2
SCARLETT
Forget Him Not
It shouldn’t have bothered her to see another woman’s name on Viggo’s phone.
He was one of the hottest players in the NHL. Of course he had chicks calling him. She had no right to be jealous. It wasn’t like he was her boyfriend. Hell, she barely knew him.
So why couldn’t she stop speculating about Audrey, wondering who she was and what she meant to Viggo?
Why did she want to hunt her down, claw her eyes out and hock spit into the empty sockets?
Scarlett shook her head, disgusted with herself as she poked disinterestedly at the braised salmon on her plate.
“What’s wrong with your food?”
Scarlett glanced up to meet her mother’s questioning gaze. “Nothing’s wrong with it,” she mumbled. “It’s delicious.”
Her mother raised one elegant eyebrow. “Then why are you mutilating that piece of fish instead of eating it?”
Scarlett dropped her gaze back to her plate. The salmon did look somewhat mangled. Smothering a deep sigh, she set her fork down and reached for her wineglass, hoping her mother would back off.
As if.
Sherise Warner leaned close and whispered loudly, “Would your state of distraction have anything to do with that scrumptious young man sitting at the next table?”
Scarlett played dumb. “Who?”
“Oh, please. You know very well who I’m talking about. What’s going on between you and Viggo Sandström?”
Just the sound of his name was enough to get the butterflies in Scarlett’s stomach flapping like crazy.
Stalling, she sipped her wine. “Nothing’s going on between us.”
Her mother guffawed. “I may look marvelously young, but I wasn’t born yesterday. I have eyes, Scarlett. I saw you and Viggo sneak off together—”
“We didn’t sneak—”
“—and he hasn’t stopped staring at you since we sat down to dinner.”
It took all of Scarlett’s willpower not to look in Viggo’s direction. He was sitting at the next table with some of his teammates and Reid’s childhood friends. The last time she risked a glance his way, she’d found him watching her with an intensity that heated her from the inside out. She hadn’t looked back since.
There was a calculating gleam in her mother’s eyes. “The way he’s been staring at you, do you honestly expect me to believe nothing happened between you?”
Scarlett sighed in exasperation. “Let it go, Ma.”
“If you don’t tell me, I’ll pry it out of Nadia.”
Scarlett glanced down the table at her cousin, who sat beside Reid. They were smiling and whispering to each other, their heads bent close together.
Scarlett grinned, lifting her glass to her lips. “Good luck getting her away from Reid long enough to interrogate her.”
Her mother pouted at the prospect of being kept out of the loop. She couldn’t stand it. “Why won’t you tell me what’s going on with you and Viggo?”
“Because there’s nothing to tell,” Scarlett said with a totally straight face. “We stepped outside for some fresh air. No big deal.”
Her mother looked over at Viggo. Her eyes were twinkling with pure feminine appreciation. “Lord, he’s handsome. That face is a work of art. And look at the size of those shoulders. Isn’t he from Sweden? I bet his ancestors were Vikings. Big, strong, strapping— Oh, hey now, he’s looking this way again.” She beamed with delight and gave Viggo a flirtatious little wave.
Scarlett wanted to duck under the table and never come back out. “Dear God, woman,” she groaned. “Have you no shame?”
Her mother laughed unabashedly and sipped her wine. Scarlett wished she could blame her embarrassing antics on too much alcohol. But Sherise Warner didn’t need to be drunk to behave inappropriately. The woman had no filter whatsoever. The only one who could rein her in was her husband. Unfortunately, he was deep in conversation with Reid’s father, leaving Scarlett at the complete mercy of her crazy mom.
She wasn’t done meddling. “I think it would be wonderful if you and Viggo started dating. He’s Reid’s best friend, and you and Nadia have always been two peas in a pod. The four of you could go on double dates together. Wouldn’t that be fun?”
Scarlett sighed. “Ma—”
“Your brother says Viggo is one of the highest-paid players in the NHL.” She lowered her voice discreetly. “He makes even more than Reid. Not that that matters, of course. But there’s no denying what an amazing catch he is.”
