Ten bucks says you can guess the last place I ever expected to be…but there I was.

And what was with the stone woman wrapped in a sheet and standing in the middle of the fountain? Although upon closer inspection, she did look freshly fucked. The best look, if you asked me, for a sex store.

Don’t think it’s an adult store? That’s where you’re wrong.

Except it wasn’t an adult store designed for men. It was for women who wanted to get their men off. A number of my teammates’ wives had been known to shop there, and let’s just say we had some very satisfied players show up for practice the next day.

So the real question wasn’t so much what I was doing there—it was what the hell Granny was doing in the store.

And don’t you dare suggest it was to improve her sex life. The woman’s almost eighty, for Christ’s sake.

I scanned the store for the three troublemakers. My grandmother, Abigail, and Hazel were giggling like a couple of schoolgirls.

Yep, they were up to no good.

And if I was lucky, whatever they were up to had nothing to do with me.

What do I mean?

In the past two weeks, Granny had tried to set me up with the granddaughters of two of her friends. Both times I said I wasn’t interested. If they had only been interested in commitment-free sex—then sign me up.

But try telling that to my grandmother.

Why wasn’t I interested?

My track record when it came to women wasn’t too hot. Nope, I didn’t mean in bed. No woman had ever been unsatisfied in that department. I wasn’t a jack-off who only took care of himself.

So what was the problem?

The life of a hockey player revolved around road trips. Lots of them. We were gone more times than we were home. And then there was the issue of being traded to another team. If you were married, the wife had to give up everything to be with you. If you had a girlfriend, it came down to if you wanted her to move to the new city and if she was interested in joining you.

What happened if you didn’t want her joining you and she had already planned her happily-ever-after…with you in it?

Long story short—the fallout was never fun.

But it wasn’t the trials of being a hockey player you had to worry about most. It was the people you loved. The people who meant the world to you…and then died.

Unfortunately, that was something I was very familiar with. First with my parents. And then my best friend in college.

So, to sum things up.

No. Girlfriends. For. Me. Ever.

One-night stands were so much easier, thank you very much. No emotions involved. No hearts at risk.

No chance of losing someone you loved.

But also, try telling that to my grandmother.

As if sensing my presence, Granny turned and waved. Then she and her posse ambled over to where I was standing near the entrance.

Or rather, they ambled to the counter where a redhead stood that I hadn’t noticed until now. And how I hadn’t noticed her before was beyond me. Her long hair was a mass of loose curls, which made her look as sexy as all freaking hell. Her dark green T-shirt skimmed her mouthwatering curves.

For a second, the image of her straddling me and riding my cock hard flashed in my head. But before said vital organ had a chance to react, the girl glanced at me. And let’s just say the images of her riding my cock were not parading through her mind.

From the way she was scowling at me, it would seem that she was thinking of removing my cock with a cleaver. Well, that would be a first.

Granny and Co. paused at the fountain. Behind me, the annoying sound of a bell jingled. I turned in time to see a brunette sail into the store as if she owned the place. Her hair was pulled back in a high ponytail and she was wearing scrubs, the top covered with cartoon cats.

Unlike the redhead, she didn’t shoot flaming daggers at me with her gaze. Instead, it appraisingly slid over me. She gave a brief nod of approval, then moved on.

For some reason, I felt compelled to walk to the counter where she and the redhead were standing. I tried telling myself it was because I was interested in flirting with the brunette.

Sounds like a reasonable explanation, right?

I thought so. My cock didn’t. The poor wayward idiot didn’t so much as twitch at the memory of her. He was still hung up on the redhead. He and I really needed to have a heart-to-heart.

I waited near the counter for Granny to join me. My gaze drifted to the redhead’s T-shirt. “Love does not need to be perfect. It just needs to be true.”

I’d have to take its word for that. Couldn’t say I’d ever been in love. Not in the way the T-shirt was referring to.

“I just need to pay for this,” Granny told me, holding up what looked like a bottle of bubble bath.

I nodded.

She removed a plastic-wrapped, heart-shaped chocolate chip cookie from the wicker basket on the counter. “I’ve heard these are to die for.” She parked it next to her other purchase.

“Emma bakes them,” the brunette said. She smiled at her friend as if the redhead had solved world hunger.

“Your boyfriend is a lucky man to have a girlfriend who bakes treats,” Granny said.

The brunette laughed. “Emma is as single as they come.”

The woman in question just shrugged it off. “I can’t help that I don’t have time for a boyfriend.”

“True. Between the store, volunteering at the youth center, and writing the Dr—” The brunette’s words stopped faster than a Ferrari at a red light at the glare Emma leveled at her. “And you’ve clearly been dating the wrong men.” She exaggerated a yawn, complete with covering her mouth, that had the redhead rolling her eyes.

“Well, that’s a shame, dear,” Granny said. “Remember, you fall in love with the most unexpected person at the most unexpected time.”

Think she made that up? Nope. One of Granny’s favorite hobbies was finding random quotes off the internet and spouting them at the oddest moments. Sometimes they worked—sometimes they left you scratching your head.

She glanced back at me and it took everything in my power not to roll my eyes. Granny could be as subtle as a stampede of bulls in a china shop.

“You almost ready?” I asked her.

That sigh of hers? She loved going to the doctor as much as I loved getting a penalty during the final minutes of a game when the teams were tied.

It was a sigh I’d frequently heard from her, but it didn’t change anything.

“I don’t suppose I can bribe you with this?” She removed another cookie from the basket and offered it to me. “How about you enjoy this delicious cookie and forget the appointment?”

“Sorry, no can do. But nice try.” I’d almost lost her back in high school. Given that she was the only grandparent or parent I had left, I wasn’t ready to lose her.

And yes, I would do anything for her, especially after she’d put up with my bullshit following my parents’ unexpected deaths. It had fucked me up big-time. My parents had meant everything to me. They’d showered me with love and respect and support—and the feeling had been mutual.

After their deaths, Granny was the one who helped me eventually move on and glue my broken pieces back together. So like I said, I would do anything for her—other than have a girlfriend.

And other than let her talk me out of driving her to her medical appointment.

She finished paying, then hugged her friends good-bye.

At my car, I helped Granny into the passenger seat and climbed behind the steering wheel. We were pulling away from the curb when she said, “Did I tell you that Abigail’s grandson had a baby boy the other day?” She gave me the same theatrical I-wish-I-had-a-great-grandchild sigh I’d already heard a million times.

Did I know his wife was pregnant? You better believe it. But not because I knew them personally. Granny had told me the news at least once a month—as if telling me would make me magically desire a child.

Or a wife.

The last I’d seen, I had testicles and not ovaries, so her plan had fallen flat on its face.

“No, you didn’t,” I said.

She didn’t say anything for a full minute. Hmmm. I got off pretty easy this time. “You’re still coming for dinner tonight, right?” she asked.

“Yes, but I’m getting together with some friends afterward, so I can’t stay long.”

Granny smiled knowingly—which was never a good thing half the time. Only I had no idea which half-the-time this was and what it meant.

And that made me slightly nervous.