Brice looked at her. Their gazes snagged. Helplessness and hope mingled in the dark green depths. The golden flecks winked at her like tiny lights. Frustration hardened his features. He opened his mouth to speak and then snapped it shut.
Ava pulled her gaze away from his and refocused on Alexi and her father. “You can say it, Dad. With my broken engagement and being between careers, I have time on my hands. Will I get paid for this? I’ll need somewhere to stay.” She didn’t mention her aunt selling her café or Perry’s cheating ass.
She decided to make the best of the situation. A little distance from her ex-fiancé would do her good, and if she got paid for it, even better. Plus, she wanted to understand this change in Brice. The arousal he inspired would have to go on the back burner. He needed her to focus on him and stop whatever reason he had for screwing up his talent.
James blew out a breath, relief on his face. “Of course, and you’ll be staying with Brice.”
Ava blinked. “Excuse me? You said he had women problems, and you want me to stay with him?”
How can they be so stupid?
She studied them for a moment.
Oh yeah, they’re men.
Ava turned her attention to Brice. The intensity burning in his eyes sucked the air from her lungs. Her pussy fluttered; her inner thighs tingled.
Danger! Danger!
Brice looked away and swallowed. She watched, entranced. It took all her energy to remember the fact that they weren’t alone in the room. But she could still feel his gaze on her. He may have been a few feet away, but she felt his presence right next to her.
Memories of spending time together—seeing him on the quad, waving at him and Davis, watching hockey with him, rooting for the same team as him, getting him soup and making sure he was sleeping okay—flooded back into her mind. She could feel the warmth of his smile on her skin, the gratefulness in his eyes when she took care of him, his whispered words of thanks, the laughter that lit up his eyes and seemed to come from somewhere deep within. Among the memories was her sadness when he became disappointed that his family hadn’t called to check on him. She wanted everyone but Brice to go away so she could ask him what had happened. Why was he acting out? She could feel the tears stinging her eyes but refused to let them fall. With a mental shake she listened to her father’s words.
“I trust you, Ava. You can keep your hands to yourself, and you certainly won’t encourage him. But I need you in his apartment to make sure he doesn’t sneak someone in,” James offered. “There have been women who have made scenes at his apartment building. I don’t want to go through that again. We need positive press.”
Ava thought it over; no hotel bills, free room and board, the ability to be close to family and clear her head of her ex. There was one snag. “How long will I have to stay?” she asked. Ava needed to know so she could plan and figure things out, like how to remain neutral and help Brice get centered on hockey. Sex could wait; she’d been deprived of it this long. What was a few more weeks? And if she needed a little something, then she could let her fingers do the walking.
Alexi answered. “Well, it depends. We have a real shot at the play-offs. So it could be several weeks. If the situation gets too strained, we can always move you into an apartment across the hall. Just as long as you keep an eye on him.” He raised an eyebrow and looked over at her father.
James nodded, a smile on his face. “Yes, we could do all that and more. Besides, I love having you here with me. Your mother will be so happy to have you in the same town.” His smile widened to an all-out grin. Guilt dampened the lust that threatened to grow within her.
Ava smiled, but she fought to keep herself from giving in. “I want a contract put together so it’s all legal and crap.” She held up a hand to prevent their protests. “Just to say I’m working for you and all that and what my salary is. You know, the basics. Once I sign on, I move in. But I want to talk to Brice first. If he’s going to have me making his entire life miserable, then he’s got to know why I’m doing this and what my rules are.” There. Someone in the room without Stanley Cup fever had to be reasonable.
Brice snorted, and she ignored him.
James slid a paper across the tabletop, which she accepted and read over before turning her attention back to her father and Alexi. She didn’t dare look at Brice. Who knew what his face would reveal? She had dealt with contracts before when helping her aunt. She studied the agreement carefully. There were no clauses about sex or parties. Just an outline of what they wanted from her: keep Brice sober, get him to practice on time, and make sure he’s healthy. Any other issues that needed to be addressed were under her discretion.
“We didn’t have time to get into the weeds, so it’s just the basics. Do you approve?” her father asked.
She signed her name, initialed where she needed to, and dated it. “Yes.” She slid the document back to her father.
