Page 27 of Here Be Dragons
So why was Shane still walking in that direction? It was Ava. It was all because of Ava. Any excuse to see her again or hear her voice was all he wanted.
"Morning, King."
Shane put his hand out and the captain stood to shake it. "It's a good morning, isn't it?"
"Ms. Foster," he said with a bit of a flourish.
"Good morning, Mr. Taylor."
That definitely wasn't the same tone of voice she had this morning when she woke up next to him. She sounded like a no-nonsense lawyer. It was another disappointment that he would just have to deal with for now. Well, and for later since this whole secret relationship of theirs was all over now. Ava looked up at him with that professional look that made him hot and bothered, but she was going to stick with it for now and so would he.
"This is my brother, Jack."
She gestured over to the man next to her, and Shane did the polite and professional thing by putting out his hand. "Shane Taylor, nice to meet you."
Jack stood up and smiled at him. "You as well." He leaned in a little closer. "Ava tells me you were a great help to her."
He turned and saw Ava duck her head with that discreet smile on her face that made him want to grab her and drag her up to his room right now.
Instead, Shane simply turned back and quietly said, "I did what I could."
"Thank you. Really. Cleveland is lucky to have someone like you."
Shane stared back at him. The billionaire who owned a rival team complimented him. It was one of the nicest things anyone had ever said about him. Well, that and the way Jack's sister complimented Shane's hockey ass. That was pretty amazing too.
Oh, gross.Nope, that was definitely too much intermingling with the Fosters for now.
"Well, thanks," he simply replied. "Now if you don't mind, I better head over to that omelet bar before someone sees me talking to the enemy."
Jack gave him a polite smile and sat back down, and when Shane turned to Ava, her smile was just as polite. It was just another reminder that they had to be professionals again.
Shane walked over to get some food, still in a bit of disbelief that someone from Detroit had complimented him like that. Ava was lucky to have him as a brother, that was for sure. There was a reason she was sent to this stupid hotel to help fix negotiations for her brother. Shane was thankful for that, he really was, but he also felt bittersweet about the whole thing. Here was this woman who came in to save them, and he fell in love with her just as she had to leave.
Wait, was it really love? The idea made him bristle. There was no way. She was just a woman and he would forget all about this once the season got started again. He would just have to do what he could to get over it and move on. He couldn't think about the way she laughed at his dumb joke last night or the way her skin felt or the way she--
"Sir? Do you want an omelet?"
Shane looked up to see the omelet station guy staring at him. How long had he been standing there? Once again, Ava had distracted him way too much.
"Sorry, yeah," he replied gruffly.
He watched as a bunch of the veggies and the bacon bits he asked for were thrown in a bowl of scrambled eggs. But as soon as that mix was in the pan, he turned back to Ava. He was trying to be casual about it, trying not to stare. But when he looked at her, her eyes locked with his. They lingered on him a bit, roamed slightly down his body, a teasing smile on her lips as she casually pushed some hash browns around on her plate. But then she turned, listening to something Jordan was talking about. The moment was over again.
"Your omelet, sir."
"Thanks," he muttered.
Shane snatched the plate out of the omelet guy's hand and started to head back to his table. Then something caught his eye, or rather, someone. He looked familiar, but Shane couldn't remember exactly where he had seen the man before. Then he saw Dylan sitting alone at a table looking glum, and he put the pieces together.
The man was Jason Stewart, the Bay City Bears team owner, and he was headed right for Ava.
Shane tossed his plate on the table and started walking towards the man who looked angry with each step closer to Ava. There was no way he was going to let Jason anywhere near her. Shane saw Jordan King stand up, but he got there first, stepping right in front of that idiotic team owner.
"Hey, Jason. What's up?"
Shane planted his feet, staring down at the owner who was a few inches shorter than him.
"Out of my way, Taylor."
