Home Ice (12 page)

Ally thought he looked like he jumped out of the pages of a men’s clothing catalog and couldn’t believe someone so good looking was standing in her living room. What had she gotten herself into? She was in way over her head and the water started closing in on her and she tried to remember to breathe.

And then he smiled at her. That thousand watt smile he flashed made all of her worries fall by the wayside. Everything was going to be all right.

He handed Ally a bouquet of flowers. It was a beautiful bouquet of pink roses and Peruvian lilies.

“Thank you, Ben. Roses are my favorite.” Ally lowered her nose to them and breathed in their sweet fragrance.

Ben hadn’t known what her favorite flower was and had chosen roses by default. He knew he couldn’t go wrong with roses and he’d been right. The florist had suggested they be paired with lilies and he trusted her instincts about flowers a heck of a lot more than his own. They turned out to be a beautiful combination.

Even over the scent of the flowers, Ally couldn’t help but notice that he smelled delicious. Fresh and citrusy like sunshine and happiness. She didn’t know how someone could physically
smell
like happiness, but that’s what Ben smelled like to her.

“Are you ready?” he asked.

An invisible force was pulling him towards being alone with Ally. He wanted to give her his undivided attention. Which was weird, because he had never wanted to be alone with a woman this much before in his life. Sure he’d been on plenty of dates, but partway through dinner his mind usually wandered somewhere else. To hockey or the latest movie he watched. Video games. Or even his dog. But with Ally, he wanted to take her in with no interruptions.

“Yes,” she smiled at him. She had never been more ready for anything in her life.

Ben looked over at Gram. “Don’t worry. I‘ll take good care of her.”

“I have nothing to worry about if Allison is going to be out on the town with a strapping young man such as yourself, now do I?”

Ben smiled. “See you later, Izzy.”

“Have fun, you two.” Izzy said.

Ally handed the flowers to Izzy, grabbed her purse and took Ben’s hand.

* * *

After putting Ally and Gram’s flower bouquets in two vases of water, Izzy plopped down on the couch with a deep sigh. She hoped with all her might that Ally had a good time. She needed this so badly.

“Come help me with the puzzle, Isadora.” Gram waved her over, but Izzy resisted.

“Gram, until you can find a jigsaw puzzle featuring a shirtless hunk, I’ll be content over here with my
Cosmo
.” Ashlee Simpson was on the magazine’s cover this month and she couldn’t wait to read the juicy details of her and her rock star husband’s wedding.

“Hmm. That’s not a bad idea,” Gram said thoughtfully. “A line of Playgirl puzzles. You know,” she added. “I met a Playgirl model once.”

Izzy jaw dropped to the floor in disbelief and she looked at Gram like she had grown a second head. “You
did
?”

“No,” the old woman smirked. “But I got your attention now, didn’t I?”

“Wow, Gram.” Izzy shook her head. “You’re just too funny for your own good, aren’t you?”

Gram smiled. “Now, put us on a pot of tea and tell me what’s going on in the world of
Cosmo
.”

* * *

Eventually emptying into August Lake, the Red River snaked through downtown Red Valley. The Rio restaurant was perched atop the north bank of the Red River and it was where Ben had decided on taking Ally for dinner. He knew she would love it.

When the waiter arrived to take their order, they both decided on the steak and they both shied away from alcohol.

Ally looked around at the inside of the restaurant. It had soft lighting and rich woodwork. Their table sat in front of panoramic windows that offered a full view of the mountains, city lights and the rushing water of the river.

“I’ve always wondered what it was like in here.” She smiled into his eyes. “It’s amazing.”

“The food is really good, too.”

“Oh yeah, I come here all the time,” she said as seriously as she could muster.

“You do?” Ben was disappointed and it showed on his face. He wanted this to be special and not just some run of the mill date at an ordinary restaurant.

She shook her head. “I’m joking. I
am
familiar with the McDonald’s on Second Street, though,” she laughed. “That’s more my price range.”

“We can drive through for a milkshake later if it’ll make you feel better.”

“Thanks, but that won’t be necessary,” she smirked, then her eyes grew serious. “I’m sorry about what happened the other night.” Ally was embarrassed to bring it up but it needed to be mentioned to clear the air. She couldn’t have her drunken debacle hanging over their heads in such a beautiful setting.

“And I’m sorry I dragged you out of the club like that. I just wanted to make sure you got home okay.”

Ally felt a twinge in her gut. No one besides Gram had ever been so concerned about her well-being. Of course Izzy cared, but Ally was always the one taking care of
her
when she had too much to drink or was going through a bad break-up or any sort of an Izzy-type crisis. Which was often.

“Thank you for that. I normally don’t drink at all, so you got to see me in rare form.”

“And normally I don’t dance.” He smiled. It was a sly, sort of mischievous smile.

Flashes of the night before ran through her memory. His hands on her waist, then the small of her back. Her hands in his hair, on his neck. His musky, masculine smell filling her senses as their bodies moved to the music.

Ally tried to focus on her steak, but her fingers didn’t want to cooperate with her fork. Her thoughts had turned her body to mush. She nervously tucked an errant lock of hair behind her ear.

A flash of sparkle caught Ben’s eye. “Those are beautiful,” he said.

Ally shot her head up, not realizing he was looking at her new earrings. “Oh, they were a gift from Izzy.”

“She threatened me, you know.”

“Who, Izzy?” Ally’s brow furrowed.

“Yeah, she told me not to do wrong by you, or she’d kick my ass.”

“Really?” Her face turned up into a smile. “She
would
say that.
And
she wears spiky heels, so I guess you’d better behave yourself.”

“I’ll try.”

