Chapter 1 #3
Shit, he’d have to start dating again, right? God, he hated dating!
“That’s it, right? You just want to be alone?” she asked, looking at Moreau.
The goalie remained silent.
“Yeah, I get what you mean,” she whispered loudly in Austin’s direction. “His brooding, taciturn nature would make a relationship difficult.”
Austin laughed softly. “Right?”
Moreau gave them both the middle finger, which only made the waitress grin again.
“Okay, okay, you want some peace and quiet, I can respect that. But why the hell do you come here?” the waitress asked, confused. “I mean, you’re both wearing Rolex!”
Austin glanced at the watch on his wrist, which he’d received as a welcome gift from the Hawks. True, it was a Rolex. No one expected to find a millionaire hockey player in Diner USA. That was exactly why they came.
They were never recognized in this diner.
It was the wrong clientele, and even if someone thought they’d seen them somewhere before, they eventually convinced themselves they were mistaken.
Why would two NHL players order fries for four dollars when there was caviar a few streets away for a hundred and fifty?
Of course, Austin only liked caviar when he drowned it in Tabasco.
“We like the atmosphere,” Austin said, shrugging. “By the way, I’ll have a cheeseburger and fries. You, Moreau?”
“Yep. Same here.”
“All right, two cheeseburgers and two fries for Serial Killer and Tabasco Hottie coming right up!” She smiled at them, turned, and headed for the kitchen in her blue, dolphin-print socks.
Austin watched her go, suppressing another smile. Wow, she was…
“She’s cute,” Moreau said as soon as she was out of earshot.
Narrowing his eyes, Austin looked back at his friend. He couldn’t quite put his finger on why, but he didn’t like the way he had said that. “You think so?”
“Yep. Not that I’m into cute, but you like cute women. She’s 100,000 percent your type. Funny, smart, and pretty, but not vain.”
The words both relieved and annoyed him. “Bullshit,” he lied, because yes, she was…under different circumstances…his type. Well, what could he do if he found natural women with sensual lips hot, women who spoke their minds in his presence? “Oh, just shut up and drink your shake, Moreau.”
The goalie smiled one of his mysterious half-smiles, which would have had anyone else bursting out laughing, but Austin held back.
It wasn’t relevant anyway. Austin was still married and certainly not ready for a new relationship.
The waitress brought their burgers, and Austin tried not to follow her with his eyes again. Instead, they ate in silence while he attempted to forget that the coach had suspended him for tomorrow’s game, even though he was currently performing well on the ice.
“We should go,” Moreau muttered half an hour later, glancing at his watch. “It’s already 10:30, we have to…” He trailed off.
“You have to get up early tomorrow,” Austin reminded him. “I don’t have to do anything, except tell a reporter at some point that my marriage is over.”
“Come on, Fox. You should go home.”
Austin snorted and looked at his hands. “What am I supposed to do at home?” The emptiness in the large loft he’d bought for himself and Christine would crush him.
Yes, the breakup was his idea, but that didn’t change the fact that he hated being alone.
Sharing an apartment only reminded him of the disastrously bad decisions he’d made.
Like marrying Christine.
Fuck.
Moreau sighed. “You can come to my place, Fox.”
“No offense, Moreau, but what am I supposed to do at your place? I’m not keen on seeing you off to practice tomorrow morning, which I’m banned from for calling the coach a jerk.”
“So you want to sit here and do nothing?”
“Why not?” he asked tonelessly, and his gaze slid to the waitress behind the counter. Besides hockey, she’d been the best distraction from his misery in weeks. He’d already laughed aloud twice tonight. He couldn’t remember the last time that had happened. So…
“Fine.” The goalie stood. “Suit yourself. But don’t do anything stupid, okay?”
He snorted. “Are you seriously worried about me?”
The only player with a cleaner record than him was Jack “The Saint” West, who had just been acquired by the New York Predators.
Austin would never be known as a scandal player.
His parents may be dead, but he hadn’t given up on making them proud.
Not to mention that the drunk driver who had cost them their lives was the perfect example of why you shouldn’t do anything stupid.
His marriage to Christine was the only thing that had ever made headlines…although, shit, the divorce would trigger more.
“Point taken.” Moreau tossed a few bills on the table and squeezed his shoulder. “I know you’re scared to be alone, but…you’re not alone, okay?”
“Thanks,” he murmured. Moreau was more sensitive than he liked to admit.
The goalie left and Austin sank deeper into his seat, his gaze fixed on the long red counter the waitress was leaning against…knitting.
He smiled.
Yeah, maybe a little distraction was all he could hope for tonight.