Las Vegas Sidewinders: Dominic (6 page)

“And technically, I’m still
part of the Maple Leafs,” Cody said. “But after Dom, Brad and I talked, we
decided we were going to do this together, so Suze and I sold our house and
rented this place to be here with Dom over the summer. I’ve already made
arrangements with Toronto—they had a couple of young players they needed to
protect for the expansion draft, and I volunteered to fall on my sword, so to
speak, for the future of the team. I’ll be Las Vegas’s first pick during the
draft because the other expansion team will be picking as well.”

“There’s a chance that Cody
could get picked up by Anchorage, which is the other team,” Suze added. “If
they get first pick in the draft, it could happen, but Brad already has a
gentleman’s agreement in place with the head coach over there. I don’t know the
details, but he says it’s a non-issue.” She made a face at Cody. “And let’s be
clear: I am
not
moving to Alaska!”

Cody laughed. “I know, dear.
No more northern teams.”

Suze shivered. “I am
so
tired of those winters!”

“And I’m not allowed to play
in Minnesota or Boston, either,” Cody made a face behind Suze’s back that made
them all laugh.

“I’m not enduring that kind
of winter unless we’re in New York,” she said. “In Manhattan, I guess I could
suck it up, but there will be no Minnesota winters in my future, and I’m never
going back to Boston.”

No one said anything, and
Suze turned away. “Come on, Molly, let’s figure out what you’re going to wear
tonight.”

“I don’t think I should go,”
said Molly. “I mean, how will Dom explain me?”

“You’re my friend?” Dom
suggested.

“Look at me!” She glanced
down at herself. “Why would a guy like you have a frumpy old ‘friend’ like me?”

“Stop.” Dom reached out and
took her chin between his fingers. “You’re beautiful, and you’re my friend.
People in general can wonder all they want, but not
this
group of
people. Coach Dave married a stripper. Everyone who heard about it was
horrified, taking about mid-life crises and how he’d lost his mind. But Tiff is
the best thing that’s ever happened to him. She makes him happy, and we all
know that there’s a lot more to Tiff than how she looks. So relax. The people
you’re going to meet tonight are not going to be overly curious—well, they’ll
be a little bit curious because I’ve never lived with a woman before—but not in
a bad way.”

“It’s gonna be fine,” Suze
tugged on Molly’s arm. “Let’s go start getting ready.”

“My face is still a mess,”
Molly objected, trailing Suze up the stairs after exchanging another long look
with Dom.

“I can cover it with makeup.
And the rest, well, no one is going to wonder about anything except whether or
not you’re sleeping together.”

“Sleeping together? No one
would think that!”

“Molly, you have to stop
being so hard on yourself. You’re a beautiful, vibrant woman who’s had a rough
time. Don’t worry about what others presume about you or Dom. Just be yourself
and focus on getting better.”

“Thank you, Suze. You’ve
been so great and I appreciate it.”

“We’ve all gone through hard
times. It’s nice to be able to help someone else for a change.”

Arriving at Brad and Andra’s
large, beautiful house, Molly was nervous. Riding beside Dom in his new
Mercedes SUV, she wasn’t sure how she fit into this group of people. These
strangers had shown her more kindness and affection in a week than Tim and his
friends had in more than two decades. For the first time in many years, she
wondered if it was possible she could truly find happiness. And it was all
because of the gorgeous man who sat beside her, this incredible stranger who
had swept in like a knight in shining armor to save her from Tim, from her
life, and even from herself. Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined such
a man existed. Even though she had a hard time believing he would be interested
in her romantically, she had a feeling that their shared experiences gave them
a bond that would last a long time.

“You ready?” Dom asked as he
turned into the driveway.

“No. I’m not sure how to
behave, or what to say. These people are totally out of my league.”

“Out of your league?” He
chuckled, reaching out to touch her cheek. “Molly, these are some of the very
best people in the whole world. They are going to welcome you with open arms,
just like Cody and Suze did.”

