Chapter 1

One

Maeve

"So, what do you think?" I ask my best friend Kate Morgan, as my other very good friend Tanner Davis pushes from the table and heads to the little boys' room. I sigh as I not so discreetly stare at his lovely backside, only to tear my gaze away when Kate snorts out a laugh.

I quickly turn back to her as she flicks her long dark hair from her shoulder and twists her mouth before responding with, "You can't be serious."

I frown, the hope in my gut sinking. "As serious as the goal that won us tonight's game," I tell her as I take in her scrunched-up nose that lets me know my matchmaking skills suck big time. I really thought Kate and Tanner would hit it off. I've known Kate since I was five years old—we grew up together here in Florida. We spent a lot of time together before I moved to Boston to be closer to my family after Dad was traded to the Bucks. You'd think I'd know what she likes and doesn't like. Heck, she's basically one in a handful of people I trust after… Well, after the incident, as I now call it. I used to trust a lot more people years ago. Heck, I used to be better at making decisions for myself too.

"You don't like him?" I'm shocked really. Tanner Davis is a great guy. As a former skills coach for Boston Bucks—now working for the Florida team—I've known him for years. Not just because I'm now the Bucks team's physiotherapist, but because my dad, who is the oldest player on the team, worked with him. When I found out we had an away game in Florida, I thought it would be a good time to put my two closest friends together and watch the sparks fly.

"Babe," she whispers and I lean in to hear her over the rambunctious crowd here at the hotel's bar where the Bucks players are all drinking and celebrating a win. "He's more interested in you than me."

A knot tightens in my gut. "No, he's not," I shoot back, not wanting that to be true. Tanner is my close friend, and he's only watching me carefully because he worries about my well-being. He was always there for me after I joined the franchise last year.

Her lips pucker in disbelief. "Yeah, right."

With the tip of my finger, I follow a line of condensation on my cocktail glass. Damn, I wanted them to like each other and was pretty confident they would. The truth is, I don't date, and Kate told me she was going through a dry spell, so I was hoping it would be love—or simply lust—at first sight and I could live vicariously through my friends.

Feeling like I let Kate down, I begin, "I just?—"

She laughs, but it doesn't hold a lot of humor. "He couldn't take his eyes off you." She glances around the hotel lobby bar. "In fact, most guys here have checked you out at least once." She throws her hands up in defeat. "I just can't compete with you, Maeve."

Compete?

"We're not…we don't…"

Her smile is full of laughter and playfulness when she adds, "I'm always overlooked when I'm with you. Heck, if you weren't my best friend for the last million years, I'd probably hate you."

I swallow against the lump punching into my throat. I know she doesn't mean to hurt my feelings, but the word ‘hate' scares the hell out of me. I lean forward, letting my hair curtain my face—along with the scar that's far too close to my right eye—and work to shrink into myself. As a former model who walked numerous runways and graced the cover of many magazines, you'd think I'd be used to the attention. Okay, wait, let me clarify. I am used to it. I just don't like it. Not anymore, anyway.

Able to read my mood change, Kate's hand snakes across the table and she takes mine into hers, offering comfort. She gives me a warm, reassuring smile when I lift my eyes to hers.

"Hey, you're safe here." I nod, even though I rarely feel safe. "He's not here," she assures me and I nod again, knowing she's referring to my ex, Jake.

I swallow again, and push down the burst of panic that threatens to rise in me as I lift my head higher and search the crowd, knowing he's not here, but somehow expecting to see him anyway. It's been three long years. Will I ever stop thinking he's in the shadows, watching, lurking, ready to strike again?

My gaze lands on Tanner Bang sitting on a swivel bar stool, and I note the way his eyes are narrowed in on me, like he can sense my unease. I don't know Bang all that well. He's fairly new to the team. I met him last year when he came to training camp and hurt his shoulder. We talked a little and he was one of the few guys who actually listened to what I had to say—one of the few guys who looked me in the eyes.

I was interning at the clinic at the time, and once I finished my program here in Florida, right alongside Kate, the team brought me in as their full-time traveling physiotherapist. Some say I'm the perfect example of nepotism, considering my father has a long running hockey career, and is one of the greatest players of his time. While that might be true, no one can deny I worked my butt off getting my Bachelor of Physiotherapy, wanting to make something more of my life.

"Tanner Bang. Dibs on banging that," Kate says and makes a smacking sound. She wags her perfectly manicured brows at me. Honestly, she's smart and beautiful, and a great catch. I really hope she doesn't believe guys overlook her when she's with me. She was kidding, right? "Talk about a nice fat snack."

A strange, sudden bout of possessiveness grips me, which is crazy. I don't have ownership over any of the guys on the team, although I do feel protective of them, especially the ones I've treated in my clinic. "You like Tanner Bang?"

She laughs again. "Ah, who doesn't, Maeve? Boston Bucks' hottest rookie, on and off the ice."

