Cold as Ice (14 page)

Eva brought the glass to her lips as the guys did the same. “Mmmm, that’s really good. Nice and dry and crisp.”

“Do you know wine?” Bonnie asked.

“Not really. But I’ve been to the wineries in the Finger Lakes a bunch of times.”

“Ah. You didn’t sound like a total neophyte.” Bonnie backed away. “I think your appetizer is probably ready. Settle back and enjoy your wine while Kelly and I plate it. We’re going to serve everything family style. We figured that might be easier for you guys and be fewer plates on the table.”

“Sounds great.” Eva took another sip of her wine and turned her attention back to the guys. “So did anything interesting happen on the road, besides the obvious?”

“You mean that we lost?” Jake asked.

“Yeah.”

“Besides that, no. Did you expect us to say we’d had a wild time at a strip club or something?”

Eva shrugged. “I don’t know what you guys do on the road to entertain yourselves.” She hoped they didn’t go out to strip clubs all the time, but she really didn’t have that much of a say over what they did or didn’t do.

“Strip clubs lose their allure pretty quickly,” Jake answered.

Bonnie returned, setting a large platter in front of them. “Shrimp Sambuca, which is jumbo shrimp sautéed with spring onions, bell peppers, tomatoes, and creminis, finished in a Pernod mascarpone cream sauce over garlic grilled baguettes.”

“Come again?” Luc said.

Bonnie chuckled. “Basically, sautéed shrimp with a bunch of other stuff on top of pieces of bread.”

“Caveman,” Jake mumbled. He picked up the small spatula that was resting on the side of the tray. “Can I serve you one, Eva?”

“I’d be delighted, thank you.”

Luc glowered at Jake. “Since when did you become Mr. Culinary?”

“Since it gets me brownie points with our woman,” Jake replied with a half smile. “Besides, you know I like to cook. I actually understood a lot of Bonnie’s explanation of this dish.”

“Big whoop,” Luc grumbled.

They ate the delicious appetizer and then conversed about everyday topics until Bonnie came back to clear their plates. “Forgot to ask. No one has any food allergies, right?”

The men all said no, and Eva replied, “No allergies, but I’m not a big fan of artichokes. I hope that’s okay.”

“No artichokes tonight,” Bonnie assured her. “I’ll be back with your entrée in a minute, and I’ll have one of the servers bring your bottle of red over.”

Jake declined more wine, since he was driving, but Eva allowed the young server to fill her glass. She went through the routine of smelling it before taking a sip of the garnet liquid. Jake smiled. “Maybe we can get her drunk and take advantage of her.”

Eva sputtered. “Cough, baby,” Luc told her, and she did, beginning to recover.

“Or maybe not,” Jake continued.

She regarded him with narrowed eyes. “You’d better not leave me high and dry,” she threatened.

“Oh, we won’t. You may not be high, but I
can
guarantee you won’t be dry,” Luc replied with an evil gleam in his eye.

Eva coughed again, and he chuckled.

Bonnie set a large platter on the table. “This is steak marsala. Scott said you guys eat so much chicken and pasta that you’d appreciate a beef dish.”

“We’ll have to thank Scott for the suggestion. This smells wonderful,” Carter answered.

“I’ll tell Kelly you said so. Right now she’s wrestling with the dryer.”

“Wrestling with it? Why?”

“Oh, it’s ridiculously temperamental.”

“Want one of us to take a look at it?” Carter asked.

“Nah. Scott’s on his way here, actually. He seems pretty handy from what I’ve seen, which is good because stuff breaks down constantly.” The guys all started to laugh and Bonnie waggled her finger at them. “That’s not what I meant and you know it. Anyway, the steak marsala is peppercorn-rubbed Angus New York strip topped with sautéed spinach, onions, and mushrooms in a sweet marsala demi-glace and then baked with provolone. Kelly’s chosen to pair it with mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli. Do you guys need anything else?”

“This looks and smells fabulous,” Eva replied. “I think we’re all set.”

“Then I’ll leave you to it.”

Bonnie departed and they dug into their meals. After they’d been eating for a few moments, Jake cleared his throat and glanced at Luc and Carter. Eva regarded them with suspicion. What was going on?

“We’ve been talking, honey, and we wanted to discuss the topic with you, since it concerns you.”

“Okay,” she answered, setting her fork down. Luc groaned, and Carter looked uncomfortable. “You’re scaring me.”

Jake covered her hand with his. “Don’t be scared, honey, it’s nothing bad.”

“Then why do Luc and Carter look like you just handed them a death sentence?”

“Because we didn’t want to get into this tonight,” Carter replied through clenched teeth.

