Chapter 14 #2
Colt glances out the window for the third time in as many minutes.
The snow is coming down fast now, and later tonight this will be a full-fledged blizzard.
“Dude, if you’re afraid of a little snow,” I say as I nod toward the door of my office, “go ahead. The new endorsement paperwork’s signed already. ”
The sky is darker than it has any right to be at four o’clock. Derek’s already left because he wanted to catch the train before they shut down public transportation. Until now, we’ve had a relatively mild winter, so the media is really hyping up this storm.
“Nah, it’s fine.” He tilts his celebratory beer back, takes a long swallow, and then says, “So I heard you were at the rink Saturday night.”
“Yeah?” I take a sip of my scotch and wonder how this information reached him.
“With a girl.”
“Uh huh.”
“You going to tell me why you rented out the rink for her?”
“How the fuck did you know that?” I snap. Sometimes it feels like nothing I do is private, and I’m not ready for anyone to know how I feel about Lauren—except for her.
He lets out the bellowing laugh that, among other things, he’s famous for. “I guessed. They don’t just let people come in and skate whenever they want. Not even when they’re retired players. So, why did you need the rink to yourselves?”
It’s my turn to glance out the window. Shit, the snow’s going sideways now, which means the wind is picking up. There’s only about an inch on the ground, but with flakes this big, it’s going to start accumulating fast.
“She hasn’t skated in a while.”
“You don’t rent out a whole rink for a woman just because she hasn’t skated in a while. Who is she?”
“Just a friend.”
“You also don’t rent out the practice rink of a professional hockey team for a friend.” His voice has an annoyed edge to it. “Who the hell is this woman?”
I don’t mean to let the corner of my lips curve up, but the memory of Lauren’s face—that huge smile, and the way the happiness just radiated off her by the time we got off the ice—has been etched into my mind for the better part of a week.
“Wait,” Colt says, dragging his hand through his sandy-blond hair as he rolls the word out slowly.
“Is this the same girl you were talking about a few weeks ago? The one you said would be good for that marketing job—waaait . . .” His eyes get wide, like it’s all coming together in his mind. “Holy shit. The redhead?”
I take another sip of my scotch. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“The hell you don’t. When AJ got done ripping me a new asshole about sleeping with that girl from marketing, she said I was lucky that the person you recommended for that position was better than the one who’d left it. And the person who has that job now is a hot redhead—”
I don’t mean to slam my glass down on my desk, but it has Colt raising both his hands in surrender, which is just fine with me.
My teeth are clenched together so hard when I say, “Do not fucking look at her.”
He laughs again. “Just friends, eh?”
“Yes, actually. We are just friends. And because she’s my friend, I don’t want you going anywhere near her.”
“I see how it is.” His chest shakes with laughter, because Colt can’t take anything seriously. Everything’s a fucking game with him, which makes him a lot of fun to hang out with, but not someone I’d want near anyone I actually cared about. “Don’t worry—”
He stops speaking when my phone starts buzzing on the table, Lauren’s name flashing across the screen.
Colt nods down where we both look at the phone. “That her?”
I reach for the phone and tell Colt, “Don’t fucking say anything.” Because he has the emotional maturity of a ten-year-old, it wouldn’t be the first time he’d yelled something highly inappropriate right when I answer the phone.
“What are you doing right now?” she asks the minute the call connects. Her voice is slightly panicked.
“Just finishing up a meeting with Colt, why? Is everything okay?”
Across from me, Colt cocks an eyebrow, mouths Just friends, and nods with the assurance of someone who knows he’s right.
“Not really. I’m kind of stuck at work. There’s this delivery of marketing swag coming in for the charity game.
I said I’d stay and sign for it, since I live the closest and everyone else had a longer drive home in this weather.
The truck was supposed to be here an hour ago and I can’t leave until it arrives, but Tammy’s at my house with the twins and she needs to go home.
Her husband’s going to come pick her up because of the weather.
” Her voice goes high-pitched and speeds up when she says, “I need someone to be home with my girls until I can get there. Paige is in New York for work and Morgan went with her so she could see Petra, Jules is still out in Wellesley at the jobsite and traffic on Route 9 is apparently at a standstill, and Audrey said Graham came home from school with a sore throat and a fever.”
“So I’m your last resort?” I tease as I stand and walk over to my closet to grab my coat.
“My last hope, is more like it.”
“That’s better,” I say. “I’ll head straight to your house.”
She breathes a sigh of relief. “You’re amazing.”
“You have no idea.”
She lets out a laugh that’s half snort, and meanwhile, Colt rolls his eyes.
“I’ll let Tammy know you’re coming. And—” She pauses. “—and thank you, Jameson. Really. I don’t know what I’d have done if you weren’t able to help me.”
“I’ll see you soon. Drive safely, okay?”