More Than a Game (3 page)

“I can’t imagine playing a game like that.”

“Honestly, I love it. It’s an adrenaline rush from the time I step onto the ice until well after the game has ended. It’s the same for fans. They don’t want to come out and see a bunch of guys just skate up and down the ice trying to knock a puck into a net. They want to see the fights, the arguments. They love to see my name up on that box overhead with the word ‘penalty’ flashing bright red. It’s the same way people in ancient times reacted to gladiator fights. It’s sort of like releasing aggression by proxy.”

“Perhaps you should all put on those gladiator helmets like they used to wear to play.”

Much to her surprise, Shane’s response came in the form of a kiss. Leaning forward, he pulled her to him and kissed her. It was a slow, lingering kiss that curled her toes and paralyzed her into a thoughtless state that denied her the ability to even consider pulling away. She knew she had wanted him to kiss her, but then she snapped out of it and reminded herself what a bad idea it was. Pulling away, she looked at him, struck again by how gorgeous he was.

“Shane, I don’t think it is a good idea to get involved with one another beyond just work.”

“I’m sorry,” he said immediately, looking away for a moment.

“It’s okay. We were just caught up in a moment. I know how you gladiators are and stuff,” she said, trying to make light of the situation.

Shane smiled at her softly and stood up. She assumed it was her cue to leave, but instead, he reached for her hand.

“Come on. I want to show you something.”

Leslie took his hand and stood up, following him down the hallway and toward a door that led out to behind the house. They stepped out onto a brick walkway that led to a garden behind the house. It was flanked on either side with roses in every color you could imagine. Small pink tea roses crawled up several trellises just beyond the house walls and then there were bushes filled with the most beautiful flowers she had ever seen.

“This is beautiful. Your gardener must be a botanic genius.”

“I like to think I am.”

“Wait. You did all this?”

“Yes. My mum loved roses, but they didn’t grow well where we lived. Dad used to buy them for her on his way home and she would keep them until they were wilting, then dry them to add to the potpourri she kept all around the house. She loves it when she visits here and can walk through all of these.”

“That is so sweet of you.”

“I don’t know about sweet, but I do what I can to keep her happy. She’s been sad since my father died. I tried to get her to move here with me, but she doesn’t want to leave Dublin, insists upon remaining in the family home there until they carry her out of it under a blanket, as she says.”

“Do you get to see her very often?”

“Here and there. She comes over every few months or I go there in the off-season and visit for a while. Have you ever been to Dublin?”

“No. I can’t say that I have.”

“You should go with me next time I go home. You would love it there.”

Leslie looked up at him, his face dimly lit by the small orbs that lit the garden path. He looked sad and she realized, for the first time, that he seemed lonely. It had never occurred to her that a pro hockey player wasn’t always at parties or with friends, but she realized now that Shane wasn’t that sort. His time was filled with solitude when he wasn’t in the rink with his teammates. He was in his game room or working in his garden. She felt another tug toward him, but held back. He, however, did not, leaning in to kiss her again. This time, she didn’t pull away.

The following morning, Leslie was full of energy. Sitting down behind her desk back at work, she began piecing together the notes she had made during her visit with Shane last night. The thought of him made her smile. Closing her eyes, she could almost still feel his lips on hers. Though she had excused herself right after that to go home, she had not pushed him away. Raising her hand to his face, she had caressed it and told him it was best that she go. He nodded and walked her out, telling her goodnight at her car with only a peck on the cheek.

“That doesn’t look like a work face,” a voice said from nearby.

Leslie’s eyes flew open to look up at her boss, Mr. Tomlin. He had a perpetual scowl, though he was really a nice guy underneath the surface. He was driven, demanding, but he seemed reasonable when push came to shove.

“Mr. Tomlin. Sorry. I was a million miles away for a moment.”

“Hopefully not thinking about some guy in another country that you are chatting with and not working on my app,” he said with a smile, referencing the habits of her predecessor.

“Hardly. As a matter of fact, I’ve just started piecing together the components of the app from the research I’ve been doing on similar apps and actual play. Shane O’Hannon has been helping me learn the ins and outs of the game so that I have a clear understanding of what gamers will want to see in an app.”

“You’re kidding me! Shane O’Hannon is a hockey god.”

“Yes. I lucked out. He’s a friend of a friend and agreed to help me out as a favor.”

“That is tremendous. I can’t wait to see how it turns out. Good work, Leslie. Now, if you can get him to endorse the game, you know, put his name on it; I’ll throw in a hefty bonus for you.”

“How hefty?”

“Enough to make you smile like you were when I walked in here earlier.”

“That’s quite vague.”

“Well, let’s see what kind of app you come up with and we will see. I can assure you that I’m very generous when someone brings me a gold mine.”

“Fair enough.”

Their conversation was interrupted by Grace, his administrative assistant, who came by to tell him that he was late for a meeting. He nodded at her and tapped the door facing with the palm of his hand before looking back in toward Leslie.

“Seriously, good work, Leslie. I’d like to see a mockup of your game design by the end of the week. I’ll have Grace set up a time for us to go over it.”

Before Leslie could protest, he was gone. She sat gawking at the open door for a moment before diving back into the notes and piecing things together. There was a lot to do in only four days. When her phone buzzed, she ignored it and kept working, feeling a bit anxious about what all she would have to accomplish. When it rang, she sighed and reached for it, expecting Sonya’s usual gab from the other end.