James glanced at Alexi, and they both nodded. “Fine. I’ll have this notarized and give you a copy tonight. You can stay with your mother and I before you move in. Is that all right? Practice is about to start, so you’ll have time to get the lay of the land in the area Brice lives and talk later. I’ll have the car at your disposal.”
“Totally fine.” She nibbled her bottom lip and tried to ignore the trepidation she felt. Ava loved her parents, but it had been a long time since she’d lived under the same roof with them. The love between James and Josie was both strong and embarrassing as hell. They may be in their fifties, but that didn’t exactly stop them from having sex or making sexual innuendos.
James gave her a mischievous grin. “We’ll behave, promise. And this will give you a chance to get reacquainted with him again. You and he went to the same college, and I know you two knew each other back then.”
Fuck.
Ava had hoped her parents wouldn’t have that information, but apparently the world hated her. “Nope, never met him,” she lied. “Besides I didn’t hang out at the frat house all that much. It wasn’t exactly hygienic.” She wrinkled her nose, remembering the smell of stale beer and pizza and something that had been living in their refrigerator for God knows how long. How anyone got laid in the frat house was beyond her.
“You didn’t have a problem with it during Christmas,” Brice finally spoke up.
“Ava, no need to be shy. I know you knew him, but we don’t have time to rehash the past. We have a practice get to,” her father stated.
“My memory of that time is fuzzy.” Ava didn’t want to think about that time, not with him in the room. The pain of his rejection and wondering if it was because of her weight hung in the back of her mind, threatening to come to the forefront if she let it.
James frowned. “Oh, well. At least you two have hockey in common. That’s a start.” He beamed at her despite a question in his eyes.
Ava couldn’t resist smiling back, even though guilt pinched at her. “Yeah, even if I haven’t watched a game in years. Perry hated the sport, thought it was too violent. Guess I’ll have to get a
Hockey for Dummies
intro.”
Alexi made a growling noise in his throat. “Some people just don’t know what the fuck we’re all about. Shame. We could’ve used someone like you cheering us on.” His eyes filled with mirth and a spark of trouble.
Heat flushed her cheeks. Brice pulled her from her thoughts by clearing his throat. “Time to go, captain,” Brice stated as he motioned for Alexi to precede him out of the office. Neither man made a move to leave.
“Alexi, that’s my daughter,” James warned.
She glanced away. It had been ages since a man had gazed at or even flirted with her. She couldn’t count the glimpses Brice threw her way—he was off limits, even if he was a delectable distraction. She shook her head.
She remembered the young man he’d been back in college, so in love with hockey; now it had come to this. “He was just being cute, Dad, no worries. Besides I don’t date hockey players.” Ava knew she was lying. Hockey players could be on the list, but she’d never thought they’d be interested in her.
“Just snobby, cheating, lawyer assholes,” James muttered.
“Dad!” Ava couldn’t help but grin. Her mood lifted a bit.
“You know I’m right. Anyway, this will take your mind off missing that bullet. I’ll call the car around. You get settled in and maybe get a new jacket?” He winced and looked away. “It’s a bit bright, honey, and well, it’s a bit big on you. You’re a healthy girl, but that’s just… You look like a snowball with arms and legs.”
Ava rolled her eyes. “It’s freeze-your-tits-off cold outside. I lived in Florida most of my adult life. ’Scuse me for wanting to stay warm.”
Alexi’s face turned red; then he started to guffaw loudly. Her father followed suit. Even Brice chuckled. Ava ignored all that and got up to leave. Any talking to Brice would have to wait. Practice came first. “You guys go to practice, and I’ll talk to you later, Brice.” She grabbed the handle of her luggage and wheeled it out of the office. She bypassed the rink and headed straight for the car waiting in the parking lot. Once she was inside the warm interior, she ordered the driver to take her to her parents’ home. After she got settled, she’d check out Brice’s apartment building and get a good look. She was also going to look for a place to live once this whole thing with Brice was over. Maybe she could kill two birds with one stone.
* * * *
Brice trudged up the last few flights of stairs and pushed open the door to the twelfth floor. His body ached—in a good way—and his head was clear. No crap with women, no run-ins with the paparazzi, nothing but hockey and a loose plan to unwind and relax for the night.
