Perhaps if he were lucky, he could persuade the massage therapist to throw in a happy ending as well. On the heels of that pleasurable thought, he hummed a merry tune as he walked into the shower.
CeCe entered Shannon’s office carrying the biggest, most amazing bouquet of exotic roses Shannon had ever seen and she wondered which player CeCe had received them from but when CeCe put the flowers on Shannon’s desk with a delighted smile, Shannon eyed the roses warily. “What’s this?” she asked.
“What do they look like, silly? They’re the most beautiful roses I’ve ever seen. “Someone likes you,” CeCe said, giggling. “Who are you dating and does he have a brother?”
“I’m not dating anyone,” she answered, frowning as she plucked the card and read the message. “To New Beginnings.” She dropped the card as if it were poison. “Ugh. They’re from him.”
“Him who?”
She graced CeCe with an impatient look. “Nolan Buchanan.”
“Ohh, your baby daddy.”
“God, don’t say it like that,” Shannon groaned, eyeing the flowers with open distaste. She’d never been a rose type of girl, preferring tulips. “You can have them. I don’t want them.”
“Are you kidding me? What’s wrong with you?” CeCe asked. “They’re gorgeous.”
“They’re…inappropriate. I shouldn’t be accepting gifts from Nolan when I’m about to take him to court.”
“Yeah, but maybe he’s just trying to make amends for the way he came off yesterday. Maybe you ought to cut the guy some slack.”
Shannon narrowed her gaze at CeCe. “Maybe you should mind your own business.” Realizing the snap in her tone, Shannon immediately apologized, saying, “That was uncalled for. I know you don’t understand why but Nolan isn’t the kind of man I want to encourage, even with the slightest, seemingly harmless gesture.”
“It’s okay. I get it.” CeCe shrugged and picked up the flowers, admiring their beauty. “They’ll look just as nice on my desk as they would on yours. Besides, it always looks good for an available woman to have flowers on her desk.”
“And why is that?”
CeCe smiled as if she thought Shannon were helplessly clueless (which maybe she was, who knows) and answered, “Because everyone knows if a man thinks a woman is unavailable, it simply makes him want her more. Nothing is more pathetic than a sad, lonely woman hoping for a date. If you act as if you have more dates than you know how to juggle, your value goes up.”
Shannon stared at her intern, appalled. “Why would you want a man who would even think of dating someone who is already taken?” Case in point, Nolan’s comment to her the second they’d met and decided to leave the club together. He hadn’t cared if she were attached as long as he got what he wanted. At the time, she hadn’t cared and to be honest, his bold approach had been sexy but now? Reprehensible.
“Life is for the living, Shannon,” CeCe said walking away with the flowers. “Try it sometime.”
Shannon glowered at CeCe’s retreating backside and muttered to herself, “That girl is going to end up with an STD before she’s twenty-five” and then returned to her work, going over the assessments for the coach. She loved her job but someday she hoped to land a position within the NHL. She was willing to travel to Calgary, too, if it meant getting a position with a major hockey network. The minors were good for building a name but the real money was in the professional league. She sighed, someday it’ll happen. She was good at her job and she knew her stuff. Just stay focused, she told herself.
Someday, all of this trouble would fade into memory because her life would be amazing.
Until then, she had to slog through the manure and push past the ass in her way.
-4-
Nolan double-checked the address he’d managed to find for Shannon Garrity and adjusted his sleeve cuffs before the door opened. The apartment complex was clean and in a decent neighborhood but, she’d likely jump at the chance to have a home of her own, which he’d gladly provide — provided she move closer to him. He smiled, pleased with himself and the plans he had in mind. He couldn’t wait to see Shannon’s expression when he told her how he was going to change her life for the better.
But as the door opened, Shannon sucked in a sharp breath and a scowl followed. “What are you doing here?” she asked, plainly unhappy to see him at her doorstep.
It took a moment for him to adjust to her stance and he thought perhaps she hadn’t received the flowers but as he took in her completely hostile body language, he had a sinking feeling his flowers had ended up in the trash. “You didn’t like the flowers?” he asked.