Breakaway

Chapter Twelve

“The puck had fucking eyes, man!”

“No shit! With that traffic in front of the net, I couldn’t believe it went in! You had horseshoes up your ass tonight!”

Jason grinned. His only goal of the game hadn’t been pretty, but what the hell.

His brothers had greeted him as he walked into the lounge at the downtown hotel where they and his parents were staying, but although he accepted their back-slaps and congratulations, his gaze slid past them to Remi. She rose from her seat, her smile so sweet and generous, and he pushed by Matt and Logan and held out his arms.

She flew into them and he held her tight, lifting her feet off the floor as usual.

“Congratulations!” she whispered and then he kissed her, a long, hard, jubilant kiss. “I knew you’d do it.”

He drew back and met her eyes, smiling, his heart expanding, still buzzing from the adrenaline high of the game. Having his folks and Remi there just amplified the high.

His parents waited behind her to congratulate him too, exchanging amused looks. He blew out a long breath and greeted them while Matt and Logan went into the restaurant to get a table there.

“Good game, son,” his dad said, hand on his shoulder. “Your plus-minus was great tonight.”

They moved to the restaurant, him holding Remi’s hand, and crossed the plush carpet to the large, round table set up for the seven of them—where was Tag? Jason frowned and looked around. Tag must have got held up by the press even longer than he had.

At this late hour, few diners occupied the other tables in the posh restaurant and the quiet tinkle of piano music and subtle lighting steadied Jason’s edgy nerves. It was hard coming down sometimes, especially after a game that mattered as much as this one had. He held Remi’s chair for her as she took her seat, smiling up at him. Damn, she was pretty. He sat beside her, lifted her hand and kissed it.

They exchanged a heated glance. Adrenaline equaled sex for Jason, and much as he wanted to spend some time with the family, he wanted even more to take Remi back to his place and fuck her senseless. Fuck them both senseless. He shifted in his chair, then winced. That check into the boards had left a few bruises.

Ah well. It was worth it.

Then Tag arrived.

Jason rose to his feet to greet his brother, almost like looking in a mirror. Tag had an inch and a few pounds on him and Tag’s nose was perfect and straight, but they shared the same eyes and mouth and chin. They stood in front of each other for a long moment. The tightness in the corners of Tag’s eyes and mouth told Jason how his brother was feeling and Jason felt Tag’s disappointment like a stone in his own gut. He wished he knew what to say, but neither of them was very good at talking about crap like that.

“Good game,” Tag said, clapping Jason on the back.

“Thanks, man.” Jason paused, then they gripped each other in a tight, emotion-laden hug.

Growing up as Tag’s younger brother had never been easy. Competition, challenge and conflict had always been there. For most of Jason’s life, he’d tried so hard not to compete with Tag, knowing he could never be as good as his big brother, that he’d gone in the wrong direction, lost his way, almost lost himself.

“Course you wouldn’t have won if I hadn’t let you win every face-off,” Tag said, cracking the tension.

“Bullshit,” Jason rolled his eyes and grinned. “You’re just getting so old your reflexes are slow.” But when Tag’s face tightened for a fleeting second, he wished he hadn’t said that.

Hell. Tag wasn’t old. He was only thirty-one, only two years older than Jason. In his prime.

Although hockey players did have a short career.

He shook his head. Tag was a great player, one of the best, and Jason only wished he could measure up to his big brother.

He pushed that thought aside, determined to celebrate. And not only celebrate the game. He was celebrating Remi being there, celebrating that they were together and that his family was getting to meet her. He eyed them, hoping like hell they liked her.

He introduced her to Tag, the only one she hadn’t met yet, and then they ordered dinner.

“So what do you think, Jase?” his dad asked. “Can you take St. Louis in the first round?”

“Hell yeah.” It was the only answer. No doubt. No fear. “We’ll take ‘em in four.”

“Morsey’s injured,” Tag said. “Probably done for the year. Helluva an advantage.”

“Poor bugger,” Logan said. “That sucks.”

