I check my phone one more time to be sure I’ve got the right address. The small grocery store on the corner doesn’t look large enough to offer more than snacks but it’s where Walker said to meet him.
Thanking the driver, I hop out of the car and glance around to see if Walker is here yet.
We said four but it’s only five to, so I’m not surprised I don’t see him.
Moving toward the store, I stand off to the left of the door and pull out my phone. I wrote a list of things to get for dinner but now I’m wondering if I’ll have to rework it.
I didn’t think I was being extravagant in my choice of meal when I decided what we’d have, and I still don’t think I am except now I’m rethinking it because of the small store behind me.
“Hey.”
My head snaps up to find Walker standing in front of me. How he got there, so close, without me noticing is a worry but it doesn’t stop the smile spreading across my face. “Hey.”
He reaches for me, and quickly has me in his arms, his mouth on mine.
The kiss is a little passionate for a public street although I can’t seem to care about that when he’s touching me.
I have a plan.
I know I have a plan.
I just can’t remember what that is right now…
He pulls away and rests his forehead on mine. “Damn. I needed that.”
“Bad day?”
“Strange day.”
“You get everything sorted out?” The worry I feel is for him, not that he might be tied up and unable to join the Rogues yet.
“Yes. We could have released the announcement this afternoon, but I’ve asked Drake to hold off until tomorrow. I wanted to speak to you first.”
“Oh?” I’m surprised he wants to talk to me about it. “Why?”
“Because I don’t want it to conflict with anything you have planned. I know you were hatching something all day, and I’ll slide into that plan wherever you think is best.”
“Ah, right. Okay, let’s get the groceries for dinner and head to your place. We can go over everything while we cook.”
“We’re cooking?” Walker entwines his fingers with mine and tugs me toward the store.
“Yes. Although I’m rethinking my choice of meal,” I say as he pulls me through the doorway.
“You wanted to grill, right? They have great steaks here and their veggie choice is always fresh and varied.”
He scoops up a basket as we pass the stack and leads me straight toward the back. “You shop here a lot?” I ask looking at the shelves as we pass. He’s right about variety. There’s plenty in this aisle.
“Yes. They’re open early ’til late so it fits with my schedule.” He stops us in front of a refrigerator filled with meat. “Now where… Ah, here.”
I have to step back or get smacked in the face with the door when he yanks it open. He picks out a tray of two steaks, New York cut, and drops it in the basket.
“I’m thinking grilled zucchini and eggplant plus a Greek salad. Do you want baked potatoes to go with it?” he asks over his shoulder as he heads off again.
“Um, sure.” Looks like I shouldn’t have bothered writing a list. Walker has it all sorted.
I follow him through the store and watch as he carefully picks two zucchini then an eggplant before moving on to the potatoes.
When he heads toward the front of the store, away from the fresh veg I ask, “Don’t we need stuff for the Greek salad?”
“No, I have all that at home. The dressing too. It’s one of my staples. I’m not a big salad fan but I can handle a Greek one. Sometimes I bastardize it but it’s still kind of the same.”
“Bastardize?”
“Yeah, it’s where you twist something from its original form. This time it means a change of ingredients.”
“You are full of surprises.”
He grins at me. “Do you like surprises?”
“It wouldn’t matter if I didn’t because I like you.”
His grin softens, more of an affectionate smile now instead of a cocky smirk. “I like you too, Oak.”
“Hello, Mr. Walker.” The teenager behind the counter smiles with worshipful eyes at Walker.
“Hey, Danny. How’s your mom doing?”
“Better. She should be back at work soon. Once she gets her walking cast on, she can handle the register. Grandpa won’t let her even enter the shop before then.”
The kid grins and the love he has for both relatives is evident in his eyes.
“Is this it or do you want to keep shopping?”
“This is it. Oh, and can I put a hold on my next delivery?”
“Sure.” The kid starts to run everything through the scanner. “Oh, I forgot to tell you last time, Grandpa said to thank you for the tickets and for the word of mouth.”
“Anytime. Tell Grandpa I’ll come see him soon.”
“He’s in back now but he’s arguing with a supplier so I don’t want to disturb him.”
“No, don’t interrupt him. He’s fierce as a shark when he’s haggling.”
“He’s trying to teach me, but I don’t want to work here forever.”
“You still want to play pro?”
“Of course! It’s all I’ve ever wanted.”
“How are you doing on the ice?” Walker pulls out his wallet and hands over a card.
“I’m the fastest on the team.” Danny’s chest puffs out. “And my coach said I’ve got talent.”
“I know you do. How about I hook you up with some guys to show you some pro tips?”
“I, you, huh?” Danny’s mouth flaps as he tries to get words out and I have to hide my smile by turning away.
