The Girl With Diamonds (Midtown Brotherhood Book 2) (10 page)

Another player fell down at Austin’s side. Eighty-eight. Magnolia tried to think fast, but her pulse thrummed in her ears. Eighty-eight was Samuel O’Dell.

Sam tried to help Austin to his feet. More teammates joined Sam’s effort while the referees tried to break up the fight between Henrik and the other player who Magnolia would hate forever after this.

They pulled Austin to his feet, but he went straight back down.

Oh no. He was hurt.

Panic ate at her. Every time Austin tried to set his right foot on the ice, his knee buckled. Sam held on to him. Trainers ran out onto the ice. The referee led Henrik to the penalty box as he diligently cursed the other player on his way. The trainers and Sam helped Austin off the ice. He was in pain. Magnolia was in pain right along with him.

Then he was gone.

The game started back. The Rangers were on a power play.

“Austin.”

She hadn’t even realized she said it out loud. Her hands were flat on the screen as if it were a window she might crawl through to get to him. She watched, waiting in hope that Austin might come back to the bench. Her phone buzzed from the couch. She didn’t want to talk right now. She wouldn’t dare let Cressida hear the panic in her voice. She sat there like that, her eyes glued to the screen, her hands impatiently shaking at her side for the entire game. Each second an hour. Each moment a year. Her phone continued to buzz somewhere a world away.

No update, the announcers claimed. Bullshit. Magnolia knew the media well enough to know that meant it was bad. Austin didn’t return to the game. She watched the post-game, and started scanning news outlets, though she knew they’d all be empty. She started pacing, flipping through channels. She had to find something.

A knock. She jumped at the sound on her front door. She whipped around, and for the first time she realized she had tears forming in her eyes. She was worried for Austin. She ran for the front door, wiping her eyes as she bent down to look outside. It was Evan.

She jerked the door open and moved back to let him in inside. He pulled a suitcase along with him. “I’ve been calling you.”

“Sorry. My phone…it’s dead.”

They both knew she was lying. Unlike Cressida, though, Evan let it go. He ruffled snow out of his hair and shut the door. “How do you feel about Calgary?”

“What do you mean?”

Evan pointed at the television across the room. He knew she’d still be watching. “One of our biggest stars just got injured. Mrs. Stamcose wants the story.”

Magnolia pointed at his suitcase. “You’re the traveler, remember?”

“True, but like I said, I’ve been trying to call you.” Evan pushed the handle of the suitcase down. “Austin requested you.”

She paused. “What?”

“Apparently, he requested you.” Evan smiled. “I was told to come here and get you and take you to Calgary for the exclusive interview.”

Damn, she wanted to curse Austin. Curse him and hug him. Mostly hug him.

Magnolia immediately started nodding so Evan wouldn’t see the relief in her eyes. “Okay.”

“Okay?” Evan leaned down to look at her face. “You realize saying okay means you need to go pack. Right now. Our plane leaves in two hours.”

Magnolia stumbled down the hall, her mind in a daze.
Well, here goes nothing
. If Austin wanted her to trust him, this was his chance.

Chapter Twelve

AUSTIN’S HEALING

The medical table Austin sat on for the past too many hours was cold and abnormally stiff. He was ready to bail, and now that he’d been cleared to leave, he couldn’t wait to get out of that place and back to the hotel. He had an interview to attend.

Henrik stood at the end of the table. A shiny black knee brace gleamed between them. Yeah, that knee brace would be a definite deterrent to his escape plan.

Henrik ran a confused hand over his face before he looked at him in disbelief again. “Let me get this straight. You are having them fly Magnolia from Manhattan to flipping Western Canada for an interview?”

Austin whirled around off the table, testing the pressure of his foot against the floor. He could probably walk on it if it came to that. Sam immediately brought him a pair of crutches. “They were sending someone anyway. It might as well be her.”

Henrik leaned across the table, a smile quirking at the corners of his lips. “You have a sprained knee. You’ll miss maybe a couple games.”

“They don’t know it’s only sprained.” Austin tested the crutches.

“You’re going to be out a week. Tops.”

Austin wobbled across the room to grab his jacket. “What’s your point, Henrik?”

“This isn’t ‘fly her across two countries’ kind of news! I thought we agreed to leave her alone for now, and then invite her to the you-know-what.”

Sam, who followed behind him making sure he kept his balance, laughed. “I think what Henrik is trying to say is…did you stop to think maybe Magnolia might not want to hop on a plane to the middle of nowhere, at midnight, just to see you?”

