Blindsided Read online

  “I know you’re busy and all, but…”

  “Yeah,” she said, chuckling. “If I quit leaning on this window, the building will collapse. Who’s the young lady who won the high bid on you?”

  His face lit up. “That’s Leanne,” he said, sounding like he was talking about Venus de Milo. “She teaches second grade.”

  And she obviously owned the boy’s heart. “She’s a very pretty young woman. Just a gorgeous smile.”

  He nodded. “She’s nice, too. And smart. And really, really good with kids.” He sobered and glanced around them before leaning down to say, “Look, I need to tell you something so you know just in case there’s a complaint or something.”

  “A complaint about what?”

  “I’ve been wanting to ask Leanne out, but couldn’t bring myself to do it, you know? But she started teasing me about coming here tonight and winning me and I figured that, well, it was a way around the having to ask, so…” He glanced over toward the ongoing auction. “I fixed it so she’d have a good shot at actually winning. I went to all the other teachers in the school and gave them money so they could give it to Leanne for tonight. Of course she doesn’t know that I did that. She just thinks they donated it themselves.”

  Oh, what a darling! Leanne obviously knew a prize when she saw one. “Tiny, that’s so sweet! But you can’t afford to donate a couple thousand to the cause. I’ll make sure you get it back.”

  He leaned closer. “That’s not the point, Ms. Talbott,” he said emphatically. “It wasn’t a legit win. She bought me with my money.”

  And only he would draw such a fine line. “Tiny, don’t worry about it,” she assured him, patting his arm. “All is fair in love and hockey.”

  It took him a couple of seconds to think about it, but he eventually nodded. A smile came back to his face; this one soft and easy. “You know, I used to love playing hockey more than anything else. But I don’t anymore. Getting cut loose was the second best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

  Her happy bubble burst and she had to clear her throat before she could ask, “Logan’s spoken with you about it already?”

  He shrugged. His smile didn’t falter, not for a single second. “Oh, yeah. Yesterday morning. I knew it was coming and it wasn’t any big deal. I’d already started making some plans.”

  “Anything you can tell me about?”

  “Oh, I’m going back to college,” he answered, his tone suggesting that she really should have been able to guess that on her own. “I have maybe a year and half that’ll transfer and count toward an elementary ed degree.”

  “You’re going to teach?”

  “You making us go out and volunteer was the best thing that’s ever happened to me, Ms. Talbott. I never would have known that I was good at that. Or that it’d be more fun than playing hockey.” His smile slid into a grin and his eyes sparkled. “And there is Leanne, too. I never would have met her in a bar or rinkside.”

  Oh, she could practically hear the wedding bells. “Well, if you’re going back to school, you’re definitely going to need a refund of tonight’s expenses. I’ll have a check cut for you first thing Monday morning.”

  He shook his head. “No need, Ms. Talbott. Coach is floating me the first semester. Until I can get all the student loan stuff together. He says it’s a severance package deal, but I know what my contract says. I’ll pay him back whether he wants it or not. Matt’s gonna do the same.”

  She closed her mouth to moisten her lips. “He’s floating Matt, too?”

  “Yeah. Matt’s been accepted into the police academy. Guess he was just eighteen hours or so shy of graduating when he got a contract offer to play pro. He’s gonna pack all that he needs into next semester so he can go into the academy degreed when it starts up in June.”

  “Wow,” was the only coherent thing she could get out of her brain and onto her tongue.

  Tiny put his hand on her shoulder and leaned down to kiss her cheek. “Thanks for everything, Ms. Talbott. Playing for you has been good for me. I appreciate it.”

  “Bring Leanne to the Thanksgiving dinner at Millie’s. We’d all love to meet her.”

  “Okay.” Grinning, he turned and walked away, presumably to tell Leanne that she had not one, but two dates with him.

