Thawing Ava (8 page)

He leaned his butt against the railing as she pushed the button for the lobby.

“What colors do you have in mind, or do you want to play it by ear?” Ava wasn’t up for wandering around; she loved furniture shopping, but she was exhausted and couldn’t appreciate it all. First opportunity she got, she would settle in on a couch and let him wander. Surely he couldn’t get in trouble just looking, right?

They hit a mom-and-pop handmade furniture store; he found nothing as far as living items went and moved on to a department tore. She took pictures and notes of whatever got his attention. Next they moved on to another handcrafted furniture store. Again nothing, and the store didn’t have Swedish meatballs to help Ava keep her energy up. Thankfully he didn’t even try and flirt; instead he seemed committed to finding something and appeasing fans who’d come up to him for autographs or pictures. No one paid the least bit of attention to her. When they arrived at a mainstream furniture store, Brice’s grin told her everything she needed to know.

“You’ve been stringing me along until we got here,” she accused.

He shrugged. “I had to give everything a look over. It meant more time with you in public.” Brice slipped his arm around her waist and rested his hand on her hip. Her feet ached too much from all the walking to create a scene, so she let him.

He made a beeline for the sofas and much to her amusement picked furniture that was more warm in tone: red and taupe-colored cotton and brown leather. Brice settled down and pulled her with him. “Ah, oh yeah. This is what I’m talking about. So comfy and warm.”

A salesperson wandered over to them. Without waiting for the pitch, Brice spoke up. “I need to see matching ottomans and all the colors this comes in, please. You don’t have to bring the ottomans, just pictures please.”

Sensing a sale, the salesperson hurried off to grab a swatch book and a catalog.

“What do you think, honey? Comfy enough?” He snuggled against her and exhaled.

The sofa enveloped her in a world of warmth and softness, like sitting on a cloud. She didn’t want to get up at all. “Can they just deliver it to the apartment with me on it? Don’t wanna get up.” She shut her eyes, knowing she might fall asleep at any moment.

“You’d think you were the one doing major hockey practice. And no, but I’ll carry you out to the car if you like.” He pressed a kiss to her temple. “You just relax.”

The salesperson returned in record time with everything Brice had requested, and for the next half an hour, he put together a living room set that was both comfortable and stylish. “You have great taste,” Ava commented.

“Thanks. I’m very careful about what I pick. It’s got to be comfortable and durable. Besides I like how clean the lines are, how simple the set looks, and plus there’s some storage capacity in the ottomans. Now we need to look for tables, or should we wait? Are you hungry?” He rubbed her shoulder and placed a kiss on the side of her head.

She knew she should protest, but she was far too cozy to do much protesting. “If you’re up to it.” Ava didn’t relish the idea of walking to the car.

Brice waved over the salesperson who’d been waiting on them and gave him instructions on what he wanted to see. Anything that looked like a trunk or a chest had his okay. She opened her eyes long enough to give her two cents even though she wasn’t sure why he cared about her opinion. He bought coffee, end, and side tables, as well as new bookshelves and an entertainment cabinet. “We’ll get lighting later. You’re out of it. Come on.” He pulled her up and helped her to the car, settled her in, and took the keys from her.

“Thanks for coming with me.” He climbed behind the wheel and drove them home.

Ava didn’t protest when he wrapped his arm around her waist and plodded up to the elevator. In the comfort of his embrace, she relaxed and allowed him to take care of her. She couldn’t push him away, her arms refused to function, and her legs ached too much for her to move away. It felt nice to have a moment with him after a long day of trudging around shopping. When they reached their floor, he scooped her up and carried her down the hall. He put her down and unlocked the door, picked her up once more, placed her on the sofa, and tucked an afghan around her. “Relax, honey. I’m here for you.”

She fell asleep right away.

