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10

THéO

Wow, that feels weird, saying it.

“Holy shit!” Manny’s eyes widen. “I had no idea you were married. When did this happen?”

“Last night.” The answer bursts from my lips before I can even think.

“What?” He laughs in disbelief, as if I’m joking.

“Yeah. It was our last night in Vegas so we decided to tie the knot. Did the cheesy Vegas chapel thing and all.” I catch Lacey’s eye and she smiles because this is all true.

“Wow.” Manny shakes his head and advances on Lacey. “Well, nice to meet you, Lacey.”

“Likewise.” They shake hands.

“Manny and I played hockey together in Wilkes-Barre,” I tell Lacey. “And now we’ve both ended up here.”

“Small world,” Manny says. “Small hockey world. So, I’m, uh, interrupting your honeymoon, I guess.”

“Ha. No worries. We’re going to take a honeymoon trip later, since I’m starting work right away.” This is an outright lie, but oh well.

“I’d like to go to Italy,” Lacey says. I can tell her tongue is in her cheek and I shake my head, trying not to laugh.

In the kitchen, I grab a beer for Manny. “Want another beer, Lace?” I call.

“Um, no thanks, I’m good.”

I take one for myself as well, and we all sit again in the living room.

“What the hell are you watching?” Manny says.

“Nashville and Chicago.”

“Fuck.” Manny rubs his face. “We’re out and I don’t even care who wins. Haven’t watched a single playoff game.”

“Manny rents one of the other units in this building,” I tell Lacey. “And the third one is occupied by Wyatt Bell, another Condors player. Bobby owns the whole place.”

“Wow. A hockey building.” She grins.

“Wyatt went home to New Brunswick,” Manny says. “But he’ll be back in a week or so.”

Manny’s one of the few NHL players from California. A lot of guys head back to where they’re from when the season ends, but he’s still here.

“So, are you eager to get started?” Manny asks me. “Ready to make some trades?”

His tone is light, but I see a little tightness at the corners of his mouth. I have to remember that having new management is probably causing the guys some stress. Everybody no doubt expects a lot of changes. And there will definitely be changes. I already know that from the research and analysis I’ve been doing, even before arriving here.

“We’ll see,” I answer. “Right now, I’m getting ready for the draft.” The annual draft would be held at the end of June. I’ve got a lengthy to-do list between now and the start of training camp in September. Of course, the draft could involve a trade. Or more.

“Yeah, the good thing about having a craptastic season is we have the number two pick. That’s pretty cool.”

“We also have a second first round pick,” I remind him. “Thanks to that trade for Filmore.” Which was a huge fucking mistake, in my opinion.

“Yeah. And apparently there are some talented guys coming up.”

“Apparently.” I don’t like to talk much about my plans, but I’ve done some preliminary investigation into this as well, and there are a couple of young guys I’ve got my eye on. “Sorry, babe,” I say to Lacey. “Shop talk.”

“That’s okay! I want to learn more about hockey.”

“Not a hockey fan?” Manny asks.

“Well, I grew up in Vegas and we only recently got an NHL team, so I haven’t had much chance to be a fan. But I’m learning!”

“Vegas native, huh. Cool.”

We catch up more on each other’s lives, and then Lacey lays a hand on my arm. “I’m going to go to bed,” she says softly. “Last night really tired me out.”

Manny smirks, then covers his mouth with his hand.

“Okay. See you in a bit.”

“Nice to meet you, Manny.” She rises from the couch. “I’m sure we’ll see a lot of you. I can’t wait to get out on the beach tomorrow.”

“Yeah, nice to meet you too.”

My body tenses as I realize Lacey’s going to go to bed in her own room. What the hell is Manny going to think of that?

But Lacey’s way ahead of me. Which doesn’t happen very often. Not being a jerk, just honest. She climbs the stairs to the master suite.

All righty then. She’s going to be waiting for me in my bed. Now I just need to get rid of Manny ASAP.

But Manny’s not inclined to take off, and when I halfheartedly offer him another beer he accepts. Dammit.

Eventually he realizes he’s keeping me from my bride and says good night. Fucking finally. I turn out the lights and sprint up the stairs into the master suite. It’s dark. The light is on in the bathroom, but the door is open only a crack. I can make out Lacey’s shape under the covers and as I approach the bed I hear her slow, even breathing.

She’s asleep.

I exhale softly. Ah well. She’s tired.

I wash up, ditch my clothes except for boxers, and slide into bed with her. She doesn’t even stir.

* * *

In the morning when I wake up, Lacey’s gone.

I roll onto my back and stretch my arms out, staring at the ceiling. Jesus, we’ve been married thirty hours and still no fucking.

Of course, we’ve only known each other about thirty-four hours.

I better cool my jets.

