True Love and Other Disasters

Chapter 6

Tilt your chin down just a little, Faith, and look right here.” Faith dipped her chin and raised her gaze to the photographer’s hand a few inches above his head. “Keep your eyes on me, Ty,” he added.

Inside the players’ lounge, Faith stood in the center of the big Chinooks logo and slightly behind the captain of her hockey team. Almost a week had past since she and Ty had sat in the PR meeting. Four days since the Chinooks had beaten Vancouver in game six and advanced to the next round in the playoffs.

It was after 7 P.M., long after the rest of the team had gone home for the day. The lounge had been stripped of furnishings and filled with camera equipment. Faith’s mother made herself useful by holding up a white light reflector. For once, Faith had been able to persuade her mother to leave her dog at home. Although she did fear that Pebbles might retaliate by chewing up the furniture.

“A little more to the right, Faith.”

For the shoot, she wore a tight black pencil skirt, black silk Georgette blouse with a black camisole, and a pair of red crocodile pumps. It had been a while since she’d stepped out of the shadows and into the spotlight. She felt a bit out of practice. It had been a while since she’d had her hair and makeup professionally done, and she felt a bit overdone. Everything from the arch of her brow to her red lips was perfect. In fact, everything in the room was perfect, from the lighting to the photographer. Everything except the 240 pounds of unhappy man standing directly in front of her. Heat and displeasure rolled off Ty in waves. His arms were folded across his chest; a posture she’d seen him take in the past when he was less than pleased about something. Today that something was getting his picture taken with her.

He wore a plain T-shirt that matched the darker blue of his eyes and a pair of worn Levi’s. He hadn’t allowed them to put makeup on his face or even a little gel in his hair. He was being a complete pain in the ass, but by contrast, he smelled wonderful, like soap and skin, and Faith had an odd little urge to lean forward a bit and smell his shirt or the side of his neck.

The photographer snapped the picture. “Put your hand on his shoulder,” he said and adjusted the lens. “Valerie, tilt that up a little. That’s it.”

Other than the occasional handshake, Faith hadn’t touched another man since she’d agreed to marry Virgil. She lightly rested her hand on Ty’s shoulder. The warmth of his hard muscles heated her palm through the soft blue cotton, and for the first time in a very long time, she became acutely aware that she was a woman standing very close to a man. A young, healthy man. Not that she hadn’t noticed before. It was impossible not to notice a man like Ty, but she’d never thought of him as anything more than the surly captain of the Chinooks.

“Slide your fingers forward. I want to see your red nails against the blue of his shirt.” She slid her hand over his shoulder and spread her fingers a bit. “Yeah. Like that.”

Click. Click.

She dropped her hand but could still feel the heat of him in the center of her palm. She hadn’t felt anything the least bit sexual for a man in a long time. She paid Ty’s salary. He didn’t even like her. So why did her stomach suddenly feel light, like she’d swallowed too much air?

“You doing okay, Ty?” Tim asked.

“Are we about done?”

“We just got started.”

“Shit.”

The photographer lowered his camera. “Faith, if you could just come out in front a bit.”

Faith happily moved so that Ty stood just behind her left shoulder. She took a deep breath and cleared her head of all the hot pheromones he’d been throwing off like a tantalizing mirage.

“Spread your feet a little and put your hands on your hips.” He raised the camera. “And Ty, just keep looking belligerent.”

“I’m not belligerent.”

“Yeah. Perfect.” Click.

Faith laughed and glanced over her shoulder and up into his face and the furrow between his dark brows. “If you’re not being belligerent, then I’d hate to see you when you’re downright hostile.”

He lowered his blue-on-blue gaze to hers. “I’m never hostile.”

She thought of the last game against Vancouver and chuckled. He’d body-slammed a Canuck into the boards and jabbed him with his elbow. “You’re just a sweetheart.”

One corner of his mouth turned up and the feeling in her stomach got a little lighter. “I wouldn’t go quite that far, Mrs. Duffy.”

“Faith. You can call me Faith.”

