“What? I saw you at the party. You like him.”
I shake my head. “What’s not to like? But I’m his therapist now, so that ship is lost somewhere in the Bermuda Triangle.”
Her shoulders fall. “Come on. Put yourself out there. I think you’ll reap the benefits. I see the way he watches you.”
I sigh. She means well. “I know you live a privileged life and all, but you’re aware that if I sleep with Maksim Petrov—or any other Fury player—that I could be arrested, right? It’s illegal.”
She waves me off, which I expected. “That’s not going to happen.”
“Maybe not, but I could also lose my license to practice, my livelihood.”
She shakes her head. “Not if he’s in agreement.”
“Jana—it can’t happen.”
I love my best friend with all my heart, but she’s never had a consequence to an action in her life. Sure, her dad can be hard on her sometimes and expects a lot out of her, but at the end of the day, she knows he has her back. He can buy or influence his way out of anything bad happening to his only child.
The waitress comes over and I snatch the menu back from Jana and open it.
“We’ll have two dry martinis with double olives,” Jana orders.
I point at her. “That’s for her. I’ll have a glass of chianti and the rigatoni with cream sauce.”
Jana rolls her eyes and huffs. She can continue doing that while she watches me eat.
“Bread?” the waitress asks.
“Yes,” I answer at the same time Jana says, “No.”
I nod. “Please.”
Jana shakes her head. “What am I going to do with you?”
“The same thing you’ve done with me our whole lives… pester me until I call mercy.”
We both laugh. That’s why I love our friendship. We couldn’t be more different, but we’ve clicked ever since freshmen year of high school when I was on my period and leaked onto my skirt and Jana was the only one with the guts to tell me.
My laughter dies when the door of Carmelo’s opens and small groups of large men trickle in. A lot of them say hello to us, then head over to their favorite booths.
I don’t know what Jana was worried about. They don’t want anything to do with us. She’s the owner’s daughter after all. No one hangs with the boss’s daughter.
That is, until a large body slides into my booth without an invitation. I look over to find a pair of crystal-blue eyes rimmed with black lashes staring at me. “What’s up, doc?”
A vision of him naked on a stretcher and me with my stethoscope out, listening for his heartbeat while he opens up my white doctor’s jacket flashes in my mind.
Get it together, Paisley. He doesn’t affect you. Make him realize that fact right now.
I straighten my shoulders and open my mouth, but of course nothing comes out.
I blink to make sure that that’s actually Paisley in the booth, that I didn’t conjure her up in my mind. After a shitty game where I spent more time in the sin box than on the ice, I need a few shots and a good meal.
Ford heads toward the other guys while I beeline to the other side of Carmelo’s and slide in next to Paisley. “What’s up, doc?”
Her eyebrows raise and I chuckle. It’s a well-known fact the Fury hang here after every home game, so she can’t be surprised to see me. Some of us only stay for a meal and others will be here until closing.
Rachel, the usual waitress, comes over and places a glass of red wine in front of Paisley and a martini that holds more olives than vodka in front of Jana. “Usual, Maks?” Her hand rests on my shoulder.
“That’d be great. Thanks.”
She smiles and walks away.
Paisley’s having some kind of nonverbal conversation with Jana, but when Jana spots me watching, she smiles and sets her attention on me. “Nice game, Maksim.”
“We both know it was a crap game and your dad’s gonna have my ass for it.”
She waves me off. “No. He loves you. Thinks of all you guys as his sons.” She fishes an olive from the glass and slides it off the toothpick.
“You seemed more angry than usual,” Paisley says. I’m surprised to hear her chime in.
“I thought you didn’t watch hockey,” I say, remembering her telling me that on New Year’s Eve.
She shrugs. “Jana drags me to some games.”
“What?” Jana’s forehead wrinkles. “Ouch.” She leans down and rubs her leg, giving her best friend an evil stare.
I don’t call them out on their bullshit. I’m confident I’ll get it out of Paisley in due time.
Rachel brings me my vodka straight up. “Hungry tonight?”
I glance at the two women seated at the table. “Are you guys eating?”
“No,” Jana says at the same time Paisley says, “Yes.”
Again, they have some conversation with their eyes. Watching their friendship play out reminds me of Armen and me. We were like brothers.
“What are you having?” I ask Paisley.
“Pasta.”
I look at Rachel. “I’ll have the mussels dish I usually get.”
“Coming right up.”
I stretch my arm across the top of the booth and Paisley watches the move intently. “So, what brings you ladies here? Don’t be shy, you can say it’s me.”
Jana laughs and shakes her head. “Hockey players and their egos.”
“We came here as babysitters because Ford can’t seem to stay out of the press.”
Paisley speaks the truth. Ford’s been a little out of control, but now that he’s gonna be a daddy in a few months, I’m sure he’ll calm down. Or knowing him, he might try to get it all out of his system.
“Maybe I need a babysitter,” I say and wink at Paisley.
She sips her wine, ignoring my flirtation.
“You need one on the ice,” Jana says. “Why are you so angry out there?”
I look at my boss’s daughter, hoping what I’m about to say will get back to my boss so he will get off my ass. “I’m not angry. I’m protecting my boys. Someone has to do it when the ref has a blind eye.”
She nods. “That’s kind of noble, but don’t you care about your own game?”
“That is my game. I’m a defender. I defend.”
“Some would say that you’re taking the rules into your own hands,” Jana argues, poking another olive with her toothpick and bringing it to her lips. Jana’s not my type, but if she were and she wasn’t the boss’s daughter, I’d find her eating an olive highly erotic.
Maybe I can convince Paisley to have one.
“Maybe.” I shrug. “Some might say that, but I make sure my boys skate off that ice at the end of every game.”
Paisley takes another sip of her wine, pretending she isn’t listening to our conversation.
“You’re an interesting person, Maksim.” Jana smiles, so I’ll take it as a compliment. “I’m heading to the jukebox before Ford takes all the songs.” She slides out of the booth.
“Guess that only leaves us.” I grin at Paisley.
She sets her glass down and her fingers twirl the stem in a circle. “Feel free to join your teammates.”