Page 9

9

LACEY

Théo frowns. “I like having clear expectations.”

“Always a good thing,” I murmur solemnly.

He’s so damn cute.

He should be annoying me, because wow, we’re so different in some ways. He analyzes everything . He loves to plan. There’ve been moments where I worried he didn’t have a sense of humor, but then he shows me he does. And he doesn’t fake anything—he’s honest. I like that.

So we do have some things in common—honesty. Humor. Shitty brothers.

I suspect Théo is way smarter than me, though. I may not be an intellectual, but I’m not stupid. I already know how to push his buttons.

I smile smugly to myself as I snuggle down into the super-comfortable seat of his Audi. Getting him to stop at that ghost town had been so much fun. Playing those crazy games too.

I’m also a teensy bit smug because he wants to have sex with me.

Whew. Because damn, I’m hot for this man.

There’s something about him that just gets to me. The way he took charge when Ed and Lincoln were chasing us. The way he’s so strong and controlled, yet there are hints of vulnerability when he talks about his brother and ex-girlfriend. The way he stops to analyze everything. Most of the time, ha. The way he’s so freakin’ smart. The way his lips curve when he’s smiling against his will.

The fact that he wants to have sex with me makes me melt even more. I was only half joking about pulling over at the next rest stop.

For a while I’m quiet, my eyes closed, thinking about sex with Théo. I imagine getting my hands on his body, all those muscles. I imagine how strong he is and the things we could do ...

My eyes pop open. “Hey. Why did you quit playing hockey? You’re not old enough to retire.”

His fingers flex on the steering wheel. “I had to. I got injured.”

“Oh. That sucks. You’re okay, though?”

“Sort of. I can’t see well out of my right eye.”

I blink. “Oh no. That’s why you wear glasses?”

“Yeah. I had perfect vision before the accident.”

I sink my teeth into my bottom lip. “What happened? Or is that too nosy?”

He lifts one shoulder. “It’s fine. It was years ago. Puck bounced up under my visor and hit me in the eye.”

“Oh my God.” I cover my mouth with my hands.

“It was pretty scary. When it happened, everyone was freaking out. They rushed me to the hospital for surgery. At first, I couldn’t see anything, then I could tell when lights were off or on, and everybody freaked out because that was good. So there was hope I’d get my vision back. Of course, I kept hoping I’d get all my vision back and I’d be playing again in no time. But it took over a year and a half, and I’d been out of the game all that time, and I never got enough vision back to play professionally.”

My heart contracts hearing his story, a pit in my stomach thinking about what he must have gone through. “I’m sorry,” I say quietly. “That must have been awful.”

“Yeah.” A muscle in his jaw tics. This is still hard for him to talk about, obviously. “I’d just started my career in the NHL. Got drafted, got to follow in my dad’s footsteps and my grandpa’s footsteps—they played in the NHL. So did my uncle. And then it was over.”

“You’ve obviously been successful, though. Just in a different way.”

“Yeah. I love hockey. I knew I had to be involved in the sport somehow. I always liked numbers and stats—the guys used to make fun of me because I’d spout all these statistics. So I started my own analytics company. It took off, and teams were coming to me for advice on all kinds of hockey decisions. Then the Mustangs offered me a job as assistant GM, and it was a chance to really be back in the game.”

I nod, impressed with his resilience. “That’s really inspiring.”

“Eh. Just did what I had to do.”

My heart squeezes again. “I don’t know. I think overcoming something like that is pretty remarkable.”

His face relaxes, a smile touching his mouth. “Thanks.”

Of course, this all makes me want to jump him even more. Damn.

We drive in silence for a while, then my phone rings. Like, actually rings, with a phone call.

I grab it. “It’s Chris!”

Théo’s eye widen.

I answer the call. “Chris! Where the hell are you?”

“Never mind me, where the hell are you?”

“Almost in Los Angeles.”

“What the fuck are you doing? What do you mean you got married? To who?”

I ignore his questions. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” He sounds surly.

“You took money out of my bank account.”

“Stole,” Théo says from beside me. “He stole money.”

I shoot him a quelling glance.

“I’m going to pay it back,” Chris says. “You know I will.”

“I don’t know that. I don’t believe you, Chris. You’ve lied to me too many times. And what the hell? Trying to pimp me out to your bookies? That’s low.”

“That’s bullshit,” Théo puts in. “Despicable. Reprehensible.”

“Who is that?” Chris demands.

“My husband.”

“Jesus, Lacey! You’re not serious.”

“Oh, I am. This time you’re going to have to get yourself out of your own mess.” I pause. “Just be careful. Those guys came to the apartment looking for me. Or you. Or both of us.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah. We got away. I ...” I almost choke up but swallow the lump in my throat. “Take care of yourself, okay? And stay in touch.”

“Lacey. I’m sorry. Look, just come back and I’ll show you?—”

“I’ll come back when you show me you can deal with this. Bye, Chris.”

