Edge (22 page)

“Hey, you okay?”

“I don’t know.”

I sat down on a bench. “What’s going on?”

“Jean Naughton called me earlier.”

“Why?”

“She offered me a job.”

My heart rate kicked up with hope. “She did?”

“Did you have something to do with it?”

“No. I haven’t spoken to her since I got back. She mentioned wanting to talk to you that night in Rockford, but that’s all I know.”

“Oh.”

“You don’t sound very happy about it.”

She sighed. “You know how I feel about it. I don’t want it to seem like I’m chasing after a man.”

“Who gives a shit what it seems like? You’re great at your job and you earned this.”

“The truth is, I’m worried it won’t work out with us and I’ll have to see you with other women and still work on you as a trainer. It would be permanently awkward.”

It tore at me that she couldn’t celebrate this promotion because she was concerned she’d only be able to hold my attention for a short time.

“Dell.” I looked lowered my voice and looked side to side to make sure no one was listening. “I love you. You and Kyler are important to me. Let’s assume we’ll work out, okay?”

She was silent for a few seconds. “Jean said if I don’t take the job she’s hiring someone else. And a training job might not open up there for a while.”

“I want you to take it, but it’s up to you. I get where you’re coming from, but I think the closer we are, the stronger we’ll be together.”

“It wouldn’t bother you having your girlfriend on the road with you?”

I laughed at the question. “Bother me? I’d love it.”

“I think I should take it.” She sounded unconvinced.

“Baby, why aren’t you happy? This is a big deal. You’re young to be a trainer at this level.”

“I won’t have help with Kyler anymore, and I don’t know what I’ll do. I guess since I’ll make more money, I can hire someone, but I hate the thought of a stranger taking care of him that much.”

“Yeah.” I sighed into the phone. “I don’t like it, either.”

“I’d have the offseason to find someone.”

“He can stay with Kate while we’re on the road.”

“She may not want to watch him that much.”

I stood and stretched my overworked muscles. “Kate wouldn’t mind, trust me. This is something we can definitely work out.”

“Okay. So I’m taking the job, then.”

“Don’t let Jean screw you on salary. She’s tough, but if she wants you, she’ll pay.”

“Okay.” She sounded nervous, but excited. “I’ll let you know how it goes.”

“I want to take you and Kyler out for dinner to celebrate.”

“Maybe we could meet halfway sometime,” she suggested.

“No, tonight. I’m coming there.”

She laughed lightly. “Luke. It takes almost two hours to get here. You don’t want to drive four hours just for dinner.”

“I’m off tonight, and I do want to.”

“Really? You’re so sweet.”

I hummed my amusement. “Occasionally. It makes up for my roughness in bed.”

“I like it when you’re rough.”

I shifted my legs as my cock sprang to life beneath my towel. “Don’t I know it. Damn, baby, I love that you’re moving here.”

“Even though we just met five minutes ago?”

I smiled. “It’s been a couple months, Dell. And I love you. I’ve never said that to a woman.”

The sounds of snickering and slobbery kissing caught my attention.

“Oh, I love you, Dell!” My teammate Steve Carrigan mimicked me from around the corner. Someone else I couldn’t see was making whip cracking sound effects.

“What’s that noise?” Dell asked.

“Just assholes being assholes.”

“Ah.” There was a smile in her voice. “You’re in the locker room, aren’t you?”

“Yeah. Just getting shit from a guy who got crabs from a hooker, so he’s got no room to fucking talk.”

“She wasn’t a hooker!” Carrigan protested.

I looked up at the clock on the wall. “I can be there by six if that works.”

“That’s great. I’ll see you then.”

Now that I’d told her what I felt, I wanted to say it all the time. “Love you.”

“Love you, too.”

I shoved Carrigan on my way to the shower. I didn’t feel tired anymore. Dell and Kyler were moving here. We’d be together. Before meeting her, that thought would’ve scared the shit out of me. But now I was ready. More than ready – I was happier than I’d been in a while.

Dell

I’d been hired by Jean Naughton in a phone call that lasted less than three minutes. There were formalities like a background check, but that wouldn’t be a problem. She’d agreed to the salary I proposed and asked me to start immediately.