No women. He’d told his teammates that. That was partly true. As soon as Ava walked into the office that afternoon, he knew he was gone. She’d been the one who got away in college, and now she would be in his life and his babysitter at that. Ha! Companion or whatever they wanted her to be. Brice doubted the team believed him, and he couldn’t blame them. He’d been a total asshole as of late. With Christmas coming up, his blues had increased to stupidity level. Just seeing Ava had made him feel as if his equilibrium had returned. For the first time in years he could see things and reflect without trying to paint the scenes in better terms. He’d tried to worm out of taking responsibility; it wasn’t his fault women had created a scene in the lobby of his apartment building or that he’d stayed out so late. He’d needed to blow off steam.
He smiled as he remembered Ava’s entrance into the office with that huge bright white parka and jeans, face with little makeup, big brown eyes wide with surprise when she’d seen him. He’d eaten up every inch of her. Her flawless cocoa skin looked waxen, and there were bags under her eyes that made his heart hurt. She hadn’t been taking care of herself. Davis had mentioned her breakup with that jackwad of a fiancé, something about cheating. Looking at Ava, Brice couldn’t fathom any sane man leaving her for another woman. The puffiness of her jacket couldn’t hide her full breasts and voluptuous form, and the jeans molded her thighs and perfectly rounded ass like a second skin that he wanted to palm and give a nice spank.
If it hadn’t been for her father and Alexi, he’d have suggested helping her get out of that bulky jacket. Instead he’d had to deal with listening to his character flaws while Alexi stared at her as if he wanted to absorb her into his memory and use her for his spank bank later. Brice couldn’t very well call out his friend and captain. He was supposed to be behaving. He couldn’t deny that Ava Jackson had been on his mind since Christmas a few years ago when he’d been a senior in college and had gotten a bad case of the stomach flu.
She’d taken care of him during that time while trying to study for some classes. Davis had left on vacation with his boyfriend’s family, and her parents had taken an anniversary/non-honeymoon honeymoon to France. She had nowhere to go, and he’d needed someone to keep him company. That had been the best Christmas he’d ever had. It had been simple but perfect.
The only drawback was they’d never gotten together once winter break was over. He’d tried to call her, but the number was to a pizzeria and not her dorm. After calling everywhere and getting nowhere, he’d given up. Not even Davis could help him; his head had been buried in classes and his new boyfriend. Brice had hated to write it off, but he’d always hoped they’d meet up again. Now they had.
This time he could get things right, maybe even convince her to give them a try. Even though he had to stay away from women, Ava wasn’t just a woman. She was intelligent, sexy, fun, and she loved hockey. He’d have to reintroduce her to the game, but still, she was open to it. How many women could he say that about who didn’t only want in his pants? Although he couldn’t be sure about that last part. The glances she’d thrown at him the few times their gazes had met made him think there was hope that she was as attracted to him as he was to her. Besides, it was her job to be with him 24-7. And she wouldn’t bring him the same kinds of headaches other women had, right?
Just seeing her today had turned around something inside him. A fire he’d thought had dimmed in his soul seemed to have lit up. He wasn’t sure what it was about her that had brought this out, but he was determined to find out what else she could do for him. Brice couldn’t help that he also wanted to see her over him and under him. Ava was trouble with a capital T, but she was worth it.
He got to his apartment and unlocked the door. There was a lot he needed to do before she came over. Brice threw down his bag, put away his jacket, and broke out the steam mop and rubber gloves. He ached from practice, but nothing would keep him from making sure his apartment was so spic-and-span that she’d be impressed by it, maybe even ignore the “Lady Killer” moniker the gossip rags had christened him with and what she’d heard from James and Alexi. He wanted to impress and dazzle Ava, and recapture some of that Christmas magic they’d created back in college.
He still had to decorate his apartment, but that would come later. Brice had to prove to her that his talent and career mattered to him. Then she’d be willing to give him a chance. He also wanted to see if she was the same caring, sweet woman who’d nursed him while he’d been a whiny baby during his bout of stomach flu. He’d missed her glowing smiles, her praise, her comforting presence, and her expressive face. She couldn’t hide any of her emotions and thoughts from him. She’d been so trusting and confident. No doubting his desire to be a pro in the NHL, no “it takes time.” She’d just told him,
“You’ll get there. I know it.”