He is an amazing catch, Scarlett silently conceded. But it wouldn’t work between them. For starters, they were both on the road a lot. With Viggo traveling to away games and Scarlett touring with her indie rock band, when would they have time for a relationship? They would spend more time apart than together. And how would she deal with the constant barrage of puck bunnies throwing themselves at him? Could she trust him to keep his dick in his pants?
Probably not.
Without meaning to, she let her gaze stray to Viggo’s table. He was laughing, sharing a raucous joke with his teammates. Just looking at him did all sorts of crazy things to her insides. He was too damn fine for his own good.
As if he sensed her watching him, he suddenly turned his head. The moment their gazes connected, her breath hitched and her pulse quickened. For the second time that night, she felt as if they were the only two people in the room.
They stared at each other for a single endless heartbeat before Scarlett dragged her eyes away.
But it was too late. Her mother had seen everything.
She leaned close to Scarlett, her eyes twinkling with wicked mischief. “If nothing’s going on between you and Viggo, I can’t wait to see the way you look at each other after you’ve jumped each other’s bones!”
Following dinner there were more toasts and dancing.
Everyone seemed to be having a blast, laughing and drinking champagne and grooving the night away. It was after midnight by the time the party wound down and the guests started leaving.
Reid and Nadia made their rounds, receiving more congratulations and promising to mail out invitations once the wedding venue had been booked.
If awards were given out for best boyfriends, Reid would win hands down. Not only was his proposal tear-jerkingly romantic, he’d also surprised Nadia by flying her family out to Detroit—his hometown—to attend tonight’s engagement party. He’d chartered a private plane for them, put them up in a swanky hotel and hired a limo to chauffeur them around.
Boyfriend of the Year? Hell fucking yeah!
While everyone was saying their goodbyes, Scarlett snuck off to the restroom. Her bladder was full and there was no telling when they’d make it back to the hotel.
She was halfway to the bathroom when Nadia caught up to her. Linking arms with Scarlett, she let out a happy sigh. “What an amazing night this has been.”
“No kidding,” Scarlett said with an affectionate grin. “You’ve been floating on cloud nine all night. Have your feet touched the ground yet?”
Nadia laughed. “Not yet. I’m trying to savor every moment before I get caught up in the madness of wedding planning.”
Scarlett snickered. “Just don’t go all Bridezilla on me, or I’ll have to kick your ass.”
They both laughed.
Nadia Warner was the epitome of a low-maintenance woman. She was practical, down to earth, no frills. Scarlett couldn’t see her morphing into one of those obsessive brides from hell who drove everyone batshit crazy. Those chicks needed to be bitch-slapped. Seriously.
Nadia was searching Scarlett’s face. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” Scarlett shot her a puzzled look. “Why?”
“You seemed kinda off tonight. Even when you were dancing, you just seemed…I don’t know. Not yourself.”
“I’m fine,” Scarlett assured her. “The party was awesome, and I had a great time. I’m just ready to get back to the hotel and kick off these heels.”
Nadia glanced down at her stilettoed feet. “You’ve done marathon concerts wearing heels much higher than those.”
She had her there.
“Anyway,” Nadia went on, a conspiratorial gleam in her eyes, “you know I’ve been dying to pull you aside to find out what happened when you apologized to Viggo. I was so proud when I saw you marching bravely across the room to talk to him. What did he say?”
Scarlett shrugged, feigning nonchalance. “He accepted my apology.”
Nadia grinned. “I kinda figured that when you guys went for a stroll outside.”
Scarlett’s cheeks warmed.
Fortunately, they’d reached the bathroom. There were two women at the sink washing their hands. They smiled at Nadia and started talking to her about the wedding.
Grateful for the reprieve, Scarlett ducked into a stall to do her business.
