Winning Streak (9 page)

“Gah. Please don't call her that. I really don't want to picture his ugly mug every time I kiss her. And we've been seeing each other since just after the wedding.” Only a week and a half, but he felt like he'd known her forever.

“Have you, uh—”

“No. Even
my
definition of slow is slower than that.” Granted, that was a relatively new development, but times changed. People, too.

“All right, all right. When do you see her next?”

“Tomorrow night. She wants to meet me for drinks at the Artisan Lounge.”

“Never been there. And I think I've hit all the well-known spots in Vegas, so it should be low-key.”

“I haven't either, but that's what Saralynn said. It's not like we can go to Surrender, the Sinners' version of Cheers.”

“Not unless you want to surrender your life to Shane Reese. Now that I know, you could always bring her here. I could go out for the night.”

“Thanks. I'll see how she feels about it.” It made sense, but she'd been nervous alone with him in the owner's box. Hell, he'd been nervous. And he'd meant what he said. He didn't want to pressure her or rush things. “What about you? How are things with Tricia?”

“Great, I think. She's been coming to every home game, and we go out when we both have the night off. I really like her.”

“Good for you, man. You deserve it.” And he did. It couldn't be easy being the poster boy for an entire sport while he was so young, but Cole pulled it off and magically remained his humble, genuine self. “Want to hit up the Xbox for a while? I need to shoot things before I go to bed.”

“I hear that.”

Wednesday, March 5th

“We really don't know if we can let him go for that much.” How many times had someone said those words in the last hour? The Tampa Bay Lightning GM didn't want to give up one of his star defensemen. That was the real issue. No matter that Tampa couldn't afford to keep him. Madden took a slow breath and longed for the days of conference phone calls instead of video chats. No one could hear you roll your eyes or play dead. Time to up the ante.

“We understand that, sir. What if we threw in a prospect or two?” He'd offer a draft pick, but the Sinners had won the Cup back to back the last two years, so they got last pick in the draft, which wouldn't mean much.
Shit
. He glanced at Carter, who nodded in approval. Madden hadn't meant to make the offer out of turn, but it was the only card they had left to play, and thankfully his brother-in-law knew that. It sucked having to ask permission to do his job.

“Well … I think we could make that work.”

Thank you, Jesus
.

“I'm glad to hear that. Let's talk details.” Carter finished the deal, going through the Sinners' list of prospects and picking midrange players, which was fair. Madden sat back and stared at the screen without seeing it anymore. He'd rolled into the arena at four in the morning because doing business with the East Coast meant working with their time zone, and every minute counted today. It was now ten to 7
p.m.
After a fifteen-hour day, all he really wanted to do was go home and face-plant on the couch. Only one person could convince him to do otherwise, and she'd be getting ready to dance with the Lady Sinners right about now.

A loud click yanked him back to the moment. Carter closed his eyes and slid a hand through his hair. Madden smiled. “Bet you're wishing for the days when you were the one being traded.”

“You have no idea. But I love this job, and if I can't play, it's the second best thing. I can keep helping my team from the other side of the ice. Just still transitioning I guess.”

“I don't envy you, man.”

Carter went quiet and studied him for an uncomfortable minute. Finally, he cleared his throat and focused on the dark video screen. “I'm sorry about last week. Shadowing you, sitting in on your meetings. I never thought you slipped up. Okay, you came in a little under the weather the day after the bachelor party, but we all did to some extent. It's just harder for Jacey, you know?”

Madden did know. Too well. And while it lifted some weight knowing his brother-in-law hadn't lost faith in him, it hurt even more knowing how completely his sister had lost hope. Every time he'd messed up before, the one thing that got him through was Jacey's unwavering presence and support. He'd had her in his corner no matter what, and that was invaluable. It's what helped him stop gambling for good. And now, when he finally was fixing his life, the ghosts of past mistakes were winning after all. “I know. It's not her fault.”