  Cat covered her smile with her hand. She was going to cry. Matt and Tiny were going to be all right. They weren’t de stroyed by the end of the hockey. And they hadn’t been thrown to the wolves. Logan wasn’t the cold, all business, ambition driven monster he’d said he was. She sniffed, blinked back the tears. She wouldn’t love him if he were all those things. Why hadn’t he told her what he’d done for the boys? It would have taken every bit of the wind out of her sails in a second flat. The whole fight would have ended right then and there. She looked for him in the crowd. What she saw was Lakisha racing toward her, a panic-stricken look on her face. Cat took a deep breath and prepared herself to whip out the cell phone and dial 911.

  “How much money do you have on you?”

  Money? Thank God. “Twenty-three and some change.”

  “That’s not enough.”

  “Tell me about it. If I’d had to buy a ticket for tonight—”

  “Helmet Head’s gonna bid on Nic!” Lakisha practically whimpered, clutching Cat’s arms.

  “Mrs. Roman?”

  “I gotta do something. You gotta help me.”

  Not with what she had to offer. “There’s only two people in this whole room who can afford to outbid her. One’s the bid-ee and the other’s—”

  “Logan!”

  “Yeah,” she said as Lakisha took off like a shot. “Mr. Soft Heart.”

  She watched her secretary, saw Logan look up from his shoes as Lakisha came at him. He looked past her for a second and met Cat’s gaze across the room. Direct as always. But the usual edge of confidence wasn’t there. No, he looked a little lost, a little like he needed to be rescued.

  “Catherine! Yoo-hoo!” a woman called on her right.

  She smiled softly at him, silently promising that she’d make things right as soon as she could. And then she turned away to play the hostess again.

  If he was reading her right… Logan rocked back on his heels as Lakisha’s hands hit his chest and grabbed him by the lapels.

  “You have got to help me.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  She let him go and whirled back toward the dance floor. Nic was out there striking a GQ pose. Logan closed his eyes, not willing to see any more of his friend’s self-inflicted humiliation. “Helmet Head is going after Nic. We have to save him.”

  “He volunteered for this,” Logan pointed out. “And he’s had his shots.”

  He rocked back again and his eyes flew open as Lakisha crushed his jacket a second time. “If you’ll loan me whatever it takes to buy him, I’ll pay you back. Twenty-five dollars a week for as long as it takes.”

  “Go for it. The Bank of Dupree stands behind your bid.”

  She called as she took off, “Go tell the auction guys that!”

  He glanced over at Cat as he made his way to the table. Her hand was over her mouth, but there was nothing she could do to hide the laughter in the eyes that met his gaze. It was going to be all right. She was going to give him a chance.

  He took out his wallet and stepped up to the man with the clipboard. “I’m Logan Dupree and I’m sponsoring Ms. Lakisha Leonard in her bidding this evening.”

  “And the limit, sir?”

  Logan grinned and tossed down a credit card. “The sky.”

  It would take a week for the feeling to come back into her feet. And that was being optimistic. Cat groaned and gingerly put them up on the seat of the chair directly across the little table. Yes, that was better. She looked around her. The lights were up and the party was over. The band was packing up, the banquet staff was breaking down the buffet tables. The auction people were putting all their stuff into lockboxes, and the clean-up crew was trying to herd balloons out a door over
by the now almost depleted chocolate fountain.

  Except for not having had a chance to find Logan for a quiet moment, it had been a successful affair if there’d ever been one. The bids had been so high it was almost disgusting to think that there were people who had that much money to throw away. But apparently, they not only did, but did it on a regular basis on all kinds of things. Long before the band’s final set and the bar’s last call, she’d had no less than three requests to plan parties for people. Big parties. With budgets that would pay the entire team for the rest of the season. Budgets that made party planning a high-profit enterprise.

  It was nice to know that she was really good at something. If only she had the same kind of magic touch when it came to relationships with men. She was going to have to apologize to Logan twice. Once for the locker room debacle and once for not having made time for him this evening. That she’d been sidetracked every single time she’d headed his way was the absolute God’s truth, but it sounded really lame anyway. Maybe she should limp on down to the parking garage, go home, put on some comfortable clothes and then see if she could find him somewhere. She checked her watch. Almost one. Kinda late, but maybe not too. He didn’t have that much of a head start on her. She’d seen him talking to Nic and Lakisha at twelve-fifteen.

