Empty Net (23 page)

A couple of hours later Audrey was standing on her porch, knocking on Tate’s door. She was nervous. She had spent an hour trying to cover up the horrible bruise on her head and hoped she still looked good. Or was it because she had flirted with Tate earlier that day and really didn’t mean to? She didn’t want to lead him on, she wanted to be honest, but it was just so damn hard to do the right thing. When the door opened, she blinked a few times to make sure her eyes were still in her head. Breathing wasn’t optional. She felt like she had just run twenty miles. Her legs were numb and she had to brace her hand against the door frame to keep from falling to the ground before the gorgeous man in front of her.

Tate stood tall, his jeans hanging low and unbuttoned. Oh, and, he had no shirt on.

“Hey, come on in,” he said with no care in the world.

Still standing in the doorway, she watched as he quickly picked up some random items from around the living room. His pants kept slipping down, giving her a peek of white skin above the jeans. He would pull his jeans up and then continue whatever he was doing, like it didn’t matter that his ass was almost on display for her.

“Your pants are undone,” she said when her mouth finally started to move.

Tate looked down, then looked up at her, smiling sheepishly. “Yeah, these pants are a little tight.”

Audrey blinked twice as he continued to move through the living room, picking up odds and ends. Her eyes did a trail down his beautifully sculpted back before stopping on a great ass. When he turned, reaching up to put a book on a shelf, her head tilted to the side and her mouth fell open as she took in the beautiful view. Not only did Tate have mouthwatering abs, along with a V cut pointing to his groin, but that damn vein that drove her mad was there, pulsating, calling her name, begging to her to lick it.

Ahh! Look away, Audrey!

Looking up at the ceiling, she groaned, and said, “Isn’t there a shirt you can put on?”

Tate looked up at his guest and smiled. He had gotten back from the Sportsplex later than he would have liked. It was a long, grueling practice—Coach Bacter wasn’t holding back—and his body was aching, but it was a necessary practice. The Assassins were about to face some tough competition in the Southeast. The guys needed the points from a win, or at worst a tie. After taking a quick shower and finding the nearest jeans, he began to pick up just enough to make his condo presentable for Audrey.

Now he was standing, shirtless, in his living room with Audrey gawking at him. He didn’t know what to do. Should he play it cool, ignore her roaming eyes, or let his pants fall and hope for the best? The latter was a Lucas move, and since Audrey was still in the “just friends” category, he decided that was maybe too much.

So he only let his pants drop a little. When he heard the intake of breath, he smiled and pulled them up, slowly, before remembering that girls didn’t want to get naked and comfortable around smelly workout gear. Then Audrey had pointed out that his pants were falling down and asked him to put on a shirt, which he did, grabbing a T-shirt and throwing it on. Now, looking over his shoulder, he saw that she had finally made it inside and was standing beside his couch.

“How’s your head?” he asked, turning to look at her.

Her eyes fell to where his hands were holding up his jeans and then went back to his face. She blinked twice before swallowing loudly. “I think I might have run into another pole and not known it.”

Tate’s mouth picked up on one side as his gaze zeroed on hers. “Why’s that?”

Audrey shook her head. “No comment,” she said, turning to face his couch as he chuckled softly. She wanted him and was fighting it. He would let her fight it, because when she finally gave up, it was going to be glorious acting on all the sexual tension building between them. “What the hell is this?”

“My couch,” he answered, looking over at the hanging couch he had brought from home. It was a beige color and hung from four chains braced to the ceiling. He had four nice plush green pillows that matched the rest of the decor. The couch used to hang in his room in his parents’ house, and he liked being able to put it in his own place. It reminded him of home, and he’d missed it when he lived in Florida.

“That’s a weird couch,” she said, before running her fingers along the back of it. “I’ve never seen one like this.”

“I brought it from home; it is one of my favorite pieces.”

Audrey smiled as she nodded. “That’s cool.”

“Yeah, dinner should be here soon. I ordered from SATCO, the taco place.”

“Awesome, I love tacos,” she said.

“Me too. Oh! I got you something today,” he said, heading to the kitchen. He reached for a pink, sparkly cupcake stand and turned to hand it to her. Audrey’s eyes lit up as she took it and examined it before flashing him a grin.

“Oh, Tate, I love it.”

He smiled. “Good. You said you wanted to collect stuff. I thought cake stands would work.”

“It’s a fantastic idea.”

“And when you open your own cupcake place, I forgot what you called it,” he said, waiting for her to supply the word.

“Cupcakery,” she said with a bright smile.

“Yes, cupcakery,” he said slowly, since the word was hard for him to say, “when you open that, you can display your creations on the stands you’ve collected.”

Audrey nodded. “Thank you, Tate.”

He felt good about his gift. “You are welcome. So, question,” he said, moving around the kitchen, getting out two bottles of water for them.

“Shoot,” she said, reaching for one of the bottles.

“If you did get a cupcakery, what would you call it?”

Audrey smiled shyly, and Tate lost his breath; he loved that smile. She moved her fingers slowly along the label of the water bottle before looking up at him. “It’s so cliché.”

“What?”

“Audrey Jane’s,” she said without looking at him.

Tate smiled fully. “It is perfect.”

She looked up quickly, her cheeks a bright red as she gazed at him like he had just held the Stanley Cup above his head. “You think?”

“Hell yeah, it suits you. I bet the shop would be bright pink with sparkles, huh?”

She smiled as she nodded. “I found these amazing tables that are actually made to look like high-heeled shoes! Amazing, right?”

He shook his head and chuckled. “You really should do it, Audrey. I for one would be there every day.”

She smiled, smacking his arm softly as she rolled her eyes. “It’s a pipe dream.”

“That could be a reality; you’ve just got to believe in yourself.”

