The last thing Aurora wanted to do was step into the bar at all. She could not believe she had even agreed to this in the first place. Maybe if Michael saw her going above and beyond for him, he would be willing to let her help Seraphina Hanson organize the season ticket holder gathering. However, she received an email that needed immediate attention and she couldn't respond without getting Michael's input.

At first, the bouncer didn't want to let her in. Girls in short dresses started complaining about her going before them, commenting on her drab attire. To a degree, Aurora understood their annoyance. However, she was just trying to do her job.

"I'm Michael Tucker's assistant," she said. "I just need to get an email approved and then I'll leave. I can buy a drink if you want. I can leave my license. I promise I won't be more than five minutes. Please?"

He nodded and quickly waved her in. Aurora nearly kissed his cheek.

The bar smelled like salt and smoke. She kept forgetting that bars were one of those rare places where people could smoke if they wanted to. Wrinkling her nose, she tried not to make too much of a disgusted face as she stepped inside. The bouncer forced her to show ID before he let her inside, probably because she was in jeans and sneakers rather than in high heels and a tight dress. She kept her eyes peeled for Michael. It was never difficult to find him. His dark auburn hair stood out simply because he was tall and filled with muscle and the hair color itself wasn't typical on guys. However, because of the dim lighting and the constant movement of bodies, it was hard to catch sight of him.

She did see Tom, though. She recognized his posture, the way his shirt wrapped around his back like a second skin. He was sitting at the bar next to a couple of potential players for the Gulls. Judging by the bartender who seemed enraptured by his story, he was talking to her about something.

She ignored the twisted feeling in her gut.

Aurora didn't want to go over to Tom and interrupt his storytelling—flirting? God, she hoped it wasn't flirting, but who the hell was she supposed be, telling him he couldn't flirt because it hurt her feelings?—and contemplated going back to the car and waiting it out.

Until she glanced at her phone and saw two more emails from the Arizona general manager needing a response. Apparently, Wilson Teague wanted the Tucker brothers to fly in a day before they originally scheduled, which would mean cutting their trip in Orange County short.

Aurora sighed. She had no choice but to go to Tom and ask him.

By the time she reached him, the bartender was giggling and walking away to a new customer, leaving Tom as alone as he could be at a bar with his hockey buddies.

"Tom," she tried. He didn't hear her so she stepped around him and took a seat next to him. "Tom."

He glanced over at her and did a double-take. "Hey, Rory," he said. "What are you doing inside here? Bored out of your skull, yet?"

Aurora forced a smile. "Where's Michael?" she asked, deciding to avoid the question.

"Not sure," Tom said, glancing over his shoulder to look around the bar. "I thought I saw him talking to a brunette but I'm not sure. This place is so packed, I'm surprised you were able to find a seat."

"I know," she agreed.

This felt strange. Talking to him. Like the kiss at Disneyland hadn't happened. Like it didn't exist. No, worse than that. Like it didn't matter.

"I have…" She was going to tell him about Arizona but she wasn't sure if Michael wanted Tom to know. The email just addressed Michael. Tom wasn't mentioned at all. Technically, she was Michael's assistant, not both of theirs, but the whole situation felt icky. She didn't want to keep something like this from Tom. He deserved to know about Michael making a career decision without Tom since Tom assumed he would be part of that decision. "I just need him to confirm something. I got an email and time is of the essence."

"You work too much," Tom said.

Aurora laughed by his abrupt appraisal. At least it got her off the hook when it came to explaining the email and why she needed Michael so badly.

"What makes you say that?" Aurora asked.

"Why are you here?" Tom countered. He rested an elbow on the bar and shifted on the bar stool in order to face Aurora completely, turning his back on any potential fun for the night. "It's practically eleven o'clock and you are at a bar, not because you want to be, but because…"

"My boss told me to be," Aurora finished. "Well, technically, he told me to wait in the car because he wanted me to drive everyone around." She scrunched her nose when the man on the other side of her struck a match and lit his cigarette. "It's not because I want to be here."

"My point exactly," Tom said. "And you shouldn't be here. You should be in bed reading one of your sappy romance books."

"The idea of bed sounds quite tempting," Aurora murmured, more to herself than to Tom.

"See? Exactly my point." He shot her a grin. "You work too much."

Aurora rolled her eyes but a smile crawled onto her face. "Thank you for that informative diagnosis," she said. "I'll be sure to keep that in mind when you call me up at midnight, asking for a ride home, because your future hookup tries to steal the rental car."

"Ouch." Tom took a sip of his beer. "That was cold, Day, especially considering I was trying to help you. I'm on your side."

"Maybe," Aurora said as she stood up. "But only because you know I'm going to help you."

"Quid pro quo," Tom said with a wink. "You know me too well. I always make sure you're satisfied before I concern myself with…myself."

