Empty Net (32 page)

Later that night, after another shutout victory over the Anaheim Ducks, Tate sat in bed with Audrey, a plate of sushi between them as they ate. He couldn’t help but notice how gorgeous she
was when he was in goal, but sitting across from her was ten times better. She looked playful, beautiful, and for the first time ever, he was able to call her, “his.”

“So, Mr. Five Game Shutout Goalie guy, how does it feel?”

Tate chuckled. “Great, but it isn’t all because I’m an awesome goalie.”

“Oh no?” she asked, holding a piece of sushi between a pair of chopsticks.

Tate shook his head, reaching across to cup her jaw. He loved her jawline and her chin, they were some of his favorite things about her face. “It has a lot to do with you.”

Audrey smiled as she popped the piece in her mouth. “I’m already planning on sleeping with you, babe. I even bought special panties, so no need trying to talk me out of them. They will be off sooner than later.”

Tate started to laugh. “I don’t have to try, like you said. I’m only speaking the truth, love.”

Audrey’s cheeks were dusted with color as she eyed him over a new piece of sushi. Tate leaned over and ate the sushi she held on the chopsticks for herself. “Hey!” she complained. “I don’t like sharing!”

“You better learn to, love. I love eating my woman’s food.”

Audrey giggled as she picked up another piece. “Your woman?”

“Oh yeah, you didn’t get the memo in the hall?”

Audrey laughed, shaking her head. “Sure didn’t, but I’m glad someone did!”

Tate moved the plate to the side, taking her by the back of her knees and bringing her almost into his lap, where he kissed her hard. He had missed her mouth so much, and the kiss they’d shared when they met up earlier wasn’t enough. With his hands in the back pockets of her jeans, he deepened the kiss, moving his tongue with hers as Audrey ran her hands up his back,
making his body break out in goose bumps. Pulling back, Tate nuzzled her nose with his, then leaned his forehead against hers.

“Question,” he said softly against her lips.

Audrey nodded, her eyes closed as she tickled his neck with her fingers. “Sure.”

He didn’t know how to ask, and he was worried he might upset her, but he had to know. Pulling back again, his eyes searching hers, he asked, “Is there a reason you can’t have kids?” She took a sharp breath and looked away, but he brought her face back up to look at him. “No, don’t hide, love, tell me.”

Audrey shrugged. “It’s a long story.”

“And I have all night. I want to know.”

She took her hands from his neck and placed them in her lap, where she twirled a ring around her finger. “It’s basically the same story of Fallon and Lucas, minus keeping the baby and living Happily Ever After.”

“Huh?”

Audrey looked up. “Oh, Lucas never told you about him and Fallon?”

Tate shook his head. “Parts.”

“Oh, well here is my version,” she said taking a deep breath. “I was seventeen when it happened. I was messing around with this guy, Derek Rambles.” She paused a moment and shook her head. “We were careless, and the next thing I knew, I was pregnant.”

“But I thought you couldn’t have kids?” Tate said, confused.

“Oh, I could have, but after Derek left me and my dad caught wind of it, he demanded that I get an abortion or he would take everything away from me, no money for college, no car, kicking me out of the house, the whole nine yards. I was scared and young, so I went along with
it.”

Tate’s brows came together. He didn’t understand how a father could do that to his daughter. “That’s insane,” he said.

“Yeah, well, I had to go to Kentucky to get the abortion because my dad didn’t want anyone in Tennessee to hear about it. So after a long, painful trip, I came home, and a couple days later I was in excruciating pain. I got a really horrible infection and they said I couldn’t produce eggs. My tubes are blocked and all this other crap, I don’t remember the specifics. I don’t like to think about it.”

Tate took her hands in his. He didn’t understand a lot of what she’d said but could see the pain on her face. He hated that and wished he could make it better. “So there is no fixing it?”

Audrey shook her head. “No, I’m one of the 2.1 percent that this can happen to. It drives me insane because if I could have been strong like Fallon who came home pregnant, I wouldn’t be having this problem. I would be raising a child on my own, because Derek was an idiot, but I would have a baby, and the option to have more, you know.”