“We have to,” Jake protested.

“Just spit it out, guys.”

“Look, Eva, we care about you,” Carter began.

“But?”

“Why are you so sure there’s a ‘but’?” Jake asked.

“Because there’s always a ‘but’.”

Jake shook his head. “Not this time.” He pulled her fingers to his mouth and kissed each one. “We just want you to know that all of us consider this relationship to be more than sex. We aren’t ready to make any grand declarations, but none of us are taking this casually.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s it,” Luc replied. “What do you think?”

“I think I’m relieved you’re not breaking up with me. If you were, this would be a shitty way to do it, by the way.”

“Duly noted,” Carter murmured and her gaze shot to assess him. He seemed less at ease than the others.

“What’s going on with you, Carter?”

He looked up. “Nothing. Why?”

“You aren’t as on board with this as Luc and Jake are,” she surmised.

“It’s not that, chica. It’s just…” He ran his hand over his head and shrugged. “I don’t know what I want to say. I’m happy right now. I don’t wanna change anything.”

“Who said we were changing anything?”

Carter’s eyes shifted to his teammates and she wondered what exactly their conversation had been about. Before she could ask, though, Kelly approached the table, wiping her eyes. All three men jumped up.

“Kelly, honey, what’s wrong?” Jake asked, pulling her into his arms.

“Scott just called. Leo talked to the doctor and got some test results.”

“And?”

“He’s got a
cardiac
arrhythmia. That means abnormal heartbeat.”

“Has he ever had a problem like that before?” Carter asked as he rubbed her back.

“No, never, and they have no idea what’s causing it now. But until they do, he won’t be playing. The Intimidators put him on injured reserve.”

“Well, that’s good, though. They can find out what’s going on and make him better.”

“That’s right,” Luc said, but Eva could tell he didn’t exactly believe his own words.

“But what if they never find out and it never gets better? His career could be in jeopardy!”

“You don’t know that,” Eva replied, also standing and coming around the table to face Kelly. “I had to take some medical classes to get my massage therapist license and I know there are medications to treat
arrhythmias.”

Kelly’s shoulders slumped and Eva wished she knew the other woman better in order to provide comfort, or could give her more concrete reassurances.

Kelly motioned toward the table. “You guys should eat. It’ll get cold.”

Eva reached a hand out and squeezed Kelly’s shoulder. “Don’t worry about that.”

“I’m fine, really. It was just a shock. Scott will be here soon, and I can love on him.” A ghost of a smile appeared. “He won’t mind.”

“If you’re sure…” Luc said.

“Positive.” She gave him a smile. “I need to get your dessert ready anyway.”

“Please tell me it’s an apple pie. Leo and Scott talk about yours all the time, but I’ve never had it,” he answered.

“Maybe it is, and maybe it isn’t. You’ll just have to wait and see.”

“Meanie.”

Kelly laughed. “Thanks for listening.”

“Anytime,” the guys echoed.

A few minutes later, Kelly brought out a steaming apple pie and a container of vanilla ice cream. “You’re a goddess,” Luc told her.

“Hey! That’s my woman you’re talking about!” Eva turned and saw that Scott had entered the kitchen.

“What’re you gonna do about it, little man?”

Eva and Kelly both sputtered. Scott came over to their table and leaned down, resting his hands on the surface. “You better watch it or you’ll find something very unpleasant in your jock, dude.” He was smiling, but Eva had no doubt he wasn’t kidding. The pranks hockey players orchestrated were unreal, based on the stories the guys had told her. She was glad none of them had ever played a prank on her. Yet. Eva swallowed thickly.

Luc snorted. “Look, man, I’d hate to kill you, since you’re apparently our starting goaltender—God help us all—but I will.”

Kelly scooted in between them. “All right, guys. If you’re done having your dick-measuring contest, my pie is getting cold and my ice cream is getting warm.” She pushed Scott toward the back of the kitchen. “Go look at the dryer, please.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Scott saluted and left, and Kelly shook her head, smiling.

They polished off the pie in record time. Eva sat back, rubbing her belly. “I’m so full. You guys are gonna need to roll me outta here.”

“I hope you’re not
too
full, because we’ve got some plans for you.” Luc waggled his eyebrows at her and she groaned.

“Maybe in a little while. Right now I’m busy digesting.”

“Isn’t it always the way?” Carter teased. “They’re digesting, they’re on the rag”—Eva gave him a punch for that one—“they have to wash their hair…”

“Or maybe you’re just doing something wrong,” Luc replied with a smirk.

“I’ve never had a complaint before,” Carter retorted before he sat back and rubbed his belly. “Man, that was great.”