Trenton
“Come in!”
I crack open the door to Cassidy’s apartment and peer into the living room.
“I’m almost ready,” she calls from another room. “Just putting on the last-minute touches.”
My stomach churns. Nerves have been eating away at me since Celeste set up the details of our date.
I hate making a spectacle out of something that should be normal.
I hate knowing the paparazzi will be watching our every move, knowing that our pictures will be splashed across the news pages by tomorrow.
Most of all, I hate that I’ve dragged Cassidy into this circus.
She didn’t ask for this. She didn’t seek out a professional athlete to fake date.
I know how cruel people on the internet can be, and I can’t protect her from the things they might say.
They can say whatever they want about me, but I don’t want them hurting her.
I walk over to the tall bookshelf by the window, but freeze when I spot the bird cage. The door is open, and the beady-eyed little ball of feathers hops along her perch, moving closer to the opening.
I creep toward the cage. “Don’t come out. Stay right there.”
She tilts her head as if she’s contemplating it.
“Don’t bite off my finger.” I reach out and lift the lever. “I’m just closing the door.” I slide the door until it reaches the bottom, and hook the latch. “That’s a good girl.”
“Who’s a good girl?”
I spin around at the sound of Cassidy’s voice. “I was talking to—”
The words die on my tongue.
Maroon lace hugs her breasts, the neckline cutting low in a deep V.
She’s in skin-tight high-waisted jeans with even higher maroon heels on.
Her eyes are lined with a thin swipe of black and her hair cascades down around her shoulders in loose curls.
My gaze lingers on her plump lips, painted as dark as her shirt.
Jesus Christ. This woman is every one of my fantasies come to life. Voluptuous and sexy as hell while still leaving things to the imagination.
And I have a good fucking imagination.
“I feel like I’m all tits and ass, but I kind of like it.” She turns around and pulls her hair over her shoulder, looking back at her ass. “Is it too much?”
Too much? Is she kidding me?
“It’s the perfect amount.” I clear my throat. “You look unbelievable.”
Her eyebrows jump as a pink flush crawls into her cheeks. “Thanks.”
I gesture to the bookshelf, needing to take my mind and my eyes off of her body before I have to explain why my pants suddenly grew tighter around my dick. “Pretty cool to have a shelf filled with your own books.”
“I love it even more when I see my books on other people’s shelves. I imagine it’s the same feeling you get when you see people wearing your jersey.”
“Yeah, it’s a great feeling.”
The image of Cassidy wearing my number flashes in my mind, and it’s suddenly very hot in this room.
I jerk my thumb toward the bird cage. “Hope you don’t mind, I shut the door.”
She giggles. “Why are you so afraid of her?”
“I don’t like anything with wings.”
“Not even butterflies?”
“Not even butterflies.”
“What if it can’t fly, like a penguin or a chicken?”
“Penguins don’t count. But I don’t fuck with chickens.”
She shakes her head. “You’re so peculiar.”
“Says the one who named her bird after an axe murderer.”
Cassidy stands in front of the cage and sticks her finger inside. The bird hops along the perch until she reaches Cassidy, and then bows her head.
Cassidy scratches the top of her head with her index finger. “See? She’s a sweetie.”
“I’ll take your word for it.” I heave a sigh and square my shoulders. “You ready for this?”
She waves her arm in a grand flourish. “I’m ready for my acting debut.”
The usual paparazzi are camped out outside our apartment building, but it’s nothing compared to the throng of cameras flashing outside the restaurant.
“Celeste said she was going to leak our location to a couple of people.” I peel my eyes from the crowd outside the car window. “I think she needs to brush up on her math if this is what she calls a couple.”
“She’s just trying to help.” Cassidy reaches over and squeezes my hand. “We’ve got this.”
“I’m going to come around and open your door. Stay close, okay?”
She nods and takes a deep breath.
Everyone shouts my name as soon as I step out of the car. I race around the front end and yank open the door, reaching for Cassidy. I wrap my arm around her shoulders and tuck her against me, trying to shield her from the camera flashes.
We get inside and the hostess ushers us to our seat in a small corner booth.
Cassidy scoots in first and I slide in beside her. Her eyes are wide, darting from window to window as the paparazzi gather outside.
