“You know it would be,” she said. Her voice dropped again. “I wish it could be different.”
They stared at each other for a few seconds. She was right. The pull of attraction was almost overpowering, and this never happened to him so fast after meeting a woman. He shouldn’t take the chance that they wouldn’t be found out if they tried to meet each other in secret. “I understand,” he said.
He gathered his wet clothes off the hotel room floor, folding them enough to cram them into the plastic bag the hotel typically collected laundry in. They heard a knock at the door.
“I’ll get it,” he told her. She’d wrapped her arms around herself.
The hotel manager handed him another plastic bag. “It’s not stylish, but it will work. If you could return these at your convenience, we’d appreciate it.” Drew reached out to shake his hand. “Are you sure you want to go out in the storm tonight? We have a room available and I can offer you the walk-in rate.”
“I need to get home,” he told the guy. “Thanks for the offer and for the clothes.”
“If there’s anything else I can do, please let me know.”
Drew hurried into the bathroom, shut the door behind him, and started pulling items out of the bag. A doorman’s uniform and a worn but clean Dallas T-shirt that must have been left behind by another guest. He’d still have to go commando, but if he could get downstairs and into a cab, he’d be home in fifteen minutes. The guy had been nice enough to include a small bag of hotel toiletries, including a comb. He used the covered black elastic he always wore on one wrist to pull his hair into a ponytail.
He yanked the polyester pants on, jammed his feet back into his soaking wet cross trainers, and pulled the T-shirt on over his head. He wondered if the team fine would be bigger for the obscene fit of Kendall’s yoga pants or the fact he might be photographed in another team’s merchandise. He left the uniform’s tunic unbuttoned. It didn’t fit well across his chest.
He stared at himself in the mirror. He looked ridiculous. He didn’t want to leave, but he had no choice. It was best for them both if they stayed away from each other.
KENDALL STOOD UP from the couch when Drew emerged from the men’s room. A mismatched hotel bellman’s uniform and ratty old T-shirt looked spectacular on him. He grabbed his wet jacket off of the couch and shrugged into it.
She handed him the plastic bag with the new book he’d bought in it. His fingers brushed hers. It felt like she’d stuck her wet fingers in a power socket. The shock of attraction and lust forced her to struggle for words.
“I . . . I put the Malcolm Gladwell book in there too. Don’t worry about getting it back to me. I hope you’ll enjoy it.”
“I think I will.” He moved a little closer. There was an invisible force field pulling her into his warmth. “How about a hug?”
She knew any further physical contact with him was a stupid, stupid move, but she did it anyway. His hold on her was gentle. The jacket was damp, but she didn’t care. He laid his stubbly cheek against hers and said into her ear, “I hope we’ll see each other again soon.”
She relished the feeling of her arms around his neck, the cool brush of his hair against her skin, and the powerful muscles beneath her hands.
“Sunday afternoon,” she whispered.
“I’ll be the one in the Sharks uniform.”
“I’ll be the one in the Miners’ suite.” She hauled in a breath. “Good luck.”
“You too.” His mouth touched hers in a sweet and fleeting kiss. She wanted more. “Should I call you when I retire from the league?”
She should let go of him. She should push him out of the hotel room, lock the door, and pretend like she never wanted to see him again. She couldn’t. Instead, she nodded.
“Don’t say goodbye,” he murmured. He stroked her cheek with one big hand. He turned to walk away.
She watched the hotel room door shut behind him.
Chapter Three
* * *
DREW ENDURED THE equivalent of Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride through the streets of Bellevue on his way home. The cab driver was skilled, but he was having a tough time navigating standing water, streets strewn with tree branches, and random debris that had blown out of people’s yards. Drew heard his phone chirping with e-mails and text messages a few times during the trip home, but he ignored it. He was too busy willing the towering evergreens bent almost double in the wind to stay standing and not hit the car he was traveling in if and when they fell.
He reached into his pocket when the cab driver pulled up in front of his house and handed the guy the two fifty-dollar bills he had in his wallet for a fifteen-dollar trip.