Rather than answer Kelly, he turned and pulled on her hand to get them walking again. She seemed to hold back for a second, but it was only a moment of indecision.

  “According to the woman I’ve been sending texts, you gave me the wrong number. I should have figured it out, but I convinced myself you had a New York area code from when you worked here. Rumor is that is not the case.”

  “And you still came looking for me tonight? You’ve got to think I’m a moron.”

  Jake shook his head as he led them to a table set off to the side of the concourse. There were four other small round tables, two with people at them, but he ignored them and stood across from Kelly. Keeping their hands held seemed overkill at that point, so he let her thin fingers slip out of his.

  “I was leaning towards you not wanting to talk to me. You kept telling me you have a boyfriend, so I just figured he was helping with the changes going on in your life, and a new guy hanging out would only disturb things.”

  He shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant about the whole thing. The fact that he’d finally been able to track her down and had offered her his hand, gripping it at times like he was afraid to let go, told a little different story.

  She laughed, almost nervously it seemed, as her eyes darted to the side to follow the people walking by them, instead of meeting his. One thing the pictures he found himself staring at some nights didn’t show was the timid, vulnerable woman standing across from him. She always looked like she was the life of the party in the photos, with guys’ hands all over her. But, every time they’d met, she seemed sort of lost.

  “When he told me he wasn’t going to come for the funeral, and there was no way he’d uproot his life to live in New York, it was the final straw in something that should’ve been over months ago.”

  Kelly’s voice was quiet when she turned away from him as a group of loud teenagers walked by. She turned back to him with a frown on her face, telling Jake the catcalls were directed at her. He couldn’t blame the kids for voicing their feelings, since he couldn’t control his own reaction to the woman.

  One of the reasons he’d chosen to stop and put a table between them was to try to get a handle on his libido. So far, it hadn’t worked. Seeing her only made it easier to picture the dreams he’d had of plowing into her in every imaginable way. He had to do a little adjustment to the images, with the new hair color, but they came in loud and clear.

  He really needed to do something to get sex off his mind.

  “So, no boyfriend in the picture?”

  Just because she’d broken up with one, didn’t mean she hadn’t found another in two months. Through all the images he’d seen online, there were rarely the same guys in any of them. He wasn’t sure if that meant she moved on from guy to guy often, or if she just liked to party with different people.

  “I’d like to think that even high, I wouldn’t have kissed you if there was. I’m not going to pretend I can say that with any certainty, though.”

  Kelly looked down at the table, averting eye contact as she spoke. Jake didn’t blame her. Some of the things the internet said about her were rough. There were a lot of sites that had reports that all it took was a line of coke to get into the famous model’s pants.

  “I didn’t necessarily mean him. It’s been two months since we’ve seen each other. A lot can happen in that time. Shoot, people have met and gotten married in just weeks.”

  Her eyes moved up from where her fingers started tracing patterns on the table. The tips of her lips curved up into a small smile.

  “I’ve been a little too busy to focus on a guy. Going from barely taking care of myself to having two kids rely on me has come with a giant learning curve.”

  “I get the feeling Miss Fiona hasn’t warmed up to the new situation.”

  The smile faded as Kelly’s brow furrowed. Since he’d only spent a few minutes with the girl, he imagined it was odd he’d come to that conclusion.

  “I’m sure if she was any older, she’d be planning my death. How did you know?”

  Jake shrugged, trying to play it off as a lucky guess at first.

  “She gave up the information about you saying my name in your sleep a little too easily. There was a glint of glee when she said it that seemed out of place.”

  Kelly rolled her eyes. Before saying anything, she looked over her shoulder, then behind Jake. He wasn’t sure if she was expecting someone or what, so he looked over his shoulder as well. It seemed like the stream of people on the concourse was picking up, but no one jumped out at him as very interesting.

  “Yeah, well, she’s only six, so you can imagine how much I’m looking forward to her turning thirteen and all the fun years that follow. I’m not exactly the best influence.”

  It was impossible to argue that point. So, Jake let the conversation drop for a few seconds. He had plenty he wanted to talk about, especially since there didn’t seem to be a boyfriend in the picture anymore, but a segue to happier topics took a second to figure out.

  “I’m going to come right out and say it, since I’m sure it’s not much of a secret,” Kelly began before Jake came up with something to say. “I’m a mess. I am a recovering drug addict, and I’ve been diagnosed with anorexia. Both are habits I’m trying to put behind me, but being in this city doesn’t make it easy.”

  She leaned her elbows on the table and kept her voice quiet as she relayed the information. Other than the part about New York making it difficult on her, Jake already knew the other stuff. Even if there wasn’t a specific diagnosis, her exaggerated bone structure made it clear skipping meals was probably still a common occurrence. She had gained weight from some of the pictures he’d seen, but she couldn’t weigh much over a hundred pounds. For someone who put away four thousand calories without blinking some days, it was hard to fathom.

  “Then why are you still here? Couldn’t you just take the kids back to Texas with you?”

  “Because their lives are here, and their parents, even though they’re dead, are still here. I can’t take that away from them, not yet, probably not ever. I can only imagine how much more of a six-year-old hellion I’d have on my hand if I told her we’re moving.”