“I’ll have the shades closed,” says the hostess.
“Thank you so much.” I offer her a polite smile. “I appreciate it.”
I place my hand over Cassidy’s bouncing knee. “You okay?”
“Yeah, that was just...a lot.” She lets out a chuckle. “You really experience this everywhere you go?”
“Not everywhere. I think it’s like this because I’m new here and they’re able to get the first scoop on our story.”
She hums. “I’d never want that job. It’s so intrusive.”
“Me neither.”
Once the waitress comes and takes our drink orders, Cassidy seems back to her normal talkative self.
The only problem is, I can’t stop staring at her mouth.
“What made you want to be a goalie? Why not be a... wingman or something?”
I cover my mouth with my fist as I laugh into it. “It’s not wingman. It’s left wing and right wing.”
She waves her water glass in the air. “Whatever, you know what I mean.”
I do know what she means. She’s trying, and it’s adorable.
“Well, I remember the first time I learned what hockey was. My mom used to take me to work with her every Saturday. She owned a candy shop and I loved helping her melt the chocolate and pour it into the molds. She’d always let me take a few home after.
“At the time, there was an ice-skating rink being built on the next street over. When it was finally done, my mom took me over there after her shift one day so I could check it out. There was a high school hockey game taking place, and I remember being mesmerized by the way those kids flew across the ice. I immediately told my mom I wanted to play hockey—I was seven years old—and I pointed to the goalie. She asked why the goalie, and I said, because he never leaves the ice. All the other players would come in and out of the game, but the goalie stayed in the whole time.”
I pause and take a sip of water. “Honestly, I wasn’t that good when I started skating. I had a difficult time balancing on the skates, and I wasn’t as fast as the other guys. So I guess it’s a good thing I had my heart set on being a goalie because I wouldn’t have made it in any other position.”
Cassidy listens with rapt attention, propping up her head in her hand with her elbow on the table. “Where does your mom live now?”
“She passed about ten years ago. She had a tough battle with breast cancer.”
Cassidy touches her fingers to her lips. “I’m so sorry, Trent.”
“Thanks. She was the greatest person I’ve ever known.”
“Do you have any pictures of her?”
I scroll through the photos on my phone. “Here’s a few from when I was younger.”
“Oh, my God. You were such a chunker.”
I chuckle. “And this was later on when I got drafted to the NHL.”
“She was so beautiful. You have her smile.” Cassidy pauses. “What about your dad?”
“Never knew him. My mom was casually dating a guy in college and when he found out she was pregnant, he dumped her.”
She gasps. “What an asshole.”
I hike a shoulder. “I’ve done just fine all these years without him.”
“Yes, you have. That’s amazing you knew what you wanted to do from such a young age. And it all worked out. Look at you now.”
I let out a bitter laugh. “Yeah, look at me. I was traded from one of the best teams and betrayed by my best friend.”
She sits up ramrod straight. “Hey, don’t focus on that shit.
You’re still in the NHL and you’re getting to play the game you love.
You’re lucky. Imagine if you had a career-ending injury and you could never play again, or if no other team wanted you.
” She jabs her finger at me. “You have an opportunity here, and you’re going to rock it.
So, stop replaying what happened in the past, and look at what’s ahead of you.
Those assholes did you a favor, and now you’re going to mop the floor with them.
Or the ice, I guess. But you don’t really mop ice, so that wouldn’t make sense.
You’re going to annihilate them this season.
You’re going to win the... the trophy. The big silver cup thing.
And they’ll be sorry they let you go. You’re—”
I lean in and cut her off with a kiss.
I’m just as surprised as she is, and we both pause with our lips pressed together.
Shit, why did I do that? I should’ve asked first.
But Cassidy doesn’t pull away. She tilts her head and parts her lips, slipping her tongue inside my mouth in search of mine. My hands weave into her hair, gripping the silky strands at the base of her head to hold her where I want her.
Every nerve ending in my body sparks to life. This isn’t a demure peck on the lips. This isn’t a kiss for the cameras. It’s unexpected and all-consuming—and hot as hell.
Cassidy sighs into my mouth, and the sound is nearly my undoing. I feel that soft whimper of need like it’s my own, and if we weren’t in the middle of a restaurant right now, I’d give her what she wants.
