Goalie Interference (NHL Scorpions) (2 page)

Clearing her mind of those thoughts, Zoe started their session by asking Vlad how he felt the season was going. He had one of the best records in the league that year and seemed like he was happy and healthy.

“My win record can tell you how the season’s going. I’m having a hell of a year. Of course I’m not taking all the credit; our defense is the main reason for that. The team’s hot so far. I don’t have any issues to talk about yet. I’m only here for my periodic, mandatory session to meet the new shrink.” He winked at her, trying to get her on a more personal level.

“Fair enough,” Zoe said. “How about if you tell me a little about yourself? I’d like to get to know you.” Zoe knew the basics, but she purposefully stayed away from the sports pages and gossip rags. She’d rather form her own opinion directly from the source. “From your name and your accent, is it safe to assume that you’re Russian?” His accent was slight, but could still be detected. It was more than a bit sexy, and she wanted to hear him speak some more.

“Close. I’m actually from the Ukraine. I do speak Russian, though, since I’m from the South. Most of the people in Southern and Eastern Ukraine speak Russian. The rest speak Ukrainian, but the languages are very similar. Russian is a bit more … polished, I guess.” A lot of people lumped the Ukraine in with Russia. The people looked the same and sounded the same to outsiders.

“Your accent is so slight. Most of the Russians or Ukrainians in the NHL can be hard to understand. Where did you learn to speak English?” Zoe had always been impressed with people who were proficient in more than one language.

“My mother is English, and my father is Ukrainian. I learned both languages growing up. It wasn’t hard because I was taught both from the time I was born.” Vlad didn’t think he could have spoken two languages if he hadn’t been taught from birth. A scholar, he was not. Thank God he was good at hockey. “How about you Zoe? Where do you come from?”

Zoe noticed he didn’t call her Dr. Millis, but she let it go. “My parents were both from Maine. Both Heinz 57 varieties, so that makes me quite a mix. Mostly Irish, I guess. Some English, Scottish, German …” Zoe trailed off with a wave of her hand.

“Were? Where are they now?” He couldn’t imagine that she’d lost both her parents. She couldn’t be more than thirty.

“Both of my parents died when I was thirteen. My father was an adrenaline junkie, and he died parachuting. My mother was already sick with cancer and died eight months after he did.” Zoe still didn’t like talking about it. It had been a little over fifteen years since she’d lost her parents, but some days it still felt like yesterday. They had been a close family. She still had her brother, Aidan, though. Thankfully, he moved to San Diego with her when she got the job with the Scorpions.

Vlad was appalled. “Wow, that’s rough. I’m really sorry, Zoe. Who raised you after that?”

Zoe thought about telling him the rest of her story, but she could see that this session was getting a bit off track. “Another family member. In any case, let’s get back to you. Is there anything you’d like to accomplish that you haven’t yet in your career?”

Vlad was enjoying getting to know Zoe, and he frowned. “Okay, so I guess we’re done talking about you.” Sighing, he continued, “Well, obviously I’d like to win the Cup before I retire. I’m already thirty-six, and there are tons of young guns coming up through the ranks. I can’t say it’s not intimidating.”

“Are you starting to think about retirement?”

Vlad laughed. “Good God, no. Not right now anyway. I’m at the top of my game; it’s just something that’s in the far back of my mind. At the end of the day, my hips are sore, and my groin, well, being a goalie is particularly tough on those areas.”

“I can’t possibly imagine how you feel after a game. I’m a runner, and I’m already starting to feel some aches and pains that I didn’t used to have. I’m only twenty-nine, but there’s a difference already from when I was twenty. Time catches us all, I suppose.” Zoe had always loved to run. She started in high school, lettering in track, and she never looked back. She’d even completed a couple of marathons.

“It’s all good for now. I can deal with some aches and pains. The pros far outweigh the cons.” He couldn’t imagine doing anything else. Hockey was his life.

