Yours to Keep (39 page)

Fallon wasn’t much younger than him. He was twenty-one, but her innocence made him feel like forty: like the Big Bad Wolf trying to hook up with Little Red Riding Hood. But Lucas’s Little Red Riding Hood was gorgeous, and she seemed to have no clue who he was, which was a big plus in his book.

“It’s quite simple, really,” he said with a wink of his eye. “Just a simple kiss, and my lips are sealed.”

Fallon giggled, looking off to the side then back at him.

He liked that she was tall. Usually the girls he hooked up with were shorter, and the tall ones were models who didn’t eat anything. He couldn’t stand them. Lucas loved to eat and when he was stuffing his face, he hated having a female watch him with a please-feed-me kind of look.

“If your lips are sealed, how are you supposed to kiss me?” she asked in a low, intimate voice.

Ooh, she had a little country flair to her. The way she drew out the
e
in
me
, told him she wasn’t from California. Mmm, he liked
that,
too.

“Naughty girl, who said anything about open-mouth kissing?”

He was rewarded with a deep blush and a shy smile. “I just assumed.”

“Or you were hoping.”

She giggled again and rolled her eyes. “Oh shut up, and kiss me already.”

A slow grin spread across Lucas’s face before he took her chin between his fingers and
slowly lowered his lips to hers. When his lips touched Fallon’s, he swore his whole body caught on fire. She moved a hand into his hair, bringing him closer, so their bodies molded together. When she slowly parted her lips, he drove his tongue into her mouth, sweeping and swirling his tongue with hers. He had never kissed a girl with such passion, never put his whole self into it, never felt the so-called sparks. With Fallon, he did.

When they parted, only for air, she smiled sweetly up at him.

“So my secret is safe?”

Lucas was still stunned as he nodded. “Oh you are safe with me, baby girl. Come here.”

He wrapped her up in his arms, kissing her senseless, excited for the future that was before them. Yeah, after a kiss like that, he was looking at the future because he knew he had just found
the one.

Chapter 1

Nine years later …

Fallon Parker’s feet hurt. Bad. Her decision to wear a brand-new pair of black Kate Spade ankle boots on the night of the Assassins’ New Year’s Eve party would haunt her for weeks. She wanted to look cute because she would be seeing friends and a lot of customers. She had dressed to impress, wearing a high-waisted, black pencil skirt with a lacy white shirt.

Even if her feet were killing her; it was the price of fashion.

Fallon tried to walk lightly as she made her way around the bar to look over the crowd of five hundred that had gathered at the Luther Arena. The party was in full swing; the crowd celebrating the New Year and also the run for the Stanley Cup. The Assassins were having a winning hockey season from what Fallon was told, though she didn’t care.

Those days were over.

All Fallon cared about now was that the sponsorship was perfect between Rocky Top Wines and the Assassins. For the most part it was. Rocky Top Wines had its own level in the Luther Arena
and
a restaurant. But what Fallon really wanted was a cellar in the arena. A place where customers could pick up a bottle of their favorite wine for the after-party at home. It was her dream, and she was working hard to make it a reality.

Fallon leaned against the bar, sipping from her glass of the company’s Chenin Blanc. It was one of her favorites, going down smoothly as she took in the scenery. The team colors, purple and black, covered every inch of the arena. People moved around her, buying bottles and getting refills of their favorite wines.

God, she loved her job. Being surrounded by wine all the time! Who could ask for more?

A smile broke across Fallon’s face when she spotted one of her dearest friends. Of course, Elli Adler was dressed to impress, too, in her floor-length, sparkly black dress. Her beautiful brown hair was in an intricate updo and her makeup was done to the nines. No one would ever be able to tell that Elli had just had a baby two months ago. No matter how many
times Fallon told her she was beautiful, Elli still didn’t believe it. But it was true. She was also the team’s newest owner, which made her the center of attention that night. Elli wore a full smile as she wrapped her arms around Fallon, hugging her tightly.

“I know you’ve been here at least an hour! Why am I just now seeing you?” Fallon teased, as Elli rolled her eyes.

“You know I gotta go around sucking up to people! You become the darn owner and everyone wants a piece of you!” Elli said as she talked with her hands. “Plus, why am I gonna come on over here to my favorite wine bar when I can’t drink?” Elli asked with an annoyed look.

