Taking A Shot (13 page)

“Have a good day, Jenna.”

Regret made her sigh. “You, too.”

She got up and made a hasty exit before she did something stupid, like ask to see him again.

TY SAW THE LOOK OF REGRET AND HESITATION IN Jenna’s eyes.

He knew the score. One game only.

But he also saw the heat flare in her eyes after that kiss.

She might be determined, but so was he. And he never gave up.

He threw the covers off and went into the bathroom, then grabbed his clothes. No sense in showering in Jenna’s bathroom
when he’d just have to throw the same clothes on again. He’d wait until he got home. He dressed and followed the scent of coffee.

Jenna had laid a cup out for him so he filled it and drank, grateful for the caffeine perk that would get him home.

It had been a long night. A good night. He smiled remembering it. He wanted another night with her.

He was on his way out when he spotted the guitar sitting in the open extra bedroom. He paused, glanced in the room, and saw the sheet music.

It was private, he knew, and he shouldn’t snoop, but she’d left him alone in here.

He walked into the room and squatted down on the floor.

There was some copyrighted sheet music, but also blank pages where she was writing her own.

Huh. He had no idea she was a songwriter.

He didn’t know a damn thing about music, but obviously Jenna did. There were pages and pages of handwritten music in here.

Interesting.

JENNA THREW OFF HER COAT AND HURRIED INTO THE kitchen while she rubbed her cold hands together.

Everyone was already here and the smell of food made her stomach growl. Bacon and some kind of baked goods. She was starving.

“Morning. Am I late?”

“Right on time,” her mother said. “Everyone’s already in the dining room. You can take this plate of muffins in.”

She kissed her mother on the cheek and grabbed the muffins.

“About time you showed up,” Gavin said. “We’re all about to waste away waiting for you.”

She rolled her eyes as she took a seat. “It’s five after eight. I don’t think you’re going to die.”

She hugged Tara, who absolutely glowed with happiness. “Good morning, Mrs. Riley.”

Tara grinned. “It’s going to take me some time to get used to that. Tara Riley. I can’t believe it actually happened. He’s mine.”

Mick came up and put his arm around Tara. “It did happen. You’re my wife. No backing out now.”

Tara tilted her head back and cast adoring eyes at Mick. “Not a chance. I’m never letting you go.”

“You two are making my stomach hurt. Or maybe that’s just hunger.”

Mick and her mom sat down and they all dug into the wonderful meal Mom had made. Obviously everyone was hungry, and talk turned to rehashing the wedding.

Jenna enjoyed the conversation and listening to everyone’s stories about the night before. Mick had been nervous, afraid he’d forget his vows. Tara had been ecstatic, and Nathan had been glad to get through it without tripping over his fancy shoes. Gavin and Liz were starry-eyed with thoughts of their own upcoming wedding, and her parents looked on all them with such joy it made tears spring to Jenna’s eyes.

This was her family, and she loved them so much.

She poured another cup of coffee from the carafe on the table, then added cream and lifted the cup to her lips, closing her eyes and breathing it in as she sipped.

“Rough night?”

She opened her eyes and looked at Liz. “Late night, same as the rest of you.”

“I don’t know,” Tara said, giving Jenna a thorough once over. “You’ve got dark circles under your eyes, yet your cheeks are pink.”

The guys had all moved into the living room to watch something on television, and Mom was in the kitchen, leaving Jenna alone in the dining room with Liz and Tara.

Liz tilted her head. “Dark circles and flushed cheeks? That can only mean one thing. You had sex.”

Jenna’s eyes widened. “I did not.”

“You did, too,” Tara said. “You think we’ve never had sex before? We know the look.”

Jenna looked around to be sure no one heard. The TV was blaring and obviously if her mother heard anything she wasn’t going to come running into the room for details. Thankfully.

“So who was the guy?” Tara asked.

“I don’t want to talk about this.”

Liz looked at Tara. “She doesn’t want to talk about it. She isn’t denying it, which means she definitely had sex last night.”

She raised her chin. “I plead the fifth.”

Tara nodded at Liz. “I was obviously busy the entire night. Who was she with?”

Liz tapped a perfectly manicured fingernail on the table. “Let’s see. She didn’t bring a date, and as far as I know she isn’t seeing anyone.”

“No one that I know of. I could ask Mick.”

“I could ask Gavin.”

“Stop it, both of you. There’s no one. Just a random hookup.”

“Random hookup my—oohh,” Liz said. “It was Ty.”

Shit.

“Ty Anderson? The hockey player?” Tara asked. She turned to Jenna. “Oh, he’s gorgeous. And so hot, Jenna.”

“And a hockey player, and you know how I feel about sports and the men who play them.”

“That shouldn’t matter, if you like him,” Tara said. “And if you had sex with him I assume you like him.”

Liz looked from Tara to Jenna. “What does sports have to do with you staying up all night screwing his brains out?”

“She won’t date anyone involved in sports,” Tara explained.

Liz frowned. “Why not?”

Jenna shrugged, realizing it sounded stupid. “Because I live it in my job and I’m surrounded by it with my family. I’d just like a freakin’ break when I date a guy, you know?”