I turn back to him and take in the scruff on his chin, and the way his big fingers wrap around the base of a bottle as he tips it, taking a long pull of beer. There's no denying he's good looking, if not a bit standoffish and broody. Why is he constantly checking his phone instead of celebrating with the rest of the team? It was his goal that won the game. He shifts and I take in khaki pants that cover muscular legs. He's not my type, not with that brooding personality.

Oh, and what's your type, Maeve? Guys who stalk and hurt you?

Ugh.

He wipes his mouth with the back of his hand and his gaze cuts to mine as I continue to stare at him. I note how big his hands are. Is that why the team gave him the nickname Mitts? He angles his head, his questioning eyes moving over my face, and I quickly tear my gaze away. Dammit, did I just give him the wrong idea—that I was staring because I wanted to hook up? Heck, I don't hook up, and even if I did, it would never, ever be with a player on the team. Not only would my father kill the guy who slept with his daughter, I'm the team's physiotherapist and that has to be a conflict of interest. I worked really hard to get where I am and I'm not going to let some big, broody—hot as hell—hockey player ruin that for me.

Hot as hell?

Get it together, Maeve.

Wait, why the hell is my heart suddenly racing?

"If you were determined to set me up with a Tanner , it should have been Tanner Bang."

"I can introduce you," I tell her casually, as Tanner crosses the room and comes to the table. Tanner Davis, that is. Not Tanner Bang.

"Another drink?" he asks us, and I shake my head as he stands over his chair.

"I'm good, too," Kate tells him, and stretches her arms. "I actually have an early morning, so I'm going to call it a night."

"I can walk you out," Tanner suggests and nods toward the lobby. "Grab you an Uber?"

See, he's a really nice guy. What girl wouldn't want that? If I was dating, and he wasn't my best friend, maybe I'd go for it.

Kate stands and gives a little finger wave. "No, that's okay. I'm going to hit the little girls' room before I go."

Tanner nods. "It was nice meeting you, Kate, and so great to see you again, Maeve." He bends and I stiffen as he lightly kisses me on the cheek.

"Sorry." He practically jumps back. "I didn't think."

"No, no," I blurt out. "It's okay." I take in the deep line on his forehead. I want to tell him it's me, not him, and while it might sound cliché, it's also true. Ever since the incident, any type of intimacy is hard for me, even a friendly kiss on the cheek with a guy I trust. "I'm so glad you came out tonight, Tanner. It was so good to see you." I stand and put my arms around him. At first he's rigid, probably a little shocked by the hug, considering the way I just reacted to his kiss, but then he relaxes and puts his arms around me.

"It was good to see you too, Maeve." He inches back, his arms dropping. "I'm going to go say hi to your father before I leave. He's been glaring at me all night." He shakes his head and laughs. "Good thing you don't date hockey players." A cute grin curls up his lips. "Hard to play hockey with two broken legs."

I laugh, my anxiety ebbing away. "He just worries about me, and believe me, he knows we're only good friends." I study his face, gauging his reaction. Kate is wrong about him liking me, right?

His smile falls and he runs agitated fingers through his hair. "This, with Kate. Was it a set-up?"

I cringe. "Sorry, I thought you two would hit it off."

He swallows, hard. "Maeve, it's just that?—"

"Tanner, get your fucking ass over here and say hello," Brady, our goalie calls out, and Tanner's words fall off. Someone else calls his name, and he gives me a curt nod and steps back. "Talk soon?"

"Yeah, talk soon."

He steps away and I drop back down into my chair, ready to call it a night myself when Kate comes back, a grin on her face. I know that grin far too well. It screams of mischief, and I don't want anything to do with that.

"No," I blurt out before she can get a word out.

"Come on, at least hear me out."

"If I overstepped tonight, I'm sorry," I begin, trying to get her mind on something else, because I know she's up to something. "You said you were on a dry spell and Tanner is a really nice guy with?—"

"A cute ass." A wide grin splits her lips. "Yeah, I saw you noticing."

I groan and lean forward, covering my face with my hands. What am I doing? Tanner and I are friends, and I should not be admiring his body. I have not made good decisions since the incident. But, if I want someone to fantasize about at night, when I might or might not be using my battery-operated friend, I could pick any player on the team—hey, it's not the same as dating—and if I had it my way, I'd probably pick the big, bad, brooding Bang whose gaze keeps alternating between me and his phone.

What the heck?

"Message him. Tell him to meet you in your room?"

"Tanner?" I blurt out my gaze flying across the room to none other than Tanner Bang. Did Kate see me ogling him, too? God, I can't be with him now even if I wanted to. Not after she called dibs. We're not in junior high, but she likes him, which means I'm not touching that. It was bad enough that I ended up dating a guy she liked years ago. Sure, he ended up stalking me, but still. I don't want her to think we're in any sort of competition.

She doesn't, does she?