His smile fell and he returned his gaze to the photographer. “That’s not a good idea.”

“Perfect.” Click. Click. “Let’s move into the locker room.”

“Faith, I have a change of clothes for you in the trainers’ room,” Bo Nelson said. “We want you in your home uniform, Ty.”

As Faith watched Ty leave the room, she wondered why he thought calling her by her given name was a bad idea. She and her mother followed the assistant PR director across the lounge and shut the door behind them. He probably just wanted to stay on professional terms. Which was always best, but she was fairly certain he hadn’t called Virgil “Mr. Duffy” all the time.

A rack of clothes took up the middle of the room. She looked them over and wondered why using her name wasn’t the same as calling Virgil by his given name. Had she crossed some line she didn’t know about?

“How do you feel?” Bo asked as she straightened the shoes. “Like your face might crack from smiling?”

Faith pulled out a black sheath, then put it back. “Being in front of the camera felt a little awkward at first, but I’m getting the hang of it again.”

Her mother pulled a hot-pink Betsey Johnson baby doll dress off the rack. “Try this one.”

Faith shook her head. “I don’t think that’s appropriate for the owner of a hockey team.”

“We thought this.” Bo pulled a vibrant red dress with a scoop neckline and full silk skirt. It was sleeveless, and except for the silver metallic leather belt, it looked like something from the fifties.

“It’s very bright.”

“The colors will look great on you.”

She hadn’t worn that color red since she’d married Virgil. “Who picked these out?” she asked the woman, whose auburn hair was pulled back in a stumpy ponytail.

“Jules worked with a stylist, and they chose that one because it will accent the red in Ty’s home uniform.”

Jules? She knew he’d been busy consulting with the PR department, but she’d had no idea he’d helped choose outfits. Despite his unfortunate love of pastels and his ripped muscles, she’d never really gotten the gay vibe from him, but again she had to wonder.

“I’d wondered if he was gay,” Valerie said.

“Me too,” Bo added as she looked through the rack. “He’s very pretty.”

Faith kicked off her pumps as she unbuttoned her blouse. “Being pretty or not is no indication that a man is gay.” One of the gay bouncers at Aphrodite had looked like a rode-hard biker.

“Not always.” Bo took the black blouse from Faith. “Ty Savage is a pretty boy, but you’d never even think to question what he prefers.”

“Or his father.”

Faith looked from her pants zipper to her mother. “You know his father?”

“I met him the other night after the game.”

“You never mentioned it.”

Valerie shrugged. “I wasn’t impressed.”

Which probably meant he hadn’t asked her out. With Bo’s help, she pulled the dress over her head and her mother zipped it up in back. It showed a little more cleavage than she was used to, and the hem rested an inch above her knee.

“I love these.” Bo handed her a pair of Versace mirror leather sandals with four-inch stiletto heels.

Faith sighed. “Come to Mama.” She slid her feet inside and buckled the straps around her ankles. A full-length mirror stood a few feet away and she posed in front of it, adjusted her breasts within the tight bodice, then buckled the belt around her waist.

“It’s perfect,” Bo told her.

“I look like an ad from the fifties. Like I should have a martini in one hand, waiting for my husband as he walks through the door.”

“A little Leave It to Beaver,” Bo agreed. “June with more cleavage. I think you look sophisticated and fun.”

“How about these?” Valerie held up a pair of onyx chandelier earrings.

“I like the ones I’m wearing,” she said as someone retouched her hair and makeup. For her twenty-ninth birthday, Virgil had given her three-carat-diamond stud earrings that she loved for their clarity and class. She looked at herself one last time in the mirror. It was a bit shocking to see herself in such a bright color again. She wasn’t sure when she’d given up wearing colors. If it had been her idea or Virgil’s. Not that it mattered, she decided, as she left the trainers’ room and moved through the now empty players’ lounge.

Ty was sitting on a bench in front of an open locker filled with hockey sticks while the photographer and his assistant checked the lighting around him. His helmet and street clothes hung on hooks inside the locker, and his name was on a blue-and-red plaque above his head. Except for the helmet, he was dressed in full gear.

