Chapter 5
Because My Mom Made Me
“Basketball’s just been suspended for the season.”
The boisterous group went quiet, voices stilled in mid-speak.
Quinn, who sat across from her, piped up. “What? Why?”
“They think it’s unsafe for big groups to congregate. Like, this stuff is super contagious. The NBA suggested playing without fans, but the players balked. So no basketball,” Wyatt answered with a shrug.
Six seats away, Hunter leaned over the table. “Any word on what’s happening with the NHL?”
“Not yet,” Wyatt shot back. “The league’s announcing their decision tomorrow.”
Quinn rocked backward in his seat. “Jesus, aren’t they blowing this whole thing out of proportion?
A few cases in the US and suddenly we’re shutting down the NBA?
” He shook his head and grumbled. “If they’re gonna throw everyone into panic mode, the least they can do is leave them their sports for a distraction. ”
Last night, Sarah would have agreed. But tonight? The NBA wouldn’t just shut down because they were scared of an everyday flu bug. Unease flared up her spine. This had to be a lot more serious than she’d initially thought.
Hunter called to Quinn, “Hey, idiot.” Quinn darted him daggers, but Hunter barreled on. “Do you have any idea how many people have died from it already? The stuff’s lethal. And just because it hasn’t taken hold here doesn’t mean it won’t.”
Gage held up his beer. “Then I propose a toast. If this is our last game for a while, it was a great note to end on.”
“Hear, hear!” someone shouted.
Ringing of bottles and glasses filled the space with cheerful sound.
Feeling out of place, Sarah raised her beer halfheartedly.
Across from her, Quinn folded his arms across his chest. He reminded her of a sulking six-year-old, and it almost pulled a smile from her.
Kinda puts a stop to the puck bunny parade, doesn’t it?
The table soon returned to its former decibel level, and conversations around her were drowned out in the din. Natalie hopped up to visit with some of the WAGs, or WADs, leaving the seat beside Sarah vacant. Gage’s back was to her, his head bent to Lily’s.
Sarah pulled her phone from her jeans, intent on fading into the background while she checked job apps, but she never got the chance. A big body pulled out Natalie’s chair and sat, taking up so much space his shoulder brushed hers with heat and hardness.
“Hey,” Quinn said. How had he snuck up on her?
She looked around. “You talking to me?”
“None other. I wanted to ask you something.”
She sat back and braced herself. Just what she was bracing for, she wasn’t sure. “Fire away.”
“Have you considered being a caregiver while you’re job hunting?”
To say this question came as a surprise was the understatement of the year. Her brows knitted together. “Uh, no. Why would I do that?”
He shrugged. “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe because I have a job opening that pays really well?”
“Giving care to a certain body part?”
His dimples made an appearance despite the fact he hadn’t turned on his brightest smile, and he trained liquid brown eyes on hers as if he was trying to read something. She disguised her body squirm by crossing her legs.
When he spoke, his voice rolled out in a sexy, whiskey purr. “Tempting as that sounds”—he waggled his eyebrows—“I’m actually thinking of my mother.”
“You want me to take care of your mother’s body part?”
He chuckled. “In a manner of speaking, and not just one part. All her parts.”
Sarah’s confusion must have shown all over her face.
When she didn’t chuckle back, he rushed on, the liquor-and-sex tone gone from his deep voice.
“She hasn’t stopped talking about meeting you and your dog.
” In a quavering falsetto, he added, “‘When are you going to have that nice dog and her grumpy owner back over?’”
“Your mother said I was grumpy?” Sarah cringed a little inside, recalling Gage’s words about her coldness that day.
“Not exactly. That was my contribution.” He flashed her a smile that showed off his pearly whites, and her mind made a quick detour to whether they were all his. “She loves your dog, and apparently—though I have no idea why—she loves you too.”
Her cringe factor evaporated. “Um, thanks?”
“Right? I’m baffled too. Anyway, I was thinking since I can’t seem to hire a professional she likes—mostly she denies she needs help, but that’s another story—why not hire a non-professional she does like?
And bonus, the dog is tuned in to her. It’d be like having two caregivers for the price of one.
” His grin broke free, deepening the dimples.
The thought of licking them sprang into her head, and she blinked rapidly, trying to bat away the ridiculous, intrusive image.
No way was she going to work for this playboy.