Not that it was going to be easy.

“She’s not as dangerous as she lets on,” Ally said sincerely.

“Nah. Izzy is super nice.”

“Yep, she’s like a sister to me. We don’t always see eye to eye because we’re so completely different, but she’s always been there for me when I needed someone. When I was the new kid in school, when my Grandpa passed away, when Gram had her stroke...”

“You’ve been through a lot.” Ben reached for her hand across the table.

“It only makes you stronger, right?” she shrugged. “Just call me Popeye.”

He smiled and it reached his brown eyes, warming them in the dim restaurant light.

“So how did you get into hockey?” she quickly changed the subject. Talking about family tragedy was as taboo as talking about ex-boyfriends and politics on a first date. Strictly prohibited. Not that Ally had many. Ex-boyfriends, that is. She had as many ex-boyfriends as she had bottles of nail polish. “Did you always know it was what you wanted to do?” she asked, then stopped herself. “Sorry. I sound like some reporter in the dressing room. Here, let me make you more comfortable.” She raised a make-believe microphone up to him with a smirk.

He laughed. “It’s okay. I don’t get tired of talking about it. It’s the only thing I ever wanted to do. Hockey is in my blood. My uncle taught me how to play when I was little. He had skates on me by the time I was four.” Ben smiled as the memories of his childhood came back to him. Afternoons spent at the rink watching his uncle play. His mom bundling him up in winter clothes before he took his first stick out for a practice run.

“Was he a player, too?”

“Yeah, Bobby Price is my Uncle.” Ben waited to see if she recognized the name.

Ally’s eyes widened. “Wow. I don’t even know anything about sports, but
everyone
knows Bobby Price was one of the greatest hockey players of all time.” Bobby Price’s name was synonymous with hockey legends such as Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux. “Jeez, Ben. That must make you royalty to people.” He was sexy, nice, rich
and
famous royalty.

Great
, she thought
. Like there wasn’t enough pressure before I found
that
out.

“Nah,” he said shrugging his shoulders. “I still have to work just as hard as everyone else to earn a name for myself.”

“I think it’s great that you found your passion and pursued it into a career you love.”

Ally admired that about him. It wasn’t everyday that she met someone who got paid to do what they loved most in life.

“Playing hockey is a dream. As a kid, I would watch it on TV and it was all I wanted to do. If I didn’t make it into the UNHL, I don’t know what I’d be doing. I never had a back-up plan.”

“So, your legendary uncle taught you how to play, huh?” she asked.

“My mom was a single mom and he practically helped raise me, so it was natural for him to wanna put a hockey stick in my hands. Now, my uncle coaches in Colorado for the Denver Blizzards.” The Blizzards were only one of the hottest teams in the league.

Then, he shared something personal with Ally. Something he hadn’t told many people about. He told her about his mom’s battle with cancer.

“She was really great. She used to go to all my games.”

“I’m so sorry. I know how hard it is to lose someone you love.”

“Thank you. So, enough about me and the depressing stuff. Tell me about school and veterinary medicine.”

“Well, I didn’t realize it until I started working at the animal clinic, but I really want to become a veterinarian. Until now, I kind of wandered around from job to job and felt like I had no calling. Just the thought of being able to help those poor helpless animals has so much meaning to me.”

It felt good to say it out loud to someone besides Gram or Izzy. It made it feel more real to share her goals with Ben.

If he were a sick puppy, Ben couldn’t imagine anyone else he’d rather have take care of him. “That’s wonderful.” He knew she would be great at it. She had such a gentle, kind way about her.

“Thanks. It all sounds good, but it’s a little more work than I bargained for. I’m just starting my general education courses at the community college and then I’ll be able to go to school for veterinary medicine.”

“It sounds like you’ve got everything figured out.”

“Hardly,” she laughed. “Every day is a constant battle.” Most days it seemed like life was trying to make things as difficult as possible.

Figuring out your career path? Six years. Taking care of your ailing grandmother? Eight years. Meeting the man of your dreams? Priceless.

“You are going to make an amazing vet.”

“Thank you.”

“So, where have you been all my life, Allison Monroe?”

“Right here. I’ve been in Red Valley all my life with Gram.”

“You two are pretty close, aren’t you?”

“Oh yeah. My parents died when I was four and Gramps died when I was in high school, so it’s just been the two of us for all these years. Sorry. More depressing stuff. So, where have
you
been?”

“Mostly Colorado. I grew up in Denver with my mom, then went to college and the minor league and then the Razors drafted me.” He had been first all-around draft pick. Not only his name, but his talent and drive had assured him a quick climb to the professional league.

“I can’t believe you’ve been right here for years and I’ve never run into you until now,” she wondered out loud.

“It’s a big city and unless you go to the NorCal Center or the practice arena,” he said referring to how they first met and where he spent most of his time, “you wouldn’t know I existed.”

“That’s not necessarily true. You’re on SportsCenter all the time.”

“Oh, really? You’ve been watching SportsCenter?” He nudged her playfully.

“Yes, thanks to you, I’ve broadened my horizons,” she said proudly.

During dinner, Ben was so laid back and comfortable that Ally began to relax and not worry so much about every little thing. If her hair was just right, if she should suck her stomach in, if she said the right things. He may have been somewhat of an athletic celebrity, but
he
had asked
her
out. So, it was obvious he wasn’t expecting Cameron Diaz or Reese Witherspoon. He would have to take Ally the way she was or leave her. In a puddle of animal encyclopedias and doctor bills. It wasn’t like he had expected celebrity good looks and Princess Diana social graces. He knew what he was getting himself into with a homebody girl struggling to take care of her ailing grandmother and put herself through college.