Théo nods approvingly, but his smile is gentle. “Was that hard?”

“Yes.” I stare out the window, getting my emotions under control.

“But you did it, brave girl.”

I nod. I did it.

We arrive in Los Angeles in the early evening, the sun setting and lighting up the sky orange and gold and pink. Théo changes freeways a couple of times and then we exit into Marina del Rey.

“I’ve only been here once before,” Théo says, turning on the GPS in his phone for directions to his new home, and we find our way to Ocean Front Walk. His place is a condo in a triplex, a multi-level, modern concrete building with lots of glass, and it’s so close to the beach there’s sand on the sidewalk. He parks out front even though there’s a small garage.

“I’ll need the door opener to use the garage,” he says, climbing out of the vehicle.

“Oh my God.” I take a few steps away from car. The sun is setting over the ocean and the vista sucks the air out of my lungs. I actually break out in goosebumps, staring at the wide expanse of pale sand, the silvery ocean, and the flaming sunset tinting the turquoise sky and wispy clouds tangerine, peach, and pink. A squat, squarish lifeguard tower is silhouetted against the sky. “This is incredible. I don’t want to move from this spot. Ever.”

He laughs.

I reluctantly turn and follow him up a short sidewalk and high concrete steps to the door. He unlocks it and walks in, flicking on lights.

I follow, my eyes probably as big as hockey pucks, gazing around at the incredible interior. A wall of windows looks out over the beach and the vibrant sunset. He doesn’t have a lot of furniture ... brown leather couches and chairs, glass tables, lamps with black bases and modern shades. A big area rug covers the gleaming stone-tiled floor. “This is gorgeous.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty good. I’m going to grab my stuff out of the car.”

“I can help.” I follow him, and we bring in his suitcases and the cooler bag he had drinks in. I feel a twinge in my chest thinking about my lost suitcase with Pete in it. I guess I’ll never see him again. Maybe someone will find the suitcase and keep it for me ... I don’t know. Oh well.

“Are you going to be okay for tonight?” Théo asks when we’re back inside. “I’ll take you shopping in the morning.”

“I’m fine for tonight,” I assure him. I wander to a set of doors in the living room and open them. They lead onto a terrace, also overlooking the ocean. There are a bunch of chairs and small tables and a shiny barbecue out here. “Nice.” Back inside I check out the spacious kitchen, all glossy white cabinets, stainless steel appliances, and the same tiled floors. A vase of fresh flowers sits on the pale marble counter.

Théo sees me looking at them and smiles wryly. “Looks like my mom was here. She must have left those.”

“That’s nice of her.”

“This can be your room.” Théo gestures to a bedroom.

I peek in. “Whoa. Lots of white.” The walls are white, the queen bed has a plain white duvet on it, a matching dresser and vanity in white, and white blinds on the window.

“It has a bathroom too.”

“Awesome.”

“The master suite is upstairs.” He grabs his suitcase and hauls it up the open staircase, so I follow, curious.

The entire upper level is the master suite, with more floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the beach. “You have room for a sitting area there.” I wave a hand toward the windows. “Even with this massive bed.”

I’m kind of afraid to look at the bed, because I know I’ll think about Théo in that bed and hopefully me with him.

“Yeah. I might buy more furniture.”

His bathroom is huge too, with stone walls, a generous shower and a tub, and a double vanity. There are doors to outside, so I go out there to find another terrace, this one with glass panels to shield from ocean breezes but not impede the view. Two lounge chairs face the Pacific, and behind them is a hot tub. “Holy crap.”

“Pretty cool, huh?”

“Amazing.”

“I’m going to order pizza. That okay?” He lifts an eyebrow at me.

“Yeah, sounds good.”

Back downstairs, I take my backpack into my bedroom and set it on the floor. I plop my butt down onto the bed and stare at my meager belongings. For a moment a sense of bleakness washes over me. I’ve left my only family to deal with criminals. I’ve left the only home I’ve known since I was about twelve when we moved into that apartment. I’ve left my friends and my hometown. I don’t even have Pete.

I ran away from my problems because a hot guy was looking out for me.

It’s been a long time since anyone looked out for me. No wonder I succumbed.

I blow out a sigh. Well, it’s done. If I’ve learned anything in life, it’s that you have to make the best of things. So here I am in sunny California, living right on the freakin’ beach, with a gorgeous man. And hey, we’re having pizza. Pizza is always good.

I send Karine another text message to let her know we arrived and I’m fine. She responded with the expected freak-out earlier, so I want to make sure she’s reassured. Then I head out to the kitchen.

Théo must be still up in his room. I poke around a bit, finding dishes and cutlery. He’s all set, I guess thanks to his mom. What the hell is she going to think when she finds out he’s married? To someone she’s never even heard of? We must be nuts.

Footsteps on the stairs alert me to Théo’s presence. “Pizza ordered. Shit put away.” He grins. “My mom’s a lifesaver. I shipped most of my stuff here, and she came and put it all away. She even bought me new towels.” He shakes his head.

