Page 25

L onnie gestured for Athena to wait for him off to one side of the arena hallway. When he’d texted her to meet up before his team played the Dragons, she’d said sure. But when she’d asked him what it was about, he’d ghosted her.

Now they were here, face-to-face, with his team filtering past. Athena smiled and said hello to some of the familiar faces. Davenport, Lonnie’s friend and usual roomie when on the road, enveloped her in an enthusiastic hug, lifting her from her feet.

She laughed as he set her back down. “Don’t let the Dragons see you doing that or they’ll think I’ve switched teams on them.”

“And why wouldn’t you? We’re going to slay tonight.” He pretended to swing a sword through the air. “Hey, what have you been up to? You’re looking even hotter than usual. Seeing anyone?”

“Actually…” Was she? Were she and Chad an official thing? If so, she wanted to move slowly and be sure this time. No being swept into a romance at high speed and then smack straight into reality like she had with Lonnie.

Her ex pushed Davenport out of the way. “We’ve gotta chat. Skedaddle, man.”

Davenport held out a fist for Athena to bump as he stepped backward, away from them. “Don’t let this loser convince you to take him back. There are better fish in the sea.” He winked again and hustled away as Lonnie pretended to go after him.

Athena sighed as Lonnie continued to act as if he was going to fight Davenport.

Her family had seen through his charm, but she’d been so dazzled she’d lost her normal twenty-twenty vision where he was concerned.

The man had some serious gravitational pull.

The very idea of someone semifamous choosing her had swept away her rationality, making her believe she was different. That she was special.

Chad had a similar gravitational pull, and she felt a flash of panic. What if his interest wasn’t genuine? What if he saw her as nothing more than a challenge—could he lure the serious, rule-following team dietician into his arms?

She shook her head. Chad wasn’t like that. He had a tender side, a side so human and vulnerable she knew he was different from Lonnie, despite her fears otherwise.

“What’s up?” she asked impatiently, as Lonnie waited for his teammates to finish trickling past.

His expression was tender, that same one that had made her feel like she was part of his inner circle. The look, she now knew, was one he used on almost everyone.

She crossed her arms.

“I had to put Banx down.”

“What?” Athena felt as though someone had knocked the wind out of her. She hadn’t even known his cat, Banx the Manx, was sick. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I just did.”

“But before?”

“Because he’s my cat?”

“It was like he was mine. For a bit.”

“Until you ditched over that stupid thing with Lauren.”

“It was not stupid. And I cared about Banxie, okay?”

“What were you gonna do? Fly out and see him? It’s a cat.”

“Maybe I would have,” she said.

“You’re busy.”

“How would you know?”

“You always are. Especially when you’re upset.”

“I’m not upset.”

He gave her a smug, knowing smile. “Babe…”

“Keeping busy is how I deal with things.”

She’d started her first cookbook when her mom had needed to use a cane more often and Athena wasn’t still in Texas to help, then had ramped up the project when she’d begun to suspect Lonnie wasn’t as committed to their relationship as she was.

Now she was on book two, the project she’d pitched her publisher a week after her dad had bought her mom a wheelchair.

And to distract herself from her frustration and her inappropriate crush on Chad last fall, she’d said yes to opening a store with Meddy.

None of that meant she was upset. She just had a lot to deal with, and being busy was a productive way to channel that potential anxiety.

“I’m late,” she said, angling away. “Meddy’s waiting.”

“How is feisty Maddy?”

“ Meddy .” She was never sure if Lonnie was truly incapable of remembering her sister’s name, or if he just enjoyed acting as though she mattered so little he couldn’t be bothered.

He rolled his eyes at her correction, immediately bringing back the futile anger from a thousand fights and the dismissive way he’d treated her when she’d confronted him about the woman he was seeing on the side.

“I hope you lose tonight,” she muttered, spinning away to storm down the hallway. She swiped at her eyes, furious at herself for letting him get under her skin.

Or maybe it was the loss of Banx hitting her. The feline had been a good friend during the short time they’d shared Lonnie’s condo. They’d spent many hours waiting for him to come home, and she hadn’t felt as lonely with her furry little pal curled up beside her.

She reached the end of the hall and came to a stop, realizing someone was blocking her way. Tall, wide and looking ready to maim.