It was unusual for a trainer to switch teams midseason, but she was easing the transition by helping my current team find someone new. She needed to replace Terese, who was leaving unexpectedly to move to Europe.

I was sitting at the kitchen table, still processing the news, when Sadie walked in.

“Want me to get Kyler from school?” she asked.

“No, I will.”

She sorted through a bowl of apples on the counter, trying to find one she wanted. “Will you test some face creams for an article I’m doing for a beauty magazine?”

“Sure.” I took a deep breath. Now or never. “So I just accepted a job with the NHL team in Chicago.”

Sadie had found an apple, but it plunked back to the bowl when she released it. “What? Dell! That’s like … a huge promotion for you, right?”

“Yes.”

She jumped up and down with excitement. “Let’s hug and scream!”

I got up and hugged her, but couldn’t bring myself to scream.

“Wait!” Her face became even more animated. “Luke’s team! You’re working for Luke’s team?”

“Yes.”

“I’m so happy for you, Dell. You deserve this.”

Her enthusiasm only heightened my sadness about leaving her.

“I like living with you,” I said. “And Kyler loves you.”

Her face fell and she sank into a kitchen chair. “Oh, shit. Yeah, Chicago.”

I felt like a beast as her eyes filled with tears.

“But you can’t pass on this, Dell. It’s an amazing opportunity for you and Kyler.” She wiped beneath her eyes. “And I can get a cat or some other single girl cliché.”

“Sadie.” I wrapped my arms around her, on the verge of crying myself. “You’re so much more than a roommate to me. You’ve helped me raise Kyler since we were in college. I don’t know if I can leave you.”

“We’ll be close.” She rubbed my arm reassuringly. “Or I could always move to Chicago, too.”

I froze, not sure I’d heard her right. “You’d consider that?”

She shrugged and smiled. “I’m only here because of you guys. I work from home so it doesn’t matter where I live. And the pool of eligible bachelors would be much larger there.”

The joy I hadn’t been able to feel before surged through me now. “That would be amazing, Sade. Everything would feel right then. Are you sure?”

“Yeah. I can get an apartment by you—”

“No! Why don’t you want to live with us? I don’t make shit money anymore, we can get a nice place.”

“You and Kyler don’t need me underfoot all the time. And things with you and Luke are going well—”

“So what? You’re part of the deal.”

She rolled her eyes. “I can’t live with you forever, D.”

“Maybe not, but for now. It would be a big help with Kyler, if you’re still willing.”

She gave me a look. “Willing? I love Kyler. I’d do anything for him. If you still want me around and need me, I’m there.”

I squeezed her in a tight hug. “You’ll have our place to yourself for a while because we’re going to the beach with Luke for a long trip in the offseason.”

“You whore,” she muttered.

“What?” I pulled away and gaped at her.

“You’re getting laid by a super hot, rich hockey player who wants to take you to the beach for the summer. If I didn’t love you, I’d hate you.”

“I bet you’ll find Mr. Right in Chicago,” I said.

“I’d settle for Mr. Good in Bed right now.”

I laughed and checked the clock. “I have to go get Ky. Luke’s coming for dinner tonight and you have to come with us.”

“I have an interview tonight or I would. He’s coming all the way from Chicago for dinner?”

A wide grin spread across my face. “Yes.”

“I’m really happy for you.”

“You’re next.” I pointed at her as I headed for the door. “Luke has hot friends.”

“As long as they aren’t married or crazy.”

Memories of some of the awful dates Sadie had gone on in her quest for her soul mate made me laugh.

“What if they just want you to pee on them?” I asked, arching my brows. “Or call them Big Daddy in bed?”

She shook her head, not amused. “Those guys were both nuts. It’s a jungle out there, girl. Be glad you don’t have to brave it.”

“I love you, Sade, and I know you’ll find someone awesome.”

She shrugged. “I’ve got Kyler. He’s all the man I need.”

“Can we go apartment hunting this weekend?” I asked on my way out the door.

“Definitely. And maybe I can finally meet Loverboy.”

The smile would not leave my face. I’d been chosen by the owner of one of the best teams in the league. This was cause for some serious celebration.

