Dirty Score (Rough Riders Hockey 3)

“Become anything,” Tate completed his sentence again. “Mia told me she seduced you and why.” He paused only a split second before his face compressed into a scowl and his hand whipped out with a rigid finger pointed at Rafe’s nose. “But you still should have said no.”

Rafe lifted both hands in surrender. “I should have. I can’t count how many times I’ve said that to myself over the last couple of weeks.” A moment of awkward silence existed before Rafe asked, “So, did you two—”

“Make up?” He huffed a humorless laugh. “Hardly.” Tate looked at a spot beyond Rafe’s shoulder. “In time maybe…”

That didn’t bode well for Rafe’s chances at forgiveness. His heart dropped even lower.

He pushed off the wall. “I’m gonna go pack. Catch an early flight back. Maybe I can think of something in the next seven to ten hours to say or do that will convince her to at least sit down and talk to me—”

“When did you become such a girl?” Tate asked, giving him a disgusted look. “What’s all this talking shit. ‘Let’s talk about this.’” He lifted his voice to imitate a female. “‘I wanna talk about that.’” His voice dropped to his pissed tone again. “What happened to the guy I knew before Mia got ahold of your balls? The guy who took action when he wanted something? The guy who just shut up and went after it?”

Tate dropped his arms and straightened from the doorframe. “You keep that attitude, and we’re gonna have to change your last name from Savage to Pussy.”

Rafe laughed, relieved to see the return of Tate’s good-natured insolence.

“Go on. Get out of here,” he told Rafe. “But if you want to do that talking bullshit, you’ll have to do it over the phone from the East Coast, ’cause she didn’t go back.”

“What?” Rafe’s attention laser focused again. “Where did she go?”

“To her apartment here. Said there was no reason to go back. Called her boss last night and told him she’d start work early.” Tate turned around and started down the hall toward the elevators. “See you back at home.” But then he stopped and looked at Rafe again. “Oh, and I think this goes without saying, but I’m going to say it anyway because I’m not going to leave anything left unsaid between us from here on out.” He turned deadly serious again. “You cheat on her, you bail on her, you hurt her in any way, you’ll answer to me. And when you really answer to me, you’ll need to retire, because last night will look like a fucking picnic.”

He walked away and disappeared down another hallway, but Rafe wasn’t thinking about Tate’s threats. He was consumed with the realization that she’d already made up her mind. She’d already turned her back on the possibility of working it out with Rafe. She’d already given up on him.

Mia was gone.

Mia scrolled through images of filming shots from Cynthia on her phone, enlarging a few to study the construction detail. She was exhausted from too little sleep and too much crying, and the sun and wind on the beach weren’t helping her burning eyes. But she was desperate for anything to keep her mind busy, and she’d done as much moving in as she could handle.

She wasn’t going back to the apartment until Cynthia called her and told her UPS had picked up everything she and Rafe had bought on their one-day shopping trip together.

Tapping one image closed, Mia shaded her eyes, scrolled through the costumes, and opened another. Before she could magnify it, a text pinged her phone from Faith, Grant’s girlfriend: I have at least a dozen people who want jerseys like mine. So do all the other girls. And I had brunch with Ted at the Crofts’ this morning. When he heard you’d approached Silver with your designs and not him, honest to God, you’d think someone just told him the Riders lost the playoffs.

Mia laughed, but it hurt. God, she was going to miss everyone. Sure, they were still close now, but she knew how time came between people. Distanced people. And knowing she would eventually lose this