The man was fully decked out in one of his retro-cut suits, his fingers covered in rings, his hair a sexy and unruly bedhead mess.

Her boyfriend. The idea made her stomach quiver, then drop out like it had gone over a cliff without her body.

“Aren’t you supposed to be getting dressed?” Athena asked Chad, attempting to push past him.

His hands locked around her biceps. “Why are you crying?” His deep voice was lower than usual, and the surrounding air bristled with masculine energy.

She lifted her hands and swiped at her damp cheeks. “I’m not.”

“Fine. Tears of joy. Where’ve you been all week?”

“Busy. We’re at over eight thousand subscribers, and my publisher asked me to write some articles.”

He held her gaze for a long moment, and she knew he intuited the truth—that she’d been avoiding him a teensy bit. She felt it was the only way to slow their relationship pace, because with Chad, she sensed there was only one speed—supersonic.

They’d shared a few tender secrets as well as amazing kisses, and she knew how easy it would be to ignore her doubts and jump in with both feet.

They needed to form a strong foundation of trust over time, otherwise their relationship wouldn’t be able to withstand the problems thrown at them, and everything would shake and crumble apart.

“I miss you.” He pulled her in for a long, deep kiss, leaving her breathless when he released her.

“I miss you, too.” She pressed lightly against his chest, forcing herself to slide from his arms. “Go get ready for your game.”

He caught her hand, his eyes cutting over her shoulder in the direction she’d come from. “Don’t judge all of us based on him.”

“Chad…”

“I get that you’re scared, and that he hurt you.”

She met his eyes, almost expecting to see her fears returned. Instead, she saw something scarier.

She looked away, wishing she had the courage to feel all the things he did. To trust in them, and for that trust to be enough.

“That guy and I are nothing alike. Nothing, Tina.”

“What’s the difference?” She focused on him, desperately hoping he’d produce a nice little chart illustrating what she could trust and believe.

Something concrete so her heart could finally overrule her terrified mind and she could just…

let go. Let go and not care if one of them hit the supersonic button.

“Everything,” he said. “Absolutely everything that matters. And I will fight through your fears until you’re able to see it.”

“What on earth has gotten into Mullens?” Cassandra McTavish asked, leaning forward to get a better view of the ice.

She was dating the team’s goalie and had been to a few games lately with Hannah and Jenny, but instead of sitting in the usual VIP sky box tonight, Cass, Jenny, Meddy and Athena were down by center ice.

In fact, Meddy had insisted Cass hire a babysitter for her son and Landon’s daughter so the gals could have a proper girls night out.

As one, Meddy and Jenny echoed Cass’s posture, craning their necks to follow the players.

Athena ignored them, her mind still out in the hallway, processing Lonnie’s words.

If she did get busy when she was upset, then why was she still running so hard?

Last year, keeping busy had prevented her from thinking about how often Lonnie was away, about how far she was from her family and about her mom’s health.

Plus it had been productive. She’d come out of it with a cookbook, a second one in the works, as well as a job with a professional sports team.

Much better than sitting at home worrying.

But now her life was even more hectic, when by all accounts it was good. She was close to home again, spending time with her family, and she had great jobs and friendships, as well as a hunky new boyfriend.

There was nothing to be upset about. She should be letting loose, going to her monthly book club meetings and curling up in Chad’s home library several nights a week. Shouldn’t she?

Maybe staying busy was about more than her just being upset. Maybe she also used it to avoid thinking about scary things, such as the idea that Chad might be serious about proving how different he was than Lonnie.

What if Chad was The One?

She’d already fallen for him. She’d studiously tried to deny that truth, but she’d seen the photos of herself for the new cookbook cover.

The rescheduled photo shoot had finally occurred, and Chad had been amazing, practically making love to the camera.

And his effect had haloed, making her a glowing, beautiful, bright-eyed happy woman.

She knew it wasn’t just the makeup and lights, because in the first photo shoot she hadn’t glowed. Not even slightly.

Despite pumping the brakes, she was in love.

Athena let out a shuddery breath, letting the scary truth settle into her bones. She clenched her hands into fists, resisting the urge to get up and do something in order to distract herself.

A player from the other team slammed into the boards in front of her and she jumped as his helmet hit the Plexiglass with a clack. Lonnie’s exposed cheek pressed against the translucent barrier before he slid down and out of sight.