“You two have a long history, and I don't know it all, but I do know how much she loves you. It's just recently she's been … ” Carter shook his head.

“Pregnant. Congratulations, by the way.”

“She told you. Good. And thanks. It's a lot to wrap my head around, but I'm excited. I know it's not my place to get in the middle, but for what it's worth, I see you're trying. Just stay out of trouble, and this'll all blow over.”

“Thanks. That's the plan. And it's okay. Really. If Jacey didn't double-cover all her bases, she wouldn't be my sister. It's fine.” Because what alternative was there?

“All right, man. It's been a long day. What do you say we head out?”

“Yeah. I'll be right behind you. I just want to clean some of the debris off my desk from the past few days.”

Carter patted his shoulder in passing.

Madden waited until he heard the elevator close at the end of the hall then collected his things and checked his watch. He could swing by the press box and catch a few minutes of dance practice down on the ice or go home for a shower and shave. Personal hygiene won out but just barely. Watching Saralynn dance had definite appeal but not as much as the opportunity to kiss her later, and that wouldn't happen without some sprucing up. In a little over an hour, he'd have her all to himself. Suddenly, the day didn't seem so bad.

• • •

“Woo! Good practice!” Saralynn scrubbed her wristband across her forehead and grabbed her water bottle from the players' bench. Amazing how much you could sweat on ice wearing so little. She high-fived a few girls as they headed out but hung back and let everyone else leave first. After the last goodbye, she checked that the coast was clear before slipping into the locker room. The showers with the heated tile flooring were calling her name.

“Sare?”

That wasn't the tiles. That was her brother. Several years into adulthood, and his way of questioning and accusing at the same time still spiked her blood pressure. She faced him and tried for an innocent look, but that was hard with her Lady Sinners tank top glittering under the locker room fluorescents. “Hey, bro.”

“Tell me you're not auditioning for the dance team.” He scrubbed his head with a towel, having apparently finished late in the workout room.

“I'm not auditioning for the dance team. I'm just dancing with them.”

He blinked, and she could tell he was two seconds from snarking, “What's the difference?”

“Not at games. Just practices. Since I practically live in the arena, it made sense. Plus it's way more fun than running on a treadmill. And I can't tell you how glad I am that I didn't hit the showers five minutes earlier.”

Her brother made a face, then pressed the heels of his palms into his eye sockets. “Ahhh, stop talking.”

“Gladly. I'm running late.”

“For what?”

Shit
. “A date. Don't you have a wife to get home to?”

“A date with who?”

She fought back a shriek rising in her throat. Ohhh, she wanted to chew him out for threatening all the men in a three-mile radius so they wouldn't ask her out. He had no right. But if she did that, he'd want to know who told, and even though he wouldn't get the answer from her, he'd strong-arm everyone in the building until someone squealed. From there, it was a short leap to figuring out she was seeing Madden, and then her brother would blow a gasket. She un-balled her fists. “Guy I met at the radio station for the Sinners segment. Inquisition over? It takes a while to get from sweaty mess to datable, so if you don't mind … ”

He eyed her warily for a minute, then shook his head and tossed his duffle bag over his shoulder. “Be safe. And make sure this radio guy knows you have an older brother with a goalie stick.”

She rolled her eyes at his back as he left then threw a few spastic punches into empty air when the door closed. Sufficiently drained of pent rage, she hit the showers.

Date night:

The Artisan Lounge was nearly empty at just after nine on a Wednesday night. Perfect. Saralynn flipped her hair back over her shoulders and put a little sway in her step to make her entrance when she saw Madden watching from a leather sofa in the back. Sure, she could have gone for casual, but the devil on her shoulder seemed to have dibs on the megaphone when it came to this man. She couldn't resist a slinky black dress that hit mid-thigh or her favorite pair of Louboutin simple heels. Even though “simple” for Louboutin meant four inches. It was all worth the transparent desire and admiration on Madden's face.

