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She took a sip of her water. So far so good. She'd made conversation, which was hard for an introvert like herself. And he hadn't made an excuse and fled the table yet, which happened to her a lot.
She took the time to study Will, now that he was up close. He was incredibly good-looking, with dark hair that was a little longer than average. His eyes were a striking steely gray that she found utterly mesmerizing. And of course, his body was incredible. He wore jeans and a tight dark brown Henley that hugged some incredible muscle. She wouldn't mind getting her hands on all that muscle. Though she wouldn't really know what to do with it if she did.
Lisa was an expert on sex. Amber? Not so much.
Sex was a given at the games. They plied all the athletes with plenty of condoms. Amber had a nightstand drawer filled with them. The last two times she'd come to the games they'd gone unused. This time she was determined to use them. She just had to find a guy willing to take her on, which she knew wasn't going to be easy.
"It must be amazing to be chosen to play hockey at the games."
He took a swallow of his drink and nodded. "Like the best damn dream come true. And it's here in Vancouver, which is one of my favorite places."
"Is that how you know Lisa?"
He nodded. "We met at the games last time, and I've taken some vacation time up here. Gotta love the mountains, plus the snowboarding is amazing."
She arched a brow. "So you snowboard, too?"
"A little. How about you?"
"I tend to spend all my time working."
"Oh, one of those workaholics, huh?"
"Yes." At least he didn't make fun of her. Points for Will.
"We need to change that, Amber. It's time for you to let go and have some fun."
She took a long swallow of her water, thankful she had something to occupy her hands--and her mouth. "I intend to do just that."
"Well you're here, and you're prepared for your competition, right?"
"I am."
"Then it's time to party. Come on."
She had no idea what he had in mind, but she was more than ready for . . . whatever. When he stood, he grabbed her hand. She felt the instant jolt of attraction and hoped that what he had in mind was dragging her up to his apartment for hours and hours of hot, steamy sex.
An hour later, she found out his version of "whatever" meant games of beer pong with Lisa and several other people. Though she had no idea where the beer had come from. But they were in someone's apartment, so she assumed someone had brought it in. She'd been introduced to hockey players, skiers, snowboarders, speed skaters, bobsledders, curlers and so many athletes she'd never met before. A few of her figure skating friends were there, too.
Lisa had been joined at the hip with Blake, a hot Canadian downhill skier with a thick mane of platinum blond hair and amazing green eyes.
She could only hope Lisa made good on her promise and they'd be hitting the sheets in Blake's room tonight.
Unfortunately, based on Will paying zero attention to her, it looked like Amber was going to be in her room alone tonight.
Just like always. She pushed her disappointment deep down inside, so used to being let down it was second nature to her. She'd made attempts to join in, but she just wasn't as outgoing as the rest of the group, so eventually she found a seat and watched.
It was what she was good at--observing, not participating.
At least she'd met Will Madigan tonight and now he knew who she was. So that was something.
Baby steps, Amber. She'd get there eventually.
So Will Madigan was out of her league. She was certain she'd meet up with some guy who'd want to have sex with her while she was here. And then she could unload her stupid virginity and live like the wild woman she was certain lurked somewhere deep inside of her.
THREE
AS THE NIGHT WORE ON, WILL MET UP WITH SOME OLD friends and met a few new ones. He was having a blast. There was nothing he loved more than hanging out with a large group of fun people. And you could never have enough friends.
He slung his arm around Lisa, trying to distract her as they played pool. She shrugged him off.
"Not a chance, Madigan," Lisa said. "I'm not missing this shot."
He laughed, then coughed as she shot the ball.
Lisa was right. She was cool as the ice in his water glass as she expertly landed that ball in the center pocket.
"Sorry, buddy," Will said to Drew Hogan, a fellow hockey player. Drew was currently Lisa's opponent.
He grinned. "Not a problem. I'll get her on the next shot." Except Drew's phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket. "It's my wife, Carolina. Someone take this shot for me."
"I'll do it," Mikhail, one of the skiers said.
Will walked away and headed over to the bar to refill his drink.
As he went to the bar he noticed Amber sitting at a table by herself flipping through her phone. So after he grabbed his glass, he wandered over to her table.
"Making a hot date for later?"
Her head shot up and she gave him a wide-eyed look. She dropped the phone to the table as if it were on fire. "Oh, uh, no. Just checking e-mail."
He pulled up a chair and sat. "So, you've got a boyfriend back home, huh?"
She let out a laugh. "No."
He got that she was shy. She'd hung around the group earlier, and then he hadn't seen her after that. He thought she'd left, so it surprised him she was still there.
For some reason he wanted to draw her out. "Do you play pool?"
She looked over at the pool table. "No."
"I could tell earlier you weren't into beer pong, either."
"Uh, not really."
He moved his chair so he now sat closer to her. "What do you like to do, Amber?"
She shrugged. "Skate?"
"Oh, come on. There's more to life than skating. Surely that's not all you do."
"Of course not. I like movies and reading."
"Okay, what kinds of movies?"
"Horror and adventure and comedies and animated and mysteries and . . . okay, all kinds. Like the books I read. I don't settle into one genre. I read everything."
She probably used books and movies as an escape. But an escape from what?
"Okay. If you had your ideal night out--that didn't include movies or reading--what would you do?"
"Um, let me think about that for a
second." She chewed her lower lip and he found himself staring at her mouth. She had generous lips and a beautiful face. Her skin was creamy with a sprinkling of freckles across the bridge of her nose. And the icy blue of her eyes mesmerized him. Her body was curved in all the right places, the kind of body a guy would want to get his hands on.
Tonight she wore jeans and a blue silk top that hugged her breasts in ways that made his own jeans tighten. She had small breasts that went with her small waist, but her hips flared out into exceptionally long legs. Since he was a pretty tall guy, he liked women who could match him, stature-wise.
Plus, he had a thing for long legs on women. And he'd wager she looked amazing when she skated. Which suddenly got him to thinking about her skating naked.
Now that would be amazing.
"Ice cream."
He pulled himself from one hell of a sexual fantasy. "Huh?"
"I'd want to go out for ice cream."
He laughed. "That's your idea of a big night out?"
She shrugged. "I like ice cream."
He stood and held out his hand. "Fine, then. Let's go."
"Where?"
"There's an ice cream place in the village."
She frowned. "There is?"
"Yup. Come on, ice princess, let's go get you some ice cream."
*
WILL HAD CALLED HER AN ICE PRINCESS. AMBER couldn't decide if that had been a compliment or an insult. But considering he had left his friends and was walking outside with her in the village--alone--she supposed she should take it as a compliment.
"Cold out," Will said.
She smiled as she looked over at the shops lined up side by side, making her feel as if she was wandering the streets of a quaint small town instead of a manufactured village that had been created just for this event. She hoped they kept this together after, because it was lovely. "Isn't it great?"
He looked over at her. "You like the cold?"
"I feel like I was born in the cold. I spend so much of my life on an ice rink, this is my preferred temperature. It's where I've spent most of my summers on Long Island, so it's not like I'm used to the heat."
"Ah. Always practicing, right?"
"Yes. My mother didn't want me wasting my summers hanging out with my friends. Not that I had any of those."
He stopped. "No friends?"
She realized she'd offered up way too much information. "Oh, it wasn't bad. I had coaches and teammates and it was always fun."
He gave her a dubious look. "Still, wouldn't it have been nice to go to the beach in the summer, or on vacation?"
