Crossing the Line (The Baltimore Banners Book 1) (19 page)

     Yet she couldn't even cover a plain, simple awards ceremony. Yeah, she was sharp and talented alright.

     "AJ, you're disappointing me."

     The plainly spoken words fell over her like ice water, shocking, sobering. She swallowed and nodded her head, waiting for his next words, knowing she was getting fired.

     "You would have never put up with this a month ago. Where did all your fight go?"

     She raised her head and stared at Tim in confusion. "What?"

     "You heard me. A month ago you would have hit me with so much attitude over an assignment like the little league one. Now you just roll over and give in. I'm disappointed."

     Her mouth opened, then snapped shut as she tried to figure out what to say. "But...Tim, I screwed it up and—"

     "Yeah, you did. So suck it up and move on."

     "But...Tim, it was my fault. The whole thing."

     He took two steps toward her and rested his hip against her desk, staring down at her with calm eyes. "You said you had a migraine. You got sick. Even I can't blame you for that."

     "But..." AJ lowered her gaze to the newspaper on the desk and took a deep breath, then gave Tim all the details, starting with the onset of her migraine and ending with Alec taking her home. She didn't say whose home, but the look on Tim's face let her know she didn't have to. And then...he started laughing. A small chuckle that quickly grew into a hearty belly laugh.

     AJ pushed away from her desk and stared up at him, wondering if he had finally lost it. Because she didn't find anything remotely funny about the situation.

     Several minutes went by before Tim stopped laughing. "That would have been something to see. And it also explains a lot. Well, you'll be glad to hear you have a chance at redemption. A press conference is scheduled at the practice facilities in one hour, and you were specifically requested. I just got the call."

     "Me? Why?"

     "No idea. But don't look a gift horse in the mouth. Like I said: redemption."

     "Tim, I can't. Somebody else has to do it." Redemption or not, she could not see Alec again. Not after what happened. But Tim obviously didn't care. All traces of his earlier laughter were gone. His face was a blank mask as he leaned toward her.

     "Would you care to tell me why?"

     AJ looked up at him for only a second, then lowered her gaze to her folded hands. She couldn't tell him.

     She couldn't
not
tell him.

     "Because..." She paused, took a deep breath and let it out. "Because Alec told me he loved me. And...I'm pretty sure I love him."

     Long silence greeted her statement. She finally looked up at Tim, waiting for him to say something, expecting...well, if not sympathy, at least understanding.

     "This is a problem why?"

     "Because..." She trailed off and shook her head. How could she put it into words to make him understand? Said out loud, her reasons sounded weak, foolish. "Because..."

     Tim cut her off with a short wave of his hand and pushed away from her desk with a disgusted sigh. "Whatever the problem is, it's all yours. Deal with it." He walked to the entrance of the cubicle then turned and looked at her, his face impassive, his eyes distant. "But a word of advice, AJ. If you don't get over to that rink, you're risking something a lot more important than just a job."

     The door closed and latched with a thud, leaving AJ with the uncomfortable feeling of being entombed in a large cavern. That feeling grew stronger when she realized that the rink seemed deserted.

     She walked further inside, her eyes adjusting to the dim light after being in the sun, and made her way to the interior hall leading to the offices. Noise from the other end of the rink caught her attention and she paused, turning to look toward the far end zone.

     There, gathered around the net, stood a handful of players. AJ frowned, then turned back around and reached for the doorknob, wondering what was going on when the door wouldn't open.

     "Hey Johnson! Over here!"

     AJ turned back to face the ice, still frowning. That had sounded suspiciously like Alec's voice...but different. She glanced at her watch, wondering if she had missed the press conference. Or if she was too early. But no, according to the time, the press conference was supposed to start in a few minutes.

     So where was everyone?

     "Johnson, over here!"

     AJ squinted, trying to make out the faces in the distance, but couldn't see clearly enough. She glanced back at the locked door then shrugged and headed toward the ice, walking around the edge of the boards toward the player's bench. Her steps faltered as she got closer, her eyes widening in disbelief.

     Several players were gathered around the net, huddled together as...

     She stopped and blinked, not believing what she was seeing. She had to be hallucinating. She stepped closer to the boards, staring at the sight of Alec in the net.

     Literally...in the net. It looked like he was tied to the posts. Upside down. Her gaze momentarily got stuck on the sight of all his tanned, muscled flesh before she realized...

     Yes, he really was hanging upside down in the net. And he was wearing nothing but gym shorts, a pair of skates, and his catching glove.

