Busted (Promise Harbor Wedding)(8)

She remembered far worse headlines from a few post-Stanley Cup playoff parties that got out of hand, and then there were the rumors of alcohol being a factor with his car accident that had been splashed over magazines and the Internet. He was hardly unfamiliar with bad press, but this was the first time she’d played a role.

Although she knew she’d handled the situation the best way she could to prevent an all-out brawl, she couldn’t blame him for being pissed at her. Which made it even harder to understand why he wanted to go to the wedding with her.

“You know I’m the one who arrested you, right? People would have a field day posting pictures online of us together at a wedding.”

“That’s exactly what I’m counting on.”

Hayley blinked. “Huh?”

“I spoke to my agent this morning. He’s the one who emailed me those.” He nodded to the pages still in her hand. “There’s a team interested in offering me an assistant coaching position, and my agent is concerned this might scare them off.”

“So if you’re seen with the cop who arrested you, he can pass it off as just us playing around or…” She trailed off, not completely sure if she had the gist of it and kind of wishing she didn’t.

“Or some kind of lovers’ quarrel,” Jackson put in.

“Right.” The warming in her stomach kicked in to full gear, and the serious look on his face wasn’t helping. Jackson’s smile was sexy and loaded with enough natural confidence to turn heads without him putting a lot of effort behind it, but the banked intensity in his eyes as he watched her, waiting, was a different beast entirely.

God, she was in so much trouble here, and she was smart enough to know it.

“Do you even want to coach?” She all but blurted the question, but it succeeded in making Jackson look away, giving her a second to lock down the nervous flutter of energy rolling up her spine.

“You know, you’re the first person to ask me that. Everyone just assumes that’s what I’ll do.” He shrugged, and for a moment he looked utterly and completely lost. It passed entirely too fast and he was right back to fixing those impossibly blue eyes squarely on her.

She might have squirmed in her seat if she hadn’t wrapped both hands around the steering wheel. As far as reminders went that she was no longer some teenage girl who once had a crush on the school all-star, it fell pitifully short, but it was enough.

“Getting back to the wedding,” Jackson said, “we both have people we want to avoid later today. Going together just makes sense. We can bail each other out of any uncomfortable situations.”

“We could do that without being each other’s date.” The word nearly caught in her throat.

He shook his head. “Makes it more authentic if we go together, and it will keep the wolves at bay.”

“Wolves? Is that what you’re calling the puck bunnies who want you to autograph their breasts?”

He waved to someone across the street, leaving her to wonder if she was imagining the flush of color high on his cheeks. “Saw that, huh? Maybe you should have come over and saved me from her.”

“Since when does a player like you need saving? Besides, I was working.”

“I seem to remember the working part rather clearly.” He could have scowled at her, but smiled instead, a smile that had probably melted the panties off more women than Hayley could count. “I’ll pick you up at two.” With that he walked away.

Hayley poked her head out the window. “I didn’t say yes.”

“You didn’t say no either.” He slipped on his sunglasses and crossed the street to where he’d parked his car.

Hayley shoved her keys in the ignition and sat staring out the window long after Jackson pulled away. Exactly what had she just agreed to?





“Hand me the wrench.” Jackson stared up at Matt from his crammed position half jammed in the cupboard under the sink at Stone’s.

Matt dug through the tools, not bothering to hide his skepticism. “You sure you know what you’re doing?”

Jackson took the reluctantly offered wrench and tightened the last bolt. “Turn the water on.”

“I’m not paying your dry cleaning bill if this doesn’t work.” Matt stepped up to the sink, but didn’t touch the tap as the swinging door flew open.

“Matt, you’re not going to believe the stupid thing I…” Hayley’s voice trailed off. “You’re…busy.”

And not alone, Jackson mentally filled in for her, grinning.

Easing out of position, he sat up. “Don’t let me interrupt. Just pretend I’m not here.”

A weak smile touched Hayley’s lips. “It’s not that important.”

Enjoying her discomfort a little too much, he climbed to his feet, testing the taps himself. “You were saying,” he prompted. “Doing something stupid?”

She ignored his not-so-subtle nudge. “Not just handy with a hockey stick, huh? Hope you’re better at this than with jukeboxes. Maybe you should put him on the payroll, Matt.”

The tension that seemed to leave her body when she fixed all her attention on her brother made Jackson’s grin widen. When had Hayley gotten so damn cute? He had been sure he’d imagined her discomfort when they talked earlier, but maybe not. Maybe Hayley wasn’t as cool and distant as he’d always assumed her to be.

Matt glanced at him, curiosity staring out from the same gray eyes as Hayley. He tossed the wrench in the toolbox before turning back to his sister. “Don’t you need to start getting ready for the wedding? Gramps doesn’t like to wait.”

“He had a rough night.”

Jackson straightened. “Rough night?”

Matt let out a breath, the tightening around his jaw warning Jackson that whatever was coming would not be good news. “He’s in palliative care.”

The subtle ache that had no name and was never far from the surface since his accident clamped down hard on his chest. He waited a moment, then two. “Is it cancer?”

Hayley nodded. “Doctors gave him a few weeks at best and that was two months ago.”

Fuck.

The ache in his chest rose to his throat and stayed there. He swallowed hard, forcing it down. “You never mentioned it.”

Matt shrugged. “You were pretty caught up in other stuff.”

It was on the tip of his tongue to say Matt should have tried harder, knowing what the old man meant to him. But he heard what Matt wasn’t saying, that Jackson had been too self-absorbed to return any calls he hadn’t wanted to.

“He’d love to see you.”

Jackson managed a nod, but the pressure that had a chokehold on his lungs kept him from saying anything. He picked up the towel, mopping at the water on floor.

Someone out front yelled for Matt.

“Back in a second. Then I can show you what my piece of shit dishwasher is up to.”

Setting the towel aside, Jackson stopped him. “Can it wait until tomorrow? I should probably see if Josh needs help with anything before I get ready for the wedding.”

“No problem. Thanks for the help with the sink, man.” The door swung open and Matt disappeared.

Jackson switched his attention to Hayley. She didn’t seem fazed by Matt’s departure, but he guessed there was a lot running beneath the surface with her.

He used to think she didn’t care about much. When they were younger, she’d favored sticking to herself and breaking the rules. So much so she’d almost always been grounded the times Jackson went over to see Matt, making it even much more surprising that the troublemaker he remembered had become a cop.

Hayley Stone was a much bigger mystery than he’d realized, and he found himself increasingly drawn to figuring her out.

“So where should I pick you up?”

Hayley carried the toolbox over to the shelves lining one wall at the back of the small kitchen. “It would be easier if I just met you there.”

Easier? Less obvious, maybe. Troublemaker or cop, he got the impression she still liked to fly under the radar, and showing up with him would put her front and center. He couldn’t wait to see how she handled that. He should probably feel a little guilty about looking forward to it, but damn if this wasn’t the most fun he’d had in a while.

The pictures from his agent weren’t a surprise, and neither was the concern about how this might affect a possible job offer Jackson had long ago given up waiting for. But bad publicity could often sell more tickets for a struggling hockey club, so he wasn’t worried too much about it. Still, he took his agent’s advice on using his connection to Hayley and smoothing out the latest dent in his reputation.

A screwdriver slid out of the toolbox, and Jackson beat her at picking it up. “It’s no problem at all for me to pick you up. Where do you live?”