Page 2 of Meet Your Match (Kings of the Ice)
I didn’t have to be even mildly interested in hockey to recognize our hotshot rookie, the one who had been taking the city by storm since he burst into headlines this preseason.
He caught everyone’s attention with all the goals and assists he racked up early in the regular season soon after, and he held that attention with his activities off the ice — namely partying, stumbling into his condo with three girls on each arm, and becoming known for randomly showing up in popular shops and restaurants, hanging out with fans like he was a regular person.
Which he was , I reminded myself, as I let my smile slip farther off my face.
I knew him not only because of all that, but because he was frequently spotlighted in the local news for being a community hero.
But from what I could tell, the events were all a public relations sham, and he was all too happy to pretend like he gave a shit long enough to have his picture snapped before he was back to being a playboy.
Vince Cool.
Tampa had bestowed the affectionate nickname upon him, inspired by Snoopy’s alter ego Joe Cool , and the rest of the nation had been quick to jump on board. He was hot, young, cocky, and, worst of all, the kind of player who backed up his shit-talking effortlessly.
Because he just kept getting better and better with every fucking game.
I didn’t have to study him long to note that his usually messy hair was tamed tonight, styled in a sleek wave that accented the lines and edges of his handsome face.
Those cheekbones were enough to make a poet dedicate their life’s work to him.
Coupled with his thick lashes and lips that always remained in a rich boy pout, Vince was impossible not to find delectable.
Those attracted to the male variety went especially apeshit over the little scar on his right eyebrow, the one that gave that pretty face just enough edge to make you wonder if he’d tie you up in bed.
He was stoic and severe, the kind of man who exuded power without ever having to say a single word.
His pouty lips crooked just a little at the corner the longer I stared at him, especially when my eyes flicked to the column of his white throat exposed by the top two buttons of his dress shirt being carelessly left unfastened. No neck had a right to be that hot.
Finally, I met his gaze, his hazel eyes simmering the longer we stared at each other. I couldn’t tell if they were more green or gold, the two colors battling for dominance as his lips quirked up a bit higher.
My smile flattened as I turned back to the vase, and Vince sidled up beside me, his posture confident and relaxed as he slid his hands into the pockets of his slacks.
He was at least a foot taller than me even in my heels, so I stood a bit straighter, holding my chin high.
“It is quite hideous,” he said.
That made me relax marginally, because at least we agreed on one thing. “And yet, some rich prick is going to make an outrageous bid on it and pat themselves on the back all the way home.”
“Why does bidding on an ugly vase make them a prick?”
“Because they think being charitable means throwing their inheritance money at some absurd piece of art ,” I spat that part with a laugh. “And suddenly now they rest easier at night, feeling like God’s gift to mankind.”
Vince tilted his head a bit. “Well, I suppose that’s better than using their money on blow and hookers, right?”
“Oh, I’m sure they get plenty of that, too.”
“A lot of charities depend on financial support from events like this.”
“Sure,” I snapped without meaning to, my teeth grinding a bit. Livia had given me the tough love only a best friend can many times and told me I have the tendency to come off as a bitch to people who don’t know me well — especially when we got on the topic of the state of the world.
But that was the infuriating truth, wasn’t it? Any woman who wasn’t smiling and laughing and being amicably pleasant was a bitch.
I wore the insult with pride.
“And a lot of the people here will donate maybe one percent of what they make in a year and brag to all their friends about how involved they are in the community.”
Vince angled himself toward me then, and I met his gaze with my chin still held high.
“So anyone who doesn’t dedicate their life and finances to activism is just a shit human, huh? You must be a perfect little angel — a modern day Mother Theresa.”
“At the very least, I don’t do community events for PR stunts,” I shot back, folding my arms over my chest. That called attention to the camera still strapped around my neck, and Vince arched a brow .
“Right. You just cover the stunt and pretend to be above it all.”
“Aw, were you expecting me to fall at your feet and fawn over how amazing you are like the rest of your doting paparazzi?” I asked with my bottom lip poked out.
“That’s so cute. Go ahead.” I held up my phone and pretended like I was recording.
“Tell me about all the charity work you do, and I’ll pretend you do it because you want to and not because it looks good for the team. ”
His eyes were hazel stone where they watched me, the corner of his mouth crooking like he wanted to smile. But his jaw was tight, brows in a hard line, like I was an opponent skating out onto his home ice.
“I guess you have me all figured out.”
