Chapter 9

Cheyenne

I was excitedto go to the hockey game tonight and took Alexa with me. Stevie was in town too, but I knew she wouldn't go without Damien and there was no way I'd pick up a ticket for him. Alexa turned out to be a huge hockey fan and though she was a New York fan, since she lived here, she graciously didn't cheer when they scored. They beat the Phantoms and I was grateful she didn't gloat.

"It's just a game," she said with a shrug as we left the arena. "My friendship with you, and now Ivan and Gabe, is far more important than cheering for a bunch of guys I don't know. Plus, you'll leave in a few days, and I'll go back to cheering for my hometown team."

I chuckled. "That's fair. Just don't tell Ivan when you see him."

"Are we going to see them?"

"He told me to meet him at a bar near the hotel, so I'm heading over there. You're welcome to come."

"I guess I could hang for a few. If the rest of the team is even half as hot as Ivan, it'll be fun."

"I don't know who else is going, but there are some cute guys on the team. Gabe is really good-looking, but he's engaged to my friend Harper."

"The owner, right?"

"Yeah. Personally, I think the new guy, Canyon Marks, is super hot. But I don't really know him."

"They're all too young for me." She sighed. "I spent the best years of my life building my empire. Now I'm going to be either a spinster or a creepy old lady cougar."

I laughed. "You are so not a cougar."

"Meeting guys after forty is hard. Really hard. I guess my ship sailed." She seemed sad for a moment but then shrugged. "But I've got money and success. If I meet someone special, great. If not, it's not like I'm ever alone."

"That's why I plan to retire at thirty. I don't think modeling is sustainable beyond thirty anyway. There are exceptions, of course, but I want a baby, and if it ruins my body, that's it for me."

"You have time to think about babies."

"Just under six years," I said.

"You have an actual timetable?"

"Yup. And I'm saving as much money as I can to make it happen."

"I don't care how much weight you gain—I'll always want you to wear my clothes."

"You plan to expand into plus sizes?"

"I do lots of dresses for plus size women. I don't sell a specific line marketed to that size yet, but I'm working on it. It's in the plans. There just aren't enough hours in the day to implement the bajillion ideas I get."

"You're a star," I told her. "And I'm so glad we're friends."

"Me too." She grinned at me.

We took a cab to the bar, and I spotted Ivan immediately.

Talking to an attractive brunette.

A shot of red-hot jealousy whipped through me, and I had to close my eyes and take a deep, steadying breath. What the hell was wrong with me? He could talk to anyone he wanted. I'd friend zoned him from the get-go, so I didn't have any right to be jealous.

"Easy, Turbo," Alexa murmured in my ear. "You can't let him see that you're jealous."

Was I that obvious?

I scowled.

"I'm not jealous," I snapped. "Come on."

I approached them with the most casual smile I could muster up. "Hey!"

I stepped between him and the brunette and placed a soft kiss on his cheek.

"Hi." He looked surprised but then smiled at the brunette. "Like I said, I have a date."

"I see." She gave me a disdainful look, flashed him a smile, and then turned on her heel and walked away.

"Did I interrupt something?" I asked innocently.

He chuckled. "Not really. She was cruising for free drinks. I wasn't interested."

"Hey, Chey. Alexa." Gabe waved. "What are you guys drinking?"

"Aperol spritz for me," Alexa said. "It makes me feel like I'm in Paris."

"White wine spritzer for me," I replied.

Ivan ordered our drinks and then offered me his barstool.

"I'm good," I said.

"I'll sit." Alexa slid into it and immediately started a conversation with Gabe, leaving Ivan and me to our own devices.

"You played a good game tonight," I said.

"Not good enough," he replied. "Hopefully we'll do better Friday night."

"That's in New Jersey, right?"

He nodded.

"I'll try to make it. I've got a thing with Vogue on Friday afternoon. I don't know how long it'll go, and I figure it'll take a while to get to Jersey on a Friday at rush hour."

"You can take the train," he said.

I cocked my head. "Do you have any idea what would happen if I was recognized on the train?"

He frowned and then grimaced. "Christ, I'm sorry. I didn't even think about that."

"It's all right. I really can't do some things that most people would consider normal. My face is just too recognizable. And it can get dangerous sometimes. On a subway, I would be a sitting duck."

He shook his head. "Just thinking about it is terrifying. I'm sorry I mentioned it."

"Anyway, I'll try to get there."

"Text me and I'll leave tickets."

"You don't have to. I can buy tickets."

"Don't be silly. I rarely have guests when I'm on the road, except when we play Buffalo and my family comes."

