Levi looks shockedbut doesn’t say anything. He nods, and I get up and make my way to the showers, eager to get cleaned up so I can see Zoey.
27
Zoey
Marti is twitching like a kid in a candy store as she looks around the massive, immaculate house. The party is the last one the Thunder will havewith the Stanley Cup before the trophy heads back to Toronto and waits for the next team to claim it at the end of the season. That’s why the management decided to throw a final get-together tonight for players and family at the owner’s house. The owner is some incredibly successful tech businesswoman named Ryanne Bateman, which blew my mind. She is, according to Google, the only female owner of a pro hockey team, and also according to Google she is over forty, which is crazy, because she doesn’t look a day older than me.
Marti is in awe of the houseand this woman’s wealth and power, and spent the first hour we were here whispering ideas on how to approach Ryanne and give her a business card, but all I could think about was Jude. He played amazingly tonight, and it was crazy, but it turned me on to see him dominate on the ice. And then he walked out of the locker room in that expensive blue three-piece suit with the crisp checkered shirt and the silver tie, and it was almost more eye porn than I could handle. I wanted to start unbuttoning his jacket and vest with my teeth right there in the friends and family lounge.
“We should get Jude to introduce us to her,” Marti says as she sips her champagne beside me. “She probably buys real estate the way we buy underwear.”
I smile, but my eyes are on Jude as he chats in the far corner of the living room with his sister. “I’ll see if he can do it.”
“I’ve already given out business cards to half the team,” Marti says and nudges me so my eyes finally leave my boyfriend. “Zoey, you need to take advantage of some of these connections before I steal them all. You’re the one who has to build a client base.”
“I know. I will.” I’vealready had a casual conversation with Abby, who just found out she and Brian are expectingtheir third baby and will be needing a bigger place before it’s born. But I didn’t want to treat my affiliation with Jude like a business arrangement, because it isn’t. Of course I haven’t told that to Marti, but she’s beginning to figure it out.
“So I’ll be honest with you,” she says in a conspiratorial whisper while my eyes follow Jude’s hand as it plays with the Windsor knot in his tie and then slides down the tie to where it’s tucked into his vest. Why does his every move make my nerve endings dance? “I kind of want more than just commissions from some of these guys.”
I nod, barely paying attention. “Go for it.”
“Like you are?” That finally gets my attention, and I look up and find her eyes staring back at me with zero judgment. “Hey, honey, I am all for mixing work and play, as long as you both know what you’re getting into.”
“I’ve never been involved with a client before,” I explain, despite the fact that she doesn’t think less of me. “But Jude and I had a history we just couldn’t forget.”
“I figured there was more than just an old friendship, because from the second he walked into our office he looked at you like you were edible,” Marti acknowledges with a smile. “Like I said, I see nothing wrong with a little good, clean fun. Who am I kidding? I actually like good, dirty fun better. And speaking of dirty, is that one single?”
I follow her index finger, which she lifts from the champagne flute she’s holding and subtly points toward the buffet table. There, slobbering all over the roast beef slider tray, is Eddie Rollins.
“Eddie? Oh Mylanta!” I can’t believe she’s asking about him. “Yes, he’s single. For a reason.”
“Who is single for a reason?” Tessa asks as she suddenly appears beside me. She absently pushes her long, curled blond hair behind her shoulder as her blue eyes scan the room. “Have you seen Levi?”
“Tessa, this is my co-workerMarti. She came to the game with me tonight,” I explain, and the two smile at each other and shake hands. “I leased Tessa and her partner the space for their business, and she just so happens to be dating Levi Casco.”
Marti’s brown eyes flare and she covers her mouth as she gasps. “Thor? You’re dating Thor? Oh, girl, you are my idol. He’s San Francisco’s hottest bachelor.”
Tessa laughs and blushes a little at Marti’s use of Levi’s “god of Thunder” nickname. “He is pretty hot, if I do say so myself. I haven’t seen him in four days, so I’m in withdrawal.”
“He’s in the backyard drinking beer out of the Cup with Duncan and Carla, last I saw,” I explain. “His shoulder had him sitting part of the game.”
Tessa frowns in concern, but my eyes are attached to Jude again as he makes his way over. With every step closer, the tingle in my body gets stronger until I’m almost fidgeting. As soon as he’s close enough, he circles my waist with his arm and kisses me softly. “Having fun, ladies?” he asks us all, and then turns and nuzzles my cheek with the tip of his nose. “Sorry, Dixie needed to talk to me about a charity thing I did.”
“Look, there’s Thor!” Marti announces and points. Levi is walking into the house from the open back doors. Well, it’s not exactly doors. The whole back wall is glass panels that retract so it opens completely to the backyard.
I watch as Tessa and Levi’s eyes connect, and both their faces start to glow at the sight of each other. Her smile is so big and beautiful it makes me smile. She starts to move toward him, and he excuses himself from a conversation with the elegant team owner and some guy in a suit and starts toward her. I’m expecting this sappy moment complete with a giant reunion kiss but…it doesn’t happen. They hug, but it’s so quick I almost miss it because I blinked. They bow their heads close and whisper something that’s probably sweet—or better yet, sexy—but that too is brief. Marti notices the restrained quality of the whole thing too, and shoots me a sideways “what the fuck” type of glance. I just shrug and look to Jude for some kind of explanation. He’s not paying attention; his eyes are on my shoulder where he’s softly pushing back the one tendril of hair I have purposely let fall away from my sideswept low ponytail. “You look amazing tonight.”
I look down at the cocktail dress I’m in. I went for something fun and flirty with a tight top but flared at the waist—and it has pockets, which automatically makes a dress a ten for me. “That’s the first time you’ve given me a compliment when I’m dressed up.”
“You always look good, but I like you best dressed down. Or not dressed at all,” he whispers, and then his voice drops even lower and his lips graze my neck as he adds, “This little loose curl is going to be the death of me.”
He sweeps a hand over that loose tendril again, his fingertips scraping my neck and making me wish I brought a backup pair of panties. “Speaking of backups…”
“We were speaking of backups?” Jude asks, and I realize he’s got me so frazzled I’m not making sense.
I take a small step away from him and point to Eddie. “Is he single?”
“Of course. Why?”
