THREE WEEKS LATER, I stood outside the locker room after the Wolves lost their first game. When Mica stepped out, I grabbed his arm and pulled him to the side. I needed some answers.
“Sorry about tonight.”
He scowled. No one hated losing more than Mica. “Yup.”
“You have a minute?”
He looked over his shoulder. “You want to talk about your rookie.”
“How it’s going?”
“With your rookie?” He scratched his chin. “No one’s talking about it.”
“You mean there’s something definitely going on and everyone is aware of it.”
He avoided eye contact. “Yup.”
I put my hand on my hip. “Why?”
He glanced at me. “Mark put us in a tough situation. Everyone knows that in December, it will either be Brody or Levi.”
I let out a breath. “So no one wants to get involved.”
“No one wants to pick sides.”
“In case Brody became a permanent part of the team.”
“Seems like the coaches have the same mindset.”
I looked around in frustration. “How bad is it?”
He grimaced. “I’m doing what I can—but it’s not great.”
I put a hand on my hip. “What are we talking about?”
“Nothing out of control, but it’s uncomfortable to watch.”
“What can I do?”
He shrugged. “You need to tell Levi to be a bit friendlier. I know it’s rough in there, and I know he doesn’t know who to trust, but he can trust the veterans. We’ve talked, and none of us have a problem with him.”
I poked him hard in the shoulder. “Mica!”
“Oy, what?” He rubbed his shoulder. “What did I do?”
“Take him out for beers, and you tell him that.”
He raised his hands. “Fine.”
I crossed my arms. “Tonight.”
“Come on. Charlie said she made stroganoff tonight. It’s my mother’s family recipe.”
I made eye contact with Levi as he walked out of the men’s locker room and motioned him over. My greedy gaze drank him in. He looked bigger than I remembered, and his hair was growing out a dark, rich brown.
His eyes locked with mine and my knees went a bit weak.
“Hey, rookie,” Mica said.
“Hey.” Levi looked between us. “What’s up?”
“Mica just invited both of us to come over to his place for stroganoff,” I interjected. “It’s homemade, and it’s legendary.”
Levi’s eyes lit up with interest. “Oh yeah?”
Mica gave me a dark look. “You’re probably tired.”
I put my purse over my shoulder. “Mica is afraid we’re going to eat his precious home-cooked meal, so I need you to bring your A-game. I want you to eat like it’s an eating contest.”
Mica lifted one finger and pointed at both of us. “You get one bowl. Then you go home.”
Levi looked at him. “This must be some stroganoff.”
Mica put his arm over Levi’s shoulder. “You have no idea.”
When I turned to follow them, I noticed Brody watching from further down the hall.
“HE’S EXTREMELY GOOD-LOOKING.” Charlie stood at her island, holding some dirty plates. Mica and Levi were talking around the bonfire on the massive deck.
I took the plates from her and started to stack them in the dishwasher. “The sponsors will love him.”
She leaned against the counter and looked at me. “You doing okay?”
I shut the dishwasher door. “Yeah, why?”
“You look tired.”
I was tired. “Things have been crazy lately at the office.”
“How are things going with Levi’s contract?”
I sighed. “He’s temporarily contracted until December, and then Mark will decide between him and Brody.”
“How will that work with the Forbes list?”
“I need to sign as his agent and negotiate his future contract before December 31 in order to qualify for this year’s list.”
She frowned. “I’ve never heard of someone not releasing a client.”
I tried to hide my anxiety. “This agent, Scott Spears, is hanging on for dear life. He knows if Levi makes the team, he’ll make a lot of money. My lawyers don’t think he has a leg to stand on, but he’s fighting them tooth and nail.”
It was already October, with no end in sight to this legal mess. It didn’t help that Spears was in a different country.
Charlie reached out and touched my shoulder. “On Thanksgiving weekend, we’re heading to Tofino. We rented a huge house for the weekend. You remember my friend Jasper? He and Mica’s mom are coming. Why don’t you join us? We’ve got extra room.”
“My strategy is that if I attend my mom’s Thanksgiving weekend, then it will be reasonable to boycott the engagement celebration.”
“I like your logic and remember, we’ll only be four hours away from you if you need an escape.”
I scowled as I remembered Eduard cornering me in my room, wanting to talk. “I might.”
Ever positive, Charlie added, “You know, some time off with lots of turkey and wine might be a nice way to ease back into things with everyone.”
I loved how Charlie found the silver lining in pretty much any situation. “My mom left me three texts asking for details about my plus-one.”
“Oh.” Charlie took a sip of her wine. “So, it’s like that, then.”
I crossed my arms. “Who am I going to bring?”
“What about the lawyer, Brian? How are things progressing with him?”
I had forgotten that Charlie thought we were dating. I stuck as close to the truth as possible. “We haven’t made it past a coffee meeting.”
Charlie snapped her finger. “You could hire an actor. And you could make up whatever story you want. A chick from my Pilates class brought an actor home to her high-school reunion.”