Tate nodded as she went on. “But now, I’m this woman who has spent the last ten years or so feeling like I am not a real woman because I can’t give a man a child. It’s hard, and I still haven’t overcome it. That’s why I’ve always dated assholes, because they don’t want kids. They just want to have someone to fuck, and I was that girl—”

“But not anymore,” Tate said before she could go on. “You will never feel like less than a woman while we are together. I like you the way you are, love, and that will never change.”

“I want to believe you so bad, but I’m so scared.”

Tate leaned forward and dusted her jaw with kisses. When he reached her mouth, he whispered against it, “Don’t be scared. Everything is going to be fine.”

“I hope so,” she whispered. “Thank you for listening, I actually feel so much better telling someone.”

Tate nodded, his eyes drifting shut as he said, “I’ll always be here to listen.”

He moved his lips against hers, then deepened the kiss, holding her face in his hands. He didn’t want her to feel she was less of a woman because she couldn’t have a baby. He wanted her to feel good about herself. He didn’t understand it all, but planned to do research and find out if there was a way to help her, because if he could give her the world, he would.

When they moved apart, Audrey looked up at him through heavy-lidded eyes. “Do I get kisses like that all the time when I’m your woman?”

“All the time, even when you don’t want them.”

She smiled. “Then hell, where do I sign up?”

A week later Tate sat outside the office of Eleanor Adler, his palms were sweating, his heart was racing. He thought he might be about to have an anxiety attack.

His agent, Koey Lefeber, sat beside him. Koey had been with him for the last nine months. He was a good guy, honest, to the point, and knew how to get his players what they needed or wanted. He had short blond hair, blue eyes, and was on the small side, only coming up to Tate’s elbow. With his killer suit and good looks, it was no surprise to him that his agent knew how to work the ladies, as well as the guys.

“You’re nervous, I see,” Koey observed as Tate checked his phone for what seemed the hundredth time. For what, he didn’t know.

Tate nodded. “Yup.”

“It’s going to be fine. They aren’t going to let you go. They need you. So stop worrying.”

It wasn’t that easy, though. The dream team goalies from last year, Jordan Ryan and Matthew Haksson, were back. Both were healthy and ready to play. Jordan Ryan had been backing Tate up—not that he needed him, but he was there—and Matthew was right behind Jordan. It was true that he’d been playing very well recently, among the best goalies in the league, if not the best. Nine shutout games; over 270 shots on goal and not one puck got past him. They were great numbers, but Tate knew that a goalie could lose his form overnight, and he was young, less experienced than Ryan and Jordan. He couldn’t help but feel like a kid from Sweden who for the moment could keep the puck out of the net.

Taking a deep breath and holding it, he closed his eyes and leaned his head against the
wall of Elli’s office. He was on a streak and that was great, but was it enough to impress Elli?

When his phone signaled a text message, he let out the breath he was holding and looked down at the display.

Tate’s face broke into a huge grin as he reread the message from Audrey.

His Audrey.

He couldn’t believe how happy she made him. He couldn’t describe the feeling that she gave him. It was intense, as if nothing in the world could touch him or bring him down. When she went back home to Nashville from California, he’d felt like she was taking a part of him with her. For the past year he had felt so empty, like he was going through the motions of life without really living, but since meeting Audrey, it seemed he’d lived more than he had his whole life.

Thank you
, he texted back.
I can’t wait to see you, and your cupcakes
.

He couldn’t help but laugh out loud when her text came back.

Are we talking about my cupcakes, or my CUPCAKES? Are we getting dirty, Mr. Odder?

Tate bit his lip, his body becoming hotter as he typed back quickly.
It would have been dirty if I asked to eat them off you. Jeez, get your mind out of the gutter
.

After reading her next text, he was left hiding a hard on.

So asking if you want to would be totally inappropriate, huh?

Tate internally groaned as he typed back:
You are asking for it
.

Asking for what?

You’ll see when I get home, love. It’s been a long week without you
.