"Maeve, he sat here for the last hour staring at you." She points to the chair Tanner Davis had recently exited, and when understanding hits, I relax. Okay, whew, she didn't notice me admiring Bang.

"I'm not inviting Tanner to my room. We're just friends. Besides, it's late and I have an early flight."

"When did you turn eighty? My grandmother has a better sex life than you." She shakes her head, refusing to let the matter drop, and I groan, not wanting to hear about any eighty-year-old's sex life, even though I'm happy that she has one.

She snatches my phone before I can stop her. "Kate, don't."

"One night. Great sex. I know he's in for a hook-up." She snorts. "What guy isn't? And that's all it ever has to be. You don't even live in the same city anymore so it can't go anywhere. Just tell him straight up what it is and what it isn't."

"Kate," I warn.

I hold my hand out for my phone, but she moves it out of my reach. "One text. If he shows, you have great sex. If he doesn't show, tell him I was being and ass and you couldn't stop me. But trust me, he's going to show."

I groan, cross my arms on the table and lay my head on them. Maybe I do need to be touched. Maybe that's why I was checking out my good friend's ass, or worse, fantasizing about Bang. Yeah, it's well past time something without a battery found its way between my legs.

"I want to spend time with you, though," I whine. "We never get to see each other anymore."

"I'm coming to visit soon enough," she counters. "We'll have plenty of time."

"But…but…I don't want to ruin my friendship with Tanner," I whimper, a last-ditch effort to stop her, but really, it's weak, and pathetic. Even I know that. Heck, maybe I do want to feel a man's hands on my body, but I have so few friends, I can't afford to lose any if this goes wrong.

She cocks her head and grins. "Friends with benefits makes every relationship stronger."

"I don't believe that."

Her face softens, and she blinks innocently. "You trust him, right?" I nod, even though I know she's changing tactics because she cares about me and my well-being. Maybe I really should listen to what she's saying. I don't make good decisions anymore. I don't trust my own judgement. I do trust Kate's, though. She's going to do what's right for me. "Babe, if you're going to break your dry spell, don't you think it should be with someone you trust?"

That sort of makes sense. "Well, I guess."

She runs fingers over my screen, that mischievous smile back and I shake my head, regretting ever giving her my passcode. "Tanner," she mumbles. "Got him. Okay. Short and sweet." She eyes me. "What's your room number?"

I suck in a breath. Am I really doing this? God, I am. I really am. I tell her and groan, covering my face. "He won't show."

She wags her perfectly manicured eyebrows. "We can lay money on that if you like."

"No, you know my rules. No betting and no dating players."

"Good thing Tanner isn't a hockey player." She sets my phone down and my gaze slowly moves to Tanner Davis to see if he's going to respond to the text. He continues to talk to my father, which nearly gives me a heart attack. I can't even imagine what will go down if he pulls his phone out and Dad gets a glimpse of the hook-up text—from my number. That's when I notice Tanner Bang shifting on his stool, staring at his phone, which is nothing new.

"Go," Kate says quickly. "Get to your room and be ready when he gets there."

"But I was going to introduce you to Tanner Bang."

"I'm a big girl. I can introduce myself." She stands and pulls my chair out, giving me little say in the matter. She shoves my purse into my hands and points me toward the doors. "I want all the details tomorrow."

I mumble that there won't be details because he isn't going to show as I head out into the near empty lobby. Footsteps sound behind me, coming from the bar I'd just vacated, and I try to relax. It's not my ex. It's not my ex. I continue to chant that mantra as I make a beeline to the elevators. It's not Tanner Davis, either. This man behind me is wearing a different cologne and it's really quite nice. I press the up button and when the doors peel open I see who's behind me in the elevator mirror. Air leaves my lungs in a whoosh.

Tanner Bang.

I step on, and the team's rookie moves in beside me. "Floor?" I ask, hoping my hand doesn't shake like my voice as I press number eight.

"Same." He rocks on his feet as he shoves his big hands into his pockets.

I nod and lean back, standing beside him as we press our backs into the mirror. I try not to notice how alluring he smells, or how good he looks in that button-down shirt that hugs his body to perfection and the khaki pants that are snug in all the right places. My pulse thumps in my neck, proving I'm not doing a very good job of ignoring him.

The elevator doors finally open and I step off, trying to remember how to breathe. He follows close behind, and I'm so damn aware of him, I'm sure I'm walking like I have two left feet. Or maybe I'm walking funny because everything about this big man is playing havoc with the needy juncture between my thighs.

Oh boy.

"This is me." I wave my keycard awkwardly when I reach my room.

"I know."

He knows? How the heck does he know? I tap my card to the lock and it turns green. I push the door open and step inside. I'm about to turn around and see where he's going when his big hand lands on the heavy door, and he follows me in. I gasp as his hot as hell presence overwhelms me, in the most delicious ways of course, but what the heck is he doing?

Wait, did Kate…