When she came out, the women were gone and Nadia was at the mirror retouching her lip gloss. Her face was framed by thick black hair that had been flat ironed until it lay sleek and smooth around her shoulders. She looked gorgeous in a metallic gold sleeveless dress with black piping. Reid’s sisters had helped her pick out the dress during a shopping excursion funded by Reid. Definitely Boyfriend of the Year.
As Scarlett walked up to the sink to wash her hands, Nadia’s dark eyes met hers in the mirror.
“Why didn’t you dance with Viggo?”
The question caught Scarlett off guard. “Um, what?”
“You danced with me and the girls. You danced with some of Reid’s childhood friends—the one who looks like Jake Gyllenhaal got three dances. But you didn’t dance with Viggo. Not once.” Nadia eyed her speculatively. “Why not?”
Scarlett’s face heated. “He didn’t ask.”
“So what? I’ve seen you ask guys to dance before.”
Scarlett shrugged, twisting off the water faucet. “Maybe I wanted him to make the first move. But I guess he wasn’t interested.”
“Are you kidding?” Nadia exclaimed. “Did you see the way he was staring at you? He clearly wants you, Scar. I don’t think he enjoyed watching you dance with other guys.”
Scarlett snorted, snatching a paper towel from the dispenser. “Why should he care who I was dancing with? As you saw, he wasn’t exactly hurting for female companionship. Between the flirty waitresses, the adoring sycophants and that clingy blonde, he practically had a harem.”
“Ah, but he only had eyes for you.” Nadia grinned knowingly. “And that sounded an awful lot like a jealous rant.”
“Whatever.” Scarlett dried her hands and tossed the paper towel into the trash. Catching her reflection in the mirror, she frowned and began plucking at her thick black curls with agitated movements. Her hair was shaved low on one side while the other side slanted across her forehead and fell to her shoulder. Her bronze eye shadow and mascara were still intact, but her bright red lipstick had faded. She considered a quick touch-up, but it was late and she planned to hit the sack as soon as she got back to the hotel. The less makeup she had to remove, the better.
As she stared in the mirror, she was ambushed by images of Viggo smiling down at her, touching the flower in her hair, lowering his head to kiss her—
Suddenly the bathroom door banged open. A gorgeous twentysomething woman stumbled in, giggling uncontrollably and teetering on her heels.
Scarlett and Nadia looked at each other, then at the newcomer. Jess was Nadia’s close friend and coworker. She’d accompanied the family to Detroit that weekend.
“Oh hey, girls.” She fluttered her fingers at them and hiccup-giggled.
Nadia frowned at her. “Are you drunk?”
“Of course not!” Jess was comical in her indignation. “I’m tipsy—”
Scarlett snorted. “Girl, please. You passed tipsy about ten exits ago. Your ass is wasted.”
“Excuse you?” Jess challenged, hazel eyes narrowed threateningly as she teetered toward Scarlett. “Who you callin’ wasted?”
Scarlett just laughed.
“What the fuck is so funny?” Jess blustered, wagging her finger at Scarlett. Her movements were so jerky and uncoordinated that she looked like a marionette on a string. A real badass, all right.
She curled her lip at Scarlett. “You think you’re the shit just ’cause Viggo wants to ram his big hockey stick up your—”
“Hey!” Nadia said sharply. “Cut it out!”
“Yes, Jessilyn,” Scarlett drawled in a bored tone. “Stop being a fucking twat.”
Jess raked her with a venomous sneer. “You know what—”
“Jess,” Nadia warned.
Jess glared at Scarlett another moment, then sucked her teeth and grumbled, “Whatever.”
Scarlett smirked as Jess spun away and wobbled for a moment before regaining her balance and staggering toward a stall. Reaching under her tight dress, she pulled down her underwear and plopped down on the toilet without closing the door.
Nadia sent her a pointed glare. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”
Jess kicked at the stall door, giggling drunkenly when it swung back open.
Lips pressed tightly together, Nadia marched over and pulled the door shut, then stood there holding it closed while Jess peed loudly.