“Yeah.”

“You’re gonna have to improve your penalty killing against them,” Tag said.

Remi’s fingers curled around Jason’s. He glanced at her. “Are you bored with all the hockey talk?” he murmured into her ear. “Sorry. This is what my family’s like when we get together.”

She shook her head and her big aquamarine eyes met his. His body tightened. “I’m not bored,” she said with a small smile, then dropped her eyes.

“Yes, you are.” He let go of her hand and slid his arm along the back of her chair, leaning closer.

“No. I just feel…stupid.”

He reared back. “What?”

She gave him a wry smile and shrugged. “I wish I understood half the stuff you guys are talking about. Even your mom knows more about hockey than I do.”

“Well of course she does. She used to play hockey too.”

Remi’s eyes shot wide. “She played hockey?”

“Yeah. What? Why are you looking like that?”

She shook her head. “Nothing. I’m just surprised.”

“Lots of women play hockey. Didn’t you watch the Olympics?”

“Well…yes. Okay, sure. I just never thought about your mom playing hockey. Wow.”

Whatever. He’d never thought much of it, but he supposed it was kinda unusual.

Their low conversation was attracting interested, knowing looks from his family. He grinned.

“Sorry about all the hockey talk, Remi,” his mom said with a smile. Jason watched her. She liked Remi. He could tell. Good, good. Warmth spread inside him.

“That’s okay,” Remi said. She smiled too. Yes! They liked each other. Fucking awesome. He caught his mom’s eye and her smile changed, softened and her eyes glowed. His chest tightened and he nodded, and then to his horror, his mom’s eyes got teary. Ah, hell. He frowned at her and she blinked and gave a little laugh.

“So, Remi.” Tag spoke up. “How the hell did you hook up with a loser like Jase?”

“Shaddup,” Jason said mildly.

Remi laughed. “It’s a long story.”

“How’s business, Dad?” Jason changed the subject again.

“Great, great.”

“Gonna retire soon?”

“Not until one of you comes home to run the store.”

Jason met his brothers’ eyes, one at a time. They all knew their dad wanted them to take over the sporting goods store. And maybe one of them would. One day. But not anytime soon. His gut clenched.

His dad laughed. “Never mind, you buncha goons. I’m not waiting for you. I have no intention of retiring.”

Jason regarded his father. Although sixty years old, he was still fit and energetic and certainly with it. Definitely still capable of running the store. And he had lots of help. The store had grown enough to hire a substantial staff. But still, guilt nudged at his conscience and he hoped his dad was being honest when he said he didn’t want to retire until one of them came home.

“Excuse me.”

They all looked up at the couple that had stopped at their table.

“Are you the Heller brothers?”

They all grinned and nodded.

“Our two sons are such big hockey fans. They would love it if you’d give us your autograph.”

Jason and his brothers willingly signed their names for the couple who were all smiling and grateful. But when Jason looked at Remi, he saw her head bowed again. Shit. He knew she was still uncomfortable with the fame and the fans and the press. He reached for her hand again and squeezed.

He tried to keep the conversation away from hockey, at least part of the time, wanting his parents to get to know Remi.

When the waiter appeared with the bill in a discreet leather folder, Tag said, “Give the bill to him,” and nodded at Jason. With an exaggerated sigh, Jason held out his hand. Tag grinned. “We made a bet. Just before the opening face-off. Winner buys dinner.”

“Now I know you let me win,” Jason grumbled, reaching for his wallet. He slanted a glance at Remi beside him, loving the laughter that sparkled in her eyes.

He was on top of the world tonight. He had it all and having Remi at his side was the ultimate thrill. What more could a guy ask for?

That night, together in Remi’s bed, he wanted to show her how he felt, all his love and desire and gratitude. He kissed her over and over, licked into her mouth, found her tongue with his and played, nipped at her lips all soft and pouty, consuming her with his kisses. She responded immediately, so sweetly, opening her mouth to him, winding her arms around his neck and pulling him down to her, closer. He lay on top of her, on his elbows, his hands fisted in her silky hair, kissing her, tasting her, sinking into her. Her fresh flowery scent filled his head, making him dizzy.