I pull back first, but not without sucking on her bottom lip and releasing it with a pop. Her hair is tousled from my hands and her lipstick smeared, but it only makes my dick harder to see her like this.
Fuck, I need to get my mind out of the gutter when I’m around this woman.
Her cheeks flush as her eyes dart around the restaurant. “Do you think anyone saw us?”
“To be honest, I don’t really care.”
“And why’s that?”
“I didn’t kiss you for them.”
“Then why did you?”
“Because I couldn’t wait one more second to find out what you taste like.”
She visibly shivers and her gaze drops to my mouth. “I—”
“Here are your drinks. Sorry for the wait.” The waitress sets down my beer and Cassidy’s wine glass. “Do you have any questions about the menu, or are you ready to order?”
“We haven’t even looked at the menu yet.” Cassidy smooths down her hair and gives the waitress a sheepish smile. “I’m sorry. Do you mind coming back in a few minutes?”
“Of course not. Take your time.” She pauses and turns her attention to me. “I hope I’m not intruding, but my son is a huge hockey fan. Do you think I could have your autograph for him?”
“Absolutely. Would you like to FaceTime him?”
Her mouth drops open. “Oh my god, I would win mother of the year if you called him right now.” She scrambles to pull out her cell phone. “His name is Toby, and he’s eight-years-old.”
Toby answers his mother’s call after a couple of rings. “Baby, look who I have here at the restaurant with me.”
She turns her phone and I take it from her grasp. “Hi, Toby.”
The little boy’s eyes light up. “Wow, you’re Trenton Ward!”
I chuckle. “I am. I heard you’re a big hockey fan.”
He nods eagerly. “I want to be a goalie like you when I grow up.”
“That’s fantastic. Keep practicing and listen to your mom, and I’m sure you’ll get there one day.”
We talk for a few more minutes while he shows me his bedroom and the hockey posters on his wall. Then his mom takes back her phone and says goodnight.
“Thank you so much for doing that. It really means a lot to me.” She dabs the corner of her eye with her pinky. “Toby has been getting bullied by some kids at school. They know we don’t have a lot of money, and his father walked out when he was a baby, so they’re making him feel bad about it.”
My heart wrenches in my chest. “I was raised by a single mom and we didn’t come from much either, so I get it.”
“Really? Oh, I’ll make sure to tell him that. He’s going to love knowing you have something in common.”
I lean over and pull out my phone from my pocket. “Why don’t you put your number in my phone. I live right here in town, and I’d love to come visit Toby’s school and meet my buddy in person.”
Tears stream down her face. “Are you serious? You’d do that?”
“Of course.” I hand her my phone and she types her number into it before handing it back to me. “My schedule is a little hectic now that preseason has started, but I’ll do my best to fit some time for Toby into the next week or two. We’ll show those bullies who the cool kid really is.”
She wipes her cheek with the back of her hand and sniffles. “Thank you so much, Mr. Ward. Truly, you have no idea how much I appreciate this.”
“Absolutely.”
She glances at Cassidy. “I’m so sorry to intrude on your date night like this. Please, take your time with the menu. I’ll come back in a little to check on you.”
Cassidy reaches out and takes her hand. “Don’t be sorry. I’m so glad we came here tonight. It’s like this was meant to be.”
After the waitress walks away, Cassidy dips her head and dabs her eye with the corner of her napkin.
I curl her hair behind her ear and tip her face to look at me. “Hey, are you okay?”
She nods. “That was just so sweet. You made that mother’s whole year, and you’re going to help that little boy.”
“I hate hearing about kids getting bullied.”
She reaches up and presses her palm against my cheek. “You’re a good man, Trenton Ward.”
I lean into her touch, gazing into her eyes and letting myself get lost in them. Affection pulls at my heartstrings.
“And you’re a damn good kisser, Cassidy Quinn.”
She grins and waggles her eyebrows. “Yeah, I am.”
“So modest too.”
She throws her head back and laughs.
I laugh too, and I can’t help but wonder if Cassidy was right.
Maybe everything is somehow meant to be. All of this. Maybe our paths were destined to cross. And in this particular moment, I’m not so mad about it, even after everything that has happened.
I don’t think there’s anywhere else I’d rather be right now than beside Cassidy in this restaurant.