Austin pursed his lips. He hadn’t considered that. He actually hadn’t considered anything at the time. His knee hurt like hell, and he fought through the pain, and by fought, he cursed the trainer to hell and back. The on-site doctor told him there was no way in hell he was getting back in the game, so he took the pain meds they offered. Next thing he knew, he was at the hospital getting x-rays and scans. A guy walked in and started asking him about an interview, and he said her name.

Only her name. No one else. He made that very clear. He didn’t want to talk to anyone but Magnolia Cross. In the light of day, and with narcotic-free thought processing, he could see how maybe that might have been a bad choice.

He maneuvered around the room, his crutches squeaking as he tried to keep the pressure off his knee. “You think she’ll be mad?”

“Well—” Henrik pulled on his jacket “—what would your track record with her suggest?”

Austin frowned. He glanced down at his watch. She’d be in Calgary by now. The interview was scheduled to start in two hours. That meant Magnolia would be at the hotel. “Grab the paperwork,” he said to Sam, hopping his way out the door.

Henrik laughed behind him. “The stupid never really ends with you, does it?”

His captain was probably right. Requesting Magnolia was a stupid idea. Going to the hotel with the sole purpose of finding her would be just another tally on his growing list of idiotic schemes. “You know me. There’s no stopping the crazy train once it starts rolling.”

Not when the destination was her.

Austin labored through the door, ignoring Henrik’s laughter behind him. “Choo. Choo.”

***

Austin ditched Henrik and Sam once they made it back to the hotel. The guys had practice soon, and then they would board a plane to their next destination on the list. It was as good an excuse as any to whack Henrik with his crutch and tell him to mind his own damn business. Austin found Magnolia’s co-worker in the lobby. Evan stood at the check-in desk, chatting with one of the employees. Even raised his hand in greeting as soon as he spotted him. He trotted over, his face falling at the sight of the brace.

“Oh no.” Evan looked devastated. Austin knew the guy well enough to know he wasn’t just a reporter for the network. He was also a fan. “That looks bad.”

“Just a sprain,” Austin said quickly.

His eyes immediately brightened a little. “Thank goodness. What’s the projection?”

“A week or two, maybe. I should definitely be back before the All-Star break.”

Evan sighed. “That’s great news. Magnolia will be relieved.”

Austin’s ears perked up. Evan noticed. Evan really noticed. He smiled at him. It was the same kind of smile Henrik gave him every time he mentioned Magnolia. Which was a lot lately.

Evan dropped his voice low between them. “She was worried.”

Austin inched a little closer. “So, she wasn’t angry? You know—about the request?”

Evan laughed. “Maggie is a tough nut. That girl is laser focused on her job. I knew it the second I interviewed her. Nothing stands in the way of what she wants. However, every nut will crack under the right kind of pressure.”

Austin studied him thoughtfully. He was sure Evan was trying to tell him something.

“Maggie has difficulty letting new people into her life. She puts up this wall, and then uses her drive to succeed as an excuse to keep people out.”

Evan quickly looked away, nervous, like he thought he’d said too much. Maybe he had. Austin had slammed into that wall a lot lately. “Where is she now?”

“In her room getting ready. I’m on my way to set up the interview area. The hotel is letting us have a conference room.”

“What’s the room number?”

“The conference room is down the hall on the left.”

Austin shook his head. Poor guy. He was totally clueless. “No. I meant Magnolia’s room number.”

Evan’s eyes lit up. “Oh.” Then he bit his lip. “Uhh—well.”

Austin smiled. “I’ll tell her the desk gave it to me.”

Evan’s nervousness eased. “Promise?”

Austin snorted. Magnolia had them all ducking for cover. Maybe Evan wasn’t as clueless as he thought. “Just give me the room number.”

He quickly scribbled it on a piece of paper, and Austin hobbled his way to the elevator, hoping one of the trainers didn’t see him. Technically, he was on bed rest until they were scheduled to leave that night. The interview would be the only exception. He was usually a pretty strict rule-follower when it came to injuries, but today was different. Pretty much every day of his life had been different since he met Magnolia. He made his way down the long hallway, searching for her room number. He quickly figured out that finding it was the easiest part. Austin stood outside the door to Magnolia’s room longer than was socially appropriate. All he had to do was knock. Except, now that he was here, knowing she was just on the other side, he felt a little weird. Actually, he felt a little giddy, and that pissed him off. Guys weren’t meant to be giddy.

His fingers nervously played with the foam around the handle of his crutch, and sweat developed at the back of his neck.

Knock. All he had to do was knock.

Evan said she’d been worried about him. He hadn’t expected that. Worry implied she cared. Did he want her to care? He knew he didn’t want her to be angry. He wanted her to ease up and be a little more carefree. It was only because he wanted to flirt shamelessly with her without that scowling look on her face.