Zoe glanced at the clock and was surprised to see that their session was over. “Well, Vlad, it was a pleasure meeting you. You’ll be happy to know that you survived your first mandatory session.” Zoe gave him a smile and got up to show him out.

When they got to the door, Vlad took her hand in both of his. “It was great meeting you too, Zoe. I don’t like having to come to these sessions, but I think you may make it a bit more bearable for me.” He rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand and took his time releasing it before he walked out the door.

Present day ...

She was going to kill him. Dead. Put a nail in his coffin, never to be heard from again, dead!

Zoe knew that Vlad had a major thing for her. Hell, she had a thing for him, too, but she also knew that it wasn’t possible for them to date. The rules were very clearly stated. The team psychologist was not to have a personal relationship with any of her clients. No exceptions.

For two years Vlad had dogged her, trying to take down her walls, to make her simply go with her feelings. He knew she wanted him as badly as he did her. He tried to assure her they could keep it a secret so she wouldn’t lose her job, but unfortunately, the girl had morals.

Vlad was all about doing the right thing. He helped old ladies cross the street, stopped the kids next door from bullying their little brother, and gave to the ASPCA. But there were some things that didn’t fit neatly into the parameters of good morals. One of those things was being in love with someone who was off limits.

At first, Vlad just thought he’d like to take her for a quick tangle in his sheets. He dreamed about her ass, which would more than fill his hands, and her runner’s legs that could easily wrap around him, pulling him in close. As he got to know her, though, he realized it was much more than that. It freaked him out for a while, but as he watched his best friend, former Scorpions’ enforcer, fall in love, he became less and less freaked out. Jody LaGrange had married his soul mate that very night and was happier than Vlad had ever seen him. He wanted that, too—with Zoe.

Scaring away her dates was frighteningly easy and became somewhat of a game for Vlad. They didn’t even question her when Vlad made his outrageous comments in front of them, and she should be glad they were taking off. Obviously they didn’t think enough of her to give her the benefit of the doubt, so they didn’t deserve her anyway. Where were his thanks?

“Oh my God, Vlad,” Zoe said as her wedding date excused himself with the lame excuse of having to let his dog out. “What the fuck? You have to stop doing this! You can’t interfere with every date I have.”

Vlad poked her in the chest and said, “You should be
thanking
me. What kind of a man doesn’t even try to defend his date when I tell him you might have some kind of STD?” At the look on her face, he took a step back, putting his hands up in the air, palms forward. “I admit, I might have stepped over the line this time, I do, but still, he just isn’t the one for you.”

“Vlad, you told him I might need to be checked out because
your
last date told you she might have something. Don’t you get it? You just told him that we’ve slept together. Why do you hate me all of the sudden? Why are you saying these things about me? Not only is it obnoxious, but you could cost me my job if the wrong person overheard you! It’s a pretty crappy way to treat a friend.”

Vlad didn’t know what to say to that, because she was right. The entire thing was fabricated. And she definitely had a point about someone overhearing him. It
was
a crappy way to treat a friend, but he didn’t know what else to do. He couldn’t stand to see her with other men. Short of quitting the team, he couldn’t see a way to convince her that they could be together. Admittedly, ruining her dates was probably not the best way to go about it.

Vlad ran a hand over his face and let out a gusty sigh. “You’re right, Zoe. Shit, I’m sorry. I’m just running out of ways to convince you to take a chance on us.”

Softening somewhat, Zoe looked him in the eye. “Come on, Vlad. You know it’s not a matter of me not wanting to take a chance on you. I’ve worked hard in my career. This is a great job for me, and I love what I do. Please, stop pursuing me. It’s hard enough trying to force myself to ignore these feelings for you on a daily basis. Stop making it harder. Please. Can you do that for me?”

Out of the corner of his eye, Vlad saw Jody and his new bride, Lacey, walking up to them.

Lacey linked her arm through Zoe’s and asked where her date was.

“Funny thing, Lace. Vlad happened to walk over, said a couple of things, and off went my date. To take his dog out. What do you think of that?”