“They’re going to pity me
and think I’m a leech hanging onto the rich, young hockey player who happened
to be in the right place at the right time.” She sighed. “I may not be worldly,
but I know how people think.”

“They’re not like that.”

“How can they not be?” she
demanded. “If these people care about you, then they’re going to be worried
about you. This older woman, married to a dirty, abusive cop, has latched on to
a rich kid like you. If you were my friend and I saw you doing what you’re
doing with me, I would try to talk some sense into you.”

“First of all, I’m not a
kid. I don’t give a damn what anyone thinks, and neither will my friends. You
and I… clicked. Sitting there in the dark underneath the bar, I cried on your
shoulder like a baby. For the first time in seven years I told the story all
the way through without wanting to hurt someone. Our friendship is whatever we
want it to be, and the rest of the world can suck big donkey balls.”

She snorted with unexpected
laughter. “Then what do we tell people?” she was still chuckling. “Because you
know they’re going to ask.”

“We’re friends and
roommates. You needed a place to go during your divorce, and you bring a sense
of calm to my life that I desperately need.”

“Okay.” She took a deep
breath. “Then I guess I’m ready.”

Dom got out of the car and
walked around to her side to open her door. She smiled up at him, charmed and
overwhelmed by him. He offered her his arm and she took it without hesitation.
Whatever this was, she was going to try to stop questioning and just enjoy it.
She’d already lived through hell; even if this only lasted for a little while,
she was going to hang on to every moment of something so wonderful.

Brad and Andra met them at
the door, greeting them warmly before leading them into the
beautifully-decorated great room where Suze, Cody and another couple were already
enjoying a glass of wine.

“Hey!” Suze greeted them
with a smile. “Molly, this is Dave Marcus and his wife Tiffany. Dave’s an
associate coach, which is basically an assistant coach.”

“It’s nice to meet you.”
Molly shook their hands and tried not to stare at the gorgeous woman in front
of her. If Suze was movie-star beautiful, Tiffany was supermodel-beautiful.
Almost six feet tall, with deep hazel eyes and brilliant golden-red hair
falling past her shoulders, she was any man’s wet dream. She was absolutely
stunning, yet the older man beside her seemed oblivious to it, casually playing
with a lock of her hair as they chatted. He was probably in his early fifties,
with pale-blue eyes and thinning blond hair. He was lean and muscular, with the
body of a retired athlete, a bright smile and a crooked nose that gave him what
people might call character.

“So, are you a native?” Tiff
was asking her.

“I was born in California,”
Molly replied. “But I’ve lived here since I was five.”

“I can’t imagine growing up
in Las Vegas. But I guess I’ll be raising my kids here, so I’m going to find
out firsthand.”

“How many children do you
have?”

“We have twin boys, Derek
and Duncan. They’re two and a half.”

“Twins! That must be a lot
of work.”

“I have lots of help,” Tiff
said. “Although because we just got here I’m still getting settled and trying
to find sitters and such.”

Molly listened as the women
settled into easy conversation about local restaurants and favorite shopping
areas. Though she’d lived here most of her life, she had no idea what most of
these places were like. Tim had never taken her anywhere special, and she
certainly didn’t have the money to shop where they shopped. Though it made her
feel a little awkward, she was happy to sit and listen, soaking in their sophistication
and experiences. She liked these beautiful, interesting women, despite how
different they were from her.

“So, Molly, what do you do?”
Tiff asked, trying to draw her into the conversation.

“I’ve been a housewife, for
the most part,” Molly swallowed hard, trying not to be embarrassed by her lack
of a more interesting answer. “And now I’m in limbo. Dom is trying to help me
figure out if I can get a divorce without having to actually see Tim again.”

“And then what will you do?”
Tiff’s eyes were kind, but Molly sensed her underlying question.

“I have no idea,” she
admitted after an awkward silence. “I was originally going to be a nurse before
I got pregnant the first time. After my miscarriage, my husband insisted I quit
school and stay home. If I qualify for any kind of alimony, I’d like to use
that money to go back and finish my nursing degree.”