This isn’t a real marriage, but I know she’s interested. I just don’t want to be that guy. She’s been through some shit the last thirty-four hours. She needs someone to take care of her and make sure she’s safe, not a horny jackass trying to jump her sexy bones.

After a shower I trudge downstairs to seek out hopefully coffee and food. I’m a big believer in breakfast, but I’m not sure how well my mom has stocked the kitchen. I find Lacey out on the deck in the early morning coolness, the air damp and fresh from the ocean. She’s got a blanket wrapped around her, her feet tucked under her in the chair, a cup of steaming coffee in her hands, and she’s gazing out at the ocean with a soft smile of wonder on her face. My chest pings.

She glances at me as I slide the door open. “Hey. Morning.”

“Morning. Sleep okay?”

“Oh my God, I died. I slept so well.”

“Good. I need coffee. And food.”

“Your Keurig is on the counter.” She holds up the mug. “Want me to cook something?”

“No. I mean, I can cook. You hungry?”

“I could eat.”

“I’ll see what we’ve got. Or maybe we can go out for something.”

She stands, the blanket still draped around her, and I see she’s wearing my T-shirt again, her legs bare. She follows me to the kitchen where I peruse the contents of the fridge and find eggs and ham and, yes, cheese. Omelets it is.

“What’s the plan for today?” Lacey asks as she makes me a cup of coffee at the Keurig.

“After food?”

“Yeah. You’re pretty obsessed with breakfast, huh?”

“The most important meal of the day.”

“If you say so.”

“Here’s the plan.”

“I knew you’d have a plan.”

I pause.

Her lips twitch.

“Is that bad?” I ask.

“No. Not at all,” she hastily assures me.

“We’ll go find a shopping mall and get you some clothes and whatever else you need. Maybe a grocery store, if we need more food. Then I’ll bring you back here and you can explore the beach while I go to work.”

“Oh. You have to go to work already?”

“Yeah.”

“Where do you work? I mean, I know you work for the hockey team, but you must have an office or something, right?”

“Right. The arena isn’t that far from here, in Santa Monica. Which is why some of the guys live here, I guess. Our offices are there.”

“Got it.” She hands me my coffee. “What can I do?”

“Grate some cheese. Do you want toast?”

“No thanks. But I can make some if you want.”

We’re getting along just fine here for two people who barely know each other. This makes me smile.

“What’s so funny?”

“This whole situation. Manny was surprised last night when I introduced you. I wondered what he was going to think when you went to bed in your own room.”

“I thought of that,” she admits. “I hope it was okay I went to your room.”

“It was fine.” I pause in whisking eggs. “I was disappointed you were asleep, though.”

There’s a beat of silence. “Sorry.”

“Jesus, don’t apologize! I wasn’t trying to make you feel bad. I was just saying ...”

She leans over and brushes her lips against my cheek. “Well, if it makes you feel any better, I was disappointed when Manny showed up and interrupted us.”

My dick stirs in my loose athletic shorts. I consider the plan for the day and am briefly tempted to abandon it. So not like me.

What is this woman doing to me?

I focus on the food and not on her bare legs and gorgeous messy hair and what she’s wearing under my T-shirt. My normal self-discipline serves me well as I make breakfast and we sit and eat it at the counter.

After we’ve eaten and cleaned up, I grab my phone to check for emails and sports scores and business news while Lacey goes to shower and get ready to go out. There are several business emails, the score from the game last night, news about the other teams in the playoffs, and a text message from my mom.

Hope you are settling in. We’re having a welcome home party for you Saturday night.

Great. I text her back, thanking her for everything she did to get my place ready and saying I’ll see her and Dad Saturday night. I assume JP will be there ... ugh. Maybe with Emma. Double ugh. And what about the rest of the family? My uncle, Dad’s brother, will likely be there. They’re probably not impressed with my career choice either. And maybe my cousin Riley will be there—she works for the Eagles farm team as a goalie coach and lives here too.

I respond to some emails and then Lacey arrives wearing the same sundress she had on yesterday. She glances down at herself and grimaces. “Can’t wait to get some new clothes.”

“Let’s go then.”

In the car, I let my GPS guide me to a shopping mall not too far away. “My mom’s having a party Saturday night,” I tell her. “So get ready to meet the fam.”

“Oh yay.” Then she wrinkles her nose. “This is where I earn my keep, I guess.”

I laugh. “Yes.”

“That means I’ll need to buy something to wear.” She taps her chin. “Will it be a fancy party?”

“Yes.”

Her eyes widen.

“No. I’m kidding. The only one in my family who likes fancy things is Chelsea.”

Her brows knit. “Who’s Chelsea?”

Gah. “Guess I didn’t mention her name. My grandpa’s wife.”

“Oh, right.” She nods. “Will they be at the party?”

“I doubt it, since my dad and my uncle aren’t speaking to him. Or maybe I should say, they’re speaking to him, but it’s usually yelling and swearing.”