  She inched her feet down off the chair. A hand holding a glass of Zinfandel appeared over her left shoulder. Logan. She knew it, knew there was a God. She took the glass as she looked up at him.

  “Hi,” he said softly. “You throw a good party.”

  “Thanks.” She lifted the glass toward him. “And thanks. I really need this.” But not as much as I need to spend some time with you. She took a sip and committed herself to opening the conversational door. “I didn’t get to see the full battle…. Did you save Nic from the evil clutches of the doctor’s wife?”

  He gave her a lopsided smile that dimpled his cheek. “Yeah. But I’m not sure he’s worth any twenty grand.”

  “Lakisha seems to think so and the team appreciates the contribution.”

  He stepped off to her side and picked her purse up off the table. “Are you holding this seat for somebody?”

  “Please,” she said, taking her bag from him and setting it out of their way.

  He eased down into the chair, sitting sideways so that he faced her. With his elbows on his knees and his fingers loosely laced, he leaned forward and gazed up at her. “You have the energy to talk a bit?”

  She wanted to tell him that she’d find the energy to do whatever he wanted, but apologizing to him needed to come first. “I think I can probably handle it.”

  “I’m sorry about yesterday, Cat,” he said. “I went off the deep end and…” He sighed and slowly sat up straight. His eyes were dark and certain. “I screwed up big time and I’m really sorry.”

  Relief and wonder flooded through her. “And I’m sorry, too. I went a little crazy myself. I said a lot of things I shouldn’t have.”

  “We both did. Can we call it even and put it behind us?”

  Gladly. She nodded and took a sip of wine. “Are you resigning?”

  “It depends on whether or not you’re selling the team.”

  Her heart jolted. How had—

  “Some guy buttonholed Nic and me this evening wanting to know if we were interested in joining a buying consortium. He says the team’s going on the block at the end of the season.”

  Okay, she needed to face this and not flinch. “I’m thinking about it very seriously.”

  “Don’t.”

  “Don’t sell it?” she asked, incredulous. “But you told me I should. You told me the very first day we met that I didn’t have the grit to—”

  “That was then,” he interrupted gently. “Now’s a different set of circumstances. I have a stake in it now.”

  “In other words, it’s pure self-interest.”

  His gaze met hers and held it. “Pretty much. But it’s not business, Cat. It’s personal.”

  Yes, it was. Deeply, intensely and achingly personal. She set her glass aside. “Can we be done with talking? Please?”

  He didn’t want to be done. Not yet. There was more to be said. So much more. He scraped his upper lip between his teeth and considered her. “You want me to go away?”

  “No,” she said softly. “I just don’t want to talk anymore.”

  “What do you want?”

  Her gaze dropped to his knees and her lips parted as she pulled one long, deep breath slowly into her lungs. He couldn’t take it, couldn’t stand the waiting, the not knowing what she intended to do to him. He had to move her off the dot. Get it over with. He reached out and gently laid his hands on her shoulders. “Cat?”

  She looked up at him and the fine shimmer of tears tore at his heart.

  “Would you hold me?”

  He was the luckiest man on the face of the planet. “God, yes. Anytime,” he said, drawing her onto his lap and wrapping his arms around her. She twined hers around his neck and buried her cheek in his jacket. Logan closed his eyes and held her close. So what if she could hear his heart hammering ninety to nothing? He nuzzled his face in her hair, breathed deep the scent of island flowers and knew that he’d come home.

  “I’m sorry that our timing was off,” she said quietly. “That the only night you were in town last week was the night I had to help with the volcano project. I really wanted to be with you.”

  Ancient history, sweetie. “Being Kyle’s mom is more important and I was being a self-centered ass that night. I’m the one who owes the apology.”