“I love you,” he whispered, over and over. “I love you.”

She whispered it back, the words so sweet on her lips. He kissed her jaw, her cheek, her eyebrows. He felt it right to his bones, his need for her. Heat slid down his spine and gathered in his balls and he pushed into her hot softness. Her fingers dug into his shoulders and she made the hottest little noises of pleasure. She tipped her head back and he kissed her throat, sucked gently there, then dragged his tongue over soft skin.

They drifted into another dimension, lost in the pleasure of each other, moving together, murmuring soft words, touching each other everywhere. Heat twisted inside him, pressure built, perspiration gathered on his body and he came inside her, hands in her hair, his mouth on hers. “I love you.”

Remi woke up to Jason’s furnace-like body wrapped around her in her bed. Saturday morning.

She had laundry to do. Grocery shopping. Her car needed an oil change and she needed to sit down and pay some utility bills. And then there was the marking of tests, preparing for a big project.

Later.

Jason was there, in her bed, big and warm and hard, and she wasn’t going to let that go to waste.

She shifted against him and his hand went to her butt. “Mmm,” he said.

“I love you, Jase,” she whispered, not sure if he was even awake enough to hear her.

He was.

He flipped her onto her back, and smiled down at her. “I love you too. So much, Remi.”

He bent his head and kissed her. “Oh, let me go brush my teeth,” she begged. He laughed and rolled to his back, taking her with him.

“I don’t care,” he said.

“I do.”

She buried her face in the space between his neck and his shoulder and felt his cock harden against her leg. “I’ll be right back.”

She quickly used the bathroom and brushed her teeth, then slipped back into bed beside him. He pulled her on top of him and she gazed down at his face, the beard stubble darkening his strong jaw, eyes so deep and delicious, his beautiful mouth. She traced a finger over one eyebrow, brushed her fingertips across his lips.

“Last night…” she began and then emotion clogged her throat up. Last night he’d made love to her with such tenderness and devotion she’d cried after, pressed against him, her love for him so huge and engulfing.

“I know,” he murmured, running his hands down her back, over her butt, back up and into her hair. “I know.”

She gave him a shaky smile, touching her mouth to his. His opened immediately to her and he tilted her head for a deeper angle.

The alarm pinged, announcing someone had just entered the house.

They both froze and lifted their heads.

It could only be Jasmine. No one else had a key.

“Remi?” Jasmine’s voice called out.

What the hell was she doing there this early? Remi frowned and looked at her alarm clock. Okay, it wasn’t early, it was almost ten-thirty. They’d had a late night with Jason’s family and then they’d made love half the night, so they’d slept late.

She met Jason’s eyes and hitched her shoulders, then smiled. “I met your family,” she said. “Now it’s your turn.”

“I’ve met Jasmine.”

“Bah. For thirty seconds.”

“Uh…this isn’t the best…”

The bedroom door opened. “Remi, are you still…oh my god.”

Remi, on top of Jason, with her back to the door, froze. Then she glanced over her bare shoulder.

“Jasmine.”

“Sorry, sorry.” The door closed.

A few weeks ago, Remi would have been horrified. Mortified. Distraught. Now—she laughed.

She rolled out of bed. “I better go see what she wants.” Still smiling, nothing able to penetrate her blissful bubble, she slid her arms into the silk wrap she’d bought at Victoria’s Secret the other day and tied the belt as she meandered down the hall.

“Are you still here?” she called out.

“In the kitchen.”

Remi walked into the kitchen smiling. “Hi.”

“What the hell, Remi?”

Remi frowned. “What do you mean, what the hell?”

“There’s a man in your bedroom!”

“Uh…yeah. So?”

Jasmine just looked stunned. “I…I just…you don’t…”

Remi waved a hand and filled the coffeepot with water. “You met Jason.”

