“You’d be correct.” Doug walked back out to the living room and stood in the doorway to watch her peruse the pictures on the entertainment center.

  Hearing his voice so close, Lizzie startled. Her cheeks pinkened as she realized she’d been caught looking at his things. She moved over to the couch to sit next to Ben, who had surprisingly stayed where Doug left him.

  “I figured you had a nice house, but I wasn’t expecting it to be this homey. You’re clearly not married now, but were you at one time?”

  The question caused Doug to laugh as he made his way to sit on the couch on the other side of Ben. It was probably good for everyone involved that they had a buffer. All he could think about was kissing her again, and how that would be a nice way to start off the day. Chances were that wasn’t the same thing going through her mind. Or maybe it was, because her eyes seemed a little darker from the perusing of his partially naked body.

  “Annie teases me all the time that if hockey doesn’t work out for me, I have a career in interior design.”

  “Annie?” Her eyes narrowed slightly, and Doug could almost feel her quills unfurrow.

  “Nelson’s wife. She’s the one with black hair in all the pictures.”

  Annie was only in two or three of the pics, but she was the only one with jet black hair. Most of the pictures were of Doug’s family back in Duluth or of his hockey family.

  Lizzie’s expression softened a little, but she remained sitting on the edge of her seat. “I guess you didn’t really answer my question.”

  Doug shrugged. “I thought it was pretty obvious I’ve never been married. But you have, right?”

  She hadn’t been willing to talk about Ben’s dad, or as Doug had started calling him, the idiot. Anyone who did something to lose Lizzie had to be the biggest idiot in the world.

  “I was, and that’s why I came a little early. We need to talk about yesterday and how that can’t happen again.”

  Doug wasn’t sure if there was a particular part of the day or the day as a whole that couldn’t be repeated, so he waited for her to say more. He thought about pointing out the obvious, that a day in the past technically couldn’t be repeated, but she’d focused her gaze to her lap and didn’t seem up for jokes.

  “I think it’s obvious there’s an attraction between us, but we can’t act on it. It was bad enough that we were caught by Maddie.” Lizzie paused for a second, and Doug waited for her to get it all out before he offered his counter. “I looked you up last night after hearing you were a hockey player, and I found out the world knows who you are and the press likes taking pictures of you. I can’t risk my ex finding us, so no matter how strong the pull I feel is, I’m not going to be able to act on it.”

  At least she didn’t deny there was something between them. The way she’d kissed him back had told him she felt the same thing he did, but she could’ve slept on it and convinced herself otherwise. The fact that she hadn’t told him he still had a chance.

  He reached over and gently turned her face in his direction. It hurt to see sadness in her eyes, and Doug vowed to hurt the man who was the cause of it. He didn’t know exactly what that entailed, but he’d figure something out.

  “So you’re hiding from your ex. I take it that’s why you freaked out when I wanted to call DHS.” Doug felt like an even bigger ass for how he’d handled things.

  “Yeah. Things got ugly between us after I caught him cheating. When I had to deal with a few broken ribs after a fall down a flight of stairs, I filed for divorce, grabbed Ben and got out of there as fast as I could.”

  Doug felt a little like Nelson as he started grinding his teeth. He knew the ex was an idiot, but he hadn’t realized how big of one. He wanted to ask the guy’s name, so he could accidently run into him and introduce him to his fists.

  “By fall I’m guessing you mean pushed.” There were no problems reading between the lines on his end, but he wanted to make sure they were on the same page.

  He glanced down at Ben, worried the story would get worse. The baby was small, but he seemed to be fine cognitively and physically. Ben just sat there with a smile on his face, apparently happy to be close to his two favorite people.

  “Yes, and he never hurt Ben. I see you trying to figure out if there’s an indication he did, but it was almost two years ago and Ben doesn’t even remember him.”

  That was good news as far as Doug was concerned. He directed his eyes back to the woman who still had some explaining to do.