Faith had never been in the locker room before, and it smelled a little funky. Like leather and sweat and chemical cleaners. Each open locker was filled with hockey gear and had a plaque with each player’s name above it.

Ty looked up as she approached. “I’ve been ready for fifteen minutes.”

Lord, what a grouch. “It doesn’t take as long when you refuse to let anyone brush your hair,” she told him.

“I can brush it myself.” To prove his point, he ran his fingers through his hair, but one dark lock sprang forward and fell across his brow.

Before she gave it a thought, Faith raised her hand and pushed it back into place. The fine strands curled over her fingers and the heel of her palm brushed his warm temple. His gaze locked with hers and something flashed behind his eyes. Something hot and needy that turned the lighter color in his eyes a dark sensual blue. It had been a while, but she recognized the heat in his eyes. Her lips parted in alarm and confusion. She dropped her hand to the flutter in her stomach.

“You two ready?” the photographer asked.

Ty pulled his gaze away and looked beyond her. “Let’s get this over with. I have an early-morning practice and a game to win against San Jose tomorrow night.” He glanced back up at Faith and his gaze was clear. “That’s what you pay me for.”

“Yes,” she uttered, and wondered if she’d imagined the hot interest in his eyes.

“How’s it going?” Jules asked as he walked into the locker room.

Faith licked her lips and smiled at her assistant. “I’m doing great,” she assured him and pushed her confusion about what had just happened to the back of her mind. “I was a little rusty at first, but it’s coming back to me. Kind of like riding a bike.”

Jules looked her up and down with a critical eye. “Well, you look great.”

“Thanks. So do you.” Or at least she tried to push it to the back of her mind. With Ty sitting a foot away, it was impossible. “I like your sweater,” she added, reaching out to touch the arm of the gray cable-knit cardigan. “Nice color.” Subtle. “Cashmere?”

“Cashmere-silk blend.”

“Jesus,” Ty swore. “Are you two girls finished? I’d like to get out of here sometime tonight.”

“What’s wrong with him?” Jules gestured to Ty with his thumb. “Still pissed off about screwing the pooch in Game Five against Vancouver?”

Ty looked at the assistant as if he was going to kill him with his big hands.

Faith’s eyes widened and she shook her head. “Don’t poke the bear, Jules.”

Jules laughed. “Listen, the reason I’m here is because I just got off the phone with an editor from Sports Illustrated. They want to interview you.”

The last time she’d appeared in a magazine, she’d been naked and the questions had been easy. The thought of appearing in Sports Illustrated and being asked hard questions that she couldn’t answer made her want to run and hide. Making uninformed blunders to a room of staff and management was embarrassing enough. The last thing she wanted was to appear ignorant to the world.

“The PR department wants you to do it, but I think you should hold off until you’re more comfortable speaking publicly about the team,” Jules suggested, and she could have kissed him.

“Thanks, and you’re right. I’m not ready.”

“We’re about set,” the photographer announced as he handed Valerie the light reflector. “Faith, I need you to stand right in front of Ty. Maybe put your foot on the bench.”

She glanced at Ty’s big legs covered in his blue-and-green hockey shorts. Long white socks covered his thick shin and knee pads. The tops were taped around his thighs. “Where on the bench?”

“Between Ty’s thighs.”

She looked down into his narrowed gaze and expected him to raise a loud objection and swear until everyone’s ears bled. Instead he said, “Mind your foot, eh? I’m not wearing a cup.”

Carefully, she planted the sole of her Versace sandal on the bench between his widely spread thighs. She purposely stared into his face to keep from lowering her gaze to his crotch. She didn’t even want to think about the close proximity of his package to her toes. Of course, trying not to think about it only made her think about it all the more. “Don’t make me jumpy, and I won’t hurt you,” she said through a nervous laugh.

“Don’t get jumpy and I won’t hurt you. I’m going to need that equipment later.”

