Talk to Me (18 page)

sides, though. “Al right, seriously, what is your problem?” she asked him, crossing her arms over her breasts and stepping away.

“My problem? I wasn't aware I had a problem,” he answered, glancing at her, clearly chal enging her to argue.

“I guess I just find it weird that you couldn't wait to get your hands al over me earlier, and now you're treating me like a leper.”

“I'm tired,” Drew told her, and returned his attention to the numbers overhead.

“You're hungry, you're tired,” she muttered.

“Look, I'm not a machine. Every man needs food and rest.”

A smal vein throbbed in his neck. Something was obviously wrong—something that went deeper than hunger or tiredness, but damned if she

had any idea what it was.
And they say women are moody...

“I'l just take a cab home, then,” she replied, pressing the Stop button and then the button for the lobby.

Drew ran his hand over his head. “You don't have to go.”

“It's pretty clear you don't want me here, so I'l just get out of your hair.”

“Jamie.” He moved closer, turning her and taking her hand. “Come on, give me a break. Let's just go upstairs, fal into bed, sleep like rocks, and

we'l see where we are in the morning.” He pul ed her close to him, placing his other hand on the back of her neck and drawing her head down to

rest on his shoulder. Turning to the elevator's buttons, he hit Stop again, then the button for his floor. She'd never felt so far away from a man she

was touching in her entire life.

“Fine.” Jamie couldn't help but think when morning came, nothing would be different. She should feel better, since Drew had said he didn't want

her to leave, but she didn't. She knew instinctively their affair had run its course. Despite how much it hurt, her pride simply wouldn't al ow her to beg

him to reconsider.

They got undressed and climbed into bed. Pul ing the wreck of the covers over the two of them, Drew put his hands behind his head and closed

his eyes. Jamie turned away on her side, burrowing into the pil ow, trying to wil the tears wel ing in her eyes to stay at bay. Maybe it was best he

was going away for a few days. It would give them both a chance to figure out what they wanted. Jamie's head was spinning, and she was deathly

afraid she was about to make the same mistake she'd made twice before. She wouldn't do that. She couldn't do that.

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Drew successful y got through the next morning, made easier when Jamie hightailed it out of his apartment before he'd even woken up. It was

the first time he'd rol ed over and was actual y disappointed when the other side of the bed was cold. He showered and dressed, then spent the day

running errands before leaving for his minivacation.

Determined to forget about the woman who was tying his insides in knots, he put al his energy into forcing himself to relax as he fished off Long

Island Sound with Jon and his friends. He knew he shouldn't have been surprised when he woke up alone—it wasn't like he'd given her a reason to

stick around. Convincing himself it was for the best took al day, and he stil couldn't shake the strange sense of emptiness in his gut.

When they were through fishing, the guys headed back to the cabin his buddy owned in Southold to fry up the fish and drink beer, as was their

custom. He was most of the way through his third beer in an hour when Jon cal ed him on his attitude.

“What the fuck is the matter with you?”

Drew sighed, thoroughly disgusted with himself for brooding about Jamie instead of enjoying this time with his friends.

“Nothing.”

“It's not nothing. It's Jamie, isn't it?”

The other guys perked up. “Who's Jamie?” one of them asked.

Drew spoke through clenched teeth. “No one.” He glared at Jon, but his former teammate ignored him and continued.

“Drew's new producer. He's banging her, but he's afraid she's fal ing in love with him and wants to marry him and have ten kids.”

Drew tossed the empty beer can in the direction of the garbage. “I just don't want to get burned again.”

Jon barked out a short laugh. “How can you get burned if you're nowhere near the fire, my man?”

“Fuck you. Like I said before, I don't see you al eager to get your nuts toasted.”

“Someday maybe I wil be.”

“Until then, keep your opinions to yourself.” Drew cracked open another beer, downed half of it, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, and

turned away. He continued to drink while the guys traded stories, mostly about hockey, women, or fishing. When he final y went to bed, his head was

spinning.