  “Does he live around here? I know the city is pretty big, but there’s a chance you could run into him.” Doug actually wanted to ask if the divorce was finalized, but her safety was more important than any plans he had for the future.

  “No, and I changed my last name when we moved. We lived in Chicago, so there’s a few states in between us, but I’m always afraid of drawing attention.”

  “And you think us dating would do that.” Doug knew she was right. He didn’t consider himself a superstar goalie, but if someone recognized him, they asked for a picture. There were some people who didn’t bother asking.

  “Most of the pictures I saw were you with what looked like teammates, but I imagine if you start hitting the town with a girl on your arm, there’s going to be pictures out there.”

  Doug didn’t bother searching for himself on the internet, so he wasn’t sure what was out there. A photographer would’ve had to been extremely sneaky to get him in a shot on a date, though. He talked to women at the bars from time to time, but it’d been a long time since he’d had a legitimate date.

  “We don’t have to go out. As you saw, there aren’t photographers hiding in my bushes. Plus, I kind of like the idea of getting to know you better in privacy.”

  Doug and Annie had pretended to date for a few weeks once, and they’d managed to keep it private. He was fairly certain he could keep a relationship secret from prying eyes. As it was, he didn’t think news of him dating would be a national phenomenon, so he felt the threat of someone in Chicago finding out about them was slim.

  “You don’t understand. He got close to finding us once before. A week after I finished nursing school, one of my teachers contacted me and told me he’d been there looking for me. We’ve moved three times because I’ve been afraid to settle in one spot for more than six months. I was hoping I’d feel more comfortable here and maybe make it a full year, but with the inspection today and this thing with you, I think I need to start looking for a new job.”

  She left out the part about the job being in a different city, but Doug understood what she met. He immediately hated the idea and fought to find something to say to assure her that wasn’t needed.

  “Why do you let this idiot control your life? I understand you want to protect yourself and your kid, but you can’t live in constant fear.”

  Lizzie looked away, but Doug again turned her face towards him. She said so much with her eyes that he wanted to keep them in his direction.

  “Because he could try to take Ben away. I have sole custody and proof that we aren’t married anymore, but that doesn’t mean he won’t use him against me.” The fear in her eyes matched what he’d seen the day before when he fought to keep her from taking Ben in the hospital.

  Doug leaned his head forward, so his forehead rested on hers. He sighed, knowing he didn’t have all the answers, but at the same time knowing he needed to come up with some fast.

  “I won’t let anyone take your son from you. But I also won’t give up on the chance we have. What’s your ex’s name? Let me do some digging before you make any decisions. Maybe he’s given up the search and moved on.”

  Doug knew he’d never stop fighting to find Lizzie, but he also knew he wouldn’t have been stupid enough to cheat on her, and he’d rather hurt himself than see her injured. She remained deep in thought while her eyes searched his for something. Being able to smell the slight scent of cherries on her lips was driving him crazy. He should’ve remained on his side of the couch, because he knew he was going to have to taste her again before she left for work.

  “What if it somehow backfires? If you start searching for him, it could set off a flag on his end and he’d know where I was.”

  “I dare him to show up at my door looking for you. He may be able to push you around, but he’ll find I don’t take kindly to men who treat women like that.”

  “Kiss Mommy.”

  Doug hadn’t forgotten about Ben, but he’d done such a good job of sitting without interrupting that he had to laugh at the words he decided to finally say. The baby thumped his legs on the couch as he waited for his command to be followed.

  “Do you figure he wants you to kiss him or me to kiss you?” Doug knew which one he was rooting for.

  “I have a feeling neither one of you heard a word I’ve said this morning. In his case that’s a good thing, but your eyes are telling me you’re going to do what he said.” That being said, Lizzie didn’t move away from Doug.

  He didn’t want her going off to work totally flustered, so he started by just kissing her lightly on the cheek. If she decided to complain about things later, Doug would be quick to point out that she was the one who turned her head so their lips could brush together.