“Will you stay with Dom?”

“I don’t know.” Molly
shrugged slowly. “He’s been a really good friend to me and I’m trying to be
there for him this summer while he does everything he’s supposed to do to get
back in the NHL’s good graces.”

“Molly has been good for
Dom,” Andra said. “I’ve never seen him so content. Regardless of the
circumstances that brought you together, it’s been lovely to see him focused on
something other than the past.”

The men came back in the
room then, keeping Molly from having to answer. She moved to Dom’s side,
breathing a sigh of relief. She looked up at him gratefully, wondering how
she’d gotten so lucky to meet him.

The doorbell rang and Cody
and Dom glanced up. “Are we expecting someone else?” Dom asked.

“Maybe.” Brad grinned like a
kid. “Why don’t you and Cody go see who it is?”

Cody frowned. “Coach? What’s
going on?”

“Oh, go answer the damn door
and let an old man have some fun!”

Dom and Cody went to the
front door as the bell rang again and Cody opened it. There was a moment of
silence and then whoops of laughter.

“Toli!” Dom and Cody hugged
their old friend, shocked to see him.

“Surprise!” he laughed.
“Toli has come to see friends in America and talk to Coach about playing with
NHL again!” He had a fairly heavy accent, but his eyes gleamed with mischief
and affection as they led him into the family room.

“Toli!” Andra hurried over
to greet him. “Look at you! It’s so good to see you!”

“Toli has missed Mama
Andra!” he exclaimed as he hugged her. He stepped away and turned to Suze. “
You
are still Toli’s favorite!”

Suze giggled in delight as
he swept her off her feet and swung her around.

“Stop flirting with my
wife.” Cody said good-naturedly. “Are you really coming back?”

“Maybe is time for Toli to
play in the NHL again. KHL is not so interesting. And Tatiana says no wedding.”
He shrugged.

Though she thought it odd
that he referred to himself in the third person, Molly found Toli delightful.
Tall and rangy, with short, spiky blond hair, deep-set blue eyes and crooked
teeth that gave him a boyish look when he smiled, he was handsome in an offbeat
kind of way.

“How’s Sergei?” Dom asked.

Toli said something
unintelligible in Russian and then shook his head. “Sergei is… what is the
word? Pussy whipped? Puck bunny.”

“What’s a puck bunny?” Molly
asked blankly.

“Hockey groupies,” Tiff said
in a stage whisper.

“Oh.” Molly turned back to
the conversation.

“After divorce, Sergei has
not been good.” Toli shook his head. “Toli tried to make him come to NHL too,
but he is in difficult period.”

“And what about Tatiana?”
Cody asked. “You’ve been with her since high school, right?”

“Yes, many years. She is
difficult, always with the schooling and training.” He rolled his eyes. “She
listens to nothing, so Toli is single again!” He made the announcement like it
was a great thing, but there was no mistaking the shadow of pain that crossed
his eyes as he said it. It seemed as though all of them had demons.

They had a magnificent
dinner in the formal dining room, with champagne and expensive wine, cloth
napkins and beautiful china. Molly was awed by the beautiful things, though she
tried not to show it. She and Tim had never owned formal china or crystal, and
she couldn’t imagine a time when they would have used cloth napkins. He was
definitely a beer-and-hamburgers kind of guy; he would never even meet people
like Brad and Andra.

After dessert, they moved
back into the great room to enjoy coffee and cocktails. Brad, Dave and Cody
were deep in conversation about hockey. Dom and Andra had moved off to the
kitchen, and Suze and Tiffany were chattering about clothes. Molly slipped out
onto the deck by herself to enjoy a golden desert sunset. There were many
things she wanted to change about her life, but one thing she wanted to remain
the same was living here. She loved the dry heat and warm sunshine, the
mountains and the unpredictable winters. Though she thought living someplace
with four seasons might be nice, she knew she would miss the Southwest.