Ward wasn’t so sure about that, but it was as good an explanation as any for why there was this huge, gaping hole in his life. Even as a kid growing up he’d always felt like an outsider, like he didn’t quite fit. And as he got older, the world began to feel even more off-kilter – kinda like everyone else in the game was able to play it without thinking, yet nobody had given him the rules. The only place he’d ever felt truly at ease, all the parts working easily and in synch, was on the ice.
For the most part, people and how they behaved remained a mystery to him.
When Melanie had come along, he’d begun to think that his luck might be turning. The two of them had seemed like a great match – both able to focus on their respective careers and still have time for each other. If she’d given them a chance, he was certain he could have made things work. She hadn’t given him a chance, though.
Maybe it was time to face some cold, hard facts, like his mother said. He was fine in the short term obviously, but if it went further than that, it seemed as if he was destined to be alone.
Too late, Ward realized that he shouldn’t have answered the phone or started thinking about Melanie. He was already in physical pain and now he could add emotional pain to the mix – and that was dangerous.
He needed to take the edge off but he’d sworn to Johnny (andShelley) that he’d stay off the pain meds. There was no way he’d go back on a promise to his friend.
But while Ward had promised that drugs were off the table, there was nothing to say he couldn’t fall back on a little something else.
Chapter 15
HANNAH
Hannah stood at Central Park’s 7th Avenue entrance as arranged, and checked her watch. McKenzie was running late again. The guy was really beginning to test her patience. She shouldn’t have to work with someone who didn’t respect that her time was important.
She wandered into the park and sighed, deciding to take a load off while she waited. One of the reasons she hated client meet-ups in public spaces was that the blasted benches might as well have been designed by experts in medieval torture.
Five minutes sitting on one and she was almost ready to confess to being a witch. Then rearranged her vexed expression when she saw that her client had decided to grace her with his presence. She pasted on a relaxed smile as McKenzie ambled toward her.
No, wait, he was shuffling. Yikes, the injury really wasn’t getting any better, she mused, biting her lip. As he drew closer, however, she saw that he was unshaven and his eyes were bloodshot. He sat down next to her – although ‘sat’ was too generous a way to phrase it. He all but collapsed and it was then that she caught a distinct whiff. Beer and something else too … was itfish?
Hannah wrinkled her nose, wondering why she’d been worrying about his initial appeal that first time in Frank’s potentially clouding her judgement. Appearances truly could be deceptive.
‘You’re late,’ she stated, despite not wanting to get things off to yet another bad start.
‘Is it that I’m late – or you’re early?’ he asked, grinning stupidly as if he’d just made some kind of brilliant point in a courtroom.
‘So how are you?’ she asked, biting back her frustration that this meeting was surely another wasted effort on her part. ‘Knee playing up again?’
He straightened up suddenly. ‘I’m good. Had some more physical therapy earlier and it … uh … took a lot more out of me than I expected.’
‘You sure you’re up for this then?’
‘Yeah. I’m just a little wrung out, that’s all. Though maybe I should grab a coffee.’
‘There’s a truck just over there. You stay there and rest a bit and I’ll get it,’ she offered.
‘Hey, don’t do me any favours. I don’t need anyone to baby me.’
‘I’m notlookingto baby you,’ Hannah shot back sharply, despite her best intentions, Ed’s words about not being afraid to speak her mind popping into her brain all of a sudden. Then she bit her lip. ‘I was just trying to be considerate.’
‘Yeah, well, if you were being considerate, you would have agreed to meet me in a bar again like the first time and listened when I told you that I wasn’t interested in any damned makeover.’
‘Oh, for feck’s sake will you give it a rest? For the hundredth time, I’mnottrying to make you over. Far from it. After that pointless day at the shelter, I’m just trying to get a better handle on whatyou’rehappy to share about yourself. Simple as that.’ She took a deep breath, annoyed with herself. Losing control of her emotions like this was unlike her, but there truly was something about McKenzie that somehow always seemed to unnerve her.
He snorted. ‘And what if someone doesn’t want to share anything? What is it with people having to know everything about everyone these days? Speaking of which,’ he added gruffly, ‘I didn’t realize you were Irish.’
Despite herself, Hannah smiled. So many years of living in the US had dispelled much of her accent, but it unfailingly resurfaced when she was riled.
She worked to get the conversation back on track. ‘It’s you that we’re here to discuss. Like it or not Ward, you’re a talented pro athlete in a successful team – and that puts you in the public eye. I know you manage to getsomebenefits out of being a celebrity,’ she added, referring to his womanising reputation. ‘But having a public profile comes with a price. So maybe level with me a bit.’
He didn’t seem to be listening though. In fact, he was beginning to sweat and his pallor was now a worrying shade of grey. Yikes.
‘OK. Just … stay there, and I’ll grab us a coffee. And maybe some water?’
