Melting The Ice (26 page)

Chapter Forty-One

“I had underwear on when I came down here.” A completely nude Cian muttered, hands on his hips as he glanced around the foyer a half hour later while Ava cracked up.  He landed a smack on her denim covered ass, surprising a squeal out of her.  “How are you already dressed?”

She rubbed her bottom, still laughing.  She picked up his shorts and tossed them to him with his t-shirt before looking around to assist in the search for his missing underwear. 

“How did they end up there?” He laughed, crossing to the stairs to remove his boxer briefs from the newel post.  She giggled while he stepped into his underwear and adjusted himself.  She headed up the stairs.

“I’m going to take a shower.”  She called down the stairs, still chuckling.  He had been hungry when he first came downstairs and after thirty minutes of very pleasurable strenuous activity, he was ravenous.  Leaving his shirt lying on the center island, he stood in front of the refrigerator absently scratching his stomach while he perused his options.  Settling on some leftover chicken and rice from the night before, he popped it in the microwave and set the timer, exhausting his entire repertoire of culinary skills.  In Boston, he had a housekeeper that came in several times a week when he was in town to clean and make sure there was plenty of food in his freezer for him to heat.  Being the young, handsome captain of the wildly popular Blaze made for a very active social life and with money to burn, he dined out at some of the finest restaurants Boston had to offer several nights a week.  More often than not, he and Max would hit one of their favorite restaurants; L’Espalier’s haute French cuisine for Max and the Oak Room’s filet mignon for him.  Boston was full of clubs, both upscale nightclubs and hole-in-the-wall pubs and he and Max didn’t discriminate.  They were out most nights if they didn’t have a game the following day.  It had all become so routine and…boring.  The females in his life had been easy come, easy go and had demanded little from him in time or emotion.  He had thought he was happy with the status quo until Ava… he’d only realized how dissatisfied he was with that life when he had come to West Virginia.   He found he liked spending evenings at home with her; talking, watching movies, making love…he couldn’t believe how much he loved that woman, he thought as the timer went off on his lunch. 

He leaned against the counter while he ate and thought about the call to his parents last night.  He had talked to them regularly while he had been at Ava’s but hadn’t discussed his relationship with her until last night.  His parents had heard the speculation by the media but hadn’t questioned him at all.  After giving it considerable thought, he had come to the conclusion he needed to talk to his parents and prepare them for Ava being his significant other; whether it was as his girlfriend or his wife.  He had seen Chase eyeing him speculatively during his visit so he didn’t think his brothers would be too surprised but he had no way of knowing how his parents would react to his news.  When Ava had said she was going to visit her mother, he had begged off and once he was alone in the house, he’d made the dreaded call.  His mother’s voice on the line had brought an immediate smile to his face.  They had made small talk for a little while, catching up on all the family and friend news before his mom asked how he had been keeping himself busy.  He’d hesitated and took a deep breath before responding.

“I spend most mornings on the ice…the rest of the time I’m usually with Ava.” Cian stated quietly.  Denise Secord’s silence spoke volumes.  After the silence had continued for several seconds, Cian pressed on. “Mom, are you there?”

“Yes, I’m here.  Just processing.” His mom had answered, falling silent again for what seemed like forever to him.  Finally, she sighed. “How serious are you about Ava?”

He let out the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. “I love her, Mom.”  His mom had groaned and let out a long sigh.

“Cian…I don’t know what to say.”

“I know this comes as a shock to you…”his mother’s snort of disbelief had him rushing on.  He told his mom the PG rated version of how he and Ava had met and the ensuing affair.  His mom had listened to the entire story without interrupting until Cian wound down.

“And how does Ava feel about you?” she had finally asked.  His frustration with the situation came through in his tone of voice.

“She loves me…she just doesn’t trust me now.” He said tiredly. “But I’m working on that.  I wanted you to hear it from me.” Denise had fallen into another silence, prompting Cian to continue. “I know this isn’t what you wanted for me…”

“Not want my son to finally fall in love?” his mom had teased. 

“Mom…”

“It’s a lot to take in, Cian, so you will just have to bear with me while I become accustomed to thinking of Jameson’s
mother
as your…girlfriend or whatever.” His mother gently chided him. 

“I know…” He sighed. “I want you and Dad to be okay with this…” His contrite words were interrupted by his mother’s cackling laughter. “What?”