“That’s nice of her. I bet she’s happy you’re living closer.”

“Yeah, I think she is.”

“She’s not angry about you working for your grandpa?”

“She probably tells my dad she is, but I don’t think she’s too upset about it. She’s used to the shit that goes on in our family. Someone’s always mad about something.”

“Again, making me more and more look forward to meeting them.” I give him a phony smile.

He laughs. “Sorry. They’re not that bad. Just a lot of strong personalities and a lot of competitiveness.”

I wander over to sit on the couch. The sun has set now so you can’t really see much, but it’s still lovely. “I can’t wait for tomorrow. I’m going to run across the sand and right into the water.”

“Yeah?”

“I’ve never been in the ocean. I came to L.A. once when I was eighteen, with some friends. We went to Disneyland. We saw the ocean but didn’t really go near it.”

“I have to go to work tomorrow. But I’ll take you shopping in the morning to get some things.”

“Is there a Walmart near here?”

“No idea. We’ll find something.” He grabs his phone and starts looking.

The doorbell rings with our pizza delivery so he drops his phone and goes to pay. I meet him in the kitchen, and he sets the big cardboard box on the counter. It smells amazing.

“I didn’t realize I was so hungry.” I pick up a plate.

“Same.” He opens the fridge. “Oh, Mom, I love you.” He pulls out a beer and holds it up. “Want one?”

“Oh yeah. I guess our hangovers are cured.”

“I wasn’t hungover.”

“What was all the moaning and groaning and need for Advil about then?”

“Okay, I had a little headache.” He grins.

He opens the beers and then we take them and our pizza into the living room to eat sitting on the big couch, which is lovely and squishy. He turns on the ginormous TV and zips through channels until he finds a sports channel. A hockey game.

“Playoffs are still on,” he says.

“Ah.”

After devouring a couple of pieces of pizza, I sit back into the couch with my beer. My eyes feel heavy and my body is weary. I did get some sleep, but apparently staying up all night has messed me up. I shift over closer to Théo and lean into him.

“Tired?”

“So tired.” He puts his arm around me, and it’s nice. He’s warm, and big, and strong ... I sigh with pleasure and snuggle in closer.

Except feeling his hard muscles and breathing in the scent of his skin, a spicy sandalwood, makes me tingle ... and suddenly I’m not so tired.

I feel the change in him too, the way he goes on alert, the change in the touch of his hand on my hip. He caresses me through my sundress, slowly. My nipples tighten and melting sensation pools low in my belly. I shift and tip my head back to look at him.

God, he’s handsome. I lift a hand to his face to stroke my fingertips over the stubble on his square jaw, then slide my hand into his thick hair. His eyes are dark behind his glasses, his sculpted lips only inches from my face.

I remember that kiss after we got married and how incredible it was ... and my inner muscles squeeze up tight on a wave of lust. My lips part as I look at him.

“Lacey ...” He cups my face with a big hand.

I melt even more. “Mmmm.”

“Gonna kiss you now.”

“Please.” My eyelids drift down and I’m burning everywhere in anticipation of the touch of his mouth on mine.

It’s magic. Delicious. Hot.

He gently touches his mouth to mine, then opens, and I part my lips wider, letting his tongue lick inside. A groan rumbles in his chest as his hand slides around to the back of my head to hold me. I clutch his shoulder and my head goes empty as I fill with luscious sensation.

He shifts my body closer, onto his lap, one hand going to my bare thigh, stroking up and down in a slow, erotic rhythm that has me hot and squirming, wanting his touch higher ... everywhere.

Bing .

After a beat, Théo lifts his mouth from mine and growls, “What the fuck?”

“The doorbell.” I’m a bit dazed.

Now there’s a loud pounding on the door.

“Shit.” Our eyes meet and he blows out a breath. “Hang on.”

Breathing fast, I tug my skirt down as he answers the door. My body is pulsing and I need more of Théo.

“Dude!”

“Hey! Manny!”

I lean over to see who this is and watch Théo and ... Manny grip hands and slap each other’s backs.

No idea who this is. A relative? Friend?

“I thought I heard noises over here,” Manny says with a big smile. “Bobby told me he’d rented this unit out to you. Talked to your mom the other day when she was here, and she said you’d be here this week. Welcome to California!”

“Thanks, man, great to be here.”

“Can’t believe you’re gonna be my boss.” Manny shakes his head. “But I always knew you were the smartest guy in hockey.”

“Eh. Come on in. Want a beer?”

“Yeah, sure.”

So much for our make-out sesh on the couch. I straighten my dress and tuck a strand of hair behind my ear as I stand.

“Oh hi.” Manny pauses as he sees me.

“Lacey, this is Manny Martinez. He plays left wing for the Condors.”

I smile at him.

“Manny, this is ... Lacey.” He pauses. “My wife.”