Page 10 of Drop Pass

I smiled. “Thank you. I’m very excited to meet you. They’ve told me nothing but amazing things about what you’ve done.”

“Oh, these girls are my favorites. Each one has such a unique style. It’s a fun challenge.”

I giggled. I could only imagine what she’d gone through decorating with so many of the women of the Pride. They were definitely an opinionated group.

“Well, I’m afraid I might be a different case. I just arrived today from LA and I brought nothing but some clothes and essentials with me.”

Her eyes lit up. “A clean slate. How poetic.” She turned and wandered through her store talking under her breath to herself. “You’ve come with new opportunities and expectations. You’re a professional, but you want your home to be a safe haven. You like cozy, cool tones and natural materials. Nothing overly modern or metallic. Clean lines and Transitional styles.”

I glanced at Chloe wondering if she’d already filled in the woman on my preferences, but honestly, Chloe didn’t even know that much about me to be able to give this all to Viviane.

“How did you know all that.”

She turned and grinned. “Oh, sweet girl. I’ve been doing this for a long while. A woman just knows things. Call it my intuition.” She winked and went back to her searching.

I didn’t bother her again as she went through her process. Her appraisal was one hundred percent correct. When I was at work, I was a different person. Prim and proper and orderly. At home, I just wanted to be comfortable. I didn’t want to worry about everything being in an exact place or order. I wanted to toss a pillow or blanket on a chair and have it look like it belonged there. I wanted to stack some books next to my TV or on my nightstand and not have it look messy. I wanted my home to look lived in because it was.

“This.” Viviane stopped in front of a bed with a white tufted headboard that was at least six feet tall. It was large, but decorated with enough pillows, it would have the romantic look I loved. “This is where we start. We’ll build everything off of this.”

She beamed and looked to me for approval. It was perfect. Honestly, I wouldn’t have picked it out on my own, but having her show it to me and knowing she had a plan just felt right.

“I love it.” I paused. “Do you need to see the space though? I don’t have pictures, but I can bring some in.”

She shook her head. “Oh no. Chloe told me what building you’re in. I’ve decorated almost half of the apartments there. I know the lay out well, but don’t worry. Not a single one looks like another. They are each a reflection of their inhabitants.”

Emma nodded. “She did Nikolay’s house and it’s true. His apartment is totally his style and it’s nothing like this.”

Hearing his name again made my stomach flutter, but I squashed the sensation. He wasn’t interested. He’d made that abundantly clear last time I was in town. I needed to accept it and work on maybe being friends.

“I’ll take it.” I needed to remember why I was here and keep that focus. Not just in this store, but Salt Lake. I wasn’t going to let a man distract me from that.

4

Nikolay

I’d heard about Elena’s arrival the moment I entered the training room, but lost interest. She was friends with several of the guys from their trip to Mexico, and they seemed excited to have her. Apparently, she was a lot of fun without the drama. It was a dream come true for most of the guys. Since everyone that went on that trip was now in a relationship, the single guys were paying close attention to any information about her they could get from Colin, Reese, or Olli. Not that they had much. She arrived this afternoon with only a car-full of belongings. She would be working at SLBC, which was right across the street from the arena and a block away from where we lived.

When Colin pointed out that fact, the crowd of desperate men turned to me.

“She lives in your building? You need to have a welcome party for her and invite everyone.” Derek, the backup goalie, said with a look in his eye I didn't appreciate.

“You’re too young for her.” I said and moved past him to the deadlift platform. I put in my headphones and hoped that was enough of a sign that anyone attempting to speak to me would be ignored.

I focused on adding weight to the bar and purposefully did not look into the mirror to eliminate the risk of making eye contact.

I’d met Elena a few times when she visited last month and while she was undeniably beautiful, I wasn’t interested in adding anything to my currently overflowing plate. I had too much to deal with as it was. I didn’t have the time or energy a girlfriend deserved.

I wasn’t interested in the blonde siren, but that didn’t mean I thought it was okay for the cocky rookie to think she was some kind of conquest. He wasn’t good enough for her. None of us were.

Each member of the Pride I’d met confused me. They were beautiful, intelligent, kind women that somehow got trapped in our world. It wasn’t easy living a life dictated by the league or our team’s schedule—but I was a player, I chose that life. I couldn’t imagine being the spouse of a player and having to deal with the repercussions.

I knew several of them had children, too. It wasn’t fair to their wives and families for them to be gone so much. We played eighty-two games in a regular season, and in a team like the Fury, playoffs were almost a guarantee, so that meant additional weeks if not months of games. We only have a short break from June to September to live a life, but even then, our lives were filled with the constant training needed to maintain for preseason. Some guys could get away with coming back only a week or so before the season started, but I wasn’t one of them. I hadn’t earned that yet.

That wasn’t a life I wanted for someone I loved. It was why I hesitated bringing my family here, but at least they would have each other. My wife would be alone most of the year.

It was selfish to think of bringing someone into my life right now.

I finished my first set of deadlifts and stepped back, leaning down for my water. A hand struck out and snapped it away.