Fallon stood there for a moment, confused. Was she missing something?

Elli slowly nodded her head. “Shea knocked me up again!”

Fallon’s mouth dropped open, but she managed to say, “You just had Shelli two months ago!”

“I know! He’s on me like white on rice! I swear he’s gonna have me pregnant for the next three years!”

They both shared a laugh at that. If Shea Adler, the Assassins’ captain, had his way, he probably would. “Well the good thing is that your kids will be like me and my sister. We are ten months apart and the best of friends.”

“Yay.”

Fallon laughed, as Elli just looked longingly at the wines. “Oh, come on, I know you’re excited.”

A small, sweet smile broke over Elli’s face as she said, “I am, but it’s gonna suck the next couple months with him being gone all the time.”

“I thought he was quittin’.”

“He said he will when this baby is born, but I know he won’t. He loves hockey too much, and who am I to ask him to quit?”

Fallon was green with envy as she listened to Elli talk about her perfect relationship with her hunky, gorgeous husband and her perfect baby girl, with another on the way. Fallon couldn’t be happier for Elli. Fallon loved Shea and baby Shelli, but she desperately wanted a family, too.

Why couldn’t she find her Shea Adler who wanted to impregnate her all the time?

“So when is this big wine party?” Elli asked, bringing Fallon back to reality.

“March first. I’ll be by the office to drop off tickets and stuff soon.”

“Great, Shea will be on a break,” Elli said with a grin. She still got that dreamy look in her eyes when she talked about her husband. It was to be expected though; they hadn’t been married even a year.

“I know, that’s why I planned it like this. I need all the players. I need everything to tie together. Hockey and wine will work.”

“Isn’t it beer and hockey?” Elli asked.

“Not no more, we are gonna sophisticate this damn sport.”

“Good luck with that,” Elli said with a laugh, just as a pair of arms came around her. They both looked up to see Elli’s husband smiling down at them.

“Hey, Fallon,” Shea said, placing a kiss on Elli’s cheek.

“Hey, Shea,” Fallon sang, smiling up at him. “Heard ya knocked her up again.”

“Sure did,” he said with a bold grin. “Gotta keep the baby train going. We’re knocking on thirty’s door.”

“Oh, Lord! Not thirty!” Fallon said in mock horror, making everyone laugh.

“It’s the excuse he’s using,” Elli said.

“I think it’s all a ruse, he just likes making babies.” Fallon giggled as Elli’s cheeks warmed with color.

Shea let out a booming laugh, exclaiming, “You got that right!”

Fallon loved hanging out with Elli and Shea, they were so cute and perfect together. Even if their love made her want to puke, she still loved them. She took a sip of wine.

“Fallon is going to sophisticate hockey,” Elli said to Shea, which provoked more laughter as he looked over at Fallon.

“Are you now?”

“Yes, I am. I can do it. I’m awesome.”

Elli giggled and said, “You sure are, babe! Oh, Shea, there’s Ricky Owen. Hey, excuse us, Fallon, I’ll talk to you soon.”

“Sure, great seeing y’all,” Fallon said. She watched as they walked away, hand in hand, with big smiles on their faces. They were so stinkin’ happy, it was sickening. But then she thought of what they had had to do to get where they were, and she couldn’t help but be happy for them.

What could she say? She was a sucker for love.

Fallon stood a little while longer thinking about her friends, then realized she had to work the room. She grabbed a bottle of Rocky Top’s Big Orange Cabernet Sauvignon and started toward the crowd. She always walked with confidence—she had to, otherwise no one would buy from her. Fallon knew her product and was certain that anyone would fall in love with Rocky Top’s wine after only one taste. It was
that
good.

It had been in the family for over eighty years. Fallon grew up with dirty feet and grape-stained clothes. She loved Rocky Top and lived it, and now that she ran the PR department, it was finally going to get the recognition it deserved. Rocky Top wine should be at the top, and if Fallon had anything to do with it, it would be.

After handing out business cards and vouchers for free bottles, Fallon spotted Elli and Shea standing with an older guy holding an empty glass. He looked like he had money, so Fallon made her way toward him. She liked to schmooze the big-money guys, knowing that if she got lucky, they would hire Rocky Top to supply the wine for their company parties.