“Sounds like so much fun,” she murmurs.

“Well, remember, they’re not really your family. You just have to pretend for a while.”

“Right. So your brother and Emma will be there, I gather.”

“I assume so.”

“I’ll buy something really sexy to wear and engage you in embarrassing PDAs all evening.”

I cough. “Uh, we don’t have to go that far. Just be yourself.” I glance at her. “You’re pretty charming.”

“I am?” She smiles.

“You know you are.”

The mall is a high-end one, and after we pass by a number of stores, Lacey says to me, “There’s no Walmart here, is there?”

“No. Come on. Nordstrom has lots of things. I’m paying.”

“No, you are not!” Her mouth falls open and she plants her Chucks onto the shiny tile floor of the mall.

“Yes, I am. I’m the one who ditched your suitcase. I owe you.”

She sighs. “Fine. But I’m paying you back.”

I’m not really into shopping, especially for women’s clothes. Emma dragged me on shopping trips that bored me to tears, until I finally managed to get her to go without me. She loved to shop.

Lacey is efficient, heading straight to the sale racks in a casual department for jeans, shorts, and T-shirts, always examining the price tags. We move to a dressier department for some other things. “A swimsuit,” I suggest a while later. “For the beach.”

“Right.” She nods eagerly.

Finally, we arrive in the lingerie department. She shoots me a glance. “You, uh, don’t have to hang out here if you don’t want.”

I can’t help my grin. “This is my favorite department.”

She huffs a laugh and shakes her head. “Fine.” She quickly chooses a pair of pajamas, some panties, and a couple of basic bras. I note the size, and when she disappears into a change room, I browse through sexier offerings. She should have something prettier than basic beige. Nothing wrong with basic beige, but I like imagining Lacey in ... well, lace. Pink lace would look good on her.

She returns a while later with a load of clothing in her arms. “These all work,” she says. “Let’s pay.”

I add the pink lace bra and matching panties to the pile. Her eyebrows fly up.

“Just go with it.”

Once we have a couple of shopping bags in our hands, I nod to the shoe department. “I like your Chucks, but you might need a pair of sandals or something.”

“Right.”

We soon have her outfitted with footwear. “Okay. Where next? Do you need to buy makeup or stuff?”

She laughs. “I do need a few things.”

“There’s a Sephora here.”

Her eyes widen. “I love Sephora.” She sighs. “But it’s expensive. I can just go to a drugstore. And I do need toothpaste and shampoo.”

“We can do both.”

She sucks her bottom lip briefly as we stroll through the mall, and I can tell she’s uncomfortable. I slide my fingers around her hand and squeeze. “Hey. We’re doing each other favors, right?” She lifts her gaze to meet my eyes. “You’re going to help me out at the party on Saturday. I’m getting something out of this too.”

She nods slowly. “My life sucks.”

I smile and stop, tugging her hand so she faces me. “I know. Right now it does. But it’s all going to be fine.”

The corners of her mouth lift in response. “Yeah.”

We hit the Sephora and even though I’d rather hang out with the other dudes sitting in leather armchairs outside the store, I go in with Lacey. Mercifully she’s quick in getting the things she needs and then we’re out of the mall. I spotted a CVS on our way here, so we make one more stop, grabbing a few grocery items too, and then we’re on our way home.

Home.

The sky is a clear blue above the ocean and I see Lacey look longingly at the beach as we get out of the car.

“Let’s go,” I say, once we’ve carried in our purchases.

She blinks. “Go where?”

“Down to the water. You know you want to.”

“You have to go to work.”

“Yeah. But I can take a few minutes to walk on the beach.”

She toes off her Chucks and she’s gone, out the patio doors and running across the sand, her skirt billowing around her, hair flying in the gentle wind. I laugh as I lock the door and follow her, leaving my sandals on my patio.

Her joy fills me with a soft warmth, her laughter floating back to me on the breeze as she reaches the water and comes to a halt. She doesn’t move when a wave washes over her feet, foaming around her ankles.

“Look! I’m in the ocean!” She holds her arms out and turns her face up to the sun.

“Yeah.” I grin. “Pretty awesome, huh?”

“I love it!” Another wave splashes higher, and she squeals and dances out of the water. “It’s cold, though!”

I grew up in Canada where my dad played hockey in Montreal until I was about six. Then he bought into a major junior team in Drummondville, Quebec, so we moved there. I played hockey in Moncton, New Brunswick, got drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins and I played there after a couple of seasons in Wilkes-Barre. Grandpa and Chelsea have lived here a long time though, and I’ve visited them so many times I guess I’ve come to take the sun and the palm trees and the ocean for granted. Seeing Lacey’s enjoyment of her first time at the ocean fills me with pleasure. I feel like making her happy and seeing her smile is gratifying. Contagious.