  Jake smiled at the idea of her sticking around. If she was hanging out more with Hannah and Nina, then there were sure to be more chances for them to run into each other. He wasn’t sure if a relationship was something on the table. She’d been willing to talk to him and hadn’t shied away from his touch, but she was in a fragile place, and he didn’t want to do anything to make things worse.

  “Well, I for one am glad you’re still around,” he said as he held out his hand again and started walking. “As much as I’d love to keep the conversation going, I really am hungry, and we sort of promised Hannah we’d be back before intermission. Judging by the increased foot traffic, we don’t have much time.”

  He could’ve gone without eating, but he wasn’t about to piss Hannah off. The mommy bear in her had made her appearance known as of late, and Jake wasn’t sure who she was protecting. Her husband claimed it was Jake, but from what he could see, Kelly was the one who needed someone looking out for her.

  Chapter 9

  “Are you sure you’ve got her?” Kelly asked. “I could’ve gotten her inside.”

  Jake’s chocolate-colored eyes looked at her skeptically as he carried Fiona in the house. She’d fallen asleep during the third period, and he had insisted on following them home and carrying her inside, after he’d already carried her out of the arena to the car.

  They’d had to wait around for him to finish up some team stuff, but he’d returned, ready to help. If Kelly had been thinking, she would’ve taken off when he was otherwise preoccupied.

  She had a feeling Fiona was faking it, at least some of the time. No matter how careful Jake was not to jostle her, that was a lot of carrying around to do without something stirring her awake.

  “Would you just open the door? She weighs about half as much as you do, and you’ve already got that little one to get inside.”

  He nodded his head forward to indicate Simon, with his head resting on her shoulder. Kelly could easily buy the three-year-old being tuckered out after the exciting night. Since Fiona had been attentive most of the game, and generally decided she didn’t need to sleep at normal times, Kelly wasn’t sure if Fiona was asleep or just liked Jake carrying her around.

  She got out her key to get the front door open. If felt weird to be bringing a guy back to her sister’s place.

  Not that she had any expectations as far as Jake went. She knew he was just being nice. After he’d grabbed some food and taken her back to the suite, he’d kept his distance. It didn’t feel exactly like a cold shoulder, but things in her cozy leather chair were a little icy.

  Trying not to think about that, she focused back on the fact they were getting ready to enter the house. She’d had other people over. Hannah and Nina, along with their husbands, had been over multiple times. Jake was just the first person she cared how he would see the mess they were about to walk into.

  Kelly wasn’t a big cleaner, so the living room alone looked like a circus had just finished up a three-hour show. Mia, the nanny, usually helped some with picking up after the kids, but she’d taken the week off because her parents were in town. If Kelly had any clue that the hunky hockey player was going to follow her home, she would’ve planned ahead and hired someone to take care of the mess.

  Since that hadn’t happened, she bit her lip as she flipped on the light in the entryway. Her eyes immediately scanned the piles of toys and leftover food littering almost every surface of the living room. Kelly would have stayed frozen there if a throat clearing behind her hadn’t reminded her that Jake was carrying the heavier of the two kids.

  “If it’s possible, close your eyes and just follow my voice.” The words made Kelly scoff, and she was the one saying them.

  It was a stupid request, especially since she was thin enough that she wasn’t doing anything to really block Jake’s view of the destruction.

  “If it’s the mess you’re worried about, believe me, I’ve seen worse. When I was in the minors, I had a roommate who didn’t believe in the concept of a garbage can. I won’t go into details, but he kept literally everything.”

  Kelly cringed at the picture he painted. The toys and pizza in the room seemed a little mild, considering, but still not the image she wanted Jake to see.

  “Thanks for that. It doesn’t change the fact that this mess is only meant to be seen by the people living here.”

  Leading him to the staircase off the right side of the entryway, she did her best to hold onto Simon and the railing to keep from falling backward into Jake. She was a little lightheaded, thanks to lack of any real food that day. She’d been so nervous about the possibility of running into Jake that she hadn’t had anything more than a few peppermint candies. They usually calmed her stomach, but the prospect of seeing Jake had been too much for them to do any good.

  “I’m pretty sure being a little sloppy isn’t your worst attribute.”

  She realized how stupid her words were when she heard his. She’d already spelled it out that without question she was a drug addict who had problems convincing herself to eat. One of those things, or maybe even both, were likely to kill her, and she was worried about him thinking she was a slob.

  As they reached the top of the stairs, Kelly directed Jake to the first door, trying to forget about what an idiot she was. It was hard, when almost every aspect of her life seemed to scream it loud and clear.

  Jake looked around the corner of the room, which Kelly knew was ten times cleaner than the mess he’d seen downstairs. Fiona preferred being and doing the exact opposite of everything Kelly did. So, of course, her room was the cleanest in the whole house. She showed off every morning, making sure the pink sheet on her little bed was all square and neat.

  Glancing back at Kelly, Jake raised his eyebrow before stepping into the room. Kelly didn’t have any answers for him, so she just shrugged. As soon as she did, she realized the movement disturbed the golden-haired boy on her shoulder, and she held her breath, hoping it didn’t wake him. All the walking probably had a greater effect, but she was so close to having both kids down for the night that didn’t breathe.

