Chapter 19
Conner
From the moment Conner walked into the ballroom Sasha and that sexy as sin red dress had called to him like a beacon. She was all he could see. He thought tonight might be the night to make his feelings known but seeing her solidified that. Tonight was the night he was going to make Sasha Maloof his. And it was about time.
After Sasha had excused herself, he made his way over to the bar. He was going to need a drink to calm his nerves. He couldn’t remember a time he was this nervous to ask out a woman, but it felt like there was so much at stake here. They had just started getting along and he didn’t want to mess with that. They worked together and if she turned him down, he wouldn’t want her to feel awkward. And of course, there was his rule about nothing serious until hockey was over, but after talking to Kate, that was becoming less and less of a concern. There were still so many ways this could go badly, but the sight of her in that dress only solidified the single thought in his mind. Tonight was the night he told Sasha how he felt, he could deal with whatever came next after that. He hoped that whatever it was finally involved kissing the most kissable lips he had ever seen.
“Hey man, who is Sasha talking to?” Cash asked as he approached.
“I’m not sure I know her,” Conner answered.
“Sasha looks incredible.”
Conner turned quickly to tell Cash to back the fuck off, only to find him grinning at him.
“She does,” he agrees.
“Are you ever going to ask her out?”
Conner sighed. “Wes just asked me that the other day. Is it really that obvious?”
“Yeah,” he said, as he put his hand on Conner’s shoulder and patted his chest. “It really is. I”m going to go check out the auction. I’ll see you around.”
Then Conner was alone, still watching Sasha. He wasn”t sure of his next move, but he was getting more and more certain it was time to take it.
“She’s a rare beauty, isn”t she?”
He looked down to see Bridget standing beside him watching him watch Sasha.
“Yes. She is,” he said simply because it was the truest thing he could say.
“Why don”t ye let me read your cards, lad?”
“Why not,” he said as he looked down at the amused woman next to him. She turned and he followed her over to a little archway that had a small table set up with two chairs and purple tablecloth with gold celestial patterns on it.
“Please have a seat,” she said motioning to the table across from her.
He nodded and sat down as she shuffled a well-worn deck of cards. She set them down on the table and asked him to cut the deck. He did and Bridget smiled up at him with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. “Let”s see what the cards have to say.”
She picked up the first card. “This card will tell ye about your past,” she said as she flipped over the card. The Four of Cups. On this card was a man resting against a tree with three chalices before him and one being offered to him, he was paying no attention to. “Hmmm. It would seem that in your past ye’ve been closed off. You have our life set up nicely, yet you are denying yourself something that could bring ye happiness. You are closed off to certain opportunities.”
He bristled at this. No one wanted to hear they were closed off, but truth be told he was. He was all hockey all the time and closed off to everything else. Shutting himself off to relationships had helped keep the drama of his younger years away, but maybe with the right person it wouldn’t have to be. His sister had said as much to him yesterday.
“Now let”s look at your current situation.” She flipped over the next card to reveal the Emperor. “Ahhh, the Emperor. You are a protector. It is in your nature. If your skills as a protector aren’t being called on currently, they will be very soon.
Now for your future,” she continued, looking up at him with that grin of hers like that cat who ate the canary. She flipped over the next card on the deck to reveal the King of Pentacles. The card showed a king sitting on his throne holding a pentacle. “You are a solid, steady man. I see before me someone who will have a wonderful career but also a man who is loyal and nurturing and dependable. With the right queen by your side, you will live a full happy life filled with success and family and everything else ye desire.”
She looked up at him with a smile. “Do the cards ring true, lad?”
He returned the smile, but his eyes still searched for Sasha.
“Why don”t you go dance with the beauty in red?” she asked.
That’s when he spotted Sasha out on the dance floor with his sister and a few other women.
“Thank you very much,” he said, not taking his eyes off Sasha. ”Excuse me.”
He stood and made his way over to the dance floor to join them. He wasn”t sure about much from the reading, but he was sure Sasha Maloof was meant to be his, and he would make sure of that tonight.