Offside (9 page)

She couldn’t help the smile that
tugged her lips. “Imagine that,” she murmured.

“Who’s your friend?” Matt looked down
at Mia.

“This is Mia. Mia, this is Matt. He’s
a hockey player.”

Mia gazed at him unimpressed.
“Hi.”

Matt lifted an eyebrow and returned
his gaze to Honey.

She grinned. “Mia’s not much into
hockey.”

“I’m famous,” he told Mia, lips
twitching, arms folded across his chest.

She just stared at him. “No, you’re
not. If you were, I would’ve heard of you.”

Honey started to laugh. “That’s very
true, sweetie. Matt just thinks he’s famous, apparently.” She met
his eyes and the way the corners of his eyes crinkled a little, she
knew he was amused too.

“Are you going to the aquarium too?”
he asked. And somehow they were all moving toward the
entrance.

“Yes!” Mia answered with a skip.
“We’re going to see the sea urchins!”

“Somehow I felt I should do more
educational things with her than mani/pedis,” Honey told Matt in a
low voice.

“Jeez,” he said. “Are you her tutor or
her babysitter?”

“Shh. She’s too old for a
babysitter.”

“Right. Sorry.”

And then he was paying their admission
and they were all walking in together.

“You didn’t need to do that,” she said
in a quiet tone to him, even though money was tight until she got
her first paycheck.

He shrugged. “Whatever. I mean…it’s my
pleasure to have the company of two pretty ladies.”

Mia gave him a suspicious look but was
soon distracted by one of the exhibits.

“Did you make this scarf?” Matt asked,
reaching out to touch the delicate, loose-stitched loops of blue
and mauve around her neck.

“I did.”

“Nice.”

“Thanks.”

They learned about sea horses and
starfish and two-spotted octopi, then left the aquarium to go up to
the pier.

“Remember the last time we were here
together?” Matt asked her as they strolled across wooden
planks.

She shot him a sideways glance. Of
course she did. She’d been there since then, of course, but that
night she and Matt had come and ridden the carousel, laughed and
made out at the top of the Ferris wheel, had been a sweet memory
that had always stayed with her.

By the end of the afternoon as they
left the pier, having moved on to other attractions there including
an early dinner, Honey was surprised to realize how good she felt.
Relaxed. Happy. Just…good.

No large quantities of alcohol,
illicit drugs or sex had been involved.

She still had a feeling this was
dangerous in some way, but it was lovely to feel this way, and to
see the big smile on Mia’s face as they climbed the bridge toward
Ocean Avenue.

Only one moment had blemished the
afternoon. When someone had recognized Matt and asked for his
autograph, Honey had immediately turned away, shepherding Mia a
little aside. Probably nobody would recognize her, but she didn’t
want anyone to associate her and Matt together. You never knew
where media, paparazzi or just eager fans with cameras in their
smart phones could make an appearance and things could blow
up.

“I guess he is famous,” Mia cheerfully
acknowledged as Matt took a few minutes to talk to the fans.
“You’re so pretty, you should be famous too, Honey.”

Honey smiled at the girl, who had no
idea about Honey’s past, grateful that Mia accepted her for who she
was right then.

When Matt joined them, he wore a faint
crease between his brows. “Where’d you go?” he asked. “I thought
I’d lost you for a minute.”

“Just didn’t want to be in the way of
your moment there.”

He gave her a searching look then
nodded.

“Can we play on the beach?” Mia
asked.

“I’m sorry, sweetie, your mom gets
home from work about six thirty. I said we’d be home by then. And
it’s starting to get dark.”

Mia gave a pout but accepted that.
When they reached the sidewalk, they all paused. “Thanks for
letting me barge in on your girls’ afternoon,” Matt said to them
both.

“You’re welcome,” Mia said seriously.
“It was fun! You’re cool.”

“Thank you,” he replied equally
gravely. “Honey’s cool too.”

“Yes!”

“Thank you,” she said to him. “I had a
really nice time.”

“We could do it again,” he said
quietly. “Maybe just you and me.”

“The aquarium? I don’t think I need to
go back there for a while.”

“That’s not what I meant, and you know
it. We’ll talk. There’s a game tomorrow afternoon―maybe a late
dinner tomorrow night?”

“Can’t,” she said. “Sunday dinner at
my parents’ place.” She wrinkled her nose.

“Ah. Okay. I’ll see you next week and
we can talk.”

She nodded.

Nothing bad had happened. She’d
enjoyed herself. Matt was a great guy. Maybe she could do this.
Maybe she could go out with a guy and just have simple, normal fun
without all hell breaking loose. But the guy she should be trying
that with probably wasn’t Matt Heller.

*****

Honey pulled up to the white gates of
her parents’ home and entered the code to open them. They swung
open and she drove her BMW through them and up the driveway to the
house. Luckily, her dad had let her keep her car. It was nearly
eight years old but still ran great.

Traditional Sunday dinners at the
Holbrook home continued, with her two older brothers both likely to
be there with their families and often business colleagues of her
dad’s. The assortment of cars and SUVs parked out front indicated a
sizeable crowd for this week’s dinner.

She entered the house through the big,
double front doors. A curving staircase wound up to the second
floor, the ceiling above the foyer open to it with an enormous
chandelier hanging above. She followed the faint sound of voices to
the back of the house where French doors had been opened onto the
patio.

Kids splashed in the pool and she
grinned. She wasn’t all that crazy about her family, but she had to
admit she did like being an aunt. Oldest brother Jonathan and his
wife Demi now had two kids, Kavita, four, and Sebastian, two. Her
other brother James and his wife Kortney also had a two-year-old
son, Burton, and, as she’d told Matt, Kortney was eight months
pregnant.