  Ben clapping kept them from taking the spark that transferred between them any further. Doug kept telling himself to slow down, but when she threatened to move, it kicked his inner churning up to high gear. He had to prove to her he could protect her, and that she had a right to live life how she wanted, not how the idiot forced her to live.

  Doug glanced over to Ben and shook his head as he continued to clap. “I really hope he doesn’t do that around every guy you meet.”

  “He doesn’t. There’s something about you that’s messing with both of us, and he’s taking advantage of it.” Lizzie took a deep breath and leaned back so she could look at her son.

  “That’s not the most flattering thing I’ve ever heard, but most of the time when a woman tries to hit on me, she’s slurring her words. Not that the hitting on me does any good. I don’t tend to have much luck with the fairer sex.”

  “Yeah, right. I believe that’s the first time you’ve lied to me about something.”

  Doug shook his head. There were times he wished it wasn’t true, but at the same time, if he’d found someone before meeting Lizzie, he wouldn’t have been available to see where things could go between them. He glanced over to the entertainment center at the pictures of his family and friends. He was going to try to convince Lizzie he wasn’t lying, but he had plenty of backup in case she didn’t believe him.

  “I’ve never lied to you, Lizzie. I know that sounds a little strange since we’ve only known each other for a day, but it’s the truth. Annie claims it’s my taste in movies that always has me striking out and my best friend thinks it has something to do with my cologne.”

  Doug received an odd look for that statement. Lizzie kept her eyes on Ben, rubbing the top of his hair as she did, but she’d narrowed her eyes and was looking out the corner of her left one at him.

  “I’ve never agreed with them, so I’ll let them explain their reasons to you when you meet them.”

  The weekend was fast approaching and it’d been a while since the team got together for a barbecue. It’d be the perfect time to introduce Lizzie and Ben to what his life was really like. Some people thought that since they played a sport that was televised on TV a few days a week that they were celebrities, and different from the average person. Doug wanted to prove to Lizzie that wasn’t the case.

  “I’m afraid to ask who your best friend is. You probably hobnob with all sorts of interesting people.”

  Doug had to chuckle that she’d immediately reiterated his thoughts. “John, or Klinger like most of us on the team call him, is definitely a character, but he’s the backup goaltender on our team. Do you and Ben have plans for the weekend? I was thinking about having the team and their families over for a barbecue, and I’d love if you guys could make it.”

  Just knowing that she’d still be in town in two days would be a weight off his shoulders. He tried to tell himself he wouldn’t turn into a stalker looking for her if she left, but he’d never been a good liar.

  “I don’t know,” she replied, looking around the living room as she did.

  Doug tried to see it through her eyes, but since he’d lived there for years, without much changing, it was hard to get some new perspective. Everything seemed pretty standard to him. It wasn’t like he had million dollar art pieces hanging or a fountain centered between a pair of grand staircases. It was just a living room to him.

  “At least think about it. I know you’ve gotten the impression that we’re celebrities of some sort, but we’re just people who like to relax and have fun.”

  “Okay, I’ll think about it. I should probably get going. I don’t know exactly what today is going to bring, but it’s not going to be fun.”

  Doug felt bad about his part in that, but Steph’s safety was almost as important to him as Lizzie’s was turning out to be. Sure he’d known Steph longer, but he wanted and saw a future with Lizzie, whether she wanted to admit that or not.

  “That’s all I can ask. I’m hoping today isn’t that bad. Just think about coming back here and eating the dinner Ben’s going to spend the day making for you.” Doug hadn’t made up his mind about what they were having yet, but he figured she couldn’t turn the offer down if Ben was involved.

  “And you tried to tell me you don’t have any luck with women.” Lizzie blushed, and Doug wondered what caused it, because he didn’t think it was from the simple words she’d said.

  He didn’t want to push, so he stood up and held his hand out to her. Her skin was soft as her hand brushed against his skin while he pulled her up. He waited while she leaned down and kissed Ben, before Doug walked her over to the door.