“I’ll get you set up soon.” Walker takes the bag of groceries from Danny. “And keep doing those exercises I taught you for off ice.”
“Every day. Even when I’m sick, I do them.”
“No need to do that. You need to take care of your body because if you go pro, it’ll take a beating. Hell, it’ll take one before that, so if you’re sick, modify your workout.”
“Okay. I will. Thanks, Mr. Walker.”
“You’re welcome, Danny. Take care of your mom.”
Danny groans. “You sound like Grandpa.”
“He knows what he’s talking about.”
“Yeah, but you all don’t need to remind me to take care of her. She’s the only one I got.”
Sadness moves across Danny’s face and Walker reaches over with his free hand and claps him on the shoulder. “Your dad would be proud of you. He was proud of you.”
“I know.” Danny gulped. “I wish…”
“We all do.” Walker gives Danny’s shoulder a squeeze then glances at me. “Gotta get going. Need to get my girl home and feed her dinner.”
Danny grins in a way I’m sure Walker planned. “Oh, that’s your girlfriend? She’s hot!”
I’m so shocked by the teenager’s comment that I don’t have the time to disguise my choked surprise with a cough.
Laughing, Walker slides his arm around my shoulders and tugs me against him. Looking down, his eyes on mine, he says, “Yeah, she’s smokin’.”
I slap my hand against his belly. “Walker!”
“What? I’m not gonna lie. You are hot. And you are my girlfriend.”
“Grandpa says you never lie to your mom or your girl,” Danny adds, a nod of his head going along with his imparted wisdom.
“Well, thank you both for the compliment.” I smile at Danny. “And that’s because my grandpa says you always thank someone when they’re nice to you.”
“Not sure how telling the truth is being nice but whatever,” Danny shrugs. “I gotta go stock shelves. See ya later, Mr. Walker.”
“See ya, Danny.” Walker removes his arm from around me to place his hand on my lower back. “C’mon, let’s get home.”
I know he doesn’t really mean home the way I take it but there’s no stopping my visceral reaction to his words. I want to be going home with Walker.
Although, with how quickly things between us are moving, I’m beginning to think home isn’t a place, it’s him.
It won’t matter where we sleep—his place here, my hotel suite, my house in Baton Rouge—as long as he’s there it’ll be home.
“You’ve gone quiet.”
“Just thinking.”
“You still want to come to my place?”
“Yes, why wouldn’t I?”
“Don’t know, just wanted to be sure.” He grabs my hand and weaves our fingers together. “It’s this way,” he says with a tug.
“We’re not getting a cab?” My stride settles in to match his.
“Nope. It’s only a couple of blocks.”
The sidewalk is relatively empty and it’s an easy stroll in the cold March afternoon air. New York temps are so different from home.
This time in the afternoon at home would be a comfortable low to mid-seventies. Here it’s barely hitting fifty.
“You cold?” Walker asks. Letting go of my hand, he slips his arm over my shoulders and pulls me in against his side. “I swear, it’s not far. Another few minutes tops.”
“Not cold. But I’m definitely not used to the temp being this low in March.” I can’t help but snuggle closer to his warmth.
“I guess I’ll have to get used to that. You don’t get snow either, do you?”
“We do…but I wouldn’t really say it snows. Not like you’re used to.”
“This is going to be a mind-trip having the Rogues in a city that doesn’t snow.” He steers us around a pile of trash. “Going from the heat into the arena is going to be a shock every damn time.”
“It is, but we’re taking that into account and the areas surrounding the rinks will gradually get cooler from the outside in.”
“I haven’t even thought about the logistics of getting a rink up and running in the south. Sure, I’ve played in cities down there, but that’s only a couple of days at most.” He shakes his head. “This is going to take some adjusting.”
“I’m sure you’ll be ready by the time we play our first game in the league.”
“This is me.” He smiles at the doorman who holds the door for us. “Hey, Henry, how’re things?”
“Good, sir. You have a package.”
Walker’s steps falter. “Who’s it from?”
“A Mrs. Cantrell. She delivered it personally. Left her number for you to call. She’d like to meet with you as soon as possible, sir.” Henry eyes me as though he’s not sure he should be saying this in front of me.
“Right. Okay, thanks. This is Oakley—she can come and go whenever she wants. Oak, this is Henry.”
“Ma’am.” Henry tips his head. “Pleasure.”
“Nice to meet you, Henry. How heavy is the package? Can I get it or should I take the grocery bag from Walker and let him take it?”
“Oh, I’ve already delivered it to the apartment.”
“I’m in for the night and not expecting anyone,” Walker says.
“I’ll call before allowing any surprise visitors up, sir.”
“Thanks, Henry. Have a great night.”
“You too, sir.”
“He seems very attentive,” I say as we step into the elevator.