James sat on the side of the pool
wearing board shorts and watching the kids. The other adults sat on
patio furniture sipping drinks. Jonathan spotted her and lifted a
hand. “Hey, Honey.”

Everyone else turned to watch her
approach across the stone patio and she kept her smile in place.
“Hi, everyone.”

Her mom rose and moved toward her for
a hug and some air kisses. “Honey! I’m so glad you could make
it.”

As usual, her mom was gorgeous,
dressed in a floral print sleeveless dress that fit her tall,
slender body perfectly. Her still-blonde hair and unlined face made
her look much younger than her fifty years.

“Where on earth did you get that
dress?” Mom asked, looking her up and down.

“You gave it to me,” Honey reminded
her.

Mom frowned. “I did?”

“About five years ago.”

“Oh my god, and you’re still wearing
it?” She shook her head. “Come meet our guests. Your father’s not
home from the game yet, but he should be here soon.”

Honey greeted some of her parents’
friends she already knew, then her mother introduced her to some
big entertainment lawyer named Hugo Cathmor and his wife
Adelle.

“Your daughter certainly has good
genes,” Hugo said with a smile. “She’s just as beautiful as you,
Sela.”

Mom laughed. “Oh, thank you. People
often think we’re sisters.”

She loved it when people thought they
were sisters, and if it didn’t get mentioned, she’d bring it up. It
made Honey grit her teeth.

“Are you a model, like your mom was,
Honey?” Adelle asked.

Her jaw ached as she smiled. “No, I’m
not. I work for the Condor Community Foundation as a Programming
Coordinator.” It felt good to say it, even though her insides
clutched knowing that it wasn’t a real job.

Adelle and Hugo nodded.

“Honey wasn’t cut out for modeling,”
Mom added. “And of course it’s really a tough field to get into.
Not many aspiring models make it.” In her mind, Honey tacked on,
Like I did. Because that was what Mom was saying. Although the
truth was, her mom had never been a top model. She’d done some
catalogue work and a few advertising jobs. She’d continued to work
a little after she’d snagged a rich hockey player husband, but the
rich husband had been more of a goal than a successful modeling
career that actually involved hard work.

And, not that Honey wanted to talk
about herself, but the mention of her new job had passed by without
her mother even asking how her first week had gone. Ah well. She
was used to it now.

“Want a drink, Honey?” Her brother
Jonathan spoke up.

“I’ll have a glass of white wine.
Thanks.” She smiled at him.

The oldest of the three Holbrook
siblings, Jonathan had somehow managed to be the perfect son. James
had as well, in their parents’ eyes, although Honey well knew he
was far from perfect. Their parents had focused all their attention
on their two boys and what they wanted for them. Luckily, Jonathan
and James had both been athletic, and although James had
disappointed his parents by not pursuing hockey, he’d made them
happy by becoming a pro golfer and doing well on the PGA tour,
having just pocketed over a million bucks at Torrey Pines. Jonathan
had played hockey in the NHL for twelve years before a
career-ending injury, and now worked for the Condors as Coordinator
of Player Development.

Jonathan handed her a glass of wine
and she took a sip. Cold and crisp. She’d limit herself to one. The
temptation to slide into old patterns, especially around her
family, was always there.

Her mom as usual led the conversation
where she wanted it to go, which meant it was about her, and she
chatted about some big Beverly Hills party they’d been at last
night and who had been there.

Then Honey’s father arrived home,
bringing a couple more people with him, the team’s General Manager
Rudy Thomas, and John Derwin, Director of Hockey Operations. Dad
gave Honey a hug but the conversation turned to the game and the
fact that the Condors had won. Matt had probably been at the game,
no doubt happy that the team had won. It must be hard for him to
watch and not play. Then she tried to push thoughts of Matt out of
her head and took a seat on one of the padded lounge chairs,
listening to the others talk, smiling and laughing as appropriate,
trying as usual to be as inconspicuous as possible.

Her dad hadn’t asked about her new job
either, but that was probably because he knew it wasn’t a real job.
God, that was so embarrassing. Except she was going to make it a
real job, dammit. She shot him a look, wondering if she should try
to get him alone and give him hell for doing that, or if she should
just keep her mouth shut.

As a child she’d wanted her parents’
attention and approval. She’d learned that when she did what they
wanted, she got that. When she didn’t do what they wanted, that
love was withdrawn. As she got older she started to resent the
things they wanted her to do. Her brothers made them happy playing
sports―hockey, baseball, golf―and doing it well. Honey wasn’t into
sports. In fact, as a child there hadn’t been anything she’d been
really good at. As she got older, a modeling scout had approached
her and her family about doing some modeling. She’d been excited
about it, thinking that maybe it was something she could be good
at, something she could do that would please her parents. But her
mom had shut that down right away. Her mom didn’t want any female
competition, even from her own daughter, and had done her best to
make sure Honey knew she couldn’t compete with her. That was when
Honey had discovered that any attention was better than no
attention. And that had led to a whole lot of trouble. Not that
she’d seen it at the time.

But no more. She still wasn’t entirely
secure in her self-image, but she’d accomplished things she was
proud of, even if nobody else noticed or cared. Maybe it hadn’t
been her choice to go to college, but when she’d hit bottom and
realized she needed to make some serious changes in her life, she’d
done it. Once there, she’d been the one who’d set goals for
herself, put her head down and worked hard, and she had a college
degree to show for it. And now she had a new job that she also
wanted to be proud of.

But even though she was doing exactly
what they’d wanted—staying out of trouble—they still weren’t all
that interested in her.

But that was okay, because now she
knew that the only person’s opinion she really needed to care about
was her own.

A small, wet body landed against her,
startling her out of her thoughts. “Auntie Honey!”