Chapter 31
Melody
Her father’s office had looked the same for as long as Melody could remember.
It didn’t matter which city it was in or which team he was coaching, common fixtures gave it an air of familiarity.
The pictures of her and her mom. The jade plant her mom had bought him to bring him luck when he’d gotten his first big coaching break.
The Wayne Gretzky paperweight he’d had for heaven knew how long.
His offices even smelled the same. They were a fragrant mixture of paper, coffee, his cologne, and the subtlest hint of musk she could only imagine came from all the sweaty athletes who frequented the space.
She wasn’t sure how pleasant anyone else would find the aroma, but she loved it.
It was as familiar to her as her earliest memories.
It was a smell she associated with her dad, which made it dear to her.
Melody lifted her eyes to her dad as she removed her fingers from the travel brochure she’d been thumbing through.
“Are you sure you don’t mind, honey?” he asked for what felt like the millionth time.
Melody’s sigh was deep and heavy. They’d been over this in detail when he’d first brought up the idea a few weeks ago.
“Dad,” she said seriously, “this is your thirtieth wedding anniversary. Please go and have a great time. Don’t worry about me.”
“But I do worry about you, Melody. Worry becomes part of your DNA the moment you become a parent.”
“Oh, stop. There’s no need to be dramatic, Daddy.”
“Who’s being dramatic?” he replied with raised brows.
You aren’t abandoning me, Dad,” Melody soothed. “You’re choosing to celebrate thirty years of marriage with your wife. How many people achieve that milestone anymore? It’s something to celebrate and you and Mom deserve to.”
“I know. What your mom and I have is very special and worth celebrating, but I feel awful about leaving you over Thanksgiving.” He rubbed his hands on his pant legs, demonstrating just how worried he was about the whole thing.
Melody did her best to look reassuring. “Daddy, we aren’t really even American. We celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving last month. Please go,” she encouraged. “Enjoy yourself.”
“Are you really, truly sure, honey? You aren’t just putting on a brave front?”
“Yes!” Melody promised, a small laugh breaking through. “I’m really, truly sure. Even if you had gotten married over Canadian Thanksgiving, I would still understand. I’m a grown-up. I’ve celebrated Thanksgiving—Canadian and American—by myself before. I will live to tell the tale of one more.”
“If you’re sure?” he said with lingering hesitation, even as he cast a longing look at the travel brochures he’d received from his travel agent.
“Daddy, if you don’t stop this soon, I’m going to book the darn tickets for you myself,” she threatened.
He raised his hands in surrender, a small smile ghosting his lips. “Okay. Okay. You win.”
“Good!” she said.
Melody walked across the room and gave her father a hug. Case closed.
“Will your mom and I see you for dinner tomorrow night?” he asked, resting his chin on the top of her head. Her father wasn’t a particularly tall man, but he definitely had several inches on her.
“And miss seeing you before you head out for another series of away games?” she said. “Not a chance.”
“I love you, honey,” her dad said, giving her one more squeeze before releasing her.
“I love you, too, Daddy,” she said, returning the hug.
“Could you . . . ?” Melody asked as they pulled apart. She fluttered her hand toward the door.
Her father chuckled. No wonder he still thought of her as his little girl when she continued to make him check the locker room for naked bodies every time she stepped out of his office following a game or a practice.
She’d seen naked men before, but she really didn’t want to get an eyeful of anyone’s johnson.
There was a time and place for that, but a locker room full of her friends and her father’s players wasn’t one of them.
No, thank you. It was a miracle she’d avoided seeing more than she’d wanted to while working for the team.
An image of Ben the first time she’d seen him, shirtless and freshly showered in this very locker room, bloomed to life in her mind’s eye. Okay, so maybe there was one undressed form out there she wouldn’t mind seeing.
Melody was grateful her dad’s back was turned as she felt color heating her cheekbones.
Her dad opened his office door, had a little look around, and gave a sharp whistle to gain everyone’s attention. “Is everyone decent out there?”
After a moment, her dad turned back with an indulgent smile. “The coast is clear.”
“Thanks, Daddy,” she muttered, bashful.
“See you tomorrow, Melody,” he said as he gave her an affectionate peck on the cheek.
“It better be with those tickets purchased!” she called back over her shoulder.
Her father chuckled and gave her a playful two-finger salute before turning back into his office.
“What was all that about?” Eric asked as she drew near his locker.
“What tickets are you trying to finagle out of your father? If you need hockey tickets, all you have to do is ask, you know.” His mouth tipped up into the winning smile that charmed all the ladies.
“I’m sure I could get you some great seats. Even if they’re last minute.”
“Great, maybe,” Kevin tossed out from across the bench. “But not as good as mine. As the team captain, I have the best tickets,” he boasted. “And, since Pam is so occupied with our girls right now, they’re mostly going unused. You’re more than welcome to them, Mel,” he offered generously.
“Thanks, guys,” she said with appreciation, “but my dad and I weren’t talking about hockey tickets.”
“Then what kind of tickets were you talking about?” a deliciously familiar voice asked from just behind her. She was somewhat impressed despite herself that he’d managed to step so lightly she hadn’t heard him approach.