She turned her face toward the photographer and curved her lips into a smile. She might be a little rusty, but she knew how to pose for a photo without showing her true emotion. “So that’s why you’re in a hurry to leave. Not because you have an early flight.”

The photographer snapped a few pictures. “Faith, turn your right shoulder slightly toward me. That’s it.”

As she smiled for the camera, she asked, “Got a hot date?” and gave the photographer a slightly different angle of her face.

“Something like that.”

“Wife?”

“Not married.”

“Girlfriend?”

“Not exactly.”

Friend with benefits? It had been a long time since she’d had a friend with benefits or a boyfriend or even a one-night stand. Being here with Ty, surrounded by his toxic testosterone, reminded her exactly how long it had been. Just the deeper timbre of his voice brushed across her skin and reminded her how much she missed being held and touched by a strong, healthy man.

“Lean forward just a tiny bit, Faith. More aggressive, like you’re the boss.”

“Do you want my hands on my hips?” Faith leaned and the skirt of the dress slid up her thigh.

“Yep, that’s great. And Ty, just continue to look pissed off.”

Ty turned his gaze of doom on the photographer. “I’m not pissed off.” The intense glare usually reserved to intimidate opponents didn’t work on the photographer.

“Perfect. That’s exactly what I’m looking for.” He snapped a few more photos. “Faith, lean in just a bit and turn your shoulders toward me just a little more.” Click. “Yeah, toss your hair. That’s it. Beautiful.”

Ty could not recall a time when he’d been so turned on. Not even as a horny sixteen-year-old rolling around in the backseat of his dad’s Plymouth with a semi-naked girl named Brigit.

Christ. He stood in the shower in the Chinooks locker room and let the cold water run down his neck, his back and behind. He’d had to wait for half an hour for everyone to clear out of the locker room before stripping out of his gear and walking into the shower. If anyone thought it was odd that he took a shower tonight, no one mentioned it.

He turned and the cold water hit his chest and ran down his stomach to his groin. He hadn’t been in this much throbbing pain since he’d broken his thumb on Hedican’s helmet last season. Only this time the throbbing pain was lower and hadn’t been caused by an aggressive defenseman trying to get at his puck. It had been caused by a living, breathing centerfold trying to drive him insane with her pouty mouth, soft hands, and sizzling-hot body.

The whole thing had been a bad idea. He’d known it going in. Despite what they thought of him, he wasn’t a hard-ass, and he’d let them talk him into the promotion for the good of the team. To get fans into the seats.

He placed his palms on the wall and shoved his head under the shower. He’d been doing a pretty good job of ignoring Mrs. Duffy. He’d ignored the scent of perfume on warm skin, the sound of her laugher, and her red, red lips. Then she’d touched him. The weight of her hand and her fingers sliding across his shoulder had sent fire down his spine and straight between his legs.

Rubbing her hand on his shoulder had been bad, but touching his hair and face had made his gut clench, and he’d had to fight like hell to keep from turning his mouth into her palm and sucking her skin. Then she’d put her foot in his crotch, leaned forward, and stuck her breasts in his face. After that, all he’d been able to think about was sliding his palm up the back of her smooth thigh and grabbing a handful of her ass. Pulling her closer and burying his face in the front of her dress. While she’d been smiling and tossing her hair for the camera, he’d been having some wild fantasies about what he wanted to do to her. Things that involved pulling her down on his lap and kissing her red lips. Tangling his fingers in her hair while she rode him like Smarty Jones in the long stretch. And yeah, he’d been royally pissed off about that. The last thing he wanted and needed in his life was a hard-on for the owner of the hockey team, but for some inexplicable reason, his body didn’t care what he wanted and needed.

Ty straightened and rubbed his hands over his face. It wasn’t as if she was all that beautiful. He cleared the water from his eyes and shook his head. Okay, that wasn’t true. Everything about her was hot as hell, but it wasn’t as if he’d never been around beautiful women. He was a hockey player. He’d had his share of beautiful women.

