“What crap?” Her eyes widened. “We agreed: no work, no family. These files are both, for me, so…” She shrugged.
Wow. Calling her hockey-playing affairs family and work was going a bit far, wasn’t it?
Shit, maybe she was crazy. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d met a crazy woman. He should have expected it. None of his relationships, not family, friends, or women, were ever easy! He should have known that Penny wouldn’t be the exception. Everything he touched ended in drama. That was a universal truth that he was starting to acknowledge.
“Okay, I’m going,” he said harshly, pushing past her and hurrying back into the bedroom. It was too much for him.
“What?” Penny scooted after him and when he glanced over his shoulder, he noticed that she had her arms crossed over her chest, her eyes sparking. “God, it’s so obvious!” she said, annoyed as he hurriedly stepped into his jeans. “As soon as guys feel intimidated by a woman, they run away! And I almost thought you were different. That you don’t care if I have money, what I do, that my last name is Clark…”
He froze. “What?” He turned to her swiftly. She hadn’t just said that. “Clark? Your last name isClark?”
Oh, fuck.
No.
No, no, no.
“Yes!” she replied hostilely. “You just read that in the files!”
“No, I didn’t,” he said abruptly. It had to be a coincidence. Lots of people had the name Clark!
“Then what exactly is your problem?” she asked incredulously. “It doesn’t change our situation that I’m…well, rich and might soon inherit a hockey team.”
His heart stopped. His lungs stopped working. And only one word remained:
Fuck.
Oh, fuck.
“You can’t be serious,” he exclaimed, both hands buried in his hair. He didn’t even know who he was saying this to. To himself, to Penny — to God? To anyone who was to blame for this shitty situation! “You’re Penelope Clark?Darron Clark’sdaughter?!”
He pressed both palms to his eyes and shook his head repeatedly. This couldn’t be happening!
“See? That’s exactly why I insisted we keep our last names to ourselves!” Penny snapped. “Because everyone freaks out when they discover who my father is!”
A laugh escaped him. It was completely out of place, but if he didn’t laugh, he might start crying. He had slept with the boss’s daughter. No. He might even have slept with thenewboss! Depending on who got the damn Hawks, Penny or her brother.
Oh, shit. Her brother was Gareth Clark! He knew Gareth. Gareth had campaigned to get Jack on the Hawks. He was a little cold, but friendly and fair. But who knew how friendly or fair he would be if he found out that Jack had done some dirty things to his sister? Who knew if he wouldn’t trade him straight back to another team on the other side of the country?
Shit, he liked the Hawks! He liked living near his siblings again. He liked the team dynamic, and he liked Los Angeles.
He laughed again. This was ridiculous!
“What’s so funny?” Penny asked hostilely.
“Nothing!” he replied matter-of-factly. “Really, absolutely nothing! I really have to give it to the world, you know? It always finds ways to make my life hell.” And yet everyone called him the Saint!
“What?” Almost imperceptibly, she flinched. “I’mmaking your life hell?”
He could see that he had hurt her with those words, but they were damn true! He groaned loudly and threw his head back. How could she still not know who he was?!
“Penny, you don’t understand,” he growled, rubbing his face with both hands. “I’m a damn hockey player!”
She opened her mouth in shock. “What? Hockey…coach? At a high school?”
“Player, Penny!” he snapped. “For theHawks!”
For a few endless seconds, she just stared at him expressionlessly. Then, she seemed horrified. “No!”