“Wait, this is a perfect shot,” I continued, tucking my phone away and grabbing my camera, instead. “Tampa’s Hotshot Rookie and The Most Heinous Vase Ever Created.”
His lips did quirk up a bit at that, just a smidge, just enough for me to feel supremely satisfied when I snapped a photo of him standing in front of the auction table with his hands still resting easily in his pockets.
When I dropped the camera to hang around my neck once more, we were in a standoff, both of us watching the other.
I wore a smirk that matched his. At least, until his eyes broke contact with my own and raked slowly down my body.
He didn’t even pretend to be ashamed, just took in the deep V of my neckline with appreciation, his brow arching more when he noted the high slit of the dress that revealed a sliver of my upper thigh.
My neck burned furiously under his gaze, but not half as hot as my temper, and I was ready to lay into him when an arm looped through mine from behind .
“Sorry,” Livia said. “Got tied up telling gruesome stories to the crowd our GM was entertaining. Oh, I see you’ve met Tanny Boy.”
Vince turned his attention to my best friend, a wide smile spreading on his face. It was so different from the sly smirks he’d been giving me all night it nearly knocked the breath out of me.
“Hey, Livvy,” he greeted, leaning in to kiss the side of each of her cheeks. It brought him a little too close to me, considering Livia still had her arm threaded through mine. “Long time no see.”
“That’s a good thing for you,” she mused. “Take care of those veneers and avoid another puck to the jaw, and we can keep our time together in more fun settings like this one.”
He flashed his teeth again, and I found myself wondering which ones were real.
“Ah, but I miss your chair,” he said, and his eyes appraised her just the same way they had me. “You know we look forward to having a tooth knocked out knowing it means a trip to your office.”
I was tempted to scoff, but Livia seemed used to the blatant flirt. She only rolled her eyes and waved him off with a smile.
“Sorry to interrupt,” a slight voice said, and then we all turned to a young girl with cheeks as pink as a rose. She wore a simple black cocktail dress and a golden name tag that told me she was a volunteer working the event. “But are you Mr. Tanev?”
“The very one,” he said.
With a shy smile, the girl gestured toward the vase behind where Vince stood. “Perfect, thank you for coming over. I’m so sorry to disrupt your night. ”
“Not a disruption at all. In fact, it’s been the highlight so far,” he said, and his eyes caught on mine before he followed to where the girl was leading him to the table.
“If you can just sign that photograph we placed there beside your artwork, we’ll frame that and include it as part of the bidding package.”
I frowned, trying to make sense of what she said as she handed a Sharpie to the rookie.
“It would be my pleasure,” he said, and after scrawling his signature out on the photograph of him in a sweaty celebration after a goal, he dropped the marker to the table and turned back toward where Livia and I stood. “Although, I don’t expect you’ll get much for such an ugly thing.”
His eyes were on me with those words, and I tried with all my might not to swallow or back down from his gaze.
“Oh, I’m sure you’re wrong,” the volunteer said. “It’s not often a pro athlete also has an artistic inclination. This is the kind of work that a collector would be proud to display.”
“You made that?” Livia asked, her eyes wide and impressed. “It’s beautiful.” She shook her head, appraising the piece further. “Save some talent for the rest of us, why don’t you?”
I rolled my eyes, which made Vince smirk in victory.
The volunteer went right back to whatever it was she was doing behind the tables, and Vince kept his eyes fixed on me long enough to make me look away.
When I finally did, he adjusted the cuff links on his wrists before nodding at Livia. “Better get back to it,” he said. “Enjoy your evening, ladies.”
He didn’t so much as glance at me again before he was striding through the crowd, and where the seas had parted for Livia, the opposite was true for Vince.
He was magnetic, calling to every person he passed without saying a single word.
He didn’t get farther than a few feet before a group was enveloping him, pulling out their phones for pictures.
And as soon as he’d break free from them, there was a girl or two or three tugging on his arm and vying for his attention next.
“I can’t imagine the life he lives,” Livia said with a curious smile.
“I can,” I bit back. “The carefully curated kind.”
“Okay, grumpy. Not everyone is evil until proven a saint,” she mused, laughing. Then, she tugged me toward the stage. “Come on. Let’s find our table before the speeches start.”
I let her lead the way, schooling a few breaths to shake off how flustered that stupid man had made me.
Adding insult to injury, the vase went for ten-thousand dollars by the end of the night.