Faceoff

“Well, there’s one more benefit of being back home.”

“Definitely.”

“So tell me why you didn’t get married.”

Damn. She wasn’t going to let that go. He sighed. “Her name was Jova

“She’s from Phoenix?”

“Yeah. She manages a clothing store.”

“Mmm.”

He looked at her. “I know what you’re thinking.”

“No, you don’t.”

“Yes, I do. And you’re right.”

She laughed and picked up the bottle of lemonade. “Blonde bimbo with big boobs? Really? I’m right?”

He couldn’t help it, he laughed too. Maybe Jova

She tossed her hair back and took a bite of her sandwich.

“We were together a couple of years. I thought it was pretty serious. Then I had that knee injury…don’t know if you heard about that.”

“I did.” Her eyes regarded him solemnly, attentively. All her focused attention on him made his chest go hot.

“I had to have surgery. I…well, it was stupid, the surgery went fine, but I was a little freaked out about it and worried that my hockey career was over.” He bent his head and studied the potato chip in his hand. “I don’t know what I’d do if that happened.”

She didn’t say anything.

“So,” he continued. “I guess that kind of freaked Jova

“Bitch.”

He lifted his head. She met his eyes and she wasn’t even smiling.

“Yeah,” he agreed, and tipped the lemonade bottle up to drink deeply. “It was hard because I felt stupid. I should’ve known that’s what she wanted. I learned that lesson a long time ago.”

“What lesson?”

“That women were only interested in me because of what I do for a living.”

After two seconds of silence, she burst out laughing. He frowned. “What?”

“That’s not why women are interested in you! Are you kidding me?”

“No.” His frown deepened.

She leaned forward, now apparently oblivious to her lovely nudity. “You’re smart, gorgeous, fu

He stared at her, the heat in his chest becoming a swelling softness. “Ah…” For a moment he had a weird sensation, like being high, like he was floating out of his body and then plummeting back to earth.

“And you have mustard on your chin.” One corner of her mouth lifted.

He gri

Chapter Eleven

The rest of the week passed quickly, with time spent talking to her mom and dad and to her brothers. Kyla got to know her little niece better and got to hold baby Caleb and play with him. She watched Tag and Scott, best friends their whole lives, reco

And she spent every night in the tent with Tag.

The hardest times were when she and Tag were together with their families. She tried her best to ignore Tag despite the heated haze of lust that surrounded her every time he was near. And sometimes when he wasn’t. It was nearly impossible. Their gazes would catch and hold, sparks sizzling through her veins every time, her stomach doing a slow roll of lust, heat expanding around them. She’d thought they were doing a good job of hiding it though, even the sneaking into the tent every night, until Saturday afternoon, the day before she was supposed to leave, when she ended up in the Heller kitchen alone with Laura, helping prepare di

“Okay, I have to ask you something,” Laura said. “It’s kind of personal, but don’t be upset.”

Kyla’s stomach tightened. What was this about?

Laura smiled at her. “You and Tag…is something going on between you?”

Heat swept from Kyla’s chest to her face and she knew she was blushing. Dammit. “Er…why do you ask that?”

“Just a feeling I have. You two have been spending a lot of time together this week.”

“Um…well, we all have.”

“I haven’t seen you disappear with Logan or Matt in the boat for hours to go fishing. And then come home with no fish. Or taking long walks on the beach. Or…” Her smile deepened. “Come to think of it, I’ve never seen Tag actually lie on the beach. But he has this week. With you.”

Kyla bit her lip and bent her head to the chicken breasts she was trimming, letting her hair fall over her face. She couldn’t lie to Laura. Was Laura upset about this?

“You know I’ve always thought of you as the daughter I didn’t have,” Laura continued, whisking up lemon juice and Dijon mustard for the marinade. She gave a little laugh. “Doug and I kept trying for a girl and look what we ended up with. Four boys.”

Kyla lifted her head to give Laura a smile, her words making her chest feel warm. “You love your four boys.”

“I do. But having you as almost part of the family was so nice. I liked having a girl around. Even though you wanted to be one of the boys.”

Kyla gave a choked little laugh. “I tried. I don’t think I ever really was.”

“That’s not a bad thing,” Laura said. “Clearly Tag doesn’t see you as one of the boys. Or even a little sister.”

Kyla paused. “Does that bother you?” Her body tensed, waiting for Laura’s reply. She couldn’t bear it if Laura was angry about this.

“No!”

Kyla’s gaze flew up to Laura’s face.

“Not at all! I think it’s wonderful.” Laura studied her and Kyla’s insides twisted. “I love you, Kyla, and if you and Tag…well, I’d love that too. So much.”

Oh no. This was worse than Laura being upset. This was Laura getting the wrong idea and getting false hopes about something that was never going to happen. Kyla dropped the knife and slumped against the counter. “Oh. Well, I’m not sure how to say this but…neither Tag or I are looking for any kind of relationship.”

“Oh.” Laura’s smile drooped a little. “I thought…”

What could she say? How could she make this better? How could she tell Tag’s mom they were just having hot tent sex every night, naked public sex in boats and long make-out sessions on the beach when they could get a moment alone?

They were also having long talks, sharing hopes and fears, talking about their futures…but never a future together. Kyla’s heart thudded slowly in her chest. “Laura. We’re both adults. Whatever this is…it’s going to end tomorrow when I head back to Wi

“Oh no. Oh Kyla.” Laura immediately moved toward her and drew her in for a hug.

“I can’t…touch you…chicken hands…” She’d just been handling raw chicken and couldn’t touch anything. Laura gave a sniffly laugh and squeezed her, then drew back. She touched Kyla’s cheek.

“Are you okay, Kyla?”

Kyla nodded. “Of course! I’m fine. I never cry! This is so stupid. I don’t know what came over me.”

Laura grabbed a tissue and dabbed at her wet cheeks for her. She opened her mouth to say something, then closed it. “You probably don’t want to talk to me about it,” she said. “I’m his mom. But you could talk to your mom. Or even Remi. She likes you and she’s a very good listener.”

“I don’t need to talk to anyone.”

“Or maybe you should talk to Tag about it.”

Kyla’s eyes widened and she shook her head. “No! There’s nothing to talk about. We both knew what we were getting into…” Well, there. She’d pretty much just told Laura they’d been boinking their brains out all week. She swallowed. “We’re just having fun, Laura.”