“It’s not lack of sleep,” he told her flatly. His fork clattered to the plate as he gave her a level look. “I missed the shots because I was thinking about you.”
KYLE HAD NOT ONLY MANAGED to fail Relationship 101 while seated at Marissa’s kitchen table that morning. He was also failing Romance 101, as well.
He should have known that a woman wouldn’t respond well to being told she was the reason behind his flat performance on the ice. Marissa looked offended as she saved her leftover omelet in the fridge and then cleared the table.
“So let me fill in the blanks. You don’t normally date women while your team is in the play-offs. But after you went home frustrated last night and played poorly today, you figure you should date me, after all?” She kept her volume even, but the pace of her speech accelerated, clueing him in she was not pleased. “Are you going to head for the rink now that we’ve slept together to see if your shot is back in top form?”
“That’s not what I meant.” Although he could see her point. When she summed it up that way, it sure made him sound like a jerk. “I never would have come over here today if I didn’t want to see you. Badly. The stuff about my problems on the ice—that’s subsidiary to the fact that I really want to be with you.”
Rising from his seat, he stepped between her and the table so she couldn’t clear anything else off of it without going through him.
Effectively stalled by the barrier of his body, she looked up at him with a touch of wariness in her violet eyes. With her hair down and a fringe of bangs brushing her brows, she appeared younger than when they’d first met. More vulnerable, somehow.
“I don’t want to be another prescribed measure to keep you in peak performing condition.” Her words were quieter now, her tone perfectly reasonable.
That didn’t stop the sting of the suggestion.
“Fair enough,” he agreed, dropping his hands on her shoulders. Grateful she didn’t seem to mind.
Folding her against him, he held her there, liking the way they fit.
“Where do we go from here?” she asked, the scent of her fragrance still faint in her hair if he breathed in deeply enough.
The hint of perfume had him responding instantly, his body ready for her.
“Mmm.” She hummed against him, her hips shifting against him as she noticed the reaction. “I don’t know if we can solve our problems that way, but I’ll admit it’s tempting.”
“You’re not kidding.” Tipping her face up to his, he kissed her. “But if I get sidetracked, I’m going to miss the team flight to Pittsburgh for sure.”
“I thought you had today off?” She edged back to meet his gaze.
“I do. It’s a travel day, though. We play Pittsburgh tomorrow night. Then there’s another travel day. Then we play Tampa Bay. I’ll be back in town late Tuesday night. Actually, early Wednesday morning. We’ll fly back right after the game.”
“Maybe I can see you after your practice Wednesday morning.”
He liked that she wanted to see him that soon. But he wanted to see her sooner.
“How about you come to one of the road games?” Today was Saturday. He didn’t think he could wait until Wednesday to have her again. Not when he wanted her this badly an hour after they’d gotten out of bed.
“Honestly? I would enjoy the time away. But I really need to focus on my mom.” She seemed to hesitate, as if she had more to say.
“If it’s a matter of keeping on the nurse for extra hours, I’d be happy to—”
“It’s not just that, but thank you. I really need to find an answer to the ongoing financial dilemmas.” She worried her lower lip with her teeth. “My mom’s financial advisor stole her life savings a few years ago, so her funds are too depleted to be of much help. There’s an experimental drug that could help her and I’m determined to afford it. I’ve got to figure out a way to work harder or leverage some asset I haven’t thought of, or … I don’t know.”
No wonder she’d wanted to match him up with her client so badly. She’d needed to close the deal for a good reason. So much so that he wished now he’d just gone on the date.
“Damn, Marissa. I could have at least had dinner with that client of yours if it meant—”
“Don’t.” She looked a little bit like the naughty librarian again when she pressed a finger over his lips. “Don’t even suggest selling yourself out like that. That was never an option.”
Her fierce command—a defense of him, really—made him smile even as he still hated the fact that she was dealing with problems of this magnitude. He needed to find a way to help her without hurting her pride, partly because he felt responsible for putting her in a position where she couldn’t provide her client with the introduction that would have been a good payday. And partly because he didn’t want to see her so worried and stressed when she was already doing everything she could to take care of her mom.
He’d been raised to put his family first, and although he’d never been in a position where he’d had to make sacrifices for them, he would do it in a minute. He admired that Marissa would do the same thing.
“Okay.” Nodding, he plucked her finger from his mouth and kissed the back of her hand. His tongue darted out for a taste. “I just figured that it would be easier to be together on the road since the attention from the matchmakers is going to make private time impossible for a while.”
Flipping her hand over, he kissed the palm, too, lingering over the sensitive center.
“Your schedule is public knowledge. Don’t be surprised if they follow you.” Her voice hit an awkward note as she sucked in a breath.
“You’re kidding.” He’d lose his mind if he had to face a bunch of stupid media attention because of this. Nothing sucked away personal time and distracted an athlete like manufactured headlines and the questions that came as a result.
“I’m perfectly serious. There are a lot of unscrupulous matchmakers out there and a cash reward is going to attract the worse sorts of practitioners.”
“So be my media handler. And my matchmaker handler. Come with me on the road and help me figure out how to steer clear of the distractions.” The plan took shape immediately, an ideal solution for them both. “You’re good at that kind of thing after managing Brandy’s career for so long. You’ll have your supplemental income and I’ll have my life back to normal.”
“I can’t sleep with someone I’m working for,” she chided him as if it was the most elementary of facts. “Besides, you don’t need a handler for the matchmakers. You just need to show the world you’re …”
She hesitated.
“In a relationship?” he supplied.
“That would help,” she acknowledged quietly, her forehead wrinkled in thought. “But I couldn’t possibly go on the road with you now. Maybe you should find someone else.”
She couldn’t be serious. Not after what had happened between them today. He clamped his hands on her hips and squeezed her closer.
“You owe me a favor for bringing this down on my head, right?” That wasn’t totally true because it wasn’t her fault her client had requested him in the first place. “And I want you to pay me back by helping me get rid of the matchmakers. I’d like to hire you as a professional consultant.”
“I can’t take money for spending time with you.” she asserted, wriggling away from him. “That’s an insane suggestion.”
“I’m