As he dragged his sorry carcass out of bed the fol owing day, his mouth tasting like cotton, he almost reveled in the feeling. He figured if he felt

like shit, he could forget about the ache for Jamie slowly consuming him.

He'd never experienced something like this, and it threw him for a friggin’ loop. His women understood who he was, what he could give them,

and what he couldn't. Jamie, despite her claim that she was fine with a sex-only arrangement, was not a “fuck-'em and leave-'em” kind of girl.

Shit. He liked Jamie. He didn't want to lose her. This whole messy situation was forcing him to rethink his status on relationships. Frankly, he

was scared shitless at the thought of committing to one woman.

Here he was, big, beastly Drew Milan, scared out of his wits because of one little vixen with wild brown hair and legs al the way to the sky.

Thinking about her legs didn't calm him down any, and he began to wonder if he was going to have to take matters into his own hands when he got

back to the cabin. Thankful y there were three bedrooms. It looked like liquor was his mistress for the night. Liquor didn't taste as good as Jamie

did, but it was a hel of a lot easier to deal with.

Jamie decided she'd had enough of moping around the house, waiting for a phone cal that obviously wasn't going to come. Final y, she

shrugged out of her robe and got into the shower, letting the hot spray play over her exhausted body. She hadn't slept wel for days, and it was

catching up to her. She'd spent her entire time off moping around the house, but now she resolved to stop feeling sorry for herself and go out and

make some of those friends she'd sworn to Alison she would make when she had the time. Wel , now she had the time.

She pul ed a dress out of her closet, then slipped it over her head and zipped up the side. Turning this way and that in the mirror, she didn't think

she looked too bad despite her giraffelike legs and overly large boobs. Maybe she could even find a guy to have a drink with who wasn't an egotistical, emotional wasteland of a man. She knew she was being catty, but hey, no one was here to listen to her, so what did it matter?

After applying more makeup than she normal y wore and taking time to straighten her hair, she walked to a local Italian bistro that featured a

large bar along one wal . She sat toward the middle in a spot with empty stools on both sides and ordered a glass of Chianti. Sipping the burgundy

beverage, she surreptitiously peered at the people around her.

They looked friendly enough, but how should she actual y start a conversation with someone she didn't even know? She wished she'd thought to

bring a book or something else to do, instead of perching on the edge of her bar stool, waiting for someone to take pity on her. Of course, then

she'd look unapproachable or like a nerd. Sighing, she reached for a menu and idly flipped through it. After she felt like she'd memorized the entire

menu of dinner offerings, someone slid into the seat to her left. “A glass of Chianti for me, and another wine for the lovely lady, if she'l al ow me.”

Jamie glanced up to see a man smiling at her. She smiled back. “Sure, thank you. I'm Jamie.” She extended her hand, and he shook it. The

bartender placed both glasses of wine on the bar and left.

“My name's Rob. So, Jamie, what's a nice woman like you doing in a place like this?” He grinned when she rol ed her eyes. “I figured I should

get al my corny pick-up lines out of the way at once.”

“I'm new to the area and thought it was time I meet some people.” She sipped at her wine and gave him a once-over. He was nice looking and

funny, but she didn't feel the spark she felt with Drew. Even so, she was determined to flirt with this guy to see where it led. She trailed her finger

down her wineglass and watched as Rob's eyes fol owed the movement.
God, men are so easy.

“So what do you do, Rob?”

“I'm a pharmaceutical rep. You know that new arthritis drug? That's one of mine, along with a whole stable of other products that guarantee to

make any problem you have disappear.”

Jamie raised an eyebrow. “Real y... What can you do about an annoying, overbearing sister?”

Rob chuckled. “Give her a couple of my anxiety meds?”

“Now you're talking.”

Rob glanced at his watch. “Listen, I've got dinner with a client in a minute. Let me give you my card. No pressure, but if you'd like, cal me—I'd

love to take you out some time.”

