Unexpected Romance (3 page)

She
stopped at a light. Their eyes met, the streetlight glittering in
them. He smiled at her and she felt her heart flip in her chest.

He
was male. He was charming. He was sexy. He made her feel tingly
inside. When he smiled at her, she felt wanted.

A
million warning bells went off. She smiled back at him.

"The
light is green."

She
made a face and stepped on the gas. They shot forward.

She
had a heavy feeling in her chest. She shouldn’t spend more time
with him than necessary. She shouldn’t become friendly with
him.

She
smiled at him again, feeling warmth spread in her stomach. "A
quick cup of coffee."

There
was a line in the coffee shop. Chris looked down at Tonya. She was so
compact, everywhere. And she never stopped moving. As they waited,
her foot tapped on the floor. Every few minutes, she'd shift her
weight and tap the other foot.

He
fought his desire to pull her body against his and hold her close.
That was a weird urge.

"So
you getting wild with the muffin? You have a muffin fetish?"

It
was the second time she assumed something about his sex life. And not
in a good way. Was she like that with everyone? "I'm Paleo."

She
blinked at him. And then she started laughing. "You're what?"

All
right, world's apart. "My diet. I eat Paleo. No grain, no
dairy."

"Oh,
I think I've heard of that. How's that working for you?"

"I
made it here. I feel a lot better than when I was chowing down on
carbs and junk all the time."

“
Now
I understand the lack of spaghetti with supper.”

“
Sorry,
I should have said something. Know what you're getting?” He
nodded at the cashier waiting for their order.

"You
totally pussed out and didn't order a muffin." She ribbed him as
she slid into an empty seat.

"It
took me a long time to break my addiction to sugar and grains. I
can’t go back." He slid into a chair across the table from
Tonya.

"So
where did you grow up?"

"Kelowna."

He
watched her drink her coffee, wondering what she looked like without
her makeup on. Maybe her hair mussed. Bed-head, getting out of bed.
Or better yet, getting out of bed the morning after a night of great
sex. She'd only be wearing his T-shirt, which would only cover enough
to tease him. And he'd pull her into him, dug his hands in her
silky-soft hair and kiss her, while finding out if she wore anything
under that shirt.

He
held back his groan. Well, if all else failed, he knew what fantasy
he'd engage in tonight.

Would
she be easy to seduce? She looked and acted tough, as if she'd had to
stand up for herself five too many times. She was probably romantic
and horny inside like most other girls, if you got past that shell.

Since
he wasn't interested in the girlfriend experience, it usually wasn't
worth the effort. On the other hand, talking with her was better than
sitting in a twenty by twenty room and talking to his himself.

Her
eyes presented a problem. When he looked in her eyes he saw her
vulnerability. She wanted to be noticed and needed. He avoided that
look. Those girls were the type to wake up the morning after great
sex and say, 'I love you.'

For
those girls, they needed a nice guy. A guy who would take things
slowly, get to know them. Someone who could delve into why she had a
tough exterior protecting a very tender heart. Someone who could and
would deal with her issues.

Back
to square one. And she asked him a question or said something. Either
way he’d missed it completely. "Sorry, my mind wandered
off. What did you say?"

"Siblings.
You said something about a sister?"

"I
am the youngest of four. Two sisters and one brother. I'm about ten
years younger than my oldest sister and five years younger than my
next closest."

"Growing
up, I always wished I had a sibling. An older sibling who would
protect me."

"They're
a pain in the ass, most of the time. So you had a rough time growing
up, hey?"

"Some
months, some years were better than others. I had a roof over my head
and food to eat, so I can't complain much."

"What
did your mom do for work?"

"Waitress,
bar tender, cashier. Always jumping from job to job, mostly because
of some man. She'd screw her boss or her manager then she'd get fired
because of him. You never knew who she was bringing home. What kind
of guy he'd be."

"You
were never like, y'know…?"

"Abused.
No. Other than emotionally. The occasional boyfriend would knock her
around and I'd lock myself in my room so I didn't have to see it.
There was nothing I could do."

"So
growing up your had the basics of life, but nothing nurturing?”

"It
wasn't that harsh. My mom and I had good times too. She loved me."

"What
about your dad?"

"I
don't have any memories of him. I have a couple pictures in an album.
I never look at them."

"Have
you ever thought about looking for him?"

She
toyed with the handle of her mug. She looked up at him with a sad
smile. "No. He left because of me. He never loved or wanted me."

Chris
felt a surge of anger on her behalf go through him. "You were a
kid. There was no way he left because of you. Did your mother tell
you that?”

She
shook her head. "Of course not. I figured it out on my own when
he never tried to contact me. Not like I was hard to find. We never
left town." She leaned back and looked around the building.

"Sorry,
I didn't mean it like that. My mom used to tell me it was my fault
when my dad split. They, uh, never planned on me. They were done
having kids with my brother. She was going back to work when my
brother went to school. At least, until I came along." He smiled
sadly this time. "Ruined all their plans."

"She
actually told you that? In those words? My mom never blamed me. Well,
sometimes when she got drunk."

He
put his hand over hers. "Yeah. I worked it out in therapy. I
know it wasn't my fault, but I still have that emotional wound. They
told me it would never fully go away."

They
stared at each other for a moment. "I'm sorry,” Tonya
said.