“But sports are in your blood, Jenna.”

“No, sports are in
their
blood.” She motioned toward Gavin and Mick. “Not mine.”

Tara leaned back and sipped her juice. “Okay, well I get that, really. And as someone who was the queen of denial herself, I understand about your reason for not wanting to be with Ty—”

“As stupid as that is,” Liz interjected.

Tara pinned Liz with a look. “But it’s her reason, nonetheless.”

Liz waved a hand. “Whatever.”

“So anyway,” Tara continued. “Was it good?”

That got Liz’s attention. “Yes. Tell us. Was it?”

Jenna shook her head. “You’re as bad as men.”

“Men don’t gossip about sex details,” Tara said.

“They don’t?”

Tara shook her head. “No. Mick told me all they say to their friends is, ‘I gave it to her so good last night, she couldn’t walk today,’ or some such nonsense. But no details. We want details.”

“Huh. Well, I gave it to him so good last night he couldn’t walk today.”

Liz snorted. Tara tilted her head back and laughed out loud.

“What are you all laughing about in there?” Mick asked.

“Girl talk,” Tara hollered to him before turning back to Jenna. “And?”

“And what?”

“Come on, Jen, we need more than that,” Liz said. “Just how good was it? That man is sex on a hockey stick. I’ve seen him play. Hell, he’s my client. His stamina on the ice is epic.”

Jenna leaned back in her chair. “And you want to know if that stamina translates to the bedroom.”

“Hell, yes.”

Her lips quirked, remembering last night, and her body heated. “Then…hell yes.”

Liz slapped her hand on the table. “I knew it. Not that I have any complaints. Gavin—”

Jenna held up a hand. “Is my brother and I so don’t want to hear about your sexcapades with him.”

“You are not fun.”

She stood and grabbed the carafe. “I’m going to refill the coffee. You can share sex stories with Tara. I’ll be right back.”

She went into the kitchen. Her mom had just ended a phone call.

“I’m sorry, sweetie. It was Diandra, who couldn’t make to the wedding last night because Bill had emergency gallbladder surgery.”

Jenna refilled the carafe from the full pot of coffee on the counter. She knew Diandra was one of her mother’s oldest friends. She and Bill had been over to the house so many times over the years, they were like family to Jenna. “Oh, no. Is Bill okay?”

“He’s fine. Still in the hospital because they’re treating him with antibiotics due to an infection, but he should go home by tomorrow. She was so upset to miss the wedding.”

Jenna leaned against the counter. “Understandable considering the circumstances. I’m glad Bill is okay.”

“Me, too. Now what were you girls talking about in there?”

“Nothing much. Wedding stuff.”

“It was a great wedding, wasn’t it?”

“The best, Mom. The absolute best.”

And that was all she was going to tell her mother. It was bad enough Liz and Tara knew about Ty. Since she didn’t intend to see him again, there was no point mentioning him to her parents.

DESPITE THE LACK OF SLEEP, TY WAS ENERGIZED AT the game.

They were up three to two with four minutes left in the third period. He paced in the penalty box after getting a high sticking penalty. Fifteen seconds to go and he was out of there.

Seconds ticked by like hours when he was in the box and the game was on the line. He watched the time count down, then sprang out of the box and onto the ice, taking his position back.

Wolkowski passed him the puck and he threaded it through the defenseman and back to Eddie, putting himself in position in front of the net. Eddie shot it over to Victor, who sent it sailing back to him. He slammed the shot at the net but the goalie defended, then sent it circling around behind the net.

Damn.

Adrenaline pumping, he moved backward when the Montreal center breezed toward him. He wouldn’t let him past and jammed his stick against the center’s, then took the puck from him, digging his skates into the ice and charging toward the opposite goal again.

His opponent slammed a shoulder into him and prevented his forward movement, and they fought for the puck. The puck slid free and Ty went after it, determined not to give it up. Every fraction of a second was a battle to be won. He wasn’t going to let their center take the prize from him. They reached it at the same time and Ty swung around, turning his back to the center. He raised his stick, scooping the puck away from the opponent. He passed it to Victor, who shot it to Eddie.

Tyler skated to the net.

Eddie fought his defender for the puck and slammed it to Ty. He took the puck around the back of the net and swept it to Victor, who was in perfect position to the right of the goal and tucked it into the net.

The lights behind the goal flashed on, signaling success.

They scored, and the crowd leaped to their feet.

Tyler skated to Eddie and Victor, they piled on celebratory high fives, then finished the damn game.

After, Tyler was pumped and ready to celebrate.

“You guys ready to go out and party tonight?” he asked.

Eddie was always up for an after-game celebration. “You know it. If you’re buying.”

Ty shook his head. “You’re a cheap bastard, Eddie.”

“Yeah, but someday I’ll be a rich cheap bastard, especially if I keep getting guys like you to buy my dinner and beers.”

“I’ll buy you dinner for that pass tonight, and Victor’s dinner for that goal. You can buy your own damn beer.”

“You are on,” Victor said. “Beautiful women will want me after that goal tonight.”

Ty patted Victor on the back. “I think beautiful women want you even when you don’t score a goal.”