Chapter 12
~Daley~
Deke.
Short for Deacon.
The pieces slowly slot into place in my head as River makes the introductions, blissfully unaware of the electricity filling the space between me and the man I spent last night with.
Deke.
The team captain.
My son’s new teammate.
Fuck.
The odds must be… I don’t even know how astronomical, though with a couple of minutes, I could probably figure it out.
Almost as quickly, another thought enters my head, filling every cell of my body with abject horror.
Deke Belin’s wife.
Nancy said those words, I’m sure of it, but when I asked Deacon at the bar last night if he had someone in his life, he said no.
Did he lie to me? Did I unwittingly spend the night with a married man?
After shaking Brayden and Jonny’s hands, Deacon turns to me, arm outstretched. “Daley.”
His deep voice is just the same, his strong body just as attractive in the more formal dress shirt and pants he wears tonight, but I’m hit with the full realization that I don’t know a single thing about this man.
His greeting leaves it open for me to respond any way I see fit.
With a ‘good to see you’, I could acknowledge that we’ve met before.
I could tell River that we shared a drink in the bar last night without going into detail about what happened afterwards, but even that feels dangerous.
He already looks up to this guy and they’re going to be working very closely together.
The last thing I want to do is put River in the middle of any awkwardness between me and his new captain, especially since I can’t see the left hand tucked into his pocket to check if there’s a ring there that he wasn’t wearing last night.
Playing dumb seems the far safer option, so I go in that direction as I shake Deacon’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”
I could swear that disappointment flickers across his face, but only for a second. He withdraws his hand and shoves it into the other pocket, as if it’ll be safer from temptation there. “River tells me you’re all Wolves fans.”
He addresses the comment to everyone in our small group, but I hear an unspoken question in it, directed only at me. Did you recognize me last night?
Plenty of women probably do, especially in a place like Sioux Falls.
I bet he can’t go many places without being recognized.
Suddenly, his decision to take us into the hotel through a back door makes even more sense, but was he simply looking for privacy or was it to keep our encounter a secret from his wife?
Brayden and Jonny reminisce about some of the games they’ve attended, their voices loud and boisterous in their excitement, but when Deacon’s grey eyes move to me, River answers on my behalf.
“My mom isn’t up on the NHL teams yet, but she will be. By the time the season starts, she’ll know all the players and their stats. You won’t be able to stump her on anything.”
“Is that right?” Deacon’s gaze remains fixed on me, an eyebrow lifted in challenge. “You have a good memory?”
Unbidden, dozens of images from last night flood my mind, sending a wave of heat through my body and butterflies skittering through my stomach. I remember, I’m sure my eyes say, but out loud, I respond, “It comes in handy.”
The boys jump in with some questions for Deacon about specific games or plays he’s made, and I stand back and watch, noting the admiration in River’s eyes as he hangs on every word out of the veteran player’s mouth.
“Brice has some great footage of that penalty kill,” Deacon says as they discuss one of the recent playoff games. “Think you can cast it onto that TV, Coach?”
The other two men in the room, the coach and assistant coach, dig out their phones and the boys offer suggestions on how to get the footage playing on the big screen in the room. With all of them distracted, Deacon takes a step towards me, away from the others.
“So. This is unexpected.”
His voice is low, quiet, and warm, melting over my skin like liquid caramel.
I can’t enjoy it, though, not with the question that’s been swirling around in my head ever since I walked in and saw him. Unable to contain it any longer, I blurt it out, as quietly as I can.
“Are you married?”
His body goes stock still, his eyes widening in surprise. “I… no. Not anymore. Why are you asking?”
Relief floods my veins and my heart settles in my chest. I hadn’t even realized it had been racing until it stopped. “Someone in the family room mentioned Deke’s wife, and I didn’t know you were Deke until we got up here, and when I put it together, I was afraid…”
He raises a hand to stop me from saying more; his left hand, I notice, which is still completely ring-free. “You really don’t know anything about me, do you?”
I’m still so relieved at his response that I don’t stop to think about why he’s asking. “Well, now I know that you play hockey.”
His low chuckle is every bit as appealing as it was last night. “It’s refreshing to be around someone who doesn’t already have an opinion of me when they meet me.”
“I can’t really imagine what that’s like,” I tell him honestly before gesturing to River. “He’s going to find out, though, and I’m terrified about what that’s going to be like for him.”
His gaze turns to River too, assessing my son from an outsider’s viewpoint. I wonder exactly what he sees. “He seems like a good kid with a good head on his shoulders.”
Deacon using the word ‘kid’ to refer to River strikes me as kind of ridiculous. “He’s not much younger than you are.”
Those grey eyes return to me, full of the same confidence as the night before. “You’re not still hung up on my age, are you? Even after last night?”
“Ssshhh.” I hush him quickly, my eyes darting to River again to make sure he didn’t hear that.
They have the footage playing on the TV and, as if he can feel my eyes on him, my son glances over his shoulder at me and Deacon.
I give him the most natural smile I can.
River’s eyes move curiously between the two of us for a moment more before he smiles back and his attention returns to the TV.
“You’re not going to tell him that we’ve met before?” Deacon guesses, having noted the entire interaction.
“No. Absolutely not. You’re his new captain, his teammate, and it’s completely inappropriate. If I’d known, I never would have…”
Deacon steps even closer, too close for a casual acquaintance I just met. “I’m glad you didn’t know, then.”
Honestly? I am too. I’m glad it happened, glad I’ll have those memories to hold onto, but it doesn’t change the crux of the matter.
“It can never happen again.”
His eyes move to my lips, and it takes every ounce of self-control I have not to lick them, imagining I can still taste him on them.
“Why not?”
Those two words say far more than two words have any right to. They’re an invitation, an admission, a challenge, and a request. I open my mouth to respond but no words come out. I can’t find a single coherent answer.
“Deke?”
We both step back at the same time as River calls out Deacon’s name.
Everyone’s looking at us, their eyes curious and a little confused at the intensity of whatever they just witnessed, and River, my sweet, protective son, takes a step towards us, as if he’d step in to defend me against any threat, even if it comes from a man he admires.
“Did you see the way the defence held that line?” Deacon asks him, pointing at the screen as if he’s been a part of their conversation all the time. “That’s where you’re going to help us.”
He moves to join the group, and they continue to watch and to analyze the plays while I take a deep, cleansing breath to flush the last of my attraction to Deacon Belin out of my system.
From now on, he’s off-limits. My son’s teammate and nothing more.
What happened in Vegas is never happening again.