Playing the Game (The Renegades) (Volume 3) (25 page)

His head still hurt, and he still got dizzy from time
to time, but for the most part he felt good after slamming his head
on the ice. It could’ve been much worse. His hospital stay hadn’t
been more than a few hours, and the highlight of the night was his
visitor. Paige.

She had no idea that he hadn’t really been asleep
when she walked into his room. He’d been just resting, but he knew
if he had opened his eyes to talk to her she might have run. It
felt good that she cared enough to check on him, so he pretended to
be sleeping and let her talk.

Walking by her office, he saw the door was shut.
Maybe she wasn’t here. Melanie offered for him to watch the game in
her office since he wasn’t cleared to play yet. Doctors wanted him
to sit out at least one game—maybe more—until his headache went
away. He could’ve lied and told them it was gone and he was fine,
but hiding his symptoms would only hurt him in the long run, and he
had no intention of being out any longer than he had to. The
regular season was almost over and he planned on getting back in
there as quickly as possible.

“
Tyler!” Melanie quietly cheered as
he entered her office. “We were so worried about you.” She hurried
over to him and gently wrapped her arms around him. “Here, have a
seat on the couch. Are you hungry? The kitchen can bring you food
if you’d like, but no alcohol, of course. It’s so good to see you.
I’m just glad you’re okay.”

“
Thanks, Mel.” Tyler was required
to be here for the game even if he didn’t stay for the entire
thing, and this was better than watching from the owner’s suite.
Mel’s office was quiet and calm; his head still couldn’t take much
noise.

“
I’m going to sit in the press box
tonight, but I’ll stop back after the game. You still going to be
here?”

“
Maybe.” Tyler shrugged.

“
Well, eat something, okay? I can’t
have you starving. Don’t want that on my shoulders.” She closed her
office door behind her as she left.

Ty settled on the soft couch and watched the guys
wait for the puck drop. Sam was covering his position on the top
line. He was fast and skillful and he fit in seamlessly.

The office door opened behind him. “What did you
forget?” he called, thinking Melanie had come back. But to his
surprise, when he looked, it wasn’t. “Paige?”

“
Hi, Tyler. Um, Melanie told me you
were in here. I… just… um… Do you need anything?” She stuttered and
cleared her throat.

“
No.” He shook his head, holding in
his amusement. She was visibly nervous and it was cute. “Why don’t
you sit down and watch some of the game?”

Paige slowly strolled into the office. Her business
skirt molded to her thighs with every step she took. His eyes slid
down her shapely legs to those stilettos.
Damn, they make her
legs look good
.

She turned towards the television and folded her
arms. He couldn’t help that his eyes were drawn to her ass, the way
the skirt formed around her curves perfectly.

She watched the game for a moment before she spoke.
“They look good tonight. I’m surprised you’re even watching it.
Aren’t they destined to lose without you out there?” She looked
back towards him with a smart-ass smirk on her face.

“
Yeah.” Tyler sneered at her
mocking. She’d apparently shaken off that nervousness and was all
spunk now, and he liked that. “C’mon, sit down.”

Paige didn’t argue and slid into the spot next to him
on the couch, but left plenty of room between them. “I like Sam on
that top line. He looks good and fits in real well out there.” She
smiled.

“
Sure. He’s an awesome fill-in when
I
can’t be out there.” He winked at her. “But in all
seriousness, I don’t know how many games I’m going to miss, so it’s
good to see him fit in so well.”

“
What? I thought they said only one
game?” Her brows pinched together as worry spread across her
face.

“
It all depends on when I feel
better. Could just be one game—I hope it’s only one—but it’s hard
to know. My vision is better, but the dizziness still comes and
goes. The big issue is that I have to shake this headache from
hell. That’s why Mel let me watch the game in here. It’s quiet,
unlike Ben’s suite.”

Paige’s eyes grew wide and her face turned red.
“Sorry I just barged in here. I can go...” She started to stand,
but Tyler caught her arm.

“
Please don’t.”

