Donovan muttered, quickly walking over to Tara. “You ready?”
“Yes.”
“Let’s get out of here.” Donovan nodded at Miikka and Charli and then kept a hand at the small of Tara’s back as they walked out. “Where do you want to go? You hungry?”
“I could eat,” she replied. “I can always eat.”
“There’s a pub that has great burgers and killer IPAs.”
“Sounds perfect.”
Well, so much for Halloween being the first date; they were doing that right now.
7
Tara hadn’t expected Donovan to ask her out, not for the party and certainly not tonight, but here they were in a booth sipping beers and waiting for their burgers to arrive. She liked listening to his voice. He was telling stories again, making her laugh, and it had been a long time since anyone truly made her laugh.
“…which made all of our jerseys turn pink, and since there was no time to wash them, we had to wear them like that.” His eyes twinkled with mirth, and she couldn’t help but laugh.
“Are you always so full of mischief?” she asked, shaking her head.
“Not so much since I got to the NHL, but I try to stir things up now and then. Keeps the guys laughing and me from getting bored.”
“I can’t imagine you’re ever bored.” She met his gaze across the table. For a moment, he didn’t react, merely watching her with those long-lashed hazel eyes. She couldn’t tell what flashed behind them, but whatever it was disappeared as quickly as it had come and was replaced with his usual sarcastic grin.
“It doesn’t happen often, but once in a while.” He sipped his beer. “What about you? What do you do for fun?”
“Since I’ve been here? Play hockey once a week. Other than that, I don’t have time.”
“How come?”
“I’m busy taking care of kids for three different families while we wait for my visa to go through so I can maybe look for a real job.”
“You don’t have a visa yet?”
“Not yet. I’m here legally since I can visit my brother for extended lengths of time, but we’re still waiting to hear from immigration about the status of my visa. Hopefully, any day now.”
“Then what happens?”
“If I don’t get a visa, I have to go back to Finland.”
“Oh.” He looked startled. “So you might have to leave?”
“I might, but I’m trying to think positive.” She smiled but was distinctly uncomfortable mentioning the idea of finding someone to marry her so she could stay. In fact, it was beginning to sound like a terrible idea.
“You can’t work without a visa or green card, right?”
“Right,” she said. “Which is why I’m unofficially doing the nanny thing right now.”
“What will you do when you get the visa?”
“I don’t know. Maybe teach English somewhere. I’ve been looking online to see what’s out there.”
“Does teaching make you happy?”
“I don’t know—I never had a teaching job, so I haven’t been able to try it.”
“What about coaching?”
“What?”
Their burgers arrived and interrupted the conversation, which worked for Tara since it had taken a serious turn and she wanted to enjoy his company. Thinking about what she wanted to do for a living tended to put a damper on her mood.
“Hey, guys.” Logan sank down in an empty chair across from Tara, snatching up one of her fries. “Whatcha doin’?”
Donovan gave him a look. “We’re out on a date. You knew that. Leave.”
“Oh, don’t be a drag,” Logan protested. “I’ve got a date, too. She’ll be here any minute.”
“And you had to sit here to wait?” Donovan asked wryly.
“Well, I’m not gonna sit alone while I wait. Duh.” He took another fry.
“Sorry,” Donovan mouthed to Tara.
She just smiled, amused as Logan started talking about his date.
“Is this your first time going out with her?” Tara asked politely.
“Yeah. She was hanging out after the game, and it looked like she was interested in hooking up. Since I knew you guys would be here—”
“How the hell did you know we’d be here?” Donovan demanded. “We didn’t even know where we were going.”
“You love the burgers here,” Logan said in confusion. “Where else would you go after a game?”
Donovan looked like he was going to say something but just took another bite of his burger. “Get off my fries,” he muttered.
“I’m out.” Logan grabbed one more as he jumped up. “My lady awaits.”
Tara glanced in that direction, taking in the pretty blonde who’d just walked in and waved to Logan. He slid an arm around her shoulders, and they moved to the bar.
“He’s impressive,” Donovan said, shaking his