she pulled out of his arms.
“Loser.”
“Just playing my part.”
“Yeah. Your part.” She eyed him closely, so much so that he felt a burn in his chest. “I know what you’re all about, Cal Foreman. You don’t fool me.”
He shifted in his seat, seeking a change of topic. “I was going to watch the women’s gold medal final from the last Olympics. See if I could get some tips for you.”
“You were?”
“Sure. A lot of those girls are up for tryouts this time around. Some of them are a lock because they’re already playing.”
“Yeah, I’m behind the eight ball. Selena made sure I was aware.”
Maybe that was why he didn’t like her. That shade she threw Mia about the game getting really fast while she was gone had rankled.
Mia had the talent, the drive, the determination. He didn’t understand her motives but he figured she had a good reason for playing it this way. What the female players were paid was pretty insulting, so that was probably it. But why did he think there was more to the story?
He grabbed the DVD he’d asked a friend of his at NBC to burn and put it into the Playstation. “You got time for this?”
“Definitely. I’m going to wash my face first. Back in a second.”
He made sure not to watch her departing the room, keeping his eyes on the TV and the reflection there. Turning to the dog, he found the little bundle regarding Cal with all sorts of judgment. Animals always knew.
“Not a fucking word from you.”
12
Mia placed a coffee cup in front of her brother. “Your majesty.”
“You amuse me, sestra.”
She laughed and took a seat at the table on the patio. The first of October, and it was surprisingly still warm outside, but there were already falling leaves crunching below their feet. Gordie Howe ran at a pile and landed in them.
“Silly little dog with big shits,” Vadim said affectionately.
“How’s your knee today?”
“A little sore. I had hoped it would heal more quickly.”
Startled at this admission of weakness, Mia wondered if Vadim was beginning to reckon with cold, hard reality. Her brother certainly didn’t need the money and she sometimes thought he’d be better off retiring and focusing on a family life. But then he and Isobel never talked about having kids. Totally their decision, of course, but maybe there was something going on there.
“Have you thought about the R word?”
He scowled. No one wanted to be forced into retirement.
“Sorry, but it must have entered your brain.”
“I enjoy being captain. I enjoy the brotherhood. And I wish I could be playing in our first game.”
She understood his anguish at being unable to play. The new season started the day after tomorrow with the Rebels on the road to New York, then Boston.
“You’ll get on the ice soon. If anyone can do it, you can. No knee can defy the great Vadim Petrov for long.”
He shook his head at her saucy tone. “I’d especially hoped to play this season with Cal here. We were quite the team once in Montreal.” He sipped his coffee. “How is your training going with him?”
“Good. Don’t know that he’s getting much out of it but he’s really helping me. Now that the countdown to the new season has started, he really shouldn’t be taking the extra time.”
Her brother waved a hand. “If I was in better shape, I would be taking charge of your regimen myself. I’m sure he’s getting a good workout as well …” He paused. “As long as he has not been inappropriate with you.”
“Inappropriate? Foreman? Oh, please.” If only.
She had not thought that. But lately she found herself dwelling on Cal’s considerable attractions. When she took time for her own pleasure, it was Cal’s face she saw. Cal’s abs she imagined licking and shaping with her tongue. Cal’s forearms she imagined flexing as he pumped into her.
Spending so much time with a guy invariably put him front-and-center in your mind. That was all. Tara’s encouragement to “hit it and quit it” as part of her training for the real thing—Tommy—was not helping, either.
Her brother continued. “It would not be unheard of. Cal has been with many women, and he is clearly not ready to be a one-woman man. You saw what happened at that wedding. Do not be fooled by his easy smile.”
They had been training together for six weeks, yet her brother was choosing to warn her off now?
“Vad, I am not interested in Foreman. I’m not interested in anyone.”