“I’m close with all the doormen, and after I broke things off with you know who and things got a little crazy, I had to make those acquaintances closer.”
“Oh.” I hadn’t thought about the fact Kristina had been in Walker’s home.
The thought of her in his space doesn’t sit well, although I have no reason to be jealous or angry about it. I hadn’t met him then.
“Don’t worry, I ditched the bed and bedding when I broke up with her, plus she’d only been her a few times in the years we were together.”
“And yet she switched her postal address to here?” I was beginning to think the woman was cracked. Walker’s mention of things turning crazy fits right in with this new information.
“That’s weird, right?”
I look at him as we reach his floor. “Yeah. Although I think the word you used was crazy.”
He places his arm across the open elevator doors and ushers me out. “Go left,” he directs as he follows me. “I’d like to say things went to batshit crazy yesterday.”
“What happened yesterday?” I stop and spin around to face him.
“My lack of underwear was because she somehow got hold of my laundry and took scissors to every piece of clothing in it and as I hadn’t washed in forever, all my underwear was in there.”
“Wow!”
“Yeah, but it gets better. Let’s go in so I can tell you about my day.”
He wastes no time getting us inside. Together we unload the groceries and by the time he’s put the last thing in the fridge, I’m on tenterhooks.
“Tell me, tell me, what happened today? Oh, wait, where’s the package Henry brought up. I’m assume Mrs. Cantrell is Laken Cantrell, Jerry’s wife?”
“Yeah, when I hunted down Cantrell today, he was with Kristina, at her apartment. But before I could get there they went to Maguire’s for a late lunch.”
“Maguire’s? That’s a little public, isn’t it? Not to mention on the romantic side.”
“Yes, except within a few minutes of my arrival, Mrs. Cantrell and Rafe joined them.”
My eyebrows shoot up and my mouth drops open.
“Yeah, that was my reaction too.”
“What the hell were they all doing together?” I can understand the Cantrells and Rafe, but Kristina? That doesn’t make any kind of sense.
“She tried to say she’d called a meeting to talk about me, but I put that shit to bed quickly then ended up in the back of Mrs. Cantrell’s car with her and Rafe. I told them about the pictures, and she assured me the Knights would do the proper paperwork to terminate my contract.”
“Laken did?”
“You’re on first name bases with Mrs. Cantrell?”
“Ah, yeah, we’ve met a few times. At fundraisers and such.”
“Oh, well, they gave me some information that I can’t talk about that convinced me she was on the up and up.”
I glance around. “Where’s the package?”
“Probably in the office. First door on the left after we came in,” Walker directs. “You go find that, I’ll get us a drink. We can take a look at what’s in it out on the terrace.”
“Okay, I’ll take cold water.”
“You don’t want wine?”
I shake my head. “No. Maybe with dinner. But I want a clear head while we hash out the details of our relationship. Well, the details we’re going to leak to the media.”
“I figure Danny’s already told his whole hockey team about my hot girlfriend.” Walker waggles his eyebrows, making me laugh.
“I like that. No one can say we staged that sighting.”
“No. But maybe we should eat out?” He rubs his jaw. “How long are you in town for? What if we eat out tonight, and stay in tomorrow night after my retirement announcement goes out?”
“Will the food be good until then?”
“Yes.” He moves toward me. “Tell me exactly what you’re thinking about revealing to the press.”
“Not much. Just that we’ve been getting to know each other since you signed the sponsor contract for Rogue sportswear last June.”
“But wouldn’t you have been here when I was injured? I know I’ve only known you a day, but you’d have been at my bedside if we were together.”
“Yes and no. We weren’t together then, just friends feeling things out. We talked more after your injury and things developed from there. Until now.”
“Okay, okay, I can see how that might work… Friends, then more. Yeah, I like that. And if asked, I can say that you’ve supported me in my decision to retire.”
“Only if asked. Otherwise we don’t say anything about it. And if we’re asked when we got together, we can say we decided to make it happen from yesterday. It’s why I was at the shoot.”
“Right. That makes it sound as though we’ve put a lot of thought into this and taken things slowly.”
“Yes, because you live here and have a lot going on, and I live in Baton Rouge and also have a lot going on. Some of which nobody knows about yet.”
He’s nodding. “Yeah, this seems plausible and when the announcement about the franchise and my appointment as head coach come out, people will be less likely to think this is a set up.”
“They can think it’s a set up. I don’t care. I’m not going to let rumors get in the way of us or the Rogues.”
“Me either.” He snags my hand. “Now come here. I want to give you a quick tour of the place.”
“Does the tour include your bed?” I wind my arms around his neck.
“If you want. Although now I’m thinking I can show you the highlights then go back to your hotel, pack up your stuff, and have it delivered here while we go out to dinner. Then I can spend all night giving you that bed tour.”