“He has a bad rep. Money, booze, females, I don’t know,” the older guy was saying when Fallon had reached them.

Elli didn’t seem very happy. “He’s clean, I feel good about him,” she said sternly.

But the gentleman shook his head. “I don’t know, Mrs. Adler. Brooks is a fighter.”

Fallon blinked a few times, totally stunned. It had been a long time since she had heard that name.

“Yeah, but he’s second in the league for goals,” Elli insisted.

“And first for penalty minutes. He’s got a huge chip on his shoulder,” the man added.

“I’ll knock the damn chip off it for him, if I need to. Or, hell, maybe we’ll get Fallon to sophisticate him,” Elli said and grinned, noticing Fallon just standing there and staring at them. “Ricky Owen, Fallon Parker with Rocky Top Wine. She is one of our biggest sponsors.”

“Who?” Fallon asked, ignoring Ricky’s hand, and hoping like hell that there was another Brooks in the NHL who fought a lot.

Because she knew only one.…

“You probably don’t know him. Lucas Brooks? He was just traded in from the Sharks.”

Fallon wasn’t sure how the bottle of wine slipped from her hands, but the next thing she knew it was in pieces around her beautiful boots. Cabernet Sauvignon was everywhere, and Fallon’s face was beet red as she tried to catch her breath. Everyone stared down in shock, then
back up at Fallon’s stunned face.

Shea started laughing and said, “Or maybe she does.”

Oh, Fallon knew Lucas Brooks, all right.

He was coming to Nashville? she wondered.
Great, that was just
fucking
great.

“You know, back in the day, we would be hung over, not moving into a new house, on New Year’s Day,” Levi Moss said.

Lucas Brooks looked over at Levi, his best friend since childhood and personal assistant, and laughed as he nodded in agreement. Levi was right—five years ago they both would still be facedown in their own puke, or on some female’s breasts, on New Year’s Day.

“You’re right, but I would probably be broke and without a job, too,” Lucas added.

“True, very true indeed,” Levi said, nodding his head.

Lucas smiled as he piled the boxes that needed to go upstairs by the steps. The new house he had bought was huge. He had asked for a simple home and had gotten this—nine bedrooms, six baths, two dens, and, to top it off, an ice rink on the lower level. Lucas had to admit that was the best part of the huge house, but still.… It was too big for just him and Levi.

After living in San Jose for the past nine years, Lucas still couldn’t believe he had actually left the Sharks and moved to Nashville, Tennessee. He had loved his team, but he needed a new set of faces and a new team, no matter how much he knew he would miss the guys. Lucas was getting into too much trouble in San Jose, and if he wanted to stay sober he had to leave the temptation. And everything in San Jose was a big temptation.

Lucas knew the trouble spots, he knew the women, and the past four years had been hell trying to be good, so he had to leave. He just had to. Thankfully, Levi supported him, uprooted his own life, and followed Lucas to Nashville with no questions asked. Lucas figured that Levi knew they had to get out of San Jose or Lucas was gonna relapse. Lucas’s mom was happy, too—he was now only eight hours from his hometown of Eaton Rapids, Michigan, and that made Molly Brooks a very happy woman.

So all around, moving to Nashville was going to be great as long as he got along with his team. Lucas had played the Assassins many times and hated playing defense against them. They were intense, hard-hitting assholes, and a game didn’t happen without him fighting someone. Now he was going to play for them.

After taking all fourteen boxes up to his room, Lucas looked around and nodded his head. The home decorator, Beth King, had done a great job giving him what he wanted. He wasn’t sure about which colors to choose, but after talking to her, she seemed to know what he liked. She based them on the color of his eyes: the walls were a perfect shade of gray, and the bedding was gray with black and white accent pillows. The headboard to the massive California king bed (something he couldn’t leave in California) was black and reached all the way to the ceiling. He had always liked big beds, and luckily the room was still enormous even with the bed in it.

Along the walls were black-and-white portraits of him as a kid—him with his mom and dad, some of just his dad—and then a lot of him during his younger years, playing hockey. His favorite picture, on the wall across from his bed, was of him when he was four with his dad, James, on the first day he had ever played hockey. James’s face was bright with excitement, and Lucas’s matched it—it was one of the best days of his life, and he loved waking up to that memory.