* * * *

Ava woke up a few hours later sans shoes, socks, and jeans, tucked in her bed in the loft. She yawned and stretched before getting out from under the covers to go to the bathroom. After she used the toilet, she took a shower and changed into her pajamas. She couldn’t help but smile. Brice’d had a prime opportunity to strip her naked and put her in his bed; instead he’d respected her boundaries. Her heart swelled at his actions. She appreciated that he’d given her some space and distance. She let a small smile form on her lips. Maybe there was hope for him. She checked the time. It was ten o’clock at night. A soft snore drifted up from his bedroom area. He was asleep, thank goodness. Ava padded downstairs and headed for the kitchen.

He’d left a note telling her that her soup and sandwiches were in the microwave.

Once her food was heated up, she placed it on a tray along with a glass of milk and settled down on the sofa. Tomorrow they’d have to wait for the delivery of the furniture, but at least this place would get more life. She ignored the soggy bread and took a bite before turning on the TV to the NHL Channel. They were showing the most recent play-off games for the Stanley Cup. Rather than get up to get her notebook, she just watched and ate. Everything she’d seen and read began to click. Her confidence in her memory was shaky, and she was nervous about coming off sounding like a newbie given all the time she’d spent around the sport with her father. Reading and watching helped not only remind her of what she’d missed all these years but also brought her up to speed on some of the changes. Diving was a penalty—one Brice had gotten in the past. Elbowing and fighting were all penalty-box-worthy offenses as well as throwing your stick, something Brice had done in anger during an unfair call by a ref. When a player was in the box, that meant an opportunity for a power play, where the teams could face off while one team was a man down, but that was for a limited time.

Her enthusiasm increased as she began to get the hang of things. A few times she found herself cheering along with the fans but had to keep the volume down. Even after she was done eating, she didn’t get up and rinse off her dishes; instead all she could do was watch until those games were done.

“Ready to come to bed? Or do you want to sing more classic punk songs and try not to wake me up? I’m not offended. It’s cute, really, but I have an early practice and a packed day today.” Brice stood close to her. He had sneaked up on her again. His hair was mussed, his beard a bit unruly, and pillow creases were on his temple. He looked so cute just woken up from sleep she couldn’t stop her smile.

“How about I make us some hot chocolate and then we go to bed in our separate beds?” she added quickly.

Ava got up, stretched, and carried her things to the kitchen. She rinsed the plate off and started work on hot cocoa—heating up the cream, using his gourmet cocoa powder, and adding a bit of cinnamon sugar.

He climbed up on a stool at the counter area. “Okay, what about whipped cream?”

She shook her head. “Too much sugar will keep you up. Besides, there isn’t any left. You didn’t have much to begin with. I like whipped cream with my coffee, and I forgot to get some. ”

“You gonna go grocery shopping during practice? It’d be okay, and I have too much to do tomorrow; the interview and a visit to the middle school team and then I want to come back and watch some old footage to study my game.” He ticked off his to-do list with his fingers.

She’d gone over his schedule with Davis and Alexi to figure out which games she could attend and which ones she’d have to stay home. The team couldn’t spare the expense of flying her out since she was a temporary employee. As much as management wanted to keep Brice in line, the other owners didn’t want to spend money they could be using for next season’s player cap or salary negotiations.

“If Davis can cover for me, yes, I’ll go shopping. Write down anything you want me to get, and I’ll make a quick trip.” She poured the heated milk into mugs already containing a scoop or two of chocolate mixture, stirred, and handed one to him. “Thanks for making dinner. I really appreciate it.”

He shrugged. “Just taking care of my woman.” Brice downed his beverage and handed his cup to her. “Thanks, honey.” He yawned and headed to his bed.

She smiled; a glow filled her. Again, he’d been sweet and a bit flirty but didn’t push things. Ava wondered if he’d forgotten all about seduction and decided to just go slow with her. Part of her hoped he would give her space to accept his stance; the sex-starved-nymph part wanted the sexually aggressive, say-what-he-means-and-wants man from day one. She appreciated that he was up front with what was on his mind. He was worlds better than past boyfriends and especially in comparison to Perry. That much was clear. She just wanted a little time to get used to all this attention.