He was looking perfectly jumpable himself in gray suit pants and a white, button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled to his elbows. “Other than the wedding, I think this is the first time I've ever seen you out of jeans.”

His tired eyes sparked, and that heart-stopping grin made a grand appearance. “You can see me out of these, too, if you want.” Playful, but not entirely kidding if the underlying current of heat was any indicator.

Yes, please.
She tingled from head to toe, and lust pooled warm in her belly, but she tried for a nonchalant smirk. “Nice. And thank you.” She nodded to the pink cosmo sitting on the coffee table next to his … Scotch? Must have been a rough day.

“My pleasure. Have a seat. I don't bite, but I make no promises about ear nibbling.”

She dropped down next to him, crossing her legs. “You are such a dork. You realize your lines wouldn't be half as effective if you weren't so … ”

“Devastatingly handsome?”

Yes.
“Adorable.”

“Damn. You gonna tell me I have a nice personality next? 'Cause I don't think I could take that today.”

“That bad, huh?” She angled to face him and picked up her drink, taking a fortifying sip. Storms lurked under his smooth surface, and she wanted to steel her sails.

“It was a long day. We went back and forth with Tampa for hours but finally picked up Yaroslav.”

“That's a good thing.”

“It is.”

“Someone should tell your face.”

He cracked a smile and gave her a sideways glance. “Also, Carter let me know he's on my side and doesn't doubt my ability to do my job.”

“That's another good thing.”

“It would be if it didn't mean all of the doubt is coming from my sister.”

She didn't have a response for that. She could tell him again that everything would work out. Jacey would get past the emotional roadblocks. But she didn't want to discount how badly he felt at the moment. Not sure what else to do, she set her drink back down then slowly shifted to lean her cheek on his shoulder. It was awkward at first, and he glanced down at her curiously.

“New at this, huh?”

She scrunched her face and swatted his chest. “I'm trying to comfort you here. I'm doing my best.”

His features softened, and the clouds in his eyes started to subside. “You're doing great.”

That connection snared her, and she couldn't look away. He dipped in and brushed his whisper-soft lips over hers, tentative. Even after their make-out session in the Boneyard, he still wasn't sure she wanted him. Silly man. She cupped his jaw with one hand and pulled him closer, deepening the kiss. Physical want consumed her, but something else, too.

She felt something for this man. Something potentially very scary but not in a horror movie kind of way. It wasn't like she thought she'd wake up to him standing over her with a chainsaw some night. No, scary in a thrilling sense, like jumping off the Stratosphere. That incredible rush coupled with the assurance of knowing you were safe. Something she'd never thought about or wanted. Until now.

His fingertips brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear, so gentle, like he thought he might break her. Or he was afraid she might break him. Both were sweet and kind of funny. She leaned back just a centimeter so they were nose to nose and smiled. “New at this, huh?”

The look in his half-lidded eyes said
challenge accepted
, and he dove back in, one hand cupping the back of her head and the other curling around her waist and pulling her flush against him. His tongue parted her lips and found her own, and she hung on for dear life. When he traced circles on the small of her back, she forgot her own name. It took every ounce of restraint not to climb him like a jungle gym. They were in a bar after all.

She pushed away with a gasp, smoothed her hair, and tugged down the hem of her dress. “Okay. So you've had some practice.”

Was that a blush? Hard for a ginger to hide it. He really was painfully cute. Madden cleared his throat and shrugged. “Maybe a little. I don't usually get carried away in public. You seem to bring it out in me.”

“I'll take that as a compliment.”

“You absolutely should.”

She pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes. “I really want to take you home with me.”

“I second that motion, but I detect some indecision.”

“It's just … I think I might really like you.”

“That makes sense.” He nodded his head then shook it.

“What I mean is, I've rushed into physical relationships before with guys I didn't care that much about. Not often. I'm not saying I was a slut, but that was almost never the right choice, and I really like you, and I think this could actually be something, and I don't want to mess it up. And I'm rambling. I never ramble, so that's proof that this is something.”