     AJ blinked again and looked even closer, her mouth opening and closing silently. Ian broke away from the group of players clustered around Alec and skated over to her, a grin on his face. She swallowed a gasp when he stopped less than a foot away and winced at the bruises she saw on his face. He waved away her concern and motioned to the player's bench.

     "There's a pair of skates ready for you. Put 'em on and get out here."

     "Uh, Ian. Why is Alec upside down in the net?"

     Ian looked toward the end zone, then back at her and shrugged. "No reason. Just a little bet. C'mon, get out here."

     "Ian—"

     "Hey Johnson, will you hurry up?"

     She turned away from Ian and stared at Alec, still swinging upside down. Even from this distance she could see the goose bumps along his skin, and noticed that his face was starting to turn a nice shade of red.

     "Alec, what are you doing?"

     "Oh, just hanging around, waiting on you."

     She bit back a laughing groan at his words and walked into the player's box, not knowing what to do. Should she call someone? Or should she just wait to see what happened next?

     Once she had her skates laced up, Ian opened the door for her and she drifted out onto the ice, easing closer to the net and leaning sideways to get a better look at Alec. He offered her a small smile and a little wave, and she still didn't know whether she should be laughing or calling for help.

     "So I take it there's no press conference?"

     "That was my idea." Ian slid to a stop next to her, spraying ice onto Alec, grinning at his swift intake of breath. "I figured that was the best way to get you down here."

     AJ stared at him for a few long seconds, waiting for more explanation. When he offered none, she glanced around at the other players—including Randy and Jean-Pierre—and noticed that all of them were sporting assorted cuts and bruises on their hands and faces from the "Baltimore Brawl". In fact, Alec was the only one unmarred. She cast another quick look at Alec then stepped closer to Ian, her arms crossed, her expression serious.

     "Ian, what's going on?"

     "Did you ever see that ice hockey movie with all the kids?" At her hesitant nod, he continued. "Do you remember how they got the goalie used to the pucks coming at him? They tied him up in the net and just let them fly. We're going to do the same thing to Alec."

     "Uh..." AJ paused, not sure what to think. He couldn't be serious. Could he? "But Alec's upside down. In nothing but shorts. Besides, he's already a good goalie. So I don't get—"

     Jean-Pierre interrupted her, a charming smile on his rugged face. "It's not to make him a good goalie, eh? This is for the other night, for what he did and what he got away with."

     "What he did...What?" AJ practically screamed the last word, mortified as realization sunk in. They were really going to pellet him with pucks because of what happened between Alec and her? She gazed at the serious faces around her, then looked back at Ian, deciding he was the most reasonable. "Ian, you can’t do this. You were there, you know what happened. Alec didn't—"

     "Sorry AJ. But we know how Alec treated you and that he's an ass. It's the least he deserves, especially since he didn't even stand up for you Saturday night when the fight broke out."

     "That's because he was too busy taking care of—" AJ snapped her mouth closed and stared at Ian. He looked back at her in wide-eyed innocence, with not even a hint of a smile on his face. She narrowed her eyes at him. Ian knew exactly where Alec was when the fight broke out.

     She crossed her arms and stared at Ian for another long second, then turned and stared at Alec. He was still hanging from the net by his legs, watching her closely. She ignored the warm look in his eyes and the sight of all that bare flesh and turned back to Ian. "Okay, you say he deserves it. You're right, he does. So now what?"

     A strangled groan came from Alec but she ignored it, watching as the hockey players glanced at each other, obviously not expecting her to agree so quickly. Ian shuffled his feet, glanced behind her at Alec, then shrugged and offered her his stick. "Well, I guess you go first."

     There was another strangled groan from behind her, followed by shuffling and banging. AJ continued to ignore Alec and reached out for Ian's stick, only to have him pull it out of her reach when he glanced behind her. "That is, unless Alec can really show us he's sorry for being such an ass and that he didn't mean to treat you the way he did. I mean, he did tell us that he loved you, and that he even told you he loved you, but that you wouldn't listen to him." Ian paused, a worried look crossing his face as he skated backwards a few feet. AJ watched him in confusion, wondering why he and the other guys were slowly backing up.

     But he kept talking, glancing behind her as he drifted a few feet further away. "Of course, I don't believe that for a second because if he did tell you he loved you, you would listen to him and—"

     "Donovan, you completely screwed that up."

     AJ jumped at the voice directly behind her then turned and would have fallen on the ice if Alec's strong arms hadn't caught her. She instinctively grabbed his shoulders, her hands clenching against his chilled flesh as he looked down at her, heat in his eyes.

