could only nod. Jack smiled at Laura and Tracy as he walked past and sat in the next booth. Tyler Graves sat directly behind Tracy and she just about fainted. But Jack slid into the other side of the booth and before he looked at his menu, he grinned at her again and winked. Was she awake? He just winked at her?

Laura drew a deep breath and forced herself to calm down. She went back to her breakfast, but looked up from time to time to see the hockey player was still staring at her. She almost died in her seat when he broke into a wide smile. He was flirting with her. Honest to God flirting, like he was interested in her or something. She couldn’t help it; she bit her lip and blushed.

“You are bright red,” Tracy told her.

“I know—I can feel it. He keeps staring at me.” She glanced up again. Yup. Still watching.

“So what? You could do worse.”

That was the truth, but since when did this happen to her? He was the hottest guy she had ever seen. She was only seventeen, a music nerd, and other than one guy last year, who was so shy he could barely talk to her, boys were not interested in her. Not that Jack Nelson was a boy. He was a man, which made the situation even more unnerving. Running away seemed like a good idea. “Let’s go. It’s making me uncomfortable.”