She’d probably have to be on her guard twenty-four-seven to deflect his roaming hands and lips, and it had nothing to do with her being attractive.
No, it was the mere fact she had X chromosomes that acted like a magnet to his steel dick.
Whoa! Do not think about his dick and steel at the same time. Do not think about his dick. Period!
To distract herself, she blurted out the first thing that popped into her head. “So what would I have to do?”
“Be there during the day to help her do the little stuff. Her fine motor skills come and go, and sometimes she needs help buttoning something, or she can’t brush her hair, for instance.
The more stress you can take off of her, the better she does.
When I’m on the road, you’d need to spend the night.
This is still new to her and me, so we’re working it out as we go. ”
“How did you end up with her living with you anyway?”
He tugged a hand through his hair, and her eyes followed the motion.
Jeez, he had thick hair. With lustrous streaks that reminded her of gold satin ribbon.
She’d kill for hair like that. Why was it wasted on a dude?
And did he go to a salon and have his hair highlighted?
Yeah, she could totally see him being that guy.
Nonetheless, she couldn’t avoid thinking of her fingers plowing through his thick strands. Stop!
His baritone pulled her back to the here and now.
Thank God he wasn’t a mind reader because she didn’t need him getting the wrong idea.
“She’s been living with my brother, Ronan.
He and his wife recently had their third kid, and the house got a little rowdy for Mom, so voila.
” He flipped his hands outward as if presenting something. “Quinn’s turn.”
When she didn’t respond right away, he helpfully added, “Voila is French for ‘ta-dah’!”
She gave him her best eye-roll. “Any other siblings? What about your dad?”
“Ronan and I are it. As for my dad, let’s just say Europe’s his home base and leave it there.” The tone of his voice told her way more than his words had. Something shifted in his eyes, like he’d eased open a window, catching her off guard.
“What does he do?”
“He coaches hockey. In Poland.”
Surprise overtook her features before she could reel it in. “Is he Polish?”
The window Quinn had cracked open snapped shut. “Long story.”
“So you’re your mother’s keeper, and you’re not happy about it.”
An exhale whooshed out of him. “It’s not that I’m unhappy.
It’s just … it was unexpected. She’s never been that fond …
Ronan’s the golden child, and it never occurred to me she’d want to move out.
But that doesn’t matter. I just wish I could’ve planned …
Yeah, if we’re being honest here, I guess I’m not thrilled. But I’m trying to adjust.”
Sarah snickered. “Having your mom around must make it tough to entertain the ladies.”
His mouth parted, and he regarded her for a moment, as if thoughts whirred through his mind that he debated spilling.
Instead, he shrugged again—a little too casually.
“However you wanna look at it. I did have this really cool place with incredible views, and I miss it. But no way would it have worked for her. So I rented the ludicrous house you saw yesterday.”
Huh. The thought of him doing something selfless for his mom might’ve nudged her opinion of him slightly to the positive side. “The house is ludicrous? I thought it was Architectural Digest-worthy.”
“It’s too big and pretentious. It reminds me of that person who tries too hard.”
She bit back the “Like you?” on the tip of her tongue.
Instead, she went with, “But your mom has her wing and you have yours. Lots of privacy. Not to mention a sweet hot tub, a park for a backyard, and a gorgeous pool.” Jeez, now she was gushing like she was really impressed by his house.
It occurred to her he might think she was equally impressed with him. Which she most certainly was not.
The appraising look was back on his face, though there was a smug quality to it now, lending it a “gotcha” vibe. Troll. “You saw the hot tub, and you liked it,” he said with a hint of … of triumph?
Her answer was a snarky huff.
He shifted his posture and his expression. “Okay. So we’ve established you like the house. That’s good … No, great! Means you’ll like working there.”
She held up her hands. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. Not so fast, Sparky.”
He snorted, sounding like a moderately annoyed bull. “Why do you call me that? And what the hell did you mean the other night with your ‘lube and tune’ comment?”
She leaned back—way back—to stare down her nose at him, praying she wouldn’t tip over.
He was bigger than she’d first thought, and the best she could do was try to level a smirk at him.
“It looked to me like you were about to get lucky, so I was just being friendly and wishing you a good time.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “You did get lucky, didn’t you?”
He narrowed his eyes. “None of your damn business.”