     "AJ, I love you. What Ian was trying to say is—I screwed up. Big time screwed up. And I'm sorry. I was hoping that you'd come here and see this, and take pity on me. That you'd realize I really do love you and that I really am sorry—"

     AJ leaned forward and pressed her lips to his, effectively silencing him. His arms wrapped more tightly around her, pulling her so close that the chill of his flesh seeped through the sweater she was wearing. She broke the kiss with a sigh and pulled away only slightly, keeping her arms wrapped around his neck. "How can I not love someone who goes to such a drastic extreme to say he's sorry?"

     His eyes darkened as he gazed down at her, and she could see him swallowing hard. "I'm really hoping that means you love me. You have no idea how much I'm hoping that."

     She smiled and leaned forward to kiss him again, just the barest brushing of their lips. "I love you Alec. With all of me."

     His arms tightened around her, lifting her off the ice as his mouth closed over hers in a searing kiss. It was too easy to get lost in his touch, too easy to get lost in the raw emotion swirling around them. AJ pulled back, motioning for him to let her down, then smiled up at the confused look in his eyes.

     "So, Kolchak, how about a bet?"

     He stared at her, his brows raised in surprise. "A bet?"

     "Yeah, a bet. Kinda like the last one."

     "A bet?" He repeated. He loosened his hold around her and stepped back, his mouth twitching upwards in a small grin. "Okay. What's the bet?"

     AJ looked behind her, not surprised to see they still had company. She motioned for Ian to come closer, then grabbed the stick from his hand when he stopped next to her. She looked back at Alec and smiled. "I score, and you have to put up with me for 24/7."

     Alec watched her, heat simmering in his eyes, then shook his head. "That doesn't work for me. How about...if you score, you get my heart. Forever."

     Her heart stuttered then kick-started into overdrive at the emotion in Alec's voice. She blinked, hard, against the sudden burning in her eyes and opened her mouth to say something when a puck was dropped on the ice in front of her. She looked down at the rubber slab, then up to see Alec drifting back to the net.

     And suddenly, what had seemed like a light-hearted joke just minutes ago turned into a serious challenge that filled her with anxiety and desperation. "Alec, I love you. I was only joking. This is silly—"

     "One shot, AJ. Cross the line and you win. My heart. Forever."

     "Alec..." She paused and cleared her throat, surprised at the nervousness that made her tremble.

     "C'mon AJ, one shot. Cross the line."

     She glanced down at the puck, then up at Alec standing in the net just a few feet away. Wearing nothing but shorts, skates, and his catching glove. She could do this. She could.

     Biting back a nervous laugh, she placed the blade of the stick against the puck and pushed off with her skates, then pulled back and shot. She was less than three feet away, there was no way she could miss.

     She watched the puck lob toward the net, biting back a smile as it prepared to sail past Alec...who leaned to the side and caught it with almost no effort.

     AJ sucked in her breath with a hiss, her heart literally stopping as she Alec pulled the glove closer to his chest. What had just happened? Did this mean...but it couldn't! She loved him. And he told her he loved her. How could he—

     "AJ!"

     She looked up, startled at her name being called so loudly, and realized that Alec had been trying to get her attention before. He raised one brow at her, then crooked his finger in a motion for her to come closer. She hung her head and drifted forward, willing the burning in her eyes to stop.

     "AJ, look at me. No, don't shake your head. Look at me."

     She swallowed and blinked, then raised her head, refusing to do anything that would make this worse. Alec's warm gaze drifted over her, searching, before a smile broke across his face. She watched, stunned, as he tossed the puck behind him into the net before reaching for her and wrapping her tightly in his hold.

     "You always had it, AJ. My heart. You had it from the minute you made that first bet. I just didn't realize it, and when I did, I didn't know how to tell you. But I'm telling you now—I love you. No matter what happens. Forever."

     "Oh, Alec." She paused, blinking again, but not really caring if he saw the tears this time, because they were tears of happiness. "I love you, Alec. I always will. Even if you are going to get frostbite from being stubborn and half-naked—"

     He stopped her with a kiss, a deep one that left her breathless when he pulled away. "Say it again."

     She looked into his eyes, at the clear emotion in their dark depths, and felt heat blossom through her. "I love you Alec."

     He smiled, then claimed her mouth in a searing kiss that had the other players wondering how long it would be before the couple melted the ice under them.

     But the two of them didn't care, because they had both made the biggest bet of their lives.

     And came out winners in the most important game of all.        

*****