Page 68 of Reputation
Flustered, she shook her head vehemently.“It doesn’t matter,” Eavie said, sitting up.“I…he…we would never work.”She took a sip of water.“Look, we can sit here and suspend reality, pretending like I’m not who I am or that Jax isn’t who he is.But we can’t act like my job doesn’t sit directly in our way.”Eavie could feel tears sting her eyes, in sadness at the reality of the situation, or in anger she didn’t know.She blinked them back, refusing to allow them to fall.“And we can’t change who we are.Jax is the one-night-stand kind of guy.He hasn’t been in a relationship since his ex-fiancée two years ago, but he’s been with plenty of women.He’s not looking for a relationship, and I do not do casual,” she stated firmly, breathing hard from her outburst.
Molly regarded her, giving her a moment to settle herself.“So you’re telling me that if that man asked you out, you would say no?”
“I already have.”
It was Molly’s turn to look shocked.“He’s asked you out?And you said no?”
“Yes,” Eavie said.
Molly nodded again as her mouth twisted in contemplation.It looked like she was digesting the conversation as two different people—a friend, and the Director of Player Relations for the company they worked for.
Trying not to let her job influence her reaction couldn’t be easy.Eavie could see the battle Molly fought internally, knowing she had a duty to the Royals but also wanting to be a friend.Feeling like she was dragging Molly into something that would put her in a difficult position, Eavie decided to make it easy for her.
“Molly, I appreciate you suspending ourobligationsfor a moment, but I know I can’t get involved with him.Even if the policy wasn’t standing in our way, I don’t date people I work with.That’s never ended well in all the times I’ve heard about other people doing it.”She shook her head, a small, sad smile on her lips.“Nothing is going on between us.”She reached out to squeeze Molly’s hand.“Let’s not ruin our lovely weekend talking about this anymore.I know all the risks, and I promise you, as charming as he might be, Jax isn’t a risk I can take,” she said by way of explanation.
After a moment of loaded silence, Molly said, “Okay,” and slid her glasses back up her nose.She leaned back in her chair, sipping her orange juice.“Let’s just enjoy the rest of the morning.I think I’ve got a second wind in me.How about we hit a few more stores before we call it a day?”
Eavie laughed.“ThatI won’t say no to.”
Chapter Twenty Five
Jax
Jax had been wound up for days.Even though he had only seen her for a few minutes since the flight from Vegas to LA, the coiling of longing inside him refused to relent.Pulling his burgundy suit over a white button-down, he left the top button open.He ran his fingers through his damp hair, giving it an arranged, messy look.He never bothered to properly style it before a game since he would put a helmet on in a couple of hours.
Picking up his bag, he left his room and headed for the lobby, still feeling on edge and in need of some physical activity.The restlessness would be good for his game, he thought.Playing tonight would work off some of his excess energy.
Unfortunately, the moment he caught sight of Eavie in the lobby, he knew no amount of exercise would counteract his constant awareness of her.
She wore dark blue jeans that looked like they had been painted on, a tight white tank top that revealed the soft swells of her breasts, and a dark blue leather jacket.
Her outfit wasn’t what held his attention, though.It was her hair.It wasn’t in its usual bun, but hung loose down her back in thick, soft curls.He’d imagined it like that so many times, had wanted to pull the pins out to see it fall down her back, to sink his hands into it again.He wanted to bury his fingers in the thick strands and feel its softness.Better yet, he wanted to tangle his hands in it so he could use it to pull her head back and hold her captive while he devoured her mouth.
Shit, he was going to have a hard time concentrating tonight, knowing she was watching up in the executive box, looking like walking sex.
Sighing, Jax continued to the bus waiting outside the front doors, doing his best not to stare continuously at her every time she entered his vision.Donning a set of headphones, he turned on his pre-game playlist—a mix of songs starting from soft, flowing music and working to pump up music for when they arrived at the arena.As an added measure of distraction, he grabbed his iPad and pulled up game tapes to help get his mind on hockey and not on the sex goddess sitting exactly three rows in front of him.
The game was not going well.
Their defense was getting crushed, and their offense was being blocked on all sides.At the end of a long road trip, it wasn’t unusual for the last game to be tough, but they’d just had three days off and should have been pumped from their strong start to the season.
Bitterly, he knew he wasn’t playing his best, and that pissed him off.Instead of focusing on the ice, he continued to catch his eyes wandering to the boxes on the second level.Worse, his mind kept looping back to Eavie when he wasn’t trying to see if she was watching him.
Frustrated with himself for not being the leader this team needed and the player he was under pressure to prove he was, he jumped over the boards with the rest of the first line when the fourth came in for a change.He felt more grounded with his skates slicing through the ice.Up ahead, Anton loitered behind the net, occupied by Marc, waiting for the change to be completed.Jax, needing to feel a burn in his legs and the frigid air in his lungs, beelined for him, his stick in position to take the pass.
Anton threw it to him as he swooped behind the net.When the puck made contact with his stick, he pushed down on the edges of his stakes, forcing power into the muscles of his legs.He flew up the boards on the left side of the rink.
In his peripheral, he noted where the players of his line were.Nordstrom was ahead and to his right, just passing over the line into center ice, and Mitchell was at his three o’clock.Crisscrossing behind him were the defensive pair JP and Jack, who had joined the change last, waiting for Anton and Scott, who had remained for the new offensive line to get into position before changing.
He also noted the Titans players’ positions, his mind calculating a play.He saw a gap up ahead that he could push through to skate into the offensive zone.It would give him an opportunity to score a goal they needed to give them a fighting chance in this game.
For a brief second, he thought about Eavie watching him score a goal single-handedly, and a rush of cocky pride swelled in his chest.
That single second of distraction was enough for Jax to miss the Titans’ offense barreling down on him as he crossed over the defensive line into center ice.Too late, he caught the movement, and just as he tried to throw the puck over to Nordstrom, who was waiting at the offensive line, the Titans’ player slammed him into the boards.
The collision with the plexiglass and boards jarred him.Stunned from the punch of impact to his ribs, he watched the next few seconds in slow motion.
The hit he took caused a turnover of the puck right at their defensive line.It was picked up by the waiting Titans player—Calder, number twenty-four, who burned across the line into a two-on-two with the Royals defensive pair.Calder passed the puck sharply to his teammate Steel, who faked a slap shot, causing Marc to shift position.The second Marc’s knees hit the ice, Steele passed the puck back to Calder and sent it flying into the net top-shelf with a quick snap of his wrist.
