“Jack, please,” she whispered. “Don’t make it so difficult for me. Let’s just take a break, wait until the worst is over, and then talk again.”
“So, when will the worst be over?”
“I don’t know. But it’s the simplest solution.”
“It’s no solution at all!”
“Jack!” she snapped, taking a sudden step back so that his hands fell from her face. “I have to act responsibly, okay? It was stupid to start something, we both know that. So…let’s focus on what’s most important.”
“Well, you are what’s most important,” he replied quietly. “But it wasn’t stupid to start something. It was the best idea I’ve ever had.”
She shook her head and wiped the tears from her cheeks. “Stop saying things like that! This is difficult for me, okay? But it’s for the best. Not just for me, but for you too. Or do you think they’ll just leave you alone? No! They’ll dig into your past like they did mine. And what all do you think they’ll uncover, Jack? You have so many skeletons in our closet that you don’t want coming out…”
“I don’t care,” he said.
“You say that now! But what will it look like in a month when your life is a shit show? When they’ve dragged your siblings into our mess and Anna can’t even walk the streets anymore? You’ll lose the title ofSaintthat you worked so hard for. People will find out about your father. And your brother. About your terrible childhood. Everything will come out, when they find out about us.”
Jack rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger and took a deep breath before muttering, “Then they can’t find out. You’re right, okay? I have a lot of skeletons in my closet. So, what difference does it make if I keep you a secret, too?”
“Because it won’t work, Jack. We won’t stay a secret for long.”
“Oh, you have no idea how good I am at keeping secrets.” He laughed mirthlessly. “I’ve been in the NHL for ten years and nobody has a clue.”
“Yes — and it’s burdensome for you! I don’t want to be another burden to you. And you don’t want that for me either, right? Right now, though, you are. Right now, I am. Right now, we are…a total mess! It’s too much!” She looked up at him pleadingly. “You know, I’ve spent my whole life dating losers who couldn’t get their acts together so I wouldn’t feel like Iwas the only wreck. I thought that with you, I had finally found someone who was smart and sensitive and knew exactly who he was. Who knew what he wanted, who had his life…in order! Because it would mean I had my life in order, too. Which is nonsense. You keep so many secrets. From your family, your team, and your fans. And I…I get thrown off-track as soon as the press says something bad about me! I’m still in the exact same place as I was five years ago. Just like you! And I would like to be with you, Jack, but right now, it’s not good for us to hold on to something that might ruin our lives. So…yes, we need distance. Not forever. Just for…for the moment. For the next few weeks. Maybe months. Then we can see where we stand. We’ll know if the team belongs to me or not and…” She nodded and let the sentence trail off. She didn’t know where it should end, didn’t want to think about where they might be, in the next couple months, or if they even could just pick up where they left off.
But that didn’t look like it was an option for Jack.
He stood in front of her, his toes against hers, just staring at her, his green eyes darker than usual and his lips pressed together.
And then a key clicked in her apartment door…before they heard it swing open.
“Damn it, Penny!” Gareth shouted before he was even visible down the hallway. “Are you serious? Jack West? Did you have to mess with the Saint?”
God. She should have insisted that he give her his key back. “Man, I should have listened to my gut when I caught you guys at the pool!” he shouted, slamming the door shut and approaching with heavy steps. “But I thought to myself: Hey, Penny is one of the smartest people I know. Shecan’tbe stupid enough to get involved with one of the players. And then my Google Alert pings this picture — God! I understand that Jack is hot, I subscribe to Sports Illustrated, but Penny, you…”
Her brother fell abruptly silent as he stopped in the middle of the kitchen doorway.
“Gee, thanks, Gareth. I’m honored,” Jack greeted him dryly. “But I would feel a bit uncomfortable if my pictures were hanging above your bed. One member of the Clark family is enough for me.”
Gareth was speechless for a few seconds. Then he shouted, “What the hell are you doing here, West? Do you want the press to go even crazier?”
Penny sighed heavily. “I’ve already told him that he shouldn’t have come.”
Her brother, though, didn’t seem to hear her at all. He just kept speaking, his eyes narrowed and his voice loud enough for the man in the moon to catch everything. “What’s the point of this crap? Do you seriously have to sleep with mysister? Couldn’t you have found someone else? I swear, if you hurt her…”
“You know, I think it’s nice that someone in her family is finally standing up for her,” Jack replied coolly, his arms folded across his chest. “But you’re barking up the wrong tree. I’m not going to hurt her. It looks more like Penny is taking on that role right now.”
She groaned softly. “It’s not what you think, okay, Gareth?” she said quickly, pushing between the two and raising her hands. “We didn’t have a fling or anything. We were in a relationship! Okay?” Uncertain, she glanced over her shoulder at Jack, who opened his mouth in disbelief.
“Of course we were in a relationship! We still are.”
That left Gareth speechless again. “You…what?”
Penny sighed. “Gare, it doesn’t matter what they say or write. Jack and I aren’t going to see each other again for a while.”
“No,” Jack said stonily.
“Yes!” she cried heatedly. “We have to. It’s the best solution for now. So, can you please just go, Jack? Keep your distance for a while until this blows over?”
