15. Jax #3
I take a deep breath and slowly blow it out.
“For the most part, Gretchen is very nice. She’s a great mother, too.
When I got drafted by Vancouver, it was tough on her.
She was a young mom who was basically raising Chloe on her own since I was on the road half the season.
Even though Vancouver isn’t too far from Kelowna, it was far enough that her family wasn’t constantly there to help.
” I shrug and struggle to find the right words.
“At the end of the day, she preferred to be back in Kelowna with her family versus staying married to me.” I look down at my shoes and kick away a piece of glass.
“I can’t say I blame her. While the money and sometimes the fame is nice, being married to an athlete is difficult. ”
She slowly nods as she lets it all sink in. I turn my body towards her and lean my shoulder against the wall. “All right, my turn to ask a personal question.”
She closes her eyes and scrunches up her nose in the most adorable way. “Oh no, I’m scared about what you’re going to ask,” she jokes with a giggle and opens her eyes again, “Go ahead, shoot.”
I swallow because I know this is a tough question for me to ask. “Is Zander’s dad in his life?”
Her smile immediately fades, and she looks down.
“No, he isn’t.” She sighs, puts her back up against the wall and leans her head back.
“Zander’s dad was a one-night stand. Broken condom, apparently.
” She rolls her eyes and gives me a weary smile.
“We never exchanged phone numbers, and I don’t even know enough information to try to find him.
All I know is his name was Patrick, he’s an architect in Boston, and he was here in Chicago for business.
” She places her hands over her face. “God, saying that out loud is so embarrassing.”
I grab her wrists and gently pull her hands from her face. “You have nothing to be embarrassed about. This happens all the time.”
She gives me a questionable look. “Does it? Because I’m pretty sure condoms are supposed to be over ninety percent effective.”
I softly chuckle. “It was a good accident.”
Her eyes glisten and she swallows a lump of emotions. “It was. As difficult as it is being a single mom, Zander’s the best thing that ever happened to me.”
This woman is not only smart and beautiful, but she’s brave and strong.
Without being able to stop myself, I take my right hand and grab the piece of hair that has slipped from her barrette and push it behind her ear.
My hand then moves and cups her face. “You’re one of the strongest women I’ve ever met. Zander’s lucky to have you as his mom.”
She parts her lips, and my gaze darts from her eyes to her mouth.
She shivers, and I’m not sure if it’s due to the weather or the current of sexual electricity that is flowing between us.
A breeze lifts her hair, and I inhale the sweet scent of her floral shampoo.
The pad of my thumb slowly moves lower until it’s rubbing against her lower lip.
Fuck, do I want to suck on those lips until she moans for more.
My dick hardens and I take a step closer with my left hand resting comfortably on her hip.
“Jax,” she whispers, her husky voice hypnotizing me. I slowly lower my head, my need to kiss her overwhelming all my senses.
“Kiley, are you out here?”
We jump apart so fast we almost fall when we hear Keegan’s voice. I quickly turn around in time to see him look around the door to where we are standing. “Hey Keegan, we were just getting back from throwing out the trash.”
He looks between me and Kiley and smirks. “Were you now?” I glance back at Kiley to see that her cheeks are bright red.
“It’s freezing out here!” I turn to Kiley and motion her to go around me. “Let’s get you back inside where it’s warm.”
She runs inside, and I follow her, patting Keegan on the shoulder. “Thanks for opening the door for us.”
We quickly walk through the kitchen and return to the main room of the bar. I glance at Kiley, who says, “I’ll go with you to the private room to check on everyone’s drinks.”
She walks behind me, but we stop at the doorway when we see how crowded the private room has become with players, their girlfriends and wives, and some of the hockey staff.
“Hey, Morrow. Where the hell did you go?” Linc asks.
“I was helping Kiley with the trash.”
“Sure took you a long time,” Bishop says with that stupid, know it all smirk.
“Do you guys need refills?” Kiley asks while scanning the room.
“No, but you better get those shots ready because I see a very cute couple standing under some mistletoe,” Harry declares, and I watch everyone in the room glance up. I follow their gazes and see that Kiley and I are indeed standing under some mistletoe.
“Kiss, Kiss, Kiss,” Kinner starts to chant, and the rest of the players join in.
I glance at Kiley, who gives me a deer in headlights look.
I grab her hands and bring her closer until our noses are touching.
The crowd cheers, but I slowly tilt my head to the side so only she can hear me.
“I’ll kiss you only when you beg me, and next time, I won’t say no.
” I kiss her on the cheek and let go of her.
“A gentleman doesn’t pressure a woman to kiss him in public. Shots are on me,” I tell the guys, who cheer loudly.
I watch Kiley leave to go to the bar. I see her talking to Colby and pointing at the room. I know she was embarrassed and probably won’t be serving us our shots. If I was going to guess, I bet she avoids me for the rest of the evening, which is probably for the best.
Because I don’t know how much longer I can resist Kiley O’Shea.