Lacey glared at Vlad. “Vlad, I adore you, you know I do, but one more time, and Jody won’t be able to save you. Got it?” Lacey took Zoe’s arm and led her over to the bar.

After putting a glass of wine in Zoe’s hand, Lacey asked, “You want me to have Jody break his legs? Or maybe his jaw so he can’t speak?”

Zoe smiled at her best friend. “You always have my back, don’t you, Lace? Forget about Vlad. This is your wedding day!” Zoe took a look out over the beach at the different groups of people. Lacey and Jody had exactly the kind of wedding they wanted.

Even though the mothers of both bride and groom wanted a formal church wedding with all the fixings, Lacey and Jody got their way. They were married on the beach with only Vlad and Zoe standing up with them as best man and maid of honor. Lacey wore a simple, white lace dress, and Jody was wearing tan shorts and a pale green shirt. Lacey had a slight baby bump that she was enormously proud of, since doctors had told Jody years ago that he could never have children.

Zoe was watching a group of people playing volleyball, while others around them danced and shared laughs, mostly accompanied by drinks. “This really is the perfect wedding, Lace. Right up your alley. Mine, too. I’ve been to so many weddings, and none of them are as fun as this. What do you say we go take a dip in the ocean?”

“God, I would love to, but I really don’t think that would be appropriate, would it? I mean, aren’t I kind of supposed to be the hostess?” Jody overheard their conversation as he walked back up to them, thankfully without Vlad in tow.

He wrapped his arms around Lacey and stroked her belly. “Lace, if you want to go take a dip in the ocean, go do it.” He pulled Zoe into his side, too. “I just want my girls to be happy today. Zoe, take my bride inside, put your suits on, and have a dip in the ocean.” He let them go and smacked Lacey’s bottom. “Have fun today, Angel, anyway you want to.”

Lacey gave Jody a peck on the cheek and grabbed Zoe’s hand. “Let’s go swimming!” Then she turned and yelled a general invitation to her wedding guests. Before she knew it, about half a dozen people had run into the ocean, clothes and all.

Vlad watched all of it, wanting to join in the fun, but he was too distracted with thoughts of Zoe to be an active participant. More and more she was consuming his thoughts. He honestly didn’t know what to do about her. Realistically, he knew he should give her up and move on. He’d even convinced himself he was ready to, but then, just like that, he saw some douchebag with her on his arm, and Vlad wanted to take him out. Take. Him. Out.

As he sat back and watched the people do what they would, he caught a glimpse of Zoe and Lacey—clad in bathing suits—coming back out of Jody’s house. Lacey had on a simple, black one-piece, and Zoe had on typical Zoe attire.

She had a fantastic sense of style and liked to dress with flair. She would never wear something as simple as a black one-piece bathing suit. Nope, she had on a red—nothing bland for Zoe—string bikini. You know, the kind that was barely there? The kind that had actual strings hanging down from the skimpy bottoms and the even skimpier top? Yeah, that one.

Seriously? Christ.
Vlad needed to stop the direction of his thoughts, or they were soon going to be blatantly obvious to anyone around him.
What time was this damn wedding over?
He needed to get the hell out of there. Pronto.

After another half hour of tormenting himself, he found Jody. “Hey, Chief. Great wedding. I’m really happy for you, man.” Vlad pulled him in for a quick hug and gave him a slap on the back. “If you don’t have anything else that you need me to take care of, I’m going to take off.”

Vlad knew Jody saw him peeking at Zoe all night long. “Nah, I have everything I need. Thanks, though. You going to go home and drown your sorrows?” Jody asked, not masking the smirk that appeared on his face.

“Maybe.” Vlad gave a smirk of his own. “Screw you man, you got the girl.” He gave Jody one last slap on the back and turned to leave. As soon as he turned, he went down. “Goddammit!”

“Vlad! You okay? Have you had too much to drink? I’ll drive you home, buddy.”