Page 3 of Fumbled Love

“They better not give you any trouble. You are long overdue for a vacation. I bet Rylee would be overjoyed to have you in town.” I hummed in agreement, not bothering to mention that I ran into Rylee’s famous brother at LaGuardia Airport. “What will you do for Thanksgiving?”

“Taylor has plans, but I think Chad’s parents are in town. I’m sure I can go to dinner with them.”

She’d met my friends a few times and had mentioned on more than one occasion that she was glad I had those two to watch over me. She hated that I was a young, single female living in the city alone.

“Oh, good.” She sighed in relief.

I checked the time on my phone and noticed it was getting late.

“I’ll let you get back to baking. Make sure Spencer doesn’t eat all the pie, and try to keep Grandma away from the booze.” I laughed, knowing neither one of those two things would be happening.

“Oh, I’ve already thought of a good hiding spot for both.” She laughed, but I still sensed her sadness over my flight cancelation. “I’ll call you soon. I love you.”

“Sounds good. Love you too.”

I hung up and typed out a quick email to my boss, telling him my plans had changed and I needed to talk to him about taking some additional time off at the end of December.

I sipped my martini as my eyes drifted to the flatscreen TVs mounted on the wall. All three of them were reporting about the weather. The storm was lingering over the Tri-state area while the Southeast was getting pounded with freezing rain and strong winds. Unfortunately, there was no break in sight.

I slid my empty glass across the bar, letting the bartender know I was ready for a refill. Maybe a good buzz would put me in a better mood.

“Well, if it isn’t the woman responsible for my needing a security escort to help get me out of the airport,” a deep voice came from my side, startling me to the point that I almost fell out of my chair. My head whipped to the left, and I opened my mouth to speak but shut it quickly. Maverick had one elbow propped up against the bar top, looking like he found this whole thing entertaining. I blinked my eyes, wondering if this was really happening again. “I hope you don’t mind a little company.” He gestured to the empty stool next to me. “Considering it took me almost two hours to sign autographs after the little stunt you pulled earlier.”

“What?” I said innocently. “I figured you liked being fawned over, so I just assumed I was doing you a favor.”

He rolled his eyes. “Sure you were.”

My lips turned into a scowl as he pulled his gloves off and unwrapped the scarf from his neck. He unbuttoned his coat and draped it along the back of the chair as if he were about to get comfortable.

“You realize there are plenty of other places to sit.” I gestured to the line of empty stools.

Was I being mean? Yep, but I couldn’t help myself. It took me over an hour to calm down after I stormed off and left him to his little group of adoring fans. My ego still stung from the fact that he had no clue who I was.

“Is there a reason why I can’t sit here, because this seat looks pretty comfortable?”

“You can sit wherever you want, but I haven’t had the best night, so don’t expect me to make small talk.”

“You might want to work on your people skills. If you didn’t notice, they didn’t get you very far with the airline earlier.”

I swirled around to face him, wishing I could toss his arrogant ass off the stool. “Apparently, it didn’t get you very far either, seeing that you’re sitting next to me.”

He moved closer, and the smell of something warm and musky hit my nose. “Are you always this standoffish with people you’ve just met?”

I wanted to point out that we already knew each other, but I kept my lips closed tight. This was already awkward, and I was starting to feel lightheaded from his nearness.

The bartender passed by, stopped, and did a double-take when he noticed the man next to me. “Holy shit!” He grinned. “You’re Maverick Cross.”

“I get that a lot.” Maverick smiled back, looking uneasy. “But no, we just look alike.”

I tilted my head to the side and met his eyes. They pleaded with me to keep my mouth shut this time.

“Damn,” he said, throwing a rag over his shoulder. “You could totally be twins. You’re even built like him.” He shook his head. “It sucks about his injury though. Me and my buddies have a bet going on whether or not he’ll be back next season. That hit he took to the leg didn’t look too good.”

“I wouldn’t count him out just yet.” Maverick pulled his wallet out and grabbed a few twenties. “I’ll take a Jack and Coke and this should cover the cost of her drink too.”

“Sure thing.” He turned to me. “Same as before, beautiful?”

“Yes, thank you. Wait.” I grabbed my purse and searched for my credit card. “I still owe you for the first drink.” I tried to hand him an American Express card, but he waved me off.

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