Scarlett just shook her head. This wasn’t the first time she’d seen Jess drunk. The chick got hammered practically every time they all went out clubbing. But she wasn’t a mean drunk. Slightly obnoxious? Yes. Uncouth? Definitely. But she’d never gotten mouthy and picked a fight with anyone, least of all Scarlett. Something was clearly bothering her.
Her loud urinating seemed to go on forever before the toilet flushed. She could be heard grunting and cursing as she struggled to her feet, wrestling with her underwear.
When she banged on the stall door, Nadia stepped back with the grim reluctance of a corrections officer releasing a volatile inmate from solitary confinement.
Jess made her way unsteadily to the mirror and started fussing with her hair. It was long and luscious, tumbling down her back in loose dark curls. Her breasts were popping out of her low-cut dress, and her skin was flushed from all the booze she’d guzzled.
“It’s sooo cool that we’re staying at the same hotel as the Rebels,” she said in a slurring voice. “Since Coach lifted curfew tonight, some of the guys booked a suite for an afterparty. They invited me to come.”
Nadia frowned. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
Jess shot her a petulant look. “Why?”
“Why?” Nadia repeated incredulously. “You’re drunk, Jess. That means your judgment is seriously impaired and you’re vulnerable. The last thing you need is to be hanging out with a bunch of rowdy jocks. Anything can happen.”
Jess waved off her concern. “The Rebels aren’t like that. They’re good guys.”
“I’m sure most of them are. But they’re also professional athletes who are used to screwing any woman they want. Why put yourself in a compromising position? Why take the risk of having a train run on you?”
Jess pouted. “Reid won’t let anything happen to me.”
Nadia narrowed her eyes. “Reid won’t be there to protect you. He’ll be with me. You know, celebrating our engagement and all that.”
Jess huffed like a belligerent brat. “I’m going to the party and you can’t stop me.”
Nadia frowned. “Dammit, Jess—”
“You got your rich baller. Now it’s my turn.” With a defiant toss of her hair, Jess turned and, still slightly swaying, stomped out of the bathroom.
Scarlett and Nadia stared at each other in disbelief.
“Did that really just happen?” Nadia wondered.
Scarlett nodded grimly.
Just then her phone trilled from inside her clutch. She grabbed it off the counter, fished out the phone and pressed the answer button. “Hey, Ma.”
“Hey, baby.” Her mother sounded way too chipper at that late hour. “Where’d you disappear to?”
“Had to use the bathroom,” Scarlett said.
“Well, everyone’s in the limo waiting for you and Jess. Is she with you?”
“Um—” Scarlett met Nadia’s troubled gaze “—yeah.”
“You two need to hurry up. We’re ready to go.”
“Okay. Be right out.”
When Scarlett and Nadia emerged from the restroom, they spotted Jess standing across the lobby with two beefy young players from the hockey team. She was laughing and flirting shamelessly, running her manicured fingernails up and down their muscular arms. Their eyes were glued to her breasts, and they were both grinning like the cat that swallowed the canary.
Not good.
Nadia pursed her lips, looking angry and worried. “I’m going to find Reid. He needs to warn his teammates to keep their hands off her.”
“Good idea,” Scarlett muttered.
As Nadia headed off toward the dining room, Scarlett’s attention returned to Jess and the horny rookies. She was draped all over them, giggling like a bimbo as they took turns groping her ass.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake.” Heaving an exasperated breath, Scarlett marched across the lobby and slung an arm around Jess’s shoulders before flashing a sugary-sweet smile at the hockey players, whose names escaped her at the moment. “How’s it going, fellas?”
“Hey, beautiful.” Their eyes roamed lewdly over her, pausing on her breasts. “You coming to our afterparty?”
“I’m afraid not,” she said with exaggerated regret. “It’s way past my bedtime. Jess won’t be able to make it either. But you boys have fun, y’hear?”