Paige looked frozen, just staring at him, her blue
eyes dark with concern. Gently she sat back down, this time on the
edge of the couch like she was ready to run at any moment. He sure
had a knack for making her uncomfortable. “Ty,” she reached over
and laid her hand on his. The simple touch was enough to set his
heart pumping harder. “I’m really glad you’re okay.” Her hand still
on his, she looked up and met his stare.

“
Thanks. And thanks for being there
at the hospital.”

“
What?” Paige pulled her hand away
and sat back in the farthest corner of the couch. “You knew I was
there? But I thought you were sleeping.”

He didn’t know why she was so bothered that he knew
she was there, but he didn’t want her upset. Now that she was here
with him, he wanted her to stay. “The nurse told me you came in to
see me after I dozed off.” A little white lie never hurt anyone,
and she didn’t need to know he’d been awake and heard every word
she’d said. The relaxed look that fell over her face verified
that.

“
Oh. Okay. Yeah, I just wanted to
make sure you were okay. Did you get my emails?”

“
I saw them this morning, thanks.”
He smiled. “I was just about to order some dinner from the kitchen.
You should join me.” As the words left his mouth her face started
to tense up again.

“
Um, I really have some things I
need to work on.” She stood and smoothed her hands over her skirt.
“But you go ahead and order.”

“
Paige, c’mon. Have dinner with me.
Don’t make me keep asking.” He didn’t know what game she was
playing, or if she was just nervous, but it was tiring.

“
No, I um, I have, um… I have to
go. But I’m really glad that you’re okay.” Paige hurried toward the
door as fast as those sexy stilettos would take her. He was
starting to wonder if she wore those purposely to drive him
wild.

“
Paige, wait.” But she was
gone.

No longer hungry, his stomach hurt and his heart
fell. So many times during their conversations he felt they had a
connection, and he knew she cared about him, so why was she
fighting it? His head dropped back on the couch and he closed his
eyes. This pounding needed to stop. His head hurt like hell, but
his insides ached, and it wasn’t an ache medicine could cure.

The game started to go downhill in the third period,
and the Renegades were down 3–1. He was not interested in watching
them lose; it was time to go home. He started dialing the number
for a cab since he still wasn’t allowed to drive, but Melanie
turned up and interrupted him.

“
Ty, you’re not getting ready to
leave, are you? The chef said that you didn’t eat. I told you I
can’t have our star going hungry.” She strutted into her office and
tossed a stack of folders onto her desk.

“
I was just about to call the cab
to go home. We’re losing.”

“
You need to eat.” She spun around
with her hands on her hips and sass in her voice.

“
No. I’m not hungry, I’m not
feeling great.”

“
Oh, no. Do you want me to call the
team doctor so you can get checked out?” With a look of panic on
her face, she picked up her phone and started to dial.

“
Mel, it’s not that.” He sighed.
“I’m fine.”

“
But you said you didn’t feel well.
Tyler, what’s wrong?”

He plopped back down on the couch and rested his head
in his hands. His stomach churned, and he thought he might be sick.
“I never wanted to feel like this again.”

“
Like what?” Melanie eyed him
suspiciously and sat down on the edge of her desk.

“
Feeling like my happiness depends
on someone else being around, but I can’t concentrate when she is.
Not being able to say the words to tell her how I feel and being
worried she’ll leave just like… Oh my God, I sound like a fucking
chick.”

“
Ahem. Chick in the room.” Sarcasm
dripped from her words. She slid off of the desk and sat down
beside him on the couch. “Why can’t you tell her how you feel? Not
every girl is going to leave like… well, like
her
. At some
point you’re going to have to trust that if someone wants to stay,
they will. But you need to give them a reason to.”

“
I’m trying. She doesn’t want to
hear it. It seems like nothing I do is enough to convince her, and
I’ve tried everything. I may have ruined my chances because I was
being such an ass.”

“
So, the flowers didn’t
work?”

