The Penalty Box (Vancouver Wolves Hockey #3)(56)

If we started sleeping together, how could I protect my heart? It was already half-attached, and I knew if we became physical, my heart would fuse completely to Mica. It would be glorious while it lasted. But how much damage would happen to my heart when I ceased to be his wife? All that belonging and caring would disappear.

I didn’t want to think about it.

Both Andrew and Yelena stared at me expectantly.

“Sorry.” I blushed. “Did you say something?”

Andrew’s eyebrows creased together, but Yelena pealed with laughter. “You need to forgive my daughter-in-law. She is still very much a newlywed, and I think her head is often in the clouds, thinking about my son.”

Andrew cleared his throat. “I was asking how your steak was.”

I looked down at my mostly eaten meal. I couldn’t even remember eating it. “It was delicious.”

He looked satisfied. “You should let me take you out to The Porterhouse. Now those steaks are out of this world.”

Yelena’s expression sharpened. “I think my son would love that. I know he loves a good steak.”

Frustration crossed Andrew’s face but disappeared so quickly, I wasn’t sure if I saw it. “Yes. That’s what I meant.”

“Thank you for this dinner, Andrew,” Yelena said. “Now I will insist you let me pay.”

They argued lightly over who would pay the bill, but Yelena won. She followed the waiter to the front, leaving Andrew and I alone.

“You look beautiful tonight.” He leaned forward. “There is something different about you, but I can’t put my finger on it. You’re literally glowing.”

“I guess married life suits me,” I spoke the words lightly.

“Charlie?” A cool voice spoke from beside me. “Or should I say, Mrs. Petrov?”

I turned to see Sabrina, the tall redhead, standing beside our table. She was as beautiful as I remembered.

I looked up at her, lying. “Sorry, I don’t remember your name.”

“Sabrina Christensen.” She reached across the table, offering Andrew her hand. “And you are?”

“Andrew McDougall.” He looked between the two of us. “How do you know each other?”

She smiled rather viciously. “I used to date her husband.” Her voice got bitter. “Right up until he married her.”

“Really?” Andrew’s expression grew more interested.

“Are we ready to go?” Yelena appeared beside the table.

Sabrina eyeballed Yelena and then, without saying a word, turned and walked off.

“What was that about?” Andrew asked quietly as he helped me put on my coat.

I turned to him, not wanting Yelena to hear. “She approached me the night of our wedding party and tried to cause trouble with Mica and me by implying that she was still with him.”

Andrew’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh, I’m sorry. That must have been hard to hear.”

“It wasn’t true! She was only trying to cause trouble.”

Disbelief traced over his voice. “If you say so.”

I felt indignant. “That’s what I am saying.”

“We both know he is royalty in the hockey world. Until he got tied down, he could sleep with anyone and everyone. It must have been a difficult transition for him to commit to only one person.”

Tied down? Difficult transition? My eyebrows went up at his suggestion that Mica had cheated on me. “That’s not who my husband is.”

“Lots of men consider it their right to sleep around right until the day they get married.” He gave a half laugh. “I mean, why else do men have strippers at their bachelor party?”

Andrew’s comments subdued me as we walked over to the stadium. Sabrina told me she had been with Mica only a couple days before we had married. Which I couldn’t even get pissed about, because we had been heading into the relationship in name only. He had no emotional commitment to me, no reason not to enjoy himself. But she was a reminder of just how wild Mica had been before we got married. The guy had never experienced a shortage of women to warm his bed.

Why did I think I would be different? Furthermore, was the only reason he was interested in me now, because I was the last woman standing? He had no options other than me to bed. How soon after the ink dried on our divorce papers would he be back in Sabrina’s bed or chasing some other woman?

I needed to protect myself from falling for Mica. No matter how hard it would be.





*



We sat in our seats with Yelena in between Andrew and myself. The game started, and like every other game, I couldn’t seem to tear my eyes off Mica as he skated.

Yelena leaned over and spoke to me. “My husband also loved to watch Mica play. When he was a small boy, sometimes the games would be outside in bitterly cold weather, and no matter how busy my husband was with work, he always made time to come to Mica’s games. Sometimes he would go directly from work to watch, and he would be half-frozen in his suit and dress shoes, but he never complained. When Mica was little, he made Mica his priority.”

I looked at her, curious about Mica’s childhood. “Did your husband play hockey?”

She laughed. “Oh no. We don’t know where Mica got his athletic ability from. My husband is not very sporty. I think it is a source of deep pride that his son is so athletic.”