A sense of contentment washed over her as Ben drew up beside her. Without conscious thought, she leaned into his side, slid a gentle hand up his chest, and reached up on tiptoes to place a soft kiss on his lips. “Hi,” she breathed.
“Hi,” he returned with a sexy tilt to his lips.
Her stomach did a little somersault at the possessive way his hand snaked around her waist and landed on her hip.
She’d never been one for overt displays of romantic affection, but there was something about Ben that made the compulsion for physical touch feel like an afterthought.
Eric’s eyebrows rose clear to his hairline. He looked first at her, then at Ben, and then back at her again.
“What’s this?” Eric asked incredulously.
“Ben and I are seeing each other,” Melody disclosed before glancing up at Ben and offering him a smile. She was reassured to see him return it.
A throat cleared, causing her gaze to flit to the other players spread out around the locker room.
She wasn’t sure why, but she was surprised to find the bulk of their eyes trained on her and Ben—a reaction she probably should have expected after her intimate display—but she couldn’t help but notice the way Alexei’s sharp eyes were tracing a triangle between her, Eric, and Ben.
A prickle of unease zipped through her. Did Alexei know something she didn’t?
When her eyes came back to rest on Eric, it was to find his eyebrows furrowed and a dumbfounded expression on his face.
“When . . . How . . . What . . . When did this happen?” Eric asked, stumbling over his words.
Melody scraped her teeth over her bottom lip before admitting, “It’s pretty new.”
Ben wove his fingers through hers before lifting their entwined hands to his lips and tracing a kiss across the back of her knuckles. “New, but good,” Ben said.
She shivered at both the words and the contact.
Eric’s expression morphed into a dark scowl. It looked like Mr. Protective had entered the locker room. Melody was prepared for a blast—not unlike the kind she knew he delivered to his sisters on a near-weekly basis—but, when he moved his lips, no words came out.
Eric might have gone mute, but his eyes were speaking volumes. Melody would have had to have been blind to miss the disapproval marring his visage.
Melody almost stumbled where she stood. Was Eric . . . jealous?
She dismissed the thought as soon as it arose. Eric was a great guy and they were definitely close, but he’d never hinted at wanting more from her than friendship. Surely, it hadn’t taken another man’s interest in her to make him see her in a different light, had it?
Melody blinked away her troubled thoughts, bringing Eric back into focus. She wasn’t sure what to say to reassure him, so was happy when Ben turned the tide of the conversation. “What tickets, though?” he asked with unassuming curiosity.
As Ben spoke, he moved his hand from her hip to massage slow circles on her lower back.
She couldn’t help but snuggle closer into his side. His caress welcomed her in, and he was too tempting to resist. He felt so warm and he smelled so good.
“My dad is planning to surprise my mom with airline tickets for their thirtieth wedding anniversary,” she revealed by way of explanation.
Kevin whistled in a way she took to be a respectful salute to her parents’ milestone anniversary.
“Has he been dragging his feet about picking a destination?” Richie asked, joining the conversation.
“No, nothing like that,” she explained. “Dad’s planning to take her to Paris for a romantic weekend. It was their first big trip together, so there’s nostalgia there. He’s just been dragging his feet about the whole thing because he feels badly about leaving me alone over Thanksgiving.”
“Come home with me,” Ben said simply.
She tilted her head up and gaped at him. “Excuse me?” she asked with a nervous chuckle.
He gave her fingers a reassuring squeeze. “Come home with me,” he repeated.
She made an unintelligible sound and directed a wide-eyed stare his way. It would seem the muteness that had befallen Eric moments before was catching.
“It’s really not a big deal, Melody,” Ben explained in measured, even tones she found very soothing to her senses.
“My parents are big fans of what Mom likes to call ‘Orphan Thanksgivings.’ She hates the idea of anyone being alone for the holidays, so she usually invites anyone from the neighborhood over who doesn’t have family to spend it with. ”
Once again, her gaze swept over the other players clustered around the locker room. Most seemed to have regained their composure following the unveiling of the budding relationship, but her eyes faltered when they landed on Eric. His scowl was still very much in place.
Melody knew Eric was protective of the people he cared about, but his reaction seemed a little over the top.
“It’s an open invitation,” Ben said, drawing her focused attention back to him. “My parents have a big house with lots of extra bedrooms if anyone else is facing a holiday alone.”
“Really?” Alexei Volkov asked with excitement. “My whole family is in Russia. I do not have anyone here.”
“I’m in if some other guys are,” Brendan O’Rourke added. “My family’s in Ireland, so there’s no way I could make it home during the two days we have off.”
Ben gave her hand another encouraging squeeze before turning back to the group and stating, “My parents’ place is less than a two-hour drive from here. We could easily make it for a Thanksgiving celebration in our time off.”
As the locker room broke out into a discussion of possibilities and logistics for a Thanksgiving chez Logan, Ben gently tugged her toward him, claiming her attention. “What about you, Melody? Will you come home for Thanksgiving with me?”
There was no resisting the warm coaxing in Ben’s seductive hazel eyes. “I’d love to,” she agreed.
Gladness filled her as her eyes touched on the extended hockey family she would be spending her holidays with. It might make for an atypical holiday, but the mere prospect was already enough to leave her feeling thankful.