Chapter Six

Brice watched the delivery guys settle the furniture down. The building interior designer had already taken away his old stuff. Ava was too busy to direct the traffic; she was putting things away from her run to the grocery store. Every so often he’d glance over at her in the kitchen and admire her ass or breasts. He wasn’t the only one who appreciated the curves, but he decided to ignore the delivery guys in favor of getting them out of there ASAP. He had to get to practice as soon as this was done, and he only had ten more minutes before they had to go. After practice it was an interview and then a talk with the peewee league.

His cell phone rang, and he answered it. “Douglas.”

“Brice, it’s Alexi. I’d like to work on a few new plays? Just you and me, so Ava doesn’t need to come with you.”

Brice let the words hang between them, torn between leaving this cozy scene of domesticity and getting in some extra rink time. He looked over at Ava; she had the ingredients out to make a beef broth. He smiled. She was taking such good care of him and putting up with so much, from driving him around furniture shopping and his nightly masturbation sessions. She deserved a break, and he wanted to show Alexi that he was there when the team called.

“Sure. Let me tell Ava, and I should be there in ten minutes, fifteen with traffic.”

“Okay.” Alexi hung up with no good-bye.

Rather than call over, he strode into the kitchen and stopped next to her. For a moment he watched her chopping a bunch of onions. Her movements were quick and clean. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to be that fast and not end up in the ER.

“What’s going on?” She paused to brush back a strand of hair and wipe away sweat before she put down her knife and looked up at him.

“Alexi wants me to get in some extra practice with him. You don’t have to drive me. There’s still some furniture left to be delivered. Is it okay if I just go and leave you here?” His heart pounded against his rib cage. This would be the first time since she accepted her post as his babysitter that he would be going out on his own.

“Call me when you get there and have Alexi call me too.” She went to the sink and rinsed off her hands before going back to the cutting board.

“Deal. I’ll be back in about three or four hours and will call if we’re running late or he wants to keep me longer.” He bent down and pressed a kiss to her temple.

For a moment he didn’t move. She trusted him. Awe yawned through his heart and emotions shifted. The anger of the team forcing him to take on a babysitter melted around the edges. She thought he would manage himself for a short trip to and from the rink without holding his hand. He opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out.

“Are you going to stand there staring at me? Go, practice. I can hold down the fort.” She didn’t even look at him, just waved him off with her free hand and reached for a small bowl with her other.

“Thank you.” He grabbed his duffel bag, put on a coat, nodded to the delivery guys, and headed out to his car. He unlocked his vehicle, got in, adjusted the seat, and slammed the door shut. After he turned the ignition and buckled up, he sat there. He was alone in his SUV again. Ava’s citrus-and-floral perfume lingered in the cab. He could feel her presence in the seat next to him. It felt wrong to not have her there with him, like a part of him was missing. He wanted to go back up to the apartment and convince her to drive him to the arena. It was a ridiculous notion since she was trusting him to get from point A to point B with no protestation. He didn’t want to let her down, nor did he want her to think she needed to baby him and hold his hand everywhere. As much as he loved having her with him, he had to show some sense of authority in the situation. She trusted him, and he wasn’t going to fail her.

He put the truck into gear, turned, backed out of the space, and drove to the arena.

Alexi was waiting for him, already suited up. Amusement glinted in his gray eyes. “You’re two minutes late. Ava called to see if you got here.”

Brice wasn’t sure how to take this teasing. He’d had the usual ribbing from the team, but he didn’t know if Alexi’s laughter was at him or some private joke. “Had to let the car warm up.” He let the sentence lie there as he got dressed for practice.

Alexi was one of the ones who may have fought to keep him off the bench, but that didn’t mean Brice trusted him completely. He realized just how much the team had let him down by not talking to him and hoisting the situation onto management.
Would I have acted better if they’d come to me?
He didn’t know. It looked like both sides needed to earn back some trust.

“I’m going call Ava,” he said.

“Sure. You’re going to be playing goalie for a bit. I have a few ideas I want to try out, so make sure you wear some extra padding. I don’t want Ava killing me if I hit too many shots to your nuts.” Alexi chuckled.

“She’s not—” Brice started but didn’t finish he made the call and returned to Alexi. Once back he donned the extra goalie gloves and padding.