As Scarlett gripped Jess’s arm and dragged her away, she sputtered indignantly, “What the hell are you doing? Get your fucking hand—”
“Shut up.” Scarlett’s icy voice cut through her protests. “You’re coming back to the hotel with me if I have to drag you by your hair.”
“You can’t—”
Scarlett tightened her grip on Jess’s arm, ignoring her whimper. “Nadia detests violence of any kind. Me? I think a good ass whipping can be an effective tool for correcting shitty behavior. The only reason I didn’t kick your ass in the bathroom was out of respect to Nadia. I didn’t want to upset her or do anything to ruin her special night. But since you obviously don’t give a shit about anyone but yourself, I hope you wake up with the worst fucking hangover of your life—a hangover so craptastic you’ll wish you’d never been born.”
Jess looked as sullen as a six-year-old. “I just wanted to hang out with the guys,” she whined. “They’re so much fun. And one of ’em could be Mr. Right.”
Scarlett rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Let’s assume your future husband is on the team. Do you really want him to see you like this, shitfaced drunk and getting passed around his teammates like some hockey hooker?”
Jess got quiet.
“Yeah. I didn’t think so.” Scarlett softened her tone. “Look, when you’re sober, I’ll go with you to a Rebels party. I’ll be your wingman, and if you hit it off with one of the guys, I’ll do whatever I can to help get you down the aisle. Not that you need my help or anything, but the offer stands. Deal?”
Jess gave her a sulky look. “Guess it’s the best offer I’m gonna get tonight.”
“Pretty much.” Scarlett steered her out the restaurant’s front entrance.
A shiny black stretch limo was waiting at the curb. The uniformed driver stood by the back door. He smiled at Scarlett and Jess as they approached.
“Ladies,” he said, opening the door for them.
“Heyyy,” Jess cooed flirtatiously. “What’s your—”
Scarlett shoved her into the backseat and climbed in after her, shooting the driver an apologetic half smile.
“He’s kinda cute,” Jess slurred loudly. “Too bad he’s only a chauf—”
Scarlett clapped her hand over Jess’s mouth as the smirking driver closed the door.
Scarlett’s brother Lennox sat at the other end of the plush leather seat. Her oldest brother Luke and his fiancée, Ana, were cuddled up on the long bench seat along the side wall. Sitting next to them were Nadia’s twin brother, Nelson, and his girlfriend, Bianca.
They were all staring at Jess with a mixture of disbelief and amusement. “Are you drunk?”
“Nooo.” Jess hiccup-laughed. “I’m tipsy.”
The others snickered and looked askance at Scarlett. She just shook her head.
Luckily the parents—Scarlett and Nadia’s—sat all the way up near the front of the decked-out limo. They were laughing boisterously and drinking sparkling water, paying no attention to the young’uns in the back.
As the limo pulled away from the restaurant, Scarlett took out her phone and shot off a quick text to Nadia: The situation’s handled. Enjoy ur boo and forget everything else. Xoxo.
Nadia texted back a few seconds later: What would I do without u? Love u!!!
Scarlett smiled and slipped her phone back into her clutch as Jess dropped her head on her shoulder and let out a huge yawn. The fumes from her alcohol breath almost knocked Scarlett out.
She averted her face and tried to ease away, but Jess snuggled closer.
Scarlett covered her nose.
After a few moments, Jess slurred, “Scarlett?”
“What?”
“Thanks for…looking out.”
That almost made Scarlett smile.
Before she could respond, Jess closed her eyes and fell into a dead sleep, snoring loudly.
The others cracked up laughing.
Shaking her head, Scarlett turned to stare out the window. The city lights glittered through the tinted glass, a blurry kaleidoscope of color.
It wasn’t long before her mind drifted back to Viggo. She wondered if he was on his way back to the hotel to party with his teammates. She pictured him surrounded by half-naked puck bunnies, grinning lasciviously as the girls took turns giving him a lap dance.
The image nauseated her even more than Jess’s alcohol breath.
She knew she and Viggo could never work. She needed to forget about him. Put him out of her mind.
Easier said than done.