I turned, and shock zapped through my body. Levi stood there, listening.
“Geez!” I put my hand to my heart. “You’re going to kill me if you sneak up on me like that.”
Levi gave us one of his half smiles, filled with charm. “I wasn’t sneaking.”
Charlie laughed. “Mica does that all the time.”
We watched as Mica shut the patio door and moved towards us. He rubbed his hands together. “Who wants vodka?”
Levi laughed.
I shook my head. “I have yoga in five hours, and I know you both have an early practice tomorrow.”
Mica shrugged. “Next time, then.”
Levi reached over and gave Charlie a friendly hug. “Thanks for the home-cooked meal. It was fantastic.”
Charlie smiled at Levi. “There’s some leftover stroganoff. You should take that home with you.”
Mica made a noise in his throat. Levi’s eyes met mine, and we both started laughing.
Charlie looked between us. “Am I missing something?”
“Mica’s pretty protective of his stroganoff.”
Charlie looked amused. “Yes, I noticed.”
Levi turned and shook Mica’s hand. “Thanks.”
Mica slapped him on the shoulder. “You’re okay.”
LEVI and I sat silently in the back seat of the car. It was just after 1:00 a.m. I seriously doubted I would be attending tomorrow’s 6:00 a.m. yoga class. I stared out the window, completely aware of how close he was sitting beside me.
“Do you always use a driver?” he asked.
“I have a car,” I admitted, using our conversation as an excuse to look at him. The streetlights hid and illuminated his features at intervals. “But I prefer to be driven. It’s one of my little luxuries. I get a lot of work done while I’m being driven from place to place.”
“Tell me about your family Thanksgiving plans.”
“First you tell me what is going on with the team.”
He shook his head. “Not much.”
“Try again.”
“Mica has been friendly. Probably because he’s doing you a favor, but he’s still a great guy.”
I was dying to know what they had talked about tonight. “You had a good chat tonight?”
“Yup.”
“Did you talk about anything specific?”
“My turn.”
I crossed my arms. “Fine, go ahead.”
“Your mom wants you to bring a date home for Thanksgiving?”
I looked over at him, feeling testy. “I don’t have time for a pedicure, much less a relationship. It’s not like I can just snap my fingers and someone materializes.”
He smirked. “Well, I happen to be free that weekend if you need a plus-one.”
“You can’t be serious.”
He shrugged. “I like turkey.”
It dawned on me that he faced a holiday weekend alone, without friends, and without plans. I would kill to have him come with me, mainly because I also didn’t want to face the weekend alone, but I couldn’t show up with a younger hockey player on my arm.
Not to mention that my mom would eat him alive.
“Trust me when I say I have your best interest at heart by not bringing you.”
“Who’s E?”
I gave a short, humorless laugh. “My turn. What did Mica talk about tonight?”
“He shared the names of guys he trusts on the team.”
I nodded. “Will that help?”
“A lot. Thanks.”
We arrived at our building, and together we walked inside and got onto the elevator.
“That was amazing stroganoff,” Levi said.
That made me smile. “We’re lucky we got any at all.”
“Did you see Mica’s anxiety when Charlie was dishing out our food?”
I started to laugh. “Did you see his face when she offered his leftovers to you?”
The doors opened at my floor. He smiled as he held them open for me.
I turned to him. “Well, good night.”
His voice was low. “You wouldn’t really take Brian, would you?”
“I think it’s in my best interest to keep my divorce lawyer and my mom as far apart as possible.”
He took his time looking me over, almost as if he knew it might be another few weeks before we saw each other. I think we both knew it had to be like that.
His expression was serious. “If you change your mind…”
The only reason my life worked this well was because I kept things tightly compartmentalized. Crossing my past and my present would be disastrous.
“If I took anyone, you’d be my first pick.”
His smile started slowly, and I only caught a glimpse of his full wide smile before the doors shut between us.
I let out a long sigh. I could never let him into that part of my world.
But that didn’t mean I wasn’t tempted.
I WALKED into my apartment and stopped dead in my tracks. Someone stood in the dark in my living room.
I froze and then let out an angry noise when I recognized the silhouette.
I flicked on the lights. “Eduard, what the fuck?”
He turned and studied me. “You always had a mouth on you.”
“I recently changed the locks. How did you get in here?”
He smiled and waved some keys. “Your mother had a set.”
I felt uneasy and needed to make it clear I didn’t approve. “This constitutes breaking and entering. I’m calling the cops.”
He put his hands in his pant pockets. “No, you won’t. Because if I get arrested in your apartment late at night, I’m going to tell your sister you set me up by inviting me over.”
The bastard would too. “What do you want from me?”
“I want to talk.” He sounded angry. “You never let me explain.”
Fight or flight. Normally I was up for a good fight. It’s why I thrived in the sports world. But I knew when to retreat. This conversation felt dangerous to me.
I did what he would never expect me to do. I spun around and walked out. The elevator would take too long, so I speed-walked towards the stairwell. I pushed open the door and paused.