It wasn’t just about the flirting, though. He wanted Magnolia to tell him about Georgia, and why she pushed everyone away.

Shit. Did he care about her?

He stepped back from the door. This—whatever this was—had gotten way out of control. Magnolia Cross was a reporter. Just another woman. He flirted with her, she got pissed about it, and he apologized. Why hadn’t he just let it go?

She was beautiful. The think-about-her-when-she’s-gone kind of beautiful. The kind you used as a standard to compare every other woman, only to realize Magnolia was still a ten and you didn’t recognize when the others smiled at you anymore.

Fuck.

He liked her.

Legitimately liked her too. Magnolia wasn’t one-night stand material. No, Magnolia was make-a-home material. He wasn’t sure he was ready for that. Sure, it worked out well and dandy for Henrik and Leila. They were stupid happy. He wasn’t there yet.

He hadn’t gone out on the town in a couple weeks. That was only because that purple haired seductress strapped him to a headboard and robbed him. He was a little cautious with strange women now. He’d get over it. Eventually.

Maybe.

Purple was ruined for him, though. Forever.

He stared at the door. He wasn’t ready for this. He wasn’t ready for Magnolia. Yet…damn, he wanted to knock on that door.

So he did. In fact, he banged on it. He banged on the door like his last surviving breath was trapped inside. There was noise on the other side. A commotion erupted, and the door jerked open three inches, catching on the metal chain. “What the hell, Evan?”

Magnolia’s eyes rounded at the sight of him. Austin returned it in full. She held the front of a sheer white blouse together with her hand, exposing just an inch of delicate skin at her waist.

“Austin?” She jerked the chain loose and pulled the door open.

Magnolia’s gaze went directly to the crutches, and then the knee brace. “No cast.”

It took him a moment to process what she said. His eyes were still on her skin. “It’s not broken. Nothing is torn.”

She leaped forward, her hand dropping from the blouse, and she hugged him. He almost fell over. He lost a crutch and had to put his foot down to catch his balance. It hurt like hell.

It was awesome.

She pulled back quickly, her eyes locked on his face. “So, you’ll be back soon? This isn’t serious? I mean, I know it’s serious, but it’s not like career-ending serious. Right?”

She was rambling. It was sort of cute. Well, at least it would have been cute if he could have managed to stop staring at the red bra beneath her now open blouse, and absolutely everything that bra accentuated, which was a whole damn lot.

That bra deserved an award.

“Uhh…what?”

Her eyes followed his and dropped down. Damn it, she noticed. She pulled her shirt back together, quickly buttoning it. She gave him a look.

He smiled. What else could he do? He was guilty.

“I’ll be fine.” He tried to bring his attention back to what she asked him. “It’s only sprained. The doctor here said I’d be out a week or so, but I won’t know for sure until I get back to New York and I get re-evaluated by the Rangers staff.”

She nodded, her annoyance turning back to relief. “That’s great.”

They both sighed a little, and he picked up his crutch. Then the awkward silence set in. They were worse than two pimple-faced middle schoolers. He bit his lip and tapped his fingers on the handles of his crutches. Magnolia scuffed her perfectly manicured toes on the carpet and looked anywhere but at him. It was ridiculous. They were adults, for crying out loud. They should be able to talk to each other, and he should be able to do that inside her hotel room.

He waited for her to invite him in.

She didn’t. So, he stood there longer.

Magnolia laughed. It was soft and she inadvertently glanced at the open door behind her. This was it.

“I should really finish getting ready.” She tugged on the end of her long hair. “We have an interview soon.”

He nodded. She was right. He didn’t need in that room. Not yet anyway.

“Yeah. Sure. I wanted to make sure we were cool.” He gave her a sympathy-inducing smile. Then added some puppy dog eyes. That had been his mission all along. He wanted to know she wasn’t mad about the cross country trip. “Are we okay?”

He knew he sounded nervous. He could have sworn his voice cracked. Magnolia smiled, tucking the strand of hair she played with behind her ear, revealing the row of diamond studs. “Yes, Blakely. We’re okay.”

“Good.” He nodded way too much. Why couldn’t he stop nodding? “Great.”

Again they looked at each other. What the hell was wrong with him?

Magnolia peeked at the empty room behind her again and smiled. “So…I should go.”

“Okay.” He didn’t move. Not even an inch.

She smiled again, a hint of blush touching her cheeks. She slowly backed into the room. “Bye, Austin.”

He gave her a slight wave and watched her shut the door in his face. His mind was made up. He would eventually make it inside that damn room. Maybe not today or even next week. But it would happen.

It wasn’t a game anymore.