And it had been. Exiting the team plane, he had come straight to Elli’s office to meet with his agent for their meeting, which meant he hadn’t seen Audrey in six days. Their nightly chats on Skype weren’t enough. He missed her. He needed to have her in his arms. When her text came back, he smiled as he read it.

Seriously. I. Can. Not. Wait
.

Just as he was about to text back that he couldn’t wait either, the office door opened and Elli came out with a grin on her face. Tate didn’t know why he always felt impending doom when he had to meet with his boss, but he did. He admired her, thought she was gorgeous, but she scared the shit out of him. Everytime Elli was around, he felt as if Shea Adler would suddenly appear suddenly and gouge out his eyes with the butt of his hockey stick. It was a scary thought, and now he found himself looking at the floor, not at Elli.

“Janet, hold my calls, please,” Elli said to her assistant. “Gentlemen, please come on in.”

Both men nodded, stood up and followed her inside, reseating themselves in front of her desk. Even though Audrey had calmed most of Tate’s nerves, he was still sweating as if he were in a game with a minute left on the clock and the other team had the extra man advantage. He hadn’t been this nervous since his first meeting with Elli nine months ago, but that had gone well, so hopefully this would too.

“Mr. Odder, I want to congratulate you on your streak,” she said. “Very impressive. My uncle and I are thrilled with your performance.”

Tate smiled as he nodded. “Thank you.”

“All right, so we won’t keep you long, Mrs. Adler,” Koey said, getting down to business
and handing her a file. “We have four different offers right now. Detroit is offering a salary of eight million a year for five years.”

They are? Tate thought.

He’d had no clue of this, but it sounded nice. The only problem was, Detroit didn’t have Audrey. But maybe she would go with him, leave Nashville, leave her dad, open her cupcake place in Detroit. It was a thought, but of course he had to talk to her about it first.

Looking up, he saw Elli giving Koey an evil-looking grin. Tate had noticed that the two had never really gotten along. From what Erik had told him, Koey had tried flirting with Elli, and when she shot him down, he tried to lowball her. Since then she’d been tough to work with. Erik was considering going with different representation because of it, and with the way Elli was looking at Koey now, Tate found himself thinking that too.

“Now now, Mr. Lefeber,” Elli said, “you’ve been dealing with me for the past year, and I think you know by now that I don’t take kindly to being pressured when we have at least four months before Mr. Odder becomes a free agent. Detroit, California, Florida, and even New York will have to wait, or we can do this now and go into the New Year with our heads on straight, primed to compete in the playoffs. Totally up to you.”

Koey’s eyes narrowed, but he nodded. “I see you’ve been on the phone?”

Elli nodded too, the same grin on her face. “Yes sir, and I’m not the least bit worried, for you see, I have a very promising deal here, which my uncle and I feel will be perfect for Mr. Odder.”

Tate looked back at Koey, to see him reaching for the file he had given Elli before taking out another one. Opening it, Koey nodded before meeting Tate’s eyes. “Seven million a year for seven years,” he said.

Confused and shocked, Tate quickly looked at Elli. “You want me for seven years?”

She nodded, her eyes full of compassion as she said, “I would have offered more if my uncle would have let me. You know you’re not only the best goalie in the league, but you’ve become part of my family. I know that you put your heart out there for our team every game, and I don’t want anyone but you in my goal.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Adler. I wouldn’t want to play for anyone else but you,” Tate said from the heart, even with Koey shaking his head beside him. Tate didn’t care, though. He had felt like a part of the Assassins family since he arrived. He enjoyed being on the team. He loved the guys like brothers. Elli was a great owner, and even though Coach Bacter scared the crap out of him, he was a great coach. But most of all, Nashville had Audrey Parker, and that alone was enough to keep him there.

Elli flashed him another winning smile before looking back at Koey. Tate could tell she was back to business. With a raised brow, she asked, “So now, Mr. Lefeber, is my deal enough?”

Sounding defeated, Koey nodded as he said, “It is.”

After signing the proper paperwork, Tate left Elli’s office feeling on top of the world. Shaking hands with Koey, they parted ways, then he brought out his phone. There was one person he had to tell, and within seconds her voice filled his ear.