Up or down? Levi was two floors up. Security was several floors down.
I hung onto the railing and powered up those steps, concentrating on not breaking my heels or my ankles. I was puffing for oxygen by the time I made it up two flights, but I could hear Eduard coming up the stairs after me. And he was moving a lot faster than me.
I swung open the heavy door and ran to Levi’s apartment. I could hear the doorway of the stairwell open behind me.
Using the palm of my hand, I pounded loudly on the door.
Almost immediately, Levi swung open the door, and then he was standing in front of me, all big and strong and tough. Sweet baby Jesus—he wasn’t wearing a shirt. He took a step backward as I moved towards him.
I stepped into his apartment, closed the door, and locked it.
I turned and gave him a big, fake smile while I worked to catch my breath. “Do you mind if I wait here for a couple of minutes?”
He stepped closer, concern on his face. “What’s wrong?”
I put my back against the door and looked up at him. “I might have a situation.”
His whole body became tense and alert. “Tell me.”
“Someone was in my apartment when I got home.”
He reached for the door handle. “Move.”
I grabbed his large hand and held onto it. “Listen to me. It’s not that simple.”
His entire focus was on what was on the other side of the door. “Speak.”
“His name is Eduard.”
Levi looked at me. “You knew who was in your apartment?”
“He took my mom’s keys.”
His voice was terse. “Let me handle him.”
“He’s my sister’s fiancé, so for the sake of my family, I want no police and no fighting. I need him to go away quietly.”
His energy rippled through him. “Done. Let’s go.”
He opened the door, and there stood Eduard, his hand raised to knock.
Eduard’s eyes widened as he looked at Levi, but his expression quickly turned arrogant. “Who the hell are you?”
Levi looked back at me in frustration. “You sure I can’t beat him up?”
Eduard spoke to me with a sour voice. “Who is this guy? Is this your new boyfriend? Are you dating this Neanderthal?”
I glared at him, feeling fairly empowered now that I had a 215-pound bodyguard standing between us. “My life is none of your concern. Give me back my keys.”
Eduard looked between Levi and me. “Technically, they belong to your mom. How old is he?”
Levi moved with such speed and precision he reminded me of a wild animal attacking. Within seconds, he had Eduard pinned to the opposite hallway wall, his forearm against his neck. “Hand over the keys, dickwad.”
I could see the white in Eduard’s eyes as he fished the keys out of his pocket.
I grabbed the keys from him and stepped back.
Levi shoved Eduard down the hall so hard it almost threw Eduard off his Italian loafers. “Leave. Now.”
Eduard staggered to a stop, and then he turned and focused on me. “You know you have to talk with me at some point.”
I stood behind Levi until Eduard disappeared into the elevator.
Levi turned to me. “Did he chase you up here?”
Avoiding the concern in his eyes, I decided to be flip. “More like I ran, and he followed.”
“Is that the guy who sent you the flowers?”
Somehow, without my permission, my two worlds had just collided. “I don’t want or need you to be part of my family drama.”
He crossed his arms. “Why was your sister’s fiancé in your apartment?”
“I’m not willing to talk about that right now.”
He stared down at me for a long moment. “Come on. I’ll walk you back to your place.”
In complete silence, he escorted me back to my apartment. I stood in the doorway while he walked around, opening and shutting closets and looking in all the dark places. My home suddenly felt unsafe, and that was the worst feeling in the world.
He came back to where I stood. “Your place is empty.”
I was grateful for his help. “Sorry to involve you tonight. It won’t happen again.”
Levi wasn’t finished asking questions. “Your sister’s fiancé sent you the flowers?”
I crossed my arms. “It’s not what you think.”
“You don’t know what I think.”
“You have every right to be disappointed in me.”
“Krista,” he interrupted, “is he going to be at your family Thanksgiving?”
I knew what was coming. I just didn’t know how I felt about it.
“Yes, he’ll be there.”
It was that moment I realized just how very pissed Levi was. Up until now, he had been hiding strong emotions that now were vibrating out of him. “Well, then, consider me your plus-one for your Thanksgiving weekend.”
I studied him, knowing that he wasn’t joking.
My instinct to push back kicked in. “I didn’t invite you.”
“If that would make you feel better, go ahead and invite me. I’m coming with you.”
His authoritative tone gave me a jolt. I wanted to fight it on sheer principle, but I could no longer deny that I was in over my head with Eduard. He had crossed a huge line tonight, and now I was officially afraid to be alone with him.
I stared up at Levi, who watched me with a pissed look on his face. If Levi accompanied me home, Eduard wouldn’t get near me. But what terrified me was the fallout that would come from bringing Levi home to meet my family. I could mentally debate these two options all I wanted, but from the look on Levi’s face, he would show up one way or another. And after Eduard’s fiasco this evening, it was obvious I needed Levi’s help.
“Fine. You’re invited.”
He didn’t say anything in response. He turned and walked out of my apartment.