Aurora chuckled. She hated that Tom was actually making her laugh with his stupid suggestive jokes. This was not how this—whatever this was between them—was supposed to be. Especially not after a kiss they shared under the fireworks.

She turned and nearly ran into a tall man with nearly as much muscle as Tom. She recognized his face. It must be one of the hockey players on this pub crawl. She went to move around him, murmuring a gentle “excuse me” that got lost in the noise of the bar, but he stepped in the same direction as she did. He smiled, a brilliant smile that completely lit up his face. It was hard to actually see him because it was so bright.

"Oh, I'm sorry," he said. "Can I buy you a drink?"

Aurora glanced behind her to make sure he was talking to her and not someone behind her. She wouldn't have been surprised if he had been talking to someone else just because she looked tired and comfortable and the exact opposite of the women in the bar.

"Um, what?"

Probably not the most brilliant response.

"You're Michael Tucker's PA, right?" he asked. He had to lean down close to her so his mouth was close to her ear. She gulped. She wasn't used to being close to people she actually liked, and now, being so close to a gorgeous god who somehow walked this earth, she wasn't entirely sure how to handle herself. "I've seen you at the ice a couple of times."

"Yeah."

Close your mouth, you idiot, she thought to herself. Aurora snapped it shut and forced a smile.

"So?" he asked. "Can I buy you a drink?"

Aurora wasn't sure what she wanted. She barely knew the guy and she looked like shit so she didn't completely understand why he wanted to buy her a drink in the first place. On the other hand, she highly doubted she would ever get this close to someone as good looking as he was and wanted to take the opportunity to really feel what it was like to be flirted with by someone who was way out of her league.

A thought flashed in her head, stopping her. If he knew her from the ice, this had to be one of the hockey players. Aurora didn't date hockey players as a rule in order to keep her life with minimal complications. In a way, she was already in a relationship with two of them at one time and it constantly felt as though she were drowning. Having to split her time with someone else would be…

Now you're jumping all over the place. All he asked for was to buy you a drink, not marriage. This isn't rocket science.

The voice had a point. She worried, however, that Michael wouldn't be pleased by this. He was already a stickler for behavior and conduct. Her dating one of his teammates probably wasn't the best thing for her to do if she liked her job.

So now he gets to control your personal life, too?

"Sure," Aurora forced herself to say. "One drink, nonalcoholic."

This caused him to chuckle. "I'm Eddie," he said. "Yeah, Michael mentioned how good you are. He said if I ever needed anything, you were the person to go to." Without warning, Eddie reached around Aurora and grabbed her ass. "So what do you say? One drink and then back to my place?"

Aurora turned and was about to tell him to fuck off. However, Tom jumped up and pushed her back behind him before she even had the chance to open her mouth.

"Eddie," Tom said. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?"

"Oh, I'm sorry," Eddie said. "I didn't realize she was with you tonight. I'll let you be, then." He slapped Tom's shoulder like the two were friends. "Tell me when you're done so I can hit her next. I want a blow-by-blow, okay? Full details. I don't want to waste my time if she's not a good fuck. I have other shit I need to concentrate on."

"You want a blow-by-blow?" Tom asked.

Aurora narrowed her eyes. "Tom," she said, a warning in her tone. "Don't do anything stupid."

He didn't seem to hear her.

"I can give you a blow-by-blow," Tom continued. "No problem."

Without warning, Tom punched Eddie in the face.

"You asshole," Eddie shouted. Immediately, people jumped up from their seats. Aurora could see a couple of people pull out their phones, no doubt recording. Aurora wasn't sure if the players were recognized but she couldn't take that risk. If these were submitted to news channels, someone would recognize them, and that was the last thing they needed, especially since Tom had not officially signed anything with anyone.

"Tom, let's go," Aurora said.

But Tom didn't listen.

"What, is that whore your girlfriend or something?"

"Call her a whore one more time," Tom snapped.

"And you'll do what?"

"I'll give you another black eye to match that one," Tom promised.

"Whore."

Tom lunged. He managed to clip Eddie's face but Eddie landed a punch on Tom's nose.

"Tom!" Aurora screamed, deciding to jump between them. It was probably a stupid move but she couldn't risk Tom hurting himself or getting more injured than he already was. In fact, she needed to get him out of here.

"Let your whore fight for you," Eddie shouted. "Fucking pussy."

Tom froze. Aurora whirled around and punched Eddie as hard as she could. Her knuckles screamed with pain but she didn't care.

"I wouldn't sleep with you if someone paid me a million dollars, limp-dick," she spat. She decided to take advantage of the fact that Eddie was still dazed by her hit—not necessarily because it hurt, but because she had chosen to hit him at all—before she grabbed Tom's hand and tugged him toward the door.

"We have to go," she urged. "You're getting blood everywhere and the last thing we need is for you to get kicked out of a bar. That's rookie shit."

"Nice hit, Rory," Tom said, and Aurora could hear the approving smirk.