“Sounds great.”

He reached into the pocket of his expensive suit jacket and extracted a business card. As he handed it to her, he said, “I real y wish I could stay,

but business is business.”

“No, of course, I understand,” Jamie answered, not sure if she was relieved or disappointed, and not sure if she was disgusted or delighted by

her reaction to Rob. She tucked the card into her purse and hopped off the stool.
Now I can tell Alison I made a friend—I even have a date
! She

went home, scrubbed off her makeup, got back into her comfy clothes, and watched a movie before heading to bed.

Drew was returning tomorrow, and she had no idea what to expect. She didn't know if she wanted to strangle him or jump him. Sadly, she

suspected both. No matter what she did, she just couldn't get him out of her mind.

Drew left the cabin on Tuesday morning to head back to the city. He had a remote scheduled—he would be broadcasting from the Garden,

covering the NHL draft. Jon cal ed his cel on the drive back. “You were gone before I even got up. You al right, man? I haven't seen you like this in a

long time. She's real y got you tied up in knots, huh?”

“Yeah,” he admitted. “I've been sitting here and sitting here trying to figure out why, and I think I came up with something.”

“Let's hear it.”

He final y acknowledged out loud what he already knew but had been unwil ing to admit, even to himself. “Jamie's different from any other

woman I've met. I just can't bring myself to treat her like one of my conquests. She deserves better than that. She deserves better than me, for that

matter, but I think I'm fal ing for her, man. Now I have no idea what to do, though. I fucked up big-time before I left, and I haven't cal ed her the entire

time I've been gone.”

“Hel if I know, but I'd guess it has something to do with groveling. And probably flowers and candy and crap like that.”

“Great, you're a big help,” Drew deadpanned.

“Good luck, dude. Let me know how it goes.” Jon disengaged the cal with a chuckle.

Drew hated feeling vulnerable and unsure of how Jamie would react to him now. Despite that, he had an al -consuming urge to see her, to

gauge her feelings before he did something stupid and got himself hurt again. It had been hel before when Jenn had cheated on him. He wasn't

sure he could take that kind of pain ever again. He could take a puck straight to the kisser and not even miss a shift, but being laid low by a woman

was more than he could handle. But definitely against his better judgment, hel , against his wil and almost against his character, he was fal ing for

Jamie. He hadn't al owed himself to get emotional y involved in a very long time, but he stil recognized the signs.

After dropping off his car at his apartment, he made it to the remote with little time to spare, and he and Jamie didn't talk much as she set

everything up for the show from her post back at the station. He and the tech guy did their part at the Garden. Once the show started, Jamie hardly

spoke at al , and that was fine with Drew. It wasn't like they could talk about anything right now anyway, since they were miles away from each other

and in the middle of the broadcast. He just wanted to get through the show and then go find her.

It was driving him batshit crazy that no matter what he did, she was always in his thoughts. He was so distracted, he lost cal ers on three separate occasions, which
never
happened. He tried to be real y conscientious about stuff like that—he'd never been one to display shoddy workmanship—not when he was a player, and not now. After the third time, he was forced to cal upon al the mental fortitude he'd had during his

playing career to get his head back into the show.

He final y signed off for the night and beat it out of the arena. Hopping into the limo, he tersely ordered Dave to take him to the station. The

typical late-evening traffic in Manhattan was not helping his nerves, and he got more and more agitated the longer they sat, horns blaring al around

them.

Fuck it, I'l walk, he decided. He knew it was at least ten long city blocks to the station but figured he could use the time to blow off some of the

head of steam he'd accumulated in the last twenty minutes. He knew if he went in with guns blazing, he would scare the hel out of her and possibly

lose any chance he had at making her his.

He exited the car, pul ing his basebal hat down over his eyes. He hardly ever wore caps anymore but hadn't been in the mood to do anything

with his unruly hair after showering quickly before the show. His current disposition wasn't fit to deal with anyone but Jamie tonight. Normal y he tried