“Honey, your dad is a man…he won’t have any problem with it at all.” Cian laughed with her, knowing she was right.  “And I will be okay with you and Ava, too…you’re my son and if she makes you happy, how can I not be happy?”  Denise rushed on before he could say anything. “Don’t get me wrong, Cian…I can’t help but be a little uncomfortable with you…doing whatever it is you’re doing with a woman…how old is Ava anyway?” He told her Ava was thirty-nine and she let out a snort. “A woman that is twelve years your senior who I’ve only known as one of my children’s friend’s mother…I’m sure you understand.”  Telling his mother about him and Ava and knowing she supported him had relieved a lot of his stress.  As long as his parents were okay with it, he didn’t care what anyone else thought.

He rinsed his bowl in the sink before heading out to his SUV.  He reached into the side pocket beside the driver’s seat and pulled out a small blue ring box tied with a white bow.  Opening the box, he stared down at the five carat cushion-cut diamond his agent had grudgingly picked up and shipped to him from Tiffany’s.  Craig had done some fast talking and when that didn’t budge Cian from his plans to ask Ava to marry him, he had resorted to begging.  Cian hadn’t wanted to hear about lost revenue from female fans if he married or certain endorsement deals that wanted him young, wild and
free
.  None of that was important.  He loved playing hockey and getting paid millions to do what he loved was the best job in the world.  He couldn’t see where marrying Ava was going to affect his NHL career.  Real hockey fans and team management didn’t care if he was married or not; only how he played the game and he played the game damn well.  His stomach knotted up with nerves and he shook his head in disgust at himself as he closed the box and slipped it into the pocket of his shorts.  He had never failed at anything else he had put his mind to; convincing Ava to marry him would be no different.

Chapter Forty-Two

Cian skated by in a blur of motion, the puck on the edge of his stick.  At the end of the rink he abruptly reversed direction and came back down the ice like he’d been shot from a cannon.  Not that Ava had ever found him lacking in any way; he was a fine specimen of a man.  But watching him rocket down the ice with such effortless grace had her awestruck.  No wonder the man had dated actresses and models…he was sheer physical perfection.  He had done everything in his power over the last few days to convince her she couldn’t live without him. And boy, did he had a lot of power…she had faced the fact she was going to have her heart shattered into a million pieces when he left.   And he would leave.  She had turned the issue of her and Cian over and over in her mind but no matter how she put the puzzle together, it never all fit.  Of course, he didn’t agree.  He seemed to think everything fit perfectly and what didn’t, they would work around it.  He was definitely a glass half-full kinda guy.  She couldn’t comprehend his utter certainty they should be together when there were so many obstacles in their way. 

She had laid out all her concerns; his fame, all that came with it and her ability to deal with it were huge concerns for her and if he had any sense, he would be concerned, as well.  She was fully aware of her limitations and whether he chose to accept it or not, she would have a very hard time dealing with it all.  He had lied to her for the first two months of their relationship and though it had been to protect her initially, that didn’t make being lied to any more palatable.  What if he felt the need to protect her again and told what he considered an unimportant lie?  He had sworn he would never lie to her again but isn’t that exactly what a liar would say?  But the biggest issue of all she hadn’t even discussed with him yet.  She had tried to work up the courage to talk to him but every time she had started to speak, she had lost her nerve.  He was so sure he wanted to be with her the rest of his life…but he was so young and she couldn’t help but believe he would want a family someday; a family that she couldn’t give him.  She’d undergone a tubal ligation several years ago and would never consider having it reversed; at almost forty years of age she had no desire for more children.   How would it be fair to Cian for her to take him up on his offer when it was so obvious he hadn’t thought this through?  She would end up making him miserable and she would rather him leave still loving her than watch it die a slow death when he realized he wanted kids of his own. 

Slowing to a more sedate pace, he skated by and flashed a smile and a wink in her direction.  He dumped a bag full of pucks onto the ice and after situating them just so, began firing them at the makeshift net on the far end at what had to be at least 100 miles per hour.  She had been telling herself all week she needed to put some distance between them but she hadn’t been listening very well.  Case in point, she was setting on a hard bench at 8:00 am on a Wednesday morning watching him shoot vulcanized rubber pucks like some kind of lovesick groupie.  The need to be with him was overwhelming and even though she knew it was going to make it all that much harder to say goodbye, she couldn’t be any other way with Cian.  He had very methodically thawed the ice around her heart and she was helpless to do anything but love him. 