  “Do you want pictures again today, or have I proven I’m not going to kidnap him.”

  Lizzie thought for a second and ended up shaking her head. “I trust you, but if a cute photo op comes up, I wouldn’t mind seeing it later.”

  Doug smiled and leaned down for one more quick kiss. It was difficult to keep it quick and PG, but he managed. He watched as she walked out the door and made it to her car, then he continued to watch until he couldn’t see her headlights.

  Sighing, wishing he could somehow run after her and convince her not to go, but at the same time realizing she hadn’t left him with a car seat, he turned around to face Ben. “Okay, buddy, it’s just you and me. What kind of trouble do you think we can get in today?”

  Chapter Eight

  Lizzie could not believe how slow her day was going. She had fifteen minutes before she could clock out and the time was dragging on. She’d meant to stop in and check on Stephanie, but they were still short-staffed and everyone had to take a turn being interviewed by the nice inspectors.

  It had taken a half an hour out of her day, but it hadn’t been as grueling as she’d expected. A few simple questions and smiles was all she had to sit through. The doctors and director of the place were locked in a room with them for hours. Lizzie could only imagine the fun they were having, fun she hoped she was never on the receiving end of.

  To kill two birds with one stone, Lizzie knocked softly on the door to Stephanie’s room. She wanted to ask the woman a couple questions and it was a place to hide from Maddie, who’d been trying to quiz her about Doug all day. Lizzie had nothing she wanted to share, so she’d been avoiding the other nurse. When they were both being called on constantly, it was easy to dodge the questions, but the knowing stares were a little more difficult to avoid.

  “I’m decent,” Stephanie softly responded.

  Lizzie turned the handle and let herself in. She’d been in the room a number of times, so she focused her gaze on Stephanie sitting in the middle of the bed, rather than taking in the fact that the bed, with its white sheets and blankets was the only thing in the room other than the patient. All the rooms were the same, and equally unstimulating.

  Stephanie’s face brightened when she saw who the visitor was. Lizzie wasn’t exactly sure what she was getting herself into, judging by the look. “I wondered when you’d stop by. I’ve had two visitors in as many days and they both brought you up.”

  Lizzie had seen Nelson, but hadn’t been able to do more than return a smile. After he spoke for a while with Stephanie, he’d ended up tracking down one of the people questioning the staff and talking to them for just as long as he had Stephanie.

  “Yeah, well, as you can imagine that’s kind of why I finally decided to stop by. As of yesterday, I have absolutely no idea what’s going on with my life.” Lizzie made sure the door was shut behind her as she scooted a little further into the room.

  “Nels kind of hinted as much. Doug and I were never really close because I had other priorities, but he’s a standup guy. And from the look I saw in his eyes yesterday, I’d say he’s got a little crush on you.”

  “He’d have to be a standup guy for you to get him to come down and turn the whole building on its head. Does he always champion women?”

  Stephanie shrugged. “I couldn’t tell you. I’ve never seen him around other women. I just know how he is around the team and that he’s got my eternal gratitude for actually coming to see me. I’m still not ready to go back to a regular life, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have the right to feel safe. From the sounds of things, I’ll probably be out of here by the end of the week, which is all I wanted.”

  Lizzie couldn’t argue with the right to feel safe. It could be an important part of Stephanie’s road to wellness. She took a second to study the other woman, wondering about times she and Doug spent together. Stephanie Palmer was gorgeous, there was no denying that.

  Her blond hair was something to be envied, even if she seemed to just let it do whatever it wanted. Lizzie couldn’t get the same ringlets if she tried. Hair wasn’t the only thing to be envious of. Stephanie hadn’t been allowed makeup in years, but yet her lips were bright red, her cheeks always looked freshly blushed and her eyes shone enough that she didn’t need eye makeup to get them to pop. Lizzie didn’t have a right to be jealous, but she kept asking herself why she couldn’t have met Doug sooner in life.