  To not delay moving on with her evening, Kelly made sure Jake seemed to have things in hand and left him to deposit Simon in his room next door. The tan carpet thankfully muted the noise her heels would’ve made against any hard flooring.

  While the downstairs was mainly tile and wood, the stairs and the entire second floor were carpeted. It was smart, considering how rambunctious Simon could get at times. There were times Kelly thought she should just wrap the kid in bubble wrap, but she deduced he probably wouldn’t be able to breathe that well in the outfits she had in mind.

  She was so afraid she’d screw the kids up for life that she spent most of her time just staring at them. It was disturbing on many levels, but Kelly didn’t know what else to do. The kids had lost so much that she couldn’t handle the idea of either of them even getting a paper cut.

  The foreign concept of worrying about someone that much hadn’t won her any favors with Fiona. Kelly couldn’t watch both kids every second of the day, and with Fiona having school five days a week, the task seemed futile. The little girl always came home with cuts and scrapes from playing at recess. She took immense joy in watching her aunt’s eyes widen in horror when she saw them. Each skin abrasion felt like Kelly was somehow failing her sister.

  “You okay?”

  Kelly started at Jake’s deep voice. She’d managed to lay Simon down and had sat on the edge of his bed, smoothing his hair where it was a little flat from leaning against her shoulder. She leaned down and kissed his forehead before turning to the other male in the house.

  She’d thought she wanted to spend some time alone with Jake, but the thought of it suddenly terrified her. Being afraid of everything was one of the reasons she’d easily escaped into the world of drugs, even after her first experience hadn’t exactly been something to write home about. A line would’ve helped the anxiety bubbling up inside of her, but she didn’t have any in the house, and she was learning coke didn’t solve all her problems.

  One of those problems was leaning in the doorway across the room from her. He’d at some point loosened his tie and unbuttoned a few buttons of his navy dress shirt, revealing smooth tanned skin. Kelly plastered on a mostly fake smile as she got up, pulling Simon’s blankets up to make sure he was covered.

  The smile on Jake’s face didn’t seem fake, with a dimple on his right cheek clearly visible. His head was cocked to the side, so she couldn’t see if he had a matching one on the other cheek.

  “I’m fine. Can I get you anything?”

  He moved out of the doorway as she walked through it. As they made their way down the stairs, she could feel his heat just behind her. They’d taken separate cars, and both had their hands full, so she didn’t have any solid proof, but Kelly still felt like whatever barrier he’d put up after they returned to the suite was still there.

  She couldn’t blame the guy. He’d hit on her at a wedding and quickly found out what a mistake that was.

  They made it all the way to the bottom of the stairs before he answered her question. She’d pictured him hitting that last step and pushing her out of the way to run out the door, but he surprised her by placing his large hands on her hips, pulling her back into his very firm chest.

  “I know it’s late, but I thought maybe I could help you with the mess you’re so worried about me seeing.”

  Kelly didn’t know what was more surprising, his touch or the offer. Her head told her she should pull away, but her body relaxed into his arms as he nudged her head to the side, so he could lean his head on her shoulder. In her heels, he was a few inches taller than her, so he fit against her almost perfectly.

  “You don’t have to do that. I’ve obviously let things go a little far, but you’ve already done so much just helping me get the kids in. If you want to stick around, I’m sure we can clear a path on the couch to sit.”

  She thought about stepping forward to lead the way, but she didn’t want to mess up the moment. She’d had dreams about Jake’s body against her many times, most of those times without clothes. Even the clothed version was better than a lot of her fantasies, and she wanted to savor it for as long as he allowed.

  “I think I prefer to keep busy, if that’s okay with you. If you’re tired, you can sit on the couch and just tell me where to put things.”

  Kelly’s forehead scrunched as she let his words sink in. She was the damaged one, and yet he was offering to clean her house. She was certain she wasn’t hallucinating, but something seemed off.

  “Why in the world would you do that?”

  The mystification was clear in her voice. She tried to come up with some kind of reasoning for his offer, but nothing made sense. He’d put a wall up, then offered to help her take the kids home, and now all he wanted to do was clean the house?

  She’d met a lot of crazy people, but he was taking the cake.

  “Because I want to spend time with you and get to know you better,” he whispered in her ear, causing a shiver to run down her body. “But, I don’t think I can do that if we’re sitting on a couch together.”

  Turning, Kelly put a little room between them and stared up into his brown eyes, trying to see if she could figure out what he was thinking. She’d never been good at reading people, and Jake didn’t seem to be giving anything away. His left brow arched up, almost in a challenge.

  “I don’t understand.”

  The words probably weren’t needed. Her face had to display her utter confusion.

  Jake only smiled and grabbed her hand to direct her into the other room. Kelly winced as he had to maneuver around and step over stuffed animals. She’d been amazed at the never-ending supply of toys that kept appearing. When she was a kid, she’d never gone without the things she wanted, but she wasn’t spoiled to the level Fiona and Simon were.