The Lure of Love (20 page)

“Oh yeah. I’m
a Vancouver girl. Grew up in West Vancouver.”

“Family?”

“I have a
twin brother.” Her thoughts turned to Cam, who’d been discharged from hospital
yesterday. He’d agreed to spend a week with their parents but she knew he
wouldn’t last much longer than that. He’d been living on his own too long and
was set in his bachelor ways.

“A twin. Wow.
Is it true what they say? Do you like the same things?”

She thought
for a moment before replying. “We have the same quirky sense of humour, and
we’re both a little stubborn, but I don’t share his main passion.”

“And what’s
that?”

“Hockey.”

He pulled
back as though personally offended. “You don’t like hockey?”

“You see?”
She edged forward on the bench. “That’s exactly what I’ve been up against my
whole life. My brother was skating as soon as he could walk and my Dad was one
of those hockey parents who supported him every inch of the way. He loves the
sport. It’s the main topic of conversation in our house all year round.”

She was
coming dangerously close to spilling the beans about Cam, and his injury. But
she couldn’t risk anyone connecting her with the blog…not if she was to
maintain her anonymity.

“So you hate
the game? Do you ever watch?”

“I didn’t say
I hate it. I’m just up to here with it.” She tapped herself under the chin.
“Although I have been known to go to sports bars once in a while. With my
girlfriend and her fiancé, not on my own.” She paused. “But even then, I don’t
watch. Do you ever go to sports bars?”

He looked
amused. “No.” It came out slowly.

She leaned
forward again. “Did you know that even the women dress up in those ridiculous
Canucks shirts? As a matter of fact I’ve heard that they sell as many to women
as they do to the men.”

He seemed to
be trying not to smile. “Yes, I’ve heard that too.”

They were
both silent for a few moments. It felt comfortable, sitting here with him in
the sunshine. She wished it could go on forever.

Claire was
the first to break the silence. “Could I ask you something?”

He nodded.
She liked the fact that he didn’t always need to speak.

“Do you think
there’s too much violence in hockey?”

Something
shifted behind his eyes. “That’s a hot topic right now.” He looked into his
cup, tossed out the remaining liquid and crumpled it in one large hand.
“Unfortunately, I don’t think there’s one clear-cut answer. To lump every
situation together under the umbrella of violence doesn’t do justice to the
individual cases.”

She snorted.
“That sounds like some sort of a slick, prepared statement.”

Was that a
flash of anger in his eyes? He placed both forearms on the table. “I will admit
I’ve thought a lot about it. After all, I am closely connected with the
industry.” His gaze held hers. “I’ll tell you what’s violent. A little over a
week ago, a young player from the minor leagues suffered a late hit. The latest
news is that he’ll be out for the rest of the year. Now I call that violent.”

Claire sucked
in a breath of air but he didn’t seem to notice. He was on a roll.

“Hockey is a
physical game; that’s all there is to it. There are body checks, and there is
fighting. The players egg each other on with what they call ‘trash talk’ and
fights are inevitable, sometimes even planned. If you’d watch a game you’d see
the fans come alive when there’s a fight. Even the players seem to approve.
During a fight you’ll see both teams standing up pounding their sticks against
the boards.” He sat back, seemed to deflate a little. “That’s the reality of
the game. I’m not saying I approve, but that’s the way it is.”

“But not all
of the players fight. Tony was saying the other night that Daniel and Henrik
hardly ever fight. Why is that?”

He looked
exasperated. “Because the Sedins are too valuable. We… The Canucks, that is,
can’t afford to have them out of the line-up. That’s why teams hire defencemen
with muscle. There’s always at least one ‘enforcer’ on a hockey team. Hit our
top scorers, we’ll hit you back harder. That sort of thing.”

Claire
considered his words. “I suppose I knew that, but it’s never been explained to
me quite that well. Not that you’ve changed my mind about the fighting. I still
don’t like that part of the game.”