"Well, I'm starting to get the hang of the game, so I'm enjoying it more."

"I'm glad."

He seemed more subdued than usual tonight and I cocked my head slightly. "Are you all right? You seem…off tonight."

"I'm okay." He took a pull from his beer. "I didn't get enough sleep last night and we lost tonight, so part of me feels guilty, like maybe I could have done something more if I'd been at a hundred percent, you know?"

"I'm sorry. I guess that's my fault."

"I'm a grown man, I could have said no."

"I saw some of the shots and they're beautiful," I told him. "You did an amazing job. I can't wait for you to see them."

"Yeah? I'm glad I could help, but I don't think I have a career as a model."

"I think you make a lot more money as a hockey player, but you could do both."

"Honestly, that was exhausting. I'd much rather play four overtimes than do the same shot over and over."

"It does get tedious."

There was an awkward silence, which had never happened between us before, and I wasn't sure what was up. I wanted to ask, but my gut told me not to. As if I might not like the answer.

Had he been ready to hook up with that brunette?

Had I cock blocked him?

It wasn't like he was getting any from me.

Shit.

I'd taken for granted that he simply liked my company, but if I was keeping him from living his regular life, that wouldn't be fair. Maybe going to the game Friday night wasn't a good idea.

"I don't want to keep you out late tonight," I said after a moment. "So, if you need to go, just say the word. I won't be offended."

"Probably in an hour or so, but I can sleep in tomorrow, so it's all good."

"By the way, Connor has an appointment with Davide at eleven tomorrow morning. Make sure he shows up. I texted him the info but if he's late, Davide has other things going on, so this is his only opportunity to try on the tux, have it altered right on the spot, and then take it with him."

"I'll make sure he's there," Ivan said, his blue eyes searching my face.

I loved looking at him, but I didn't want to lead him on, so I averted my gaze.

"Hey, Alexa, when will production from our shoot the other night be done?"

"A few days," she replied. "I'll send you guys the finished product so you can see it before anyone else. I plan to debut it at the release party I'm doing in two weeks in London."

"Did I know about this?" I asked, squinting.

"I thought you had a conflict. You were going to come to the Nordstrom event in December, though."

"That's right. I'll be in Australia in two weeks for my grandmother's birthday."

"You're going to Australia?" Ivan asked.

"Yeah, it's my Gran's eightieth birthday. I'm only going to be there for six days, but I couldn't miss it."

"Are you close?"

"Oh, yeah. She comes to the US once a year for a month and she loves coming to shoots with me. She's still pretty spry."

"That's nice. All of my grandparents are dead. My mother's mother died a couple of years ago, but I never knew any of the others."

"My grandfather died when I was ten, and I didn't know my dad's parents at all, so I understand. But that's why I try not to miss special occasions with her. She's great."

"So, it's your mother's mother?"

I nodded.

"Then you don't share a surname."

"No. Her last name is Rinehart. Mine is Russell."

"Cheyenne Russell." He seemed to be testing it out. "Do you have a middle name?"

"Elizabeth."

"Cheyenne Elizabeth Russell. That's a mouthful."

"It is." I wondered why he found my full name interesting. "Do you have a middle name?"

"Dmitri."

"Ivan Dmitri Rochenko. That's a Russian mouthful."

"Yes, my father made sure of that."

"You sound bitter."

"Like I said, he wasn't a good man and an even worse husband."

"And a father?"

He hesitated. "He wasn't great, but once he saw my hockey potential, he changed toward me. He was excited, taking me to the rink, helping coach my teams, stuff like that. But he started drinking around that time, so when he started hitting my mother, I got resentful, and it impacted our relationship."

"Of course."

"Once he realized I was on her side, he started lashing out at me, but he was careful. If he hurt me, I wouldn't be able to play, and since he wanted me to follow in his footsteps, he was almost forced not to do anything overt."

"Did your father play?"

"Google Dmitri Rochenko. He played for the Islanders in the nineties. That's where he met my mom. After they got married, they moved to Russia so he could play in the KHL. I think he did it because he wanted to make sure any children were born in Russia."

"And you're an only child?"

"Yes. Once they were in Russia and he started to change, my mother said she didn't dare bring anymore children into the world."

"That's so sad."

"It is. That's one of the reasons I'm not sure I want kids. Part of me worries that I have enough of him in me that I might change too, become like him."

"No." She shook her head. "I don't believe that."

"Someday, if you get the chance, you can ask my mother. She's told me stories of the change, how it happened so gradually she didn't realize it until it was too late. And by then she was stuck in Russia with a baby. I'll stay single forever if it means protecting my future family from something like that."