"Me,
too. My dad was around, he never split on me. I saw him lots, he came
to my games. I told him what Mom said to me, a couple years ago, when
I left to play juniors. He was totally pissed. We had a long talk. My
mom had issues." He pulled his hand from hers and waved it.
"It's a long story."

She
stared at his hand on the table. Was she thinking about touching him?
He wished he hadn't pulled away so quickly. Instead, she picked up
her mug and drank some coffee.

"Hey,
are you going to talk to your brother?" he asked, ignoring his
disappointment.

"About
what?"

"College.
Your future."

"Maybe."

"I
think you should. He's wondering why you aren't going to school, all
expenses paid. You don't have to sign up. I think letting him know
would make you both feel better.”

"You're
right. I'll do it this week sometime. He's got the game and the road
trip coming up. After that I’ll talk to him."

"Don't
wait too long."

She
pulled her phone out of her pocket and checked the time. "We had
better get back to pick up Jessa." She dumped the last of her
drink into her mouth. "Thanks for the coffee."

Corey
watched out the window as Chris opened the car door for Tonya.
Tony
,
he corrected himself.

Usually
she dropped Jessa off and came home. Instead, Chris went with her and
they disappeared for more than an hour.

Nicole
was about ready to tie him down or drag him to bed. "Corey, calm
down," she said from where she was watching television. "Come
sit and watch with me. You're missing the show."

"Aren't
you the least bit interested in where they went?"

"Of
course, but I'm not going to attack them they moment they walk in the
door. First, I'm happy Tony finally left the house to socialize with
someone. Second, if she wants to talk to me she can. Nothing is going
to happen. The guy has been here twelve hours. Tony isn't the type to
do anything rash. Even if she is attracted to him."

"He's
not the type of person I want her to be with."

"Lucky
for her, you don't get to decide that. Corey, please, don't interfere
in her life. She's going to resent it. It will not help at all. Could
you sit and act like you are sane?" She gave him The Look and he
sighed. But took a seat beside her.

Jessa
came in, gave her mom a hug and ran off to shower. Tonya disappeared
downstairs and Chris came and sat in the living room.

Nicole
squeezed Corey's hand. He gave her a tight smile. "So did you
stay and watch Jessa?" he asked Chris.

"No,
we went for coffee. Made small talk.” Chris shrugged. “I
was hoping she'd be able to tell me where is a good place to go out
for drinks. But I get the feeling she's not the bar type."

Nicole
squeezed his hand again. When he glanced at her, she shook her head.
"She keeps to herself." Did Nicole expect him to say "she's
a fucking recluse and we worry about her"? He wanted to explain
Tonya, but time had taught him to keep from blurting out all his
thoughts, especially when he was angry or agitated.

"I
suppose I should go to bed anyway. Early practice tomorrow and the
game."

"And
on the road after that," Corey said. He was trying not to think
about it. He hated road trips. He missed Nicole and his bed and his
kids. He tried not working for a few years, but he found he was bored
out of his mind.

"Well,
after that I can probably find someone on the team to find me the
hottest hangouts. Want to make sure I’m not in your hair here."

That
made his beautiful wife comment, "In this house, it's the more
the merrier. There's always at least one extra face at the table. So
we don't mind at all.

"Thanks.
Still, I'm not the type to stay home on a Friday. Or a Tuesday."

"Well,
I gave you the house rules."

"You
did and I promised to abide by them." Chris stood. "Good
night both of you. Thank you again for letting me stay here. I'm
extremely grateful."

"Goodnight,
Chris," Nicole said, and Corey echoed her.

When
he was out of earshot, Corey muttered, "Stay away from my sister
and we'll consider it even."

Nicole
leaned her head on his shoulder. "Stop worrying so much. Will
you be this overprotective of Tanner? I heard a
rumor
he likes a girl."

"Boys
are different."

"That's
utter bullshit."

"I
never said I liked it. I meant it's the way it is."

"I'm
going to lock you away when Jessa starts dating.”

"We
discussed it, she's not allowed to date."

"This
year."

"I
voted for no dating ever."

"I
vetoed that." He opened his mouth to protest, she sat up and
traced his earlobe with her tongue.

"Then
you did something with your tongue or hands and distracted me."
At her puff of laughter in his hear, he knew had it right.

"Guilty,"
she said, her hand sliding over his thigh and to the crotch of his
jeans. "You never complain."

He
slid his hand inside her shirt. "I can play that game, too."

"We
should move to the bedroom. Too many people who might wander in."

Corey
cupped the back of Nicole's head and kissed her deeply. He was still
amazed that she married him, had a child with him. Stayed. And she
loved him.

"I
can get behind that." He lifted her in his arms. "Under and
over work for me as well." He carried his bride to their
bedroom, kissing her the entire way.

Chris
woke to the familiar sound of voices overhead. For a moment, he
strained to hear his mother's voice. Then he remembered where he was.

The
Porter household was getting ready for their day. If he wanted, he
could pull the blankets back over his head and return to sleep. He
had practice later, but it was easy practice as they had returned
home the night before from a road trip. A successful road trip, for
himself and the team. Three wins, one loss. Two goals scored and
overall plus rating had brought him relief. He could do this
professional hockey thing. He might even have an extended year if the
team kept things up and made the play-offs.

Fingers
crossed, prayers said and lucky pennies in his shoe. Whatever he
could do to influence the Fates to turn tides in his direction.