Page 19 of Second Round

She sounded genuine, so I gave her the truth. “Hockey is about winning. The life span of coach depends on how much he wins. And sometimes even winning games isn’t enough. Winning breeds expectations, and that meanschampionships.”

“But that’s ridiculous. There’s only one Calder Cup winnereachyear.”

I smiled. “One of the best things about hockey is how much passion there is. Fans, players, owners, managers, everyone cares. Passion can overcome reason. And it’s easier to fire a coach than anentireteam.”

“I understand what you’re saying, but believe me when I say it’s different here. We value loyalty here, and the Millionaires do too. After all, they hired Chris after his playing careerwasover.”

Chris Luczak was a hockey superstar and beloved in this market. It was a no-brainer to hire him. But I wasn’t going to continue to argue with the woman who signed thecheques.

“Amanda, I think you’ll approve of the way I coach the team. I’m a huge believer in the mental side of the game and helping guys maximize their performance.” I pointed to my forehead. “The game is won or lost betweentheears.”

“Of course. In any case, Chris is your boss. I’m not trying to butt in. I only wanted to make you feelwelcomehere.”

But I got the feeling that the jury was still out on me as far as Amanda was concerned. After she left, I finished up a few things and then headed home. I craved a little relaxation. My new building had a gym, so I hit that for a quick workout. I’d been planning to check out nearby running trails on a day off, but that day off hadn’t yet happened. Besides, it was raining. It had rained every single day since I arrived. Fucking Vancouverweather.

I sprinted up the stairs after my workout. No point taking an elevator when you wanted exercise anyway. I went straight to the refrigerator and had a big glass of filtered water. My new fridge had only a few necessities on the shelves. Besides, I had zero energy to cook. I pulled out a frozen dinner. Like any self-respecting Montréaler, I liked to eat well, but my cooking skills were pretty basic. Eating out didn’t really appeal either. Every other restaurant in this neighbourhood served sushi. That was okay for one night, but not a regular diet. I liked myredmeat.

I walked into my bedroom and stripped down, throwing everything into a hamper. A standing laundry hamper was another thing I’d never had before and I liked its utility. I turned the shower on full blast. Even the water in Vancouver was different. It tasted good and felt softer on my skin. Weird, the differences you noticed. The hot water pulsed down on my body, and I scrubbed up with the orange-scented body wash from the shower caddy. I shampooed my hair, which reminded me I needed to find a place to get my hair cut. I needed a waterproof notepad to write down all the things I remembered while showering. Something about the water pouring down made my mind more creative andconnected.

I got out of the shower and dried off. I wrapped a towel around my waist. I needed to get a robe. My old place had an ensuite, but this place had only the one bathroom. Once Charlotte got here, I couldn’t be walking aroundnaked.

Clunk.

What was that? It seemed to come from the kitchen. Then there was another sound. Was somebody in here? Maybe a previous tenant still had keys or something. I strode out into the kitchen. There was a woman in there. She was bent over, reaching into a cardboard box. Her ass in jeans looked nice, real nice. But still, that nice ass didn’tbelonghere.

“Who the hell are you?” Ibarked.

The woman shrieked and kitchen utensils went flying into the air. I instinctively caught a spatula before it landed on me. She spun around, and I could seeherface.

Merde. She was cute—very cute. Her clothes looked expensive and her body was slim and fit. Her dark hair was layered around a pretty face with dark eyes that crinkled at the corners. And her mouth was dark and sharply-outlined—lipstick was a turn-on for me. I had a flash fantasy about easing my cock between those lips, feeling myself bathed in the warm wetness of that mouth, and then pulling out to see little kiss marks on my shaft. It was that contrast I enjoyed—a sophisticated woman and raw sex acts. She was exactly my type. Right now I was working ridiculous hours, but I could always make time for some relaxation. Sex was the perfect way to unwind after a hardday’swork.

She pulled out a pair of earbuds, and her eyes widened with concern. “I’m so sorry. I thought Wayne said you’d be out this evening, so I came in to—oh, we haven’t even met.” She moved closer, holding out her hand. “You must be Leo. I’m Jacqueline Wagner. You know, we talked on thephoneand....”

I automatically reached out and her handshake was warm and firm. The heat of her touch was nice, I ran my thumb over her soft skin. She pulled away as if I electrocuted her. Then she looked at me. Really looked, her gaze moving down from my face to my chest to the towel and then her eyes widened. Thinking about getting a blowjob from her had made me harden a little. That pretty lipsticked mouth fell opened, and the tip of her tonguedartedout.

I laughed. “What’s theverdict?”

Her hand flew up to her face. “Oh. I’m so sorry. Maybe it’s shock of—oh gosh. I was so surprised that you were—and now you’re not wearing any—ohGod.”

Her stammering was accompanied by a very pretty blush that moved from her face down her neck to the V of her dark shirt. My eyes focused on her cleavage. Her breasts looked like perfect soft handfuls, and my cock got even harder. I had this urge to yank off my towel and then all her clothes. Once she was naked, I’d use this plastic spatula on that nice ass, and when she was softened up, take her right on the cool granite countertop. Slide my cock into the soft flesh of this sexy stranger until she made the animal noises that would turn me on even more. And all my instincts told me that she would like that very much—there was a current of connectionbetweenus.

But instead she took a step back and crashed into the cardboard box. I reached out and held her arm to steady her. She looked up at me, her eyes wide and almost frightened. There was a vulnerability about her, in spite of her expensive clothing and chic jewellery. That made me hesitate. It was one thing to ask for sex with a woman you met in a bar, but not with a woman who was only here to do her job. It wasn’t how things were done in polite society. I let my palm linger on her upper arm, feeling the tensed muscle under the softness and thenreleasedher.

Jacqueline was intriguing. She looked cool and classy, but there was a recklessness about her. She’d never do anything without throwing herself fully into it. I blew out a breath and put the spatula on thecountertop.

“Okay, I’m going to get dressed now. Please feel free to do whatever you wanted todohere.”

As I turned to leave, I looked back over my shoulder. Jacqueline’s widened eyes and wavering stance made her look like prey ready to take flight. She really had three choices: flee the apartment, stay here and work, or follow me into the bedroom. And her next step would determine mynextstep.

7

Melts

Jackie

Oh my God.Okay, heart, anytime you want to go back to beating normally, that would be fine. What the hell was wrong with me? I was the person who stayed calm in a crisis. When Hannah was a toddler, she fell down and cut open her forehead, and the amount of blood was ridiculous. Brent was the one hyperventilating while I took charge and got us to Emergency. Same thing when Tristan broke his arm falling out ofatree.

So how did a random stranger turn me into a shaking leaf? My hands were actually trembling. I took several deep breaths and began putting away the kitchen supplies I’d brought. How on earth did I get the dates of his road trip mixed up? The kids would laugh and say that was a total Mom-thing to do. Um, except I wouldn’t be telling them this story because the punchline was a half-nakedman.

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