Hockey Holidays Read online

  Nathan shut the door with a soft click.

  The silence was deafening, and I wrung my hands together and turned to him.

  He folded his arms and puffed up his chest. It was clear he was waiting for me to start.

  “You never told me you were married,” I said.

  “I’m not.”

  “In the past tense, you never told me that you were married.”

  “And why would I on a first date? It was hardly the marriage of the century.”

  “Why did you split up?”

  “Sophie.” He stepped up to me. “Is that why you refused to take my calls? Because I have a past?”

  “Not just a past, there’s also a present, but we’ll come to that in a minute.”

  “Present?” He frowned and shook his head. “And you don’t have a history, past relationships?”

  “No, not really.”

  He raised his eyebrows.

  “I’m too damn busy.”

  “Ah, I can see how that could happen with you.” He walked over to the sofa and sat. Leaning forward, he rested his forearms on his knees and looked up at me. He pulled in a deep breath then blew it out. “I was married for a month and one day.”

  “Really? Why such a short time?”

  “Wendy, that’s her name, decided she liked my best friend from college better than me. I came home on the thirty-second day of our marriage and caught them in bed together. I haven’t spoken to either of them since. The lawyers handled everything.”

  A streak of pain crossed his eyes. I only just spotted it before he hung his head.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “You’re sorry. See, that’s why I didn’t tell you. It’s pretty damn humiliating, and the last thing I wanted was for you to feel sorry for me.”

  “I don’t.”

  He looked up at me again.

  I bit my lip, then, “I mean, I’m sorry that it happened. But I don’t feel sorry for you.”

  “Good. I don’t need pity.”

  “And this was recent?”

  “Five months ago. The divorce is through. Money expedites things.”

  I nodded and walked to the window. The curtains were open, and I stared out at the side lawn cast in shadows. Images of all the other women in the article flashed through my mind.

  “Sophie.” I sensed him standing then saw his reflection behind mine. “What did you mean by present?”

  I sighed. I didn’t really want to confess I’d Googled him. It seemed a bit stalkerish, but he deserved the truth about why I’d done what I had, plus telling the truth wasn’t something I usually hid from, no matter how hard. “There’s the blonde with the red dress, the one you went to the charity ball with, Rachel someone or other.” I turned, wanting to see his face when I listed his string of women. “And—”

  “Rachel?” he interrupted then paused. “Yeah, she’s a friend, she also has a very rich father who pays off her credit card each month. Taking her as my plus one was good for the charity. She spent a lot of money on Viper memorabilia. But I’m not dating her, and I haven’t seen her since that night.”

  I frowned. “Okay, what about that actress, Naomi Teller? You’re dating her, right?”

  “Dating Naomi?” He shook his head. “Where are you getting this from?”

  It was my turn to glance away.

  “Sophie.” He gently crooked his finger beneath my chin and turned me to face him again. “Talk to me. Let’s sort this out.”

  “I…I looked you up, on the web.”

  “You did?” He released my chin and ran his hand over his hair. “I guess that explains everything.”

  “It’s left you with some explaining to do. You really think I want to date a man who’s currently linked to so many other women?” I put my hands on my hips then dropped them to my sides, not wanting to appear like a strict school marm.

  His eyebrows pulled low. “I am?” He shook his head. “I mean I’m not…dating any other woman.”

  I waited for him to continue.

  He pulled out his cell. “You just put my name into Google, right?”

  “Yes.” I wasn’t particularly proud that I had.

  “Okay.” He tapped the screen a few times then flashed it my way so I could see the search results. “Which article did you read?”

  “The Huffington Post.” I turned back to the window. The evidence was there; I couldn’t see how he could dispute it.

  He was quiet for a moment, his head bowed as he read the article.

  My pulse thudded in my ears, and I linked my fingers together, squeezing my knuckles so tight they hurt.

  He stepped up to me and held the phone so we could both see the screen. “Okay, so this is Rachel, the one you’ve got your panties in a twist about, right?”

  “I have not got my panties in a—”

  “Rachel is a friend, nothing more, I told you that. Naomi is also a friend. We did a Nike commercial together a few years ago, realized we had a lot in common, and stayed in touch. We went for dinner after my divorce because I needed someone to talk to. She’s currently dating a Hollywood A-lister, but that’s top secret.” He scrolled down the screen. “This picture they’ve dug up is of Wendy, my ex.”

  “Okay.” I swallowed. I believed him about Naomi and Rachel, and it was clear his ex was no longer on the scene. “But who is this pretty brunette, at the stadium?”

  “Jeez.” He chuckled. “It would be more than my life is worth to make a move on that one.”

  “Why?”

  “She belongs to Rick Lewis, the team captain. I can stand up to most guys, but he’d scare the shit out of me if he decided to take a swing. And if he thought I had intentions with Dana, yeah, he’d take a swing.”

  “Oh, okay.”

  “Must have been some pap in the stadium lot. I haven’t seen it before.” He turned to me and rested his hand on my shoulder. “This is fake news, Sophie. I wish you hadn’t bothered to read it.”

  I pulled in a breath. I hadn’t finished. “And the last picture. Nathan, she barely looks legal.” I pointed at the slim young girl with her arm linked with his.

  “She isn’t legal, and any guy who even thought about having a go would find themselves kicked into next week.” His tone was steely. “That’s my niece, Jennifer. I had premier tickets to Under Attack, and she’s a big fan of science-fiction, so I took her. She had a ball dressing up for the red carpet, happened to be her birthday, too, which made it doubly special to make the trip from Toronto for a night out with her favorite uncle.” He chuckled. “She’s great, turning out to be a very smart young woman with her head screwed on.”

  “Your niece.” I stared at her and noticed there was a family resemblance in the angular shape of Jennifer’s chin and nose.

  “So you see.” He slipped his cell away. “What you read was some reporter generating a story, putting two and two together and making five.” He turned me to face him again, his hands gentle on my upper arms. “If there was another woman in my life, if I was dating some one else, I wouldn’t have asked you out, Sophie. I’m not a two-timer.”

  “So why does my brother think you’re trouble?”

  He raised his eyebrows. “He does?”

  “He likes you, of course he does, Ben likes everyone. But he warned me off you.”

  “Ouch, that hurts.” Nathan frowned.

  “But why would he do that?”

  He sighed, then, “I guess I deserve it.”

  “Why? I thought you just told me it was all fake news.”

  “Before I met Wendy two years ago, I was enjoying the attention being a pro athlete gave me…with the ladies, you know?”

  I raised my eyebrows. So he had been a player who’d chased after rink bunnies.

  “What can I say? I’m a guy, I like women, and I like sex, too.” He grinned suddenly. “You want to know a secret?”

  “Go on.”

  “I haven’t…you know…done it since my divorce.”

  “Really?” Did I b