Audrey stopped smiling and laid her bottle on the counter. “I do believe in myself.”

“Then do it.”

“I can’t, I’ll disappoint my dad and—”

“Who cares? This is about you, what makes you happy.”

She looked down at the counter and didn’t answer. Tate felt like he had crossed the line, but he was a blunt person, and he believed in Audrey. She had this amazing talent and she was wasting it, sitting behind a desk. She could do so much more if she would let herself do it.

“Question,” she whispered.

Tate looked up. “Yeah?”

“What would you do? If your dad didn’t want you to play hockey but be a part of the family business?”

His eyes never left hers as he said, “I would do what makes me happy. Call me selfish, if you must, but I’m not living this life for anyone but me right now. My dad did what made him happy, and encouraged me to follow my dreams.”

“You know what you want, huh?”

“Oh yeah, always have.”

“I wish I could be like that,” she said sadly.

“I think you could be. You should give it a try.”

“Maybe.”

Tate smiled as he came around the counter. “Come on, let me show you what my mom wanted me to do with my life.”

Audrey gave him a bright grin before he turned and headed up the stairs. He showed her
the bathroom, which was extremely plain, then his bedroom, done in a soft beige color with black accents, then they walked across the hall. Looking over at Audrey, he said, “I think this is the room that is connected to your closet. By the way, how do you like it?”

Her eyes went wide and glossy and she nodded in delight. “Oh my God, I love it. It took me hours to put up my shoes, but man, was it worth it.”

Tate chuckled before opening his door. “Good, so this is the room that keeps me busy for hours when I’m not at the rink.”

He watched as she walked past him and stood in the middle of the stark white room. A large musical staff that started with a large treble clef before heading into the notes of his favorite classical piece was painted on a wall. In one corner were Matilda’s and his violins. In another were his acoustic and bass guitars, and in the middle of the room was his vintage piano, which had been passed down from his great-great-great-grandma. It had a dark wood finish, with bright white keys that he had just had redone. It was a beauty, and his favorite thing, other than the goalie helmet Matilda had designed for him.

“Wow.”

Tate smiled as he glanced at her. “This is my favorite room.”

“It’s spectacular. What song is that?” she asked, pointing to the notes on the wall.

“Ludwig van Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata. It’s my mom’s favorite,” he said as pain ripped in his chest. How many times had he played the sonata for his mother? Millions?

God, he missed her.

“That’s so cool, can you play it?” Tate nodded as she looked around the room. “You play violin too?”

“Yeah,” he answered again.

“Wow,” she said, running her fingers along the strings of his violin, “Will you play it for me?”

Tate didn’t even think, he just nodded, picking it up, along with the bow. He shot her a grin before bringing it under his chin and slowly moving the bow along the strings. Audrey watched his every move, but he was too lost in the music to be affected by her intense gaze. His eyes drifted shut as he hit the crescendo of the song, moving his bow as quickly and efficiently as he knew how. When he finished, he opened his eyes to Audrey clapping for him.

“That was fantastic. ‘Grenade,’ right? By Bruno Mars? Fallon loves that song, but I’ve heard it so many times because of her that I hate it,” she said with a laugh. “But no joke, I could listen to you play it over and over again. That was awesome.”

“Thanks,” he said. His grin couldn’t have gotten any bigger as he laid the violin softly down before stretching his arms out in front of him. When he heard the bell, Audrey looked over at him.

“Food’s here, come on,” he said, heading for the door.

“You’ll need to play that piano for me,” she said behind him.

“Sure. Why don’t you stay up here and I’ll go get the food. We’ll eat and then I’ll play for you.”

“Awesome,” she gushed as he made his way quickly downstairs.

After paying the delivery guy and grabbing two more water bottles, Tate made his way up the stairs, thinking things were going well between them. After last night and this morning, he was nervous that Audrey’s walls would be firmly back in place, but she seemed okay. He just hoped she stayed that way. Back upstairs, he entered the room to see her sitting on his piano bench, moving her fingers along the keys.

“It’s so pretty,” she said as she stood.

She came over to him to help with the bags as he nodded. “Thanks, it’s been passed down through my family for years. If I didn’t play, Matilda would have gotten it.”

And if she hadn’t died.

“Matilda?” she asked, dropping down to the ground and crossing her legs before unpacking the bags.

Tate dropped down beside her, looking at the food she had placed in front of him. “Yeah, my sister.”

“Oh! I didn’t know you had a sister. How old is she?”

“Um, she’s, uh …” His heart was in his throat. He didn’t want to talk about Matilda’s death, or his parents’. He didn’t want Audrey to see that side of him yet. It was dark, and scary. “Seventeen.”

“Cool! Does she look like you?”

Tate nodded. “Yeah, but she’s gorgeous.”

And Matilda had been. Long, long blond hair, big ocean blue eyes, big puffy red lips, and pink-dusted cheeks. She was the most beautiful girl ever, just like his mother.

“That’s so sweet,” Audrey said with a grin, before munching on her taco.

Tate sat for a minute staring down at his food. He wasn’t hungry anymore. His stomach was in knots and he wanted nothing more than to tell Audrey about his family, but he couldn’t. Not yet, not when his heart felt like it was ripping apart. He had no doubt that he was strong, but when it came to talking about family deaths, the grief took over. He knew that breaking down in front of the girl he wanted to be with was not a good way to convince her he was a strong man. So he would keep that to himself for now. Wait for the right moment to tell her. When that
moment would come, he had no clue, but hopefully soon.

“What does your dad do?”

Tate looked up and swallowed before answering. “He was a doll maker.”

“A doll maker?” she asked, confused.

Tate smiled. “Yeah, he made these beautiful little dolls that my sister adored. You remind me a lot of them with your big bright eyes and plump cheeks. I think that’s what drew me to you that night.”