Page 61 of Her Rugged Guardian

“Let me venture a guess that she liked being arm candy of a hockey star, which made her a celebrity in her own right. Normal life was suddenly too bland.”

He lifted his glass in a toast. “Bingo. Of course I was too blind to realize that until I found her in bed with an old friend and now a prized member of the team I’d helped win two Stanley Cups.”

“Ouch.”

“Yep. I was devastated. I’d believed I was in love. Now I know I was trying to create something that wasn’t there after all.”

“I think you’re still devastated about it,” I told him. “I do understand but I’m not her.”

He slowly turned his head, his eyes now as full of heat and desire as they’d been before. “You’re definitely nothing like her, Cass. If you think I’m trying to replace or still in love with her then you’re wrong. You cured that.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“Oh. Yes.” His nostrils flared after making the statement. “In spades.”

For a grumpy son of a bitch and one I knew would never be romantic, he knew how to cut through the bullshit, making me feel more special than I had in my entire life. A warm flush crept up my cheeks. “You know when to say the right things.”

“I don’t lie, Cassandra. You might not like what I have to say, but I won’t lie to you and I don’t cheat. Maybe I am one of those bad guys from your romance novels, but I’ve never been abusive to a woman and never will be. I have a mama who would beat my ass if I did.”

“I think I might need to meet her one day.”

“Yeah, well, we’re not really talkin’ much these days.”

“Why?”

“Because she sides with my dad and he thinks I’m a failure,” he said, half laughing afterwards.

“Families are complicated. What about hockey?”

“What about it?”

“You’re damn infuriating. It doesn’t appear the injury bothers you any longer. Why aren’t you still playing?”

“One reason is that I’m too old for the sport,” he admitted. “And too out of shape.”

“Uh, no. You’re built like a machine, a very sexy one.”

“You think so, Cinnamon Girl?” He grinned and winked, which added another layer of butterflies to my tummy. He had a way of making me feel like I was slip-sliding. I only hoped I wouldn’t crash at the end of our glorious and very passionate tryst. I knew that’s all it was.

“I know so. In the biblical sense too.”

Seeing his dimples against was a sweet reward. “A compliment from you. I think I like it.” Another swig was consumed before he continued. “My Achilles tendon was severed by an opposing player’s skate. It was enough to knock me out for good. The surgery and rehab repaired it, but my ankle will never be strong enough to play professionally again. It’s quite possible if I do, I could lose the ability to put weight on my right leg.”

“But you’re not certain of that, are you?” I could tell there was more behind the reason why.

“It doesn’t matter any longer. I’m considered washed up. That’s fine by me.”

Why did I have a feeling he’d give his right arm if he could play again? “Do you ever practice just for fun, for the love of a sport that consumed you a long time ago?”

His eyes flashed a slight hint of anger, as they always did when I got just a little too close. The push and pull was killing me. “Don’t push it, Cassie. I’m not that guy any longer. Okay?”

“Sure. I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, don’t be sorry. It was just one thing in a line of shit I’ve been forced to deal with. I’ve adjusted.” He glanced at me and sighed. “You have a way of dragging information out of a man. The guy I found Tammy in bed with was a guy from the team. He’s a friend of my brother’s. It’s funny. A group from the team I used to play for is in town for practice before the season starts in a couple weeks. I ran into him at a bar.”

“Oh, boy. How did that go?”

“As you might think but I didn’t kill him.”

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