“
No. Those roses weren’t cheap, but
I thought they might show her—wait. What do you know about the
flowers?”

“
Nothing.” Melanie shrugged with
extra-wide eyes. “Good guess.”

He needed to just put it all out there. If Melanie
was mad he would take the heat. He wasn’t going to let her fire
Paige over this. Maybe taking charge and telling Mel, clearing the
air, was just what they needed. Then maybe there’d be nothing
standing in their way. Paige would be free to make her decision
without worrying about her job. He was hoping to hell that was the
only reason she was holding back.

“
Look Mel, I need to tell you
something. But I need to make sure the fallout all lands on
me.”

“
What are you talking about?
Fallout?” Melanie scrunched up her face.

“
The girl that I’m sick over… is
Paige.” Tyler closed his eyes and waited for the yelling. But there
was none. He opened one eye to see Melanie still sitting there, but
she was smiling.

“
No yelling? I broke the rule, Mel.
Why are you so calm? Please don’t fire her over this. She’s been
fighting my every move. No matter how hard I try, she refuses to
give in.”

Melanie just sat there, smiling.

“
So? Say something!”

“
It’s about damn time.” She folded
her arms and tilted her head. “What took you so long?”

“
What in the hell does that
mean?”

“
You’ve been such a jerk since
G—um, since
she
left. Fighting with Patrick, picking up
stray girls each night… your reputation was deteriorating. I sat
here, night after night, cleaning up your image and making sure
everyone knew you weren’t the sleazy piece of shit you were acting
like. Because I knew that you really weren’t. She broke you, and I
knew that. I also believed a good woman could fix you.” She sighed
deeply. “I waited patiently through all of those girls you picked
up every night and made damn sure you didn’t bring that lifestyle
into this arena by making rules for you. I knew one of these days
the right one would come along and change your life. When I met
Paige, I thought maybe, just maybe, she would be that
girl.”

“
So you’re not going to fire her
for fraternizing?” Tyler raised his eyebrows, taken aback by
everything she’d just said. Mel had thought from the beginning that
Paige was perfect for him?

“
No.” Mel narrowed her eyes. “But I
didn’t realize that any fraternizing had happened, so I’ll pretend
I didn’t hear that.” She smiled and put her hand on his shoulder.
“Tyler, I want you to be happy. That’s all I ever wanted. You guys
are like family to me, and I hate to see any of you
suffering.”

“
So you’re fine with me pursuing
Paige?” He felt like he was repeating himself, but he still
couldn’t digest this.

“
As long as you don’t hurt her, Ty,
because then I’d have to kick your ass.”

CHAPTER 30

Paige sat in her living room staring at the flowers.
The gorgeous, beautiful flowers and the adorable, silly stuffed
animals. They all still sat exactly where they were put the day
they were delivered. She was afraid to touch anything because then
it might be real; Tyler would really be courting her.

The white teddy bear was cute. She approached it and
ran her fingertips over the soft fur. Looking around at all the
stuffed animals she tried to imagine him ordering them. Had he been
at the florist, looking around the show room, pointing at stuffed
animal after stuffed animal? She hadn’t known him long, but it was
hard to imagine him caring enough to do all of that. Maybe he just
called.

She picked up the bear and rubbed the soft fur
against her cheek. She’d loved stuffed animals as a kid; her room
had always been filled with them.

“
What are you doing?”

Jumping at the sound of Rylee’s voice, she dropped
the bear and spun to meet her friend’s grin.

“
Nothing,” Paige said abruptly,
then hopped onto the couch and settled in. She grabbed the remote
and turned on the television, but her eyes kept going back to the
flowers and the teddy bear. Her heart ached. If they weren’t from
Tyler, she’d be melting at his effort. But they were, and it
couldn’t work.

“
Gram, you need to talk some sense
into this girl,” Rylee called into the kitchen.

Gram slowly appeared in the living room and smiled at
Paige. “Dear, what is it that’s troubling you?” She sat down on the
couch beside Paige and held her arms out for her to cuddle
into.