Luke

I was mesmerized by the creamy skin of her thighs and the curve of her tight ass as Dell poured herself a cup of coffee. She wore nothing but one of my old t-shirts, and I remembered from the night before that she’d gone to bed without panties. When she turned around, I tried to get a glimpse, but the shirt was too damned long.

My cock made the case for a quickie right here in the kitchen, but we didn’t have much time before practice. We’d been told to be early for practice this morning.

“Mmm, you’re a good roommate,” Dell said, wrapping her arms around me from behind as I sat at my kitchen table listening to sports news and skimming the newspaper. “You give me multiple orgasms, snuggle me and make good toast.”

Her lips trailed across the side of my neck as she reached for a piece of toast on a plate.

“You’re not so bad yourself,” I said, turning around and swinging her into my lap. I looked at her, knowing my goofy adoration probably showed on my face. Fuck it. I did adore her, and I wanted her to know it. She and Kyler were staying with me until the movers brought their things to their new apartment in a few days.

“We have to be early,” she reminded me as I slid my palm up her bare thigh.

“I know, babe.” I just wanted a minute to enjoy her fresh out of bed look – tousled hair and fresh face. Before her I’d cringed at the intimacy of a morning after with a woman, slamming a cup of coffee and hitting the road as fast as possible. But it was different with Dell.

I loved being the only one who got to see her this way. Kyler had stayed the night with Kate and Ryke, or she would’ve been in conservative pajamas.

She leaned in to kiss me, her lips feather-soft. The TV announced droned in the background.

“In NHL news, we’ve just learned that Butch Price is taking over as coach in Chicago…”

My heart froze in my chest. “Did you fucking hear that?”

“What?” Dell looked at me, wide-eyed. I dove for the remote on the other side of the table and she slid out of my lap.

I cranked the volume up and we listened to news that floored us both. Jack had been fired as coach of our team and replaced by Butch Price.

“Motherfucker,” I muttered under my breath. When I turned to Dell, she had a hand over her mouth. She stared at the TV screen, looking shell-shocked.

“Is this a prank?” she demanded. “If this is a prank, tell me now because I’m about to die, Luke.”

I put my hands up in surrender. “I wouldn’t fuck with you like that. I don’t even know what to say.”

A couple seconds of silence elapsed.

“I work for my Dad?” Dell asked miserably. “I have to see him every day and follow his stupid rules?” She gave me a panicked look. “What if he moves here? Of course he’ll move here.”

“Fucking hell.” I shook my head. The news just wouldn’t sink in. I knew Butch Price wasn’t a fan of mine, but Dell hadn’t gone into detail. And this wasn’t a coincidence. He didn’t want her dating me, she moved here to work for my team and now he was suddenly the coach?

“This is why we’re supposed to be there early,” she said. “So they can announce it. What if he’s already here?”

“Hey.” I reached for her hips and eased her closer to me. “We’re good. We’ve both got contracts, so he can try to screw with us but there isn’t much he can do.”

“What if he plans to trade you?”

Worry took root at the possibility. Surely he wasn’t that big of a prick.

“The deadline’s passed, babe. I can’t be traded.”

“But next year?”

“One thing at a time, okay? Let’s go shower and get to practice. The last thing we need is to be late today.”

She nodded numbly. Her miserable expression reinforced what I already knew. Butch Price was a mean bastard. And I was at the top of his shit list.

Dell

I hoped my father got the message I was sending with my icy glare –
Don’t you dare speak to me.

Luke and I were the focus of everyone’s confused look or knowing stare. This was just the kind of drama I’d always avoided.

“Did you know about this?” Vic murmured as I worked out a kink in his neck.

“No.”

“That’s fucked up.”

“Yeah,” I said, still numb from the news.

“Poor Luke,” Vic said, shaking his head.

My dad was making Luke’s line work late at practice. He’d given his coach talk to the entire team and staff before diving right in to practice. I’d heard it all before – no slacking and no excuses was the abbreviated version.

I’d turned ten shades of crimson when he’d emphasized in front of everyone that no fraternization between players and staff would be allowed. No exceptions.

The man who had held my hands and patiently glided backwards for endless trips around the rink teaching me to ice skate when I was little was now publicly humiliating me. I hadn’t even moved here yet, and already this job had turned out to be too good to be true. But I was bound by a contract and had been replaced at my former job.