“Who’s Tony?”
He was toying with the scrunched-up cup.

“Huh?” the
abrupt change of topic startled her. “Oh, Tony. That’s Zoey’s fiancé.”

He nodded.
“And Zoey is your friend?” One side of his mouth hiked up. “I like to keep the
line-up straight in my head.”

“Yes, she’s
my friend.” Claire was relieved to see him smile. “So how did you get that
broken nose?”

He fingered
the break. “You’re going to love this. Hockey.” He held up a hand before she
could say anything. “I ran into my best buddy’s stick.” He touched it again and
he smiled, reliving the moment. “I can still hear the sound it made. Anyway, my
parents were away and I insisted that it wasn’t too bad, that I could tape it
up myself.” He grinned. “Well, you can see what a great job I did.”

Claire tilted
her head to one side. “I dunno. I kind of like it.”

“Sure you
do.”

“Yeah, I do,”
she said, suddenly breathless. She made a show of looking at her watch. “Guess
I’d better get home. I have work to do. I just went out for a quick walk to
clear my head.” She was babbling, but couldn’t seem to stop.

“Before we
leave could I ask you a question?” He grinned. “Since we’re telling our life
stories.”

“Is that what
we’re doing?” She wished he wasn’t so damned good looking; he had her at a
disadvantage. “You can ask. I’m not sure if I’ll answer.”

He
acknowledged by raising his eyebrows. “I was wondering about that married man.”

She looked at
him for a long time before she decided to answer. She’d brought it up, after
all.

“It’s
embarrassing.” She couldn’t meet his eyes. “I didn’t know he was married when I
first met him. He told me a couple of weeks later, but he also told me a pack
of lies.”

“Seems to me
he’s the one who should be embarrassed, not you.”

She shot him
a quick glance, and then looked away again. “No, I’m embarrassed because I
believed him when he told me he was getting a divorce. It’s only the oldest
line in the world, but I swallowed it.” She ran her fingernail up and down the
Styrofoam cup, making a pattern of ridges. “When I saw him with his wife and
realized that they were still very much together I thought I’d never be able to
trust a man again.” She looked into his eyes. “It’s been hard.”

“So, are you
still in love with him?”

“What?” She
reared back. “Heavens, no. Just wary when it comes to getting involved again.”

“There’s
nothing wrong with that.” His tone was gentle. “Thank you for trusting me
enough to have tea.”

She nodded,
remained silent.

He gathered
up their litter and took it to the trash bin before helping her back to the
car.

“I enjoyed
this,” he said as they drove the rest of the way around the park. “Even if you
are a bit feisty and argumentative.”

“Am not!” She
heard herself and laughed. “Okay, maybe a bit.”

“I take it
you live in the West End?” they were approaching the densely populated area.

“Yeah, on
Robson Street. Right at the end. Where do you live?”

“I have a
place on Bayshore Drive.”

She was
tempted to comment that selling sporting equipment must pay well, but managed
to bite her tongue. “We’re almost neighbours.”

They pulled
up in front of her apartment building and he jumped out and ran around to her
side. “Here, let me help you,” he said, offering his hand.

She tested
her ankle by putting weight on it. “Not too bad,” she said.

He walked her
to the front door and she fumbled for her keys. “They’re here somewhere,” she
said, checking her pockets.

He pretended
to study the intercom. “We could buzz you, but then you’re not in, are you?”

She laughed.
“Gotcha! That’s a line out of one of the Bourne movies. But we could try.” She
pressed 803. “No, I’m not home.” She finally found the keys and turned to him.
“Thank you for everything, John. I enjoyed myself in spite of getting run
over.”

He leaned
over and brushed his lips against her cheek. “Me, too. ‘Bye.”

She closed
her eyes to savour the moment. When she opened them he was already at his car
but his cologne lingered. He waved and drove off. She stared after him,
wondering if she’d ever see him again.

End
of excerpt

This
novella-length book is available from Amazon.com:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009LAHAQ2