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“Okay. I just ask one thing.”
“What’s that?”
I look up at him. “If you do meet someone else, and you think you might want to…you know, will you just tell me? I can handle being broken up with, but being cheated on…please don’t do that to me.”
“Reese.” Knox cups my cheek in his hand. “I. Keep. My. Word. It’s why I haven’t had many relationships. When I say I want you and only you, I mean it.”
Somehow, I feel the truth in his words. And as hard as it is for me to trust a man again, it’s not fair to punish him for what Eric did.
“Okay,” I say. “I believe you.”
“I ask one thing, too,” he says.
“What’s that?”
“If that guy Gabe makes a move on you, when he knows you’re taken, I’m gonna introduce myself to him, okay?”
“Oh boy.”
“He’s got it coming, babe.”
“He’s about half your size.”
“Makes no difference to me.”
I give him a puzzled look. “I keep my word, too. Why confront him if you trust me?”
“It’s a guy thing, I guess. I’m not letting some asshole paw you and hit on you at work. Fuck that. If he won’t take no for an answer from you, he’ll hear it from me.”
“Okay.”
“And you’ll tell me if he’s coming on to you? Promise?”
“Promise.”
Knox finishes his water and asks if I have to go back to work.
“No, I’ve got a good sous chef working today. Do you want to do something?”
“I feel like ordering in and watching Netflix.”
“Oh!” I sit up, suddenly excited. “There’s a new baking show I’ve been dying to watch but I never have time.”
“Let do it. As long as we can watch SportsCenter later.”
I pass him my remote. “No problem. There’s a hot hockey player I’ve got a crush on. Maybe I’ll get to see him.”
Knox smiles. “Play your cards right and you will.”Chapter Twenty-ThreeKnoxOlivier Durand rises from his seat at a table at Salon, one of the hot new restaurants in Chicago.
“Knox, good to see you,” he says, offering me his hand.
I shake it and sit down, not sure if the heads turned toward our table are for me or for him. Durand is making quite a name for himself in Chicago, and since he’s our team owner, I’m relieved all the headlines are good.
“I’m very sorry about your dad,” he says as the server pours me a glass of water. “He was one of the greats as a player, and from what I’ve heard, as a husband and father as well.”
“Thank you. I appreciate the time away to be with my family.”
Durand waves a hand. “Family should come before work. I’m glad you made it to him in time.” He sits back in his chair. “I assume you didn’t want to meet up just for my company, though. What’s on your mind?”
I clear my throat and begin my rehearsed speech. “There’s nothing I don’t like about my team. The players, the coaching, even—” I gesture toward him, “the ownership is top notch. But I’d like to open a dialogue with you about…” I look from side to side to make sure no one is close enough to overhear, lowering my voice just to be safe, “a trade to New York.”
“What?”
Durand looks like I just smacked him. Clearly I caught him off-guard.
“I know it’s out of nowhere,” I admit. “And I still have another two years on my contract.”
“But why? You’re the best enforcer in the league. Our standing is good, we’re likely to make the playoffs. You’re in your prime, why would you want to go?”
Before I can even answer, his expression darkens and he says, “Don’t say I’m not paying you enough. I researched salaries before I bought the team and you’re being paid very well.”
Damn, Durand is more shook up about this than I was expecting.
“It’s not about money,” I assure him. “It’s not about anything related to hockey, actually. It’s about my girlfriend.”
“Oh, good Lord.” He rolls his eyes and then puts a finger in the air to summon our server.
“Sir?” the server says, coming over immediately.
“Can I get a glass of your best whiskey on the rocks?”
“Yes, sir.”
The server looks at me and I say, “I’ll take an unsweetened iced tea, please.”
“Yes, sir.”
Durand takes a breath and I can tell he’s trying to compose himself.
“Listen, you’ve been through a lot recently,” he says. “You need to take some time to think this over. I won’t say a word about it to anyone. And if you come back to me and want to pretend this conversation never happened, we can do that.”
“I know what it must seem like,” I concede. “But I won’t change my mind. Reese has a job offer in New York, and she’s leaning toward taking it. If she does, I want to go with her.”
Poor Durand looks like his head’s about to explode.