Over the last few days, he had made it more than obvious what he was building up to; the dread that settled inside her when she realized he was actually going to ask her to marry him made her nauseous.  She had to tell him no; there was really no other option.  A small part of her wondered if they could actually make a go of it but the larger part that said no way in hell managed to drown the smaller part out. 

He patiently gathered up the pucks and redistributed them around the ice before starting the exercise of bulleting them towards his goal all over again.  After repeating the same routine a few more times, he put the pucks away and skated laps around the rink, sometimes turning around and skating backwards.  By the time he was finished and dropped onto the bench beside her to unlace his skates, his thick, dark hair was as wet as if he had just showered.  She handed him a towel and the large bottle of Gatorade.  He wiped at the sweat on his face but discarded it across his shoulder without using it on his hair in favor of draining half the Gatorade.  He collapsed back against the wall and turned his head to grin at her.

“You’re bored out of your mind, aren’t you?” he teased, turning the Gatorade up for another long chug.  She smiled at him, loving everything about this man.  She removed the towel from his shoulder and stood up to face him.  His eyes tracked her movements with interest when she stepped between his spread legs to begin gently drying his hair with the towel, leaning down to place a sweet, lingering kiss on his lips.  When she broke the kiss, she went back to drying his hair.  When he had first arrived in West Virginia, his hair had been closely cropped.  His hair hadn’t been touched by scissors since and his hair had grown shaggy over his ears and down on his neck.  He was a devastatingly handsome man; the shaggy hair in no way detracted from that.  The longer hair made him look a little dangerous and edgy…and ridiculously sexy.

“I am not bored, Mr. Secord.” She smiled down into his deep brown eyes that were looking at her with everything he felt for her.  Her heart melted a little more. “I loved watching you practice.  You’re amazing…”

“Stop! You’re gonna make me blush.” He winked at her and grinned.  She laughed and moved to set back beside him.  He reached out and pulled her down onto his lap.  When she didn’t continue with her praise of him, his smile faded though his eyes still sparkled with humor. “I was only kidding; you may continue with how amazing I am.” He waggled his brows at her, surprising an actual giggle from her.  She brushed her lips against his cheek and removed herself from his lap, earning a smack on her rear before she could sidestep him.  He finished off his Gatorade and carefully dried his skates before changing out of his sweats into jeans and a t-shirt.  She helped him gather up his stuff and followed him out to her Range Rover.  He held open the passenger door for her, reaching across her to fasten her seat belt before stowing his gear in the back.  She had always been an independent woman but she couldn’t help but practically purr with satisfaction when he did little things like that.  Any woman who said they didn’t like having their doors opened, seatbelts fastened and shopping bags carried was a damn liar.    He announced he was starving so they went to the local Chinese buffet.  Several people turned to stare at them but at least the press had cleared out for the most part.  Once he had granted all of those interviews, there really hadn’t been much of a story left.  Lani Mason continued to trash him in all of the gossip rags but his interviews had been so well-received by the public she was making herself look like an ass.  Besides, there was nothing else newsworthy going on in West Virginia so none of the rags or networks could afford to camp out to try and get something on a hockey player that was making no effort to hide.  It was barely past noon when they finished eating and headed back for Ava’s.

“Let’s go out on the boat today.” He suggested when he had parked the Range Rover in front of the house.  They had spent some time on the big river yacht for the 4
th
of July with all the guys. “We can pack a picnic, a little wine, some music…”

“Sounds romantic.” She said, her voice slightly strained.  She told herself he just wanted to spend the rest of the day on the boat so he could do a little water skiing and maybe some kneeboarding and not to try and romance her into going to Boston with him.  He gazed at her, speculation apparent in his expression. 

“If you don’t want to go, we can do something else…”

“No…it sounds like fun.” She forced a smile and went inside to change and gather what they would need to spend the rest of the day on the river.  Unable to put aside her worries, she quickly dialed Macy’s number and asked her and Maddie to join them.  Macy not only agreed, she asked to bring a couple of her nieces, as well, playing right into Ava’s plan.  When she told Cian, he didn’t seem even mildly disappointed they wouldn’t be alone, momentarily calming her fears.  Maybe she had misjudged the situation completely…but she didn’t think so.