“There you are. I was beginning to think I had scared you off,” Shane said from the other end.

“No, not at all. I meant to call and thank you for all of your help, but my boss came in and I got busy after that.”

“I see. So, we are all finished up with your tutoring then?”

“For the most part, unless I have questions, I guess. Of course, I’d like for you to look over the draft of my game when I finish with it and tell me if you think I’m missing anything. Would you mind doing that?”

“Anything you need,” he replied. Leslie could tell by his tone that he felt like he was being blown off and it wasn’t what she wanted, but she didn’t have time for romance and wasn’t even sure she could handle a relationship right now. As good as a bonus for having him endorse the game sounded, she wasn’t about to see him just to manipulate him into that. It wasn’t her style.

“I have to have a mockup ready for my boss by Friday, so if we could get together sometime Thursday night, it would be great.”

“Thursday is good. I have practice, but text me the address and I will stop by your place afterwards.”

Leslie thanked him awkwardly and ended the call. She felt a strong pull to pick the phone back up and call him back, but it served no purpose and, in the end, she lost herself in her work again, putting any feelings that might have been developing for Shane O’Hannon on the back burner.

Two days later, she found herself agonizing, once again, over what to wear just to go over a game plan with him. Finally settling on jeans and a tank top with sandals, she pulled her long hair up in a ponytail. Hopefully, she would look casual, yet put together. She certainly didn’t want to look like she was trying too hard, especially when she wasn’t sure what it was she was trying to do. Wasn’t she the one resisting here? Her heart raced at the sound of the doorbell ringing. Opening the door, she stood looking at one very sweaty Irishman with a gym bag in his hand.

“Um, come in.”

“I’m sorry. I know I’m a wreck. The showers were on the fritz at the gym and I didn’t have time to drive all the way to the house to shower.”

“That makes sense. I’ll just make sure not to stand too close,” she said with a laugh.

“Actually, I wish I wasn’t standing so close to me. I know this is a bit awkward, but would you mind if I ran through your shower before we start?”

“Oh. Um, yeah. Sure. I mean, of course. I should have offered. Come on and I’ll show you where everything is.”

Leslie led him to the shower in her bathroom, glancing around nervously to make sure there weren’t any delicates lying around. Her place would fit into his game room and you had to go through her bedroom to get to the only shower. Showing him where the clean towels were, she closed the door and left him to get cleaned up. Her head leaned back against the door and she sighed deeply. The thought of him in her shower was definitely not helping her resistance. Walking back to the kitchen, she laid the sketches and game plan out on the table for them to go over when he came out.

“That feels so much better,” he said from behind her ten minutes later.

Leslie turned to find him standing there in shorts and a T-shirt, drying his hair with a towel. The dark red strands contrasted vividly against his pale, chiseled jawline. She was near melting just looking at him.

“You certainly smell better,” she joked.

“I’m sure I do. I apparently left my shower gel out of my bag and had to use your girly stuff in the shower.”

“Ah, very pretty indeed,” she laughed. “Shall we get started?”

“Sure. Let’s get this done so I can get out of your hair.”

Leslie began going over everything she had laid out for him to look at and he nodded as she walked him through it, sometimes making suggestions or comments that she would stop and note for revision. It took them almost two hours, but when they were done, she felt pretty good about how the game app was shaping up. Hopefully, her boss would be just as pleased.

“I can’t thank you enough for this, Shane. I really couldn’t have done it without your help. You’ve no idea how much it means to me.”

“No problem at all, Leslie. It’s been a pleasure.”

“For me, as well.”

He stood, studying her face for a moment, and not seeming to find what he was looking for in her gaze. After a long silence, he stepped back and took a deep breath.

“Well, I guess that’s it then. I’ll let you get on with things here. If you need anything else at all, you have my number. I’m just a call away.”

“My boss wants you to endorse the game,” she said, feeling like she had just blurted it out.

Shane’s face fell a bit more. Leslie cursed herself for having even mentioned it. Now, he would think she really was only just after that in bringing him here, perhaps in having kissed him before. She immediately wished she hadn’t even mentioned it and just told Mr. Tomlin it wasn’t an option.

“Let me know when you get the game developed for play. We’ll try it out and see how I feel about that.”

“Okay.”

She wanted to say more, but what was there to say? Walking him to the door, she mentally kicked herself for being too scared to even give him a chance, too focused on her work to consider romance. The truth was that she knew she was very attracted to him and he was certainly attracted to her. It was ridiculous to not give them a chance. Still, she couldn’t make herself say the words that might bring him closer instead of driving him away.

“Goodnight, Shane,” she said politely as they reached the door. He nodded and stepped outside of it, turning to leave. Leslie started to shut the door but it was stopped by one of his large hands flat on the surface.

“No. I’m sorry, Leslie. I can’t.”

“Can’t what?” she asked, but then realized he was most likely talking about endorsing the game. That line of thought was quickly cut off as he pulled her to him and kissed her again, leaving her looking at him breathlessly, unable to complete a single thought.

“I can’t pretend that I wasn’t attracted to you from the moment that I met you. I won’t act like even the little time we’ve had together hasn’t left me with feelings for you. I know it seems fast, but I really like you and I don’t want to sit around waiting and hoping that you have even the smallest question that will give me an excuse to see or talk to you again. You and I have a connection. I want to see where it takes us.”

“I do too,” she heard herself saying.

Shane stepped back inside the door and closed it, kissing her again.