“Quinn’s getting ready to move,” Troy told them.
“Nearly there,” Rory muttered, smoothing the end of the last piece of tape across the other two. She nodded. “That should give you more support, especially when you extend.”
Mac did a biceps curl and he sighed with relief. He took the jersey Rory held out to him and pulled it over his head. When he was dressed, he stood up and dropped a hot, openmouthed kiss on her lips. “You are brilliant.”
“Do not hurt yourself.”
“Don’t nag.” Mac kissed her again, still in awe that she was here, that she was helping him, standing by him, doing this. She’d shoved aside her training, had placed her trust in him, something she so rarely gave...
Quinn’s impatient whistle broke into his thoughts and his voice drifted across the ice calling them to order. Mac turned back to Rory. “Kade has invited the team and some suits to a cocktail party tonight at Siba’s. You know—the bar in the Forrester Hotel? Meet me there at seven?”
Rory scowled at him but her eyes were soft and still scared. “Maybe, if you’re not back in the hospital.”
Mac grinned at Troy. “Such a sarcastic little ray of sunshine. Thanks for your help. I’ll see you in a bit.”
“She’ll be there,” Troy told him.
“You’ll damn well go,” Mac heard Troy telling Rory as he skated, slowly it had to be said, away from them. “That man is nuts about you.”
He really was, he reluctantly admitted.
* * *
“You are so in love with him,” Troy crowed as he flung his hockey bag into the trunk of his battered SUV. Rory eyed his piece of rusty metal; she hated driving anywhere with Troy because she was quite certain her chances of, well, dying were increased a thousand percent whenever its tires met the road.
Rory, her hand on the passenger-door handle, looked down at the front wheel and sighed her relief. The tires had been changed and Troy had promised her it had just had its biyearly service. Rory had replied that it needed a funeral service but she’d eventually abandoned her idea of taking a taxi to the arena and allowed Troy to drive her in his chariot of death.
Rory tugged at the handle and cursed when it refused to open. Troy, already behind the wheel, reached across and thumped the panel and the door sprung open, just missing hitting Rory in the face. “I hate this car,” she muttered, climbing in.
Troy nodded his head. “Yeah, me too. But it’s paid for, thereby freeing up money for the nursing home.”
Rory, grateful that they’d left the subject of Mac and her feelings, sent him a concerned look. “How is your mom? Any more walkabouts?”
Troy momentarily closed his eyes. “No, she’s fine. Well, as fine as she can be.” He stared at the luxury car parked next to them. “I’ve found a home just outside the city, a place that looks fantastic. They have space for her, could take her tomorrow, but I just can’t afford it.”
“I could...” She had to offer to loan him the money. He wouldn’t take it, but she wished he would. He was her best friend, an almost-brother...why didn’t he realize that she’d move mountains for him if she could?
Troy sighed. “I love you for offering but...no. I can’t.” Troy turned the key and the car spluttered and died. He cursed, cranked it again and Rory held her breath. It rumbled, jerked and eventually put-putted to life. “You wouldn’t think that I’d just had it serviced, would you?”
“Nope. Then again, I think trying to service this car is like putting a Band-Aid on a slit throat.”
“Nice,” Troy said as they pulled out of the arena parking lot. “Let’s get back to the interesting stuff. When did you fall in love with Mac?”
“Ten years ago,” Rory replied without thinking. She jerked up and scowled at her friend. “I didn’t just say that out loud, did I?”
Troy grinned. “You so did.”
“Dammit.” She didn’t want to be in love with Mac. That meant she had to give him up, she’d have to retreat, do what she did best to protect herself and fade away. Loving Mac carried too many risks, too much potential heartache.
“So, are you going to keep Mac around or are you going to dump him when he gets too close?”
Lord, Troy knew her well. She had to make a token protest. “I don’t do that.”
Troy snorted. “Honey, you always do that. You meet a guy, you go on a couple of dates and when you think something might have a chance of developing, you find an excuse to dump him. You have massive trust issues.”
“So does Mac. He also has abandonment issues!” she added.