Page 25

Oh God, her and her constant fear of confrontation. “Maddie, this salad fits in my hand and costs a whopping fifteen dollars — it’s okay to send it back when you didn’t get what you ordered.”

“Leave it alone, Matt,” she replied tersely, glaring at him before turning abruptly to Alfie McDingleberry and asking loudly, “Alfie, tell me something about yourself. Your profile says you enjoy hiking. What was your most recent trail?”

McGreasy jumped at the question immediately, chest puffed out, telling her how he’d spent two weeks hiking through the valleys of the Grand Canyon and all the other amazing things he’d done. He kept looking at Matt as if to make sure he was listening and appreciating his amazing stories.

“I think Alfie would like to sleep with you, not Maddie,” Christina muttered, deadly serious.

Matt smiled. She was funny. “My bed isn’t big enough for his ego,” he replied calmly.

She snorted and said something to which he only nodded.

Seriously, what was Maddie thinking, going out with such a complete idiot?

Perhaps her beloved questionnaire wasn’t as good as advertised.

Although, Christina seemed nice. It was enjoyable talking with her.

She wasn’t overly impressed by him. She had intelligent eyes, a pretty face, and obviously a sense of humor.

And yet, somehow, he had no desire to sleep with her.

Sure, he didn’t have to; it was, after all, the first date. But thinking of sex and having to in the same sentence somehow wasn’t the best start, either.

Maddie shifted her weight so that her leg hit his. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up and little electrical impulses danced over the spot where she touched him.

Fuck. He was in trouble.

Why wouldn’t this feeling go away? He had been honest and they had talked openly about it. And he had long since decided that it would be a stupid idea to start something with Maddie.

He pulled himself together and looked at Christina, who was staring at a spot over his shoulder. “I think they want you,” she murmured.

“What?” He turned and saw two men in suits heading straight for him with the same big, wonder-filled eyes as Ronald McDonald.

“Man, it’s really him!” the taller of the two said and slapped his friend on the shoulder. “And you didn’t believe me.” Nevertheless, even though the man seemed openly confident, he asked again when they reached the table, “Excuse me, but aren’t you Matthew Payne?”

Matt didn’t have a chance to open his mouth.

“Yes, he is!” Alfie replied excitedly. “He’s even taller in real life than on TV, isn’t he? And his hair is fantastic!”

“Yeah, totally!” the shorter of the men agreed, the one who hadn’t believed his friend.

“We’re big fans!” the taller one said, as if that hadn’t been clear.

Matt smiled dutifully. “Good to hear. The Hawks always appreciate support.” Man, Lucy would have been so damn proud of that answer. He would have to ask Maddie to tell her.

“The game against the Kings in Vegas was unreal!” one of the suits said, leaning forward so that his face was closer to Matt’s than he liked. “Your goals…”

“Thanks.”

The other opened his mouth, surely to lay on more praise. Matt appreciated that so many people loved the game and cheered for the Hawks, but sometimes he just wanted to be left alone. He was on a date, after all, and if he didn’t stop them, they would stand there for half an hour.

“Look, thank you very much for your support,” he stated matter-of-factly.

“I’m happy to meet every fan and could talk to you about hockey for hours.

But, right now, I’m enjoying a private dinner.

Is it okay if we postpone this? When I’m finished eating, I’d be happy to come over, take a few photos with you, and sign autographs if you like. ”

The two men exchanged a hesitant look and seemed to come to the same conclusion. “Could we take the photos now? Otherwise, you’ll just disappear.”

“I promise I’ll come over.”

“Yeah, no…” the smaller one said. “Just a few pictures? It won’t take long.”

“I’d be happy to take the pictures when I’m finished eating,” he repeated a little more firmly this time.

“You heard him, guys,” Maddie said kindly but with a certain sharpness in her voice that Matt didn’t recognize. “Go back to your seats.”

The taller of the two snorted, but they turned away. They didn’t lower their voices, however.

“I knew Payne was an arrogant asshole. Doesn’t even have a few minutes to spare for his fans.”

“Yeah,” the other agreed. “And the goals in Vegas weren’t all that great either. The guy just always has a lot of luck on the ice. Most overrated striker in the entire NHL.”

Wow.