  She shifted in his arms so that she could look him in the eye. Her smile was so soft, so damn inviting. “I don’t have any more projects going this evening.”

  “Are we back?” he asked, needing to be sure, knowing, that if he had to, he’d sell his soul for the right answer.

  “I’d like to be. If you’re willing.”

  Yes! He instantly tamped down his excitement. Play it right. Take control. Slow and easy. Don’t screw it up. He reached to his hip and pulled his cell phone out of the holster. He handed it to her, saying, “Call Millie and tell her you won’t be home tonight.”

  She opened the cover and then hesitated. “It’s one o’clock in the morning.”

  “Old people don’t sleep.”

  “True,” she allowed and pushed a button. Again she stopped. “Where am I going to be?”

  “With me.”

  “Yes, but I can’t very well tell her that.”

  “Why not? If she needs you, you’ll be at my place. She can call there.” She didn’t move and he cocked a brow. “You want me to tell her?”

  She shook her head, but didn’t punch another button. He moved to take the phone from her, but she quickly held it out beyond his easy reach.

  “It isn’t very discreet.”

  “Is there a shame factor in this for you?”

  She looked stunned that he’d even suggest it. “Not at all!”

  “Then let’s be honest, okay? With each other and everyone else.”

  “You’re right.” She punched in the rest of the numbers and hit the send button. Not two seconds later, she said, “Hi, Millie.”

  Logan smiled, bent his head and pressed a slow kiss to her ear. “Yes, it went very, very well. I think everyone had a good time and the preliminary receipts look fantastic. The reason I’m calling—”

  While she was listening to Millie, he shifted under her so he could nibble his way down her neck.

  “Yes, he was,” Cat said. A little bit distractedly, he thought. “Of course. Which brings me to the—”

  She didn’t make a sound when she sighed, but her breasts moved with it and they sang to him. He nipped his way down onto her shoulder.

  “Yes, I know. I agree. The rea—”

  Logan eased her back ever so slightly and kissed his way off her shoulder. She struggled back fully upright and threw him what he thought was supposed to be a stop it! look.

  “Yes, Millie. I—”
r />   He grinned and trailed his fingertips over the low edge of her neckline. She closed her eyes and sagged back. “Millie, I’m going home with Logan. I’m going to spend the night at his house. If you need me for—” A half second later she smiled and said, “Well, yes, he is. Hang on.”

  Distract her, would he? Well, it was his turn to endure. She handed him the phone.

  “Hi, Millie. What’s up?”

  She undid his tie. He laughed silently, his eyes twinkling in a silent challenge for her to do her best. “Okay, Millie. No problem. I was planning to anyway.”

  She opened the collar of his shirt. “Yeah, I’m sure she does.”

  She undid another stud and stretched up to kiss the hollow of his throat. He tipped his head back and tightened the arm around her shoulder. “Sweet dreams to you, too, Millie. See you in the morning.”

  “What’s no problem?” she asked, opening another few inches of shirt as he put the phone away.

  “I have to bring you to the team Thanksgiving dinner,” he said, catching her hand and gently stopping her assault. “Millie’s invoked the serious girlfriend rule.”

  Serious girlfriend, huh? Maybe there was hope for down the road. But for right now, she was happy with just being back together. “And what are you sure about?”

  “That you know how to make green bean casserole.”

  In her sleep. But having him so sure about her… Well, there was something to be said for keeping him guessing. “We’ll have to stop at the deli on the way, pick some up and hope she can’t tell the difference.”

  His jaw didn’t exactly drop, but he did blink. “Really? You don’t know—” He laughed, gave her a hug, and then eased her off his lap. “Anything you need to take care of before we leave? Anyone you need to talk to?”

  “No.” She picked up her purse. “If Delbert has a crisis, he’s on his own. I am officially off the clock.”

  “Feet hurt?” he asked as he took her hand and they headed out of the club and toward the elevator.

  “These shoes look great, but they’re not meant to stand around in. Vanity won out over common sense as I was getting dressed and now I’m paying for it.”