“That’s the guy who came that night…”

“Mmmhmm.” Remi scooped grounds into the filter, brushed off her fingertips and pressed the button to start the coffee. She needed coffee.

“So you and him…”

Remi smiled, leaned against the counter. “Yes. Me and him.”

“Oh.”

“What are you doing here, Jas?”

“Oh. Yeah. I needed to talk to you about something.”

Jason sauntered into the kitchen in his boxers and T-shirt. Remi rolled her lips in, even as she admired his long muscular legs and broad chest.

Jasmine’s eyes widened.

“Hi. You must be Jasmine.” Jason held out a hand and speared her with his charming smile.

Jasmine made a noise and shook his hand.

“We met before, but only briefly. I’m Jason.”

“Uh. Yeah. I remember. Hi.”

Remi put her fingers to her mouth. “Jasmine apparently dropped by to talk to me about something. So, what is it, Jasmine?”

“Maybe I should come back later.” She couldn’t seem to take her eyes off Jason.

Remi almost laughed. “No, don’t be silly. What is it?”

Jasmine looked back and forth between them, watching Jason cross the kitchen and kiss Remi’s forehead. Remi smiled up at him.

“I gotta go,” he said regretfully. “To take my parents to the airport.”

“Oh yeah. Okay.” She went on her toes and he lifted her against him for a long, sweet kiss.

Jason kissed Remi, smiled at her sister then headed back to her bedroom to get dressed.

See, this was the problem. His suit and shirt were wrinkled from lying in a heap on the floor where he’d left them last night and he had nothing else to wear. Saturday morning he did not feel like putting on a suit. He’d have to rush back to his place, change and then get to the hotel to pick his parents up. Everything would be easier if they lived together.

He waited for the familiar panicky feeling to claw inside him at the thought of committing like that, but it didn’t come. He buttoned his shirt with fingers that didn’t tremble. Huh. It was kinda weird, but they’d figure it all out later.

Remi followed him to her front door, holding her coffee mug. He bent and kissed her mouth. “I’ll call you later, okay?”

“Okay.”

He patted her cute butt under the silky robe, drawing a smile from her, and then he left, locking her door behind him. The early April morning held hints of spring, the breeze softer, the sun warmer as he strode down the sidewalk to his Jeep, parked at the curb.

It felt like a beginning.

As he drove downtown and thought about everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours, an expansive feeling of well-being rose inside him. He smiled as he drove. They’d made the playoffs. Yeah, there was still a long road to the Stanley Cup ahead of them, but they’d done it after a long season that had handed them lots of challenges—injuries, trades, talk of financial problems with the team.

He winced a bit, remembering that Tag hadn’t made it. But that was life.

His parents had been there, had been proud of him, had seen him play better than Tag. He didn’t like to gloat, but he couldn’t help a tiny feeling of satisfaction at that. It had been a long time coming.

Remi had been there and she’d been proud of him too. He loved that. And he liked knowing his parents had met her and liked her and now…the M word even popped into his head and didn’t cause a panic attack.

In his apartment, he quickly showered and changed into jeans and a T-shirt, threw on his jacket and headed out again, over to the hotel.

Marriage.

He could see being married to Remi one day. Moving in together was a big step, marriage would really be rushing it, but the idea of one day taking that leap didn’t scare the shit out of him. He grinned. Maybe he was growing up.

Or maybe he’d just found the right woman.

Maybe he’d been wrong when he said that to Brianne—maybe it was her. Maybe the reason all the hints about marriage and weddings had scratched away at his nerves was because he knew she wasn’t the one for him.

Which could only mean Remi was the one.

He paused in the lobby of the luxe hotel. Put a hand to his chest. His heart beat normally.

It was okay. It was really okay.

Wow. He laughed out loud.

His parents and Matt sat on couches arranged in a grouping on one side of the lobby, their luggage sitting on the floor beside them. They were all looking at him as if he’d walked in wearing his skates and equipment. He laughed again.

“Feeling pretty good today, huh?” his dad said to him, standing as he approached them across the expanse of gleaming granite floor tile.

“Yeah.”

“You haven’t won the Stanley Cup yet.”

“I know.”

As they walked out to his Jeep, his mom took hold of his arm.

“Jason.”

“Mmm?”

She looked a little flustered, like she wanted to say something, but was afraid. “Are you and Remi…serious?”

“Did you like her, Mom?”

The two of them paused on the sidewalk while Matt and his dad loaded suitcases into the vehicle.

“Well, I just met her, but she seems very sweet. You looked so happy with her.”

He nodded, throat constricted. “Yeah.”

“She’s um…different…than other girls you’ve gone out with.”

He hesitated. He knew what she meant, but wasn’t sure how to express it. “I know. She’s…real.”

His mom smiled. “Yes. She is.”

He nodded, glad he’d somehow made his mom happy, even more glad that Remi was in his life, but he felt like a big dumb jock because he didn’t have the words to express all that.

After seeing them off at O’Hare, he drove to the Metro Center where their practice had been moved to the afternoon for a change. The physical workout felt good. Much as they all wanted to take it easy to celebrate their win the night before, they also knew they had a lot of work to do. The playoffs were a whole new season. Mentally they had to get into a different place. Physically they needed to be at their peak.

He debated going straight to Remi’s place after the practice, but glanced at his watch. It was early. She had things to do too. He’d go home, call her, they’d figure out what they were going to do tonight. They could have a nice celebration dinner, just the two of them, somewhere quiet and casual, then go back to her place and…

Well. Yeah.

In his apartment, he sat down in front of his computer and started going through emails, some things from his agent to look at, some stuff from his financial guy about his investments. He was glad he’d been smart with his money. His parents had drilled that into him over the years. His career could end tomorrow with a bad check or a puck in the face, so he had to be prepared for anything.

The security buzzer announced someone at the front door. He frowned, spun around on the chair, then went to the security system. Had Remi decided to come over instead of waiting for him to call?

But the security camera showed Brianne standing there. Huh? What the hell was she doing there? He paused, his finger on the button to let her in. She buzzed again.

With a sigh, he picked up the phone. “Brianne? What are you doing here?”

She looked into the camera. “I need to talk to you, Jase.” She hugged a big purse to her like it was a security blanket or something. His frown deepened.

“What about?”

She glanced around, then looked pleadingly back at the camera. “Just let me in, Jase. We have to talk.”

Hell. He buzzed her in, shoved a hand through his hair and paced while he waited for her to come up in the elevator. What the fuck was this about? If she was going to beg him to get back together, she’d picked the wrong time, with him just figuring out he wanted to spend his life with Remi. His gut still clenched, though, at the thought of having to tell Brianne that.

Maybe it was something else. Maybe she’d just realized she was over him and came to tell him that.

Maybe the Toronto Maple Leafs would win the Stanley Cup this year. Yeah right.

He moved to the door at her light knock, and opened it.

She walked in.

She actually didn’t look too good. Which was weird, considering that she didn’t like leaving her home without hair, makeup and clothes all perfect because you never knew when paparazzi could be waiting to take pictures of them and that was how she earned her living, after all.

Her hair was in a ponytail, she had no makeup on under the big dark glasses she wore and she was dressed in pair of stretchy black pants and a long-sleeved gray T-shirt.

“Hey,” he said. “What’s up?”

She turned to him, biting her top lip in a way that was very unattractive. If she knew how she looked doing that, she’d never do it. Something was clearly wrong.

“Have a seat.” He gestured to his black leather couch.

She sat and pushed the sunglasses to the top of her head. Blinked. “Congratulations,” she finally said. “You made the playoffs.”

He smiled. “Yeah. Thanks.”

She sat there, saying nothing, her hands clutching her knees.

“Brianne?”

She swallowed, nodded, then looked at him, but her gaze was on his chest, not his eyes. “I have something to tell you.”

“Okay.” Get on with it, he thought. He resisted the urge to glance at his watch.

“I’m pregnant.”