Faith. You can call me Faith, she’d said, like that was a good idea or ever going to happen. He needed a constant reminder of who she was and what she was to him. A reminder that she held his fate in her hands. Even if she was willing, he needed to remember that sex with the owner of the Chinooks was an appallingly bad idea.

Gooseflesh rose on his skin as he tried to clear his head of Faith Duffy. There were a few places he could go before he headed home. A few clubs where there were women who would be happy to share a little one-on-one time with him.

He stayed in the shower a few more minutes, until he was in control and could breathe again. He turned off the water and wrapped a towel around his waist. He grabbed a second towel and dried his hair. His dad was still hanging out at his place. Maybe he’d just go home and see what the old man had going on.

Jules Garcia stood in the middle of the locker room waiting for him. “What do you want?” he asked Faith’s assistant.

“To ask you to stop giving Faith such a hard time.” He had his arms folded across his big chest like he was big, bad trouble.

Ty kind of respected him for that. “Who says I give Mrs. Duffy a hard time?” As he moved to his locker, he dried his face and wondered if this was a case of an employee sticking up for his employer, or something else. Some of the guys wondered if Jules might be gay. Ty wasn’t convinced.

“I do.”

Ty sighed and sat down on the bench. He didn’t want to give her a hard time. He just wanted to be around her as little as possible, and her relationship with her assistant wasn’t his business.

“She’s not just some blonde off the street. She’s the owner of the team.”

“That’s right,” Ty agreed and ran the towel over his head. “And she knows nothing about hockey. I was hired by Virgil to win the cup. I’m the captain of the Chinooks and my ultimate responsibility is to get us into the last final round. But I have major concerns about how I’m going to do that with a former Playboy playmate holding our fate in her hands and making us look like idiots in interviews.”

“Are you talking about Sports Illustrated?”

“Yep.”

“Are you jealous because they want to put her on the cover?”

Ty folded his arms over his bare chest. He hadn’t known about the cover. “I’ve been on the cover three times, and I don’t give a flying fuck about the cover. What I do give a fuck about is picking up the magazine and reading softball questions that she can’t answer. Or picking up the magazine and reading a recap of her Playboy years that makes us all look ridiculous.”

“That’s understandable. Everyone is concerned about the team’s image. Especially Faith.” He dropped his hands to his sides. “I admit that when she first called and set up a meeting with me, I was more curious about seeing her than wanting to take the job. Virgil fired me five years ago for talking shit about her.”

“What did you say that got you fired?”

Jules looked him in the eye and answered. “He overheard me telling the head scouts that he’d married a stripper young enough to be his granddaughter.”

Ty dropped the towel on the bench beside him. “Doesn’t sound like something to get fired over.”

“It wasn’t, and if I’d stopped with that, I would have kept my job. But I’d seen her layout and I described her in detail for the guys. Everything from her big boobs to her bald…you know.”

Yeah, he did know.

He shrugged a shoulder. “Anyway, I resented her for a lot of years, but it wasn’t her fault I was fired. Any more than Virgil dying and leaving her the team is her fault. It landed in her lap and she’s trying hard to deal with it the best she can.”

“I am aware that it’s not her fault.” He reached behind him into his locker and pulled out his sports bag. It wasn’t her fault she’d inherited the team, and his hard-on wasn’t her fault either. The former was Virgil’s doing and the latter was his horny imagination. He had to figure out a better way to deal with both. “I’ll try to be…”

“Nicer? Make her happy.”

“More respectful. It’s your job to make her happy. Maybe you two can go shopping, buy matching sweaters, and have a girls’ night.”

“What?” Jules folded his arms over his big chest, again looking like he was big, bad trouble. “I’m not gay.”

Ty stood and dropped his towel. “I don’t give a shit if you’re gay or straight or somewhere in between.” He knew several gay players who hit like freight trains.

“Why do you think I’m ‘gay or straight or somewhere in between?’” Jules looked truly baffled. “Do the other guys think I’m gay?”

Ty shrugged.

“Because I use hair product?”

“No.” He stepped into his underwear. “Because you say ‘hair product.’”