Talk Hockey to Me (Bears Hockey #3) - Kelly Jamieson Page 0,17

on one of the beds, asleep.

Our eyes met and we backed out. “Well, my room then,” I said cheerfully. I started down the hall and rounded the corner, both of us still nearly running.

I opened the door and flicked on a light. “At least we know no one’s here!”

“True that.” Hunter pushed the door shut, clicked the privacy lock, reached for me with an evil glint in his eyes, and tossed me onto the bed.

When I woke up in the morning, Hunter was gone. It wasn’t until hours later I got a text message from him telling me about the offer he’d gotten from the New Jersey Storm, and how they wanted him there right away for their playoff run.

I felt small and crushed. I waited for more texts, about when we’d see each other again, but that never happened.

Apparently, he didn’t feel the same as me.

6

Hunter

Present Day

New York City

* * *

The café Kate suggested is bright and sunny, with banquette seats lining both long walls, and a few tables in the middle. I get there first and the hostess seats me at a table for two in front of the window. The tables on either side are empty, which I’m happy about so we can have some privacy.

The last month has been rough. I’ve been worried about Vern and worried about my career. I flew up to Toronto to see him and I felt like I’d taken a hard hit into the boards, seeing how much thinner and weaker he was. It scared the shit out of me.

And dammit, it seems like the stress has brought back my insomnia. I haven’t been sleeping. I can’t focus. I’m jumpy and irritable. I can’t handle the worry and the uncertainty. I fucking hate this. I hate feeling so weak and out of control. It pisses me off.

I take off my jacket and request a coffee while I wait for Kate, then pick up the menu to have a look.

I don’t see the menu, though.

I can’t believe I had the guts to call her.

I haven’t seen her in years. The last time I saw her was that night in Cancun. We texted a few times after that, but I never actually saw her again. I tried not to think too much about what had happened between us and how I’d bolted. I’d had no choice, but still…I told myself it was for the best. It was one wild night, and things would have been awkward the next day. I was the guy who went out with puck bunnies, not because I was a jock and I could get the hottest girls, but because I was happy to be used. There were no worries about getting too involved or committed.

When it became evident that Vern wasn’t going to be working again any time soon and I needed a new agent, the first name that came to mind was Kate. I know lots of other agents, lots of good agents, but I couldn’t stop thinking that she was the one I wanted to work with.

Kate’s one of the few people in the world who knows exactly how messed up I am. And she never judged me for it. The idea of working with someone who doesn’t get me ramps up my anxiety.

“Hi.”

I look up and see her standing next to the table. My heart slams against my sternum and my mouth goes dry.

Fuck, she’s still beautiful. Her dark hair is shorter now, brushing her shoulders, cut in a layered, sophisticated style, and highlighted with caramel. She’s wearing an ivory blazer with a matching silky top beneath it, narrow black pants, and beige heels.

I rise to my feet to greet her, my face breaking into a big smile. She came. She’s here.

I go for a hug, just a casual one, holding her shoulders. “So good to see you again.”

“You too!” She draws back, sets her big leather purse on the floor, and takes the chair opposite me. She sounds friendly, but I’m not convinced. We were friends for years and I know her. I can see the flicker of her eyes and the pinch of her pretty mouth. “How have you been?”

I’m a mess. “I’m okay,” I say, even though she’s the one person I could be honest with. “A little disturbed about what’s happened to Vern.”

“Is he going to be okay?”

I shake my head. “Hard to say. After the surgery, they said it went well, but then he had some kind of complications and