Matt shook his head. The tables turned so quickly. Oh, who cared. He was used to people feeling they could talk about him however they wanted to because he was a public figure and a stupid hockey player. It didn’t bother him. Let them talk.

Maddie, apparently, didn’t agree. “Hey, you two losers,” she shouted angrily, getting up from her chair.

He sighed and gave her hand a quick squeeze. “Maddie, stop. It’s not worth it.”

She ignored him. “What the hell?”

The two men turned in surprise. “Excuse me?” the smaller one said.

“What the hell?” she repeated loudly. “Matt was politeness personified! He has the right to enjoy his evening and decide for himself when to take photos with assholes like you two!”

The suits stared at her in disbelief and took a few steps back toward their table. “Did you just insult us?”

“So what?” she said rebelliously. “You insulted Matt! He’s a human being, you know?

Not a potato that has been handed a stick.

He can hear what you say. He is not just lucky on the ice.

He busts his ass to play like that. So, next time you have a snide remark on the tip of your tongue, go ahead and choke on it! ”

Matt opened his mouth, perplexed. Okay, that was a little extreme. What the hell was wrong with Maddie? She hated confrontations!

“If he’s bothered by the way we talk about him, then he should get off his ass and open his mouth,” the taller man said, shoving Maddie roughly aside with his arm so he could get a better look at Matt. Maddie stumbled but kept herself upright.

Matt, however, felt as if someone had pushed her off a plank into the ocean. He rose abruptly, making his chair wobble threateningly. That was enough.

But, again, he was too slow. Maddie’s mind seemed to be working a lot faster than his.

“Hey!” she repeated louder and stood in front of him again. “Did you seriously just shove me?”

“No.”

“Yes, you did.”

“Lady, that wasn’t a shove.”

“Oh yeah? Then this isn’t a shove either.”

She pressed her hands against his shoulders and shoved him backward.

Unfortunately, there was a table behind him.

And, unfortunately, there were several glasses of red wine on that table.

And, unfortunately, the glasses were not nailed to the spotless tablecloth.

The only good thing that could be said about the tablecloth was that it didn’t get as dirty as his fan’s suit.

Glasses clinked and guests screamed as the man who had foolishly made Maddie angry crashed onto the table.

Red wine splattered everywhere. Steak and fish slid from plates onto the guests’ laps.

Horrified waiters rushed to the scene…while Maddie stood with her arms akimbo before finally looking at Matt.

“I’m not apologizing for that,” she said coolly.

Needless to say, they were immediately kicked out.

Alfie departed immediately. He couldn’t handle any more stress since the incident with the leaky scuba hose.

No one asked him about it and everyone seemed relieved when he announced his departure.

And while Maddie paid her bill – “I don’t think I can ask you to pay, Matt!

” – he and Christina waited outside in the parking lot, not quite sure what to say.

Finally, Matt settled for, “Was that exactly the date you were hoping for?”

Christina laughed and shook her head. “Not quite, no.”

“Yep.” He scratched his head. “I’m sorry it was such a disaster.”

“It’s okay.” She waved it off. Man, she was truly polite.

“I didn’t expect the fans to be so persistent. Most of the time it’s not that bad…”

“The fans weren’t the problem, Matt,” Christina interrupted, chuckling.

He blinked, confused. “What?”

“The fans aren’t the reason we won’t meet again,” she explained patiently.

“I don’t have a problem with crazy situations.

My whole life is crazy and filled with drama queens throwing drinks in each other’s faces.

I don’t mind. But I’m not going to keep dating a guy who’s obviously not interested in me. ”

He opened his mouth, perplexed. “Christina, I think you’re very…”

“I know.” She waved her hand and her gaze slid to the door of the skyscraper Maddie was just exiting. “Don’t you think you went on tonight’s date with the wrong person?” She smiled encouragingly at him, gave him a quick squeeze on his arm, and then walked off across the parking lot.

A lump formed in Matt’s throat as he watched her for a few seconds before lowering his gaze.

Was it that damn obvious? Shit. It was time he purged himself of this ridiculous sexual attraction to Maddie.

Maybe then they could finally start being normal friends again…

and he could fall asleep without being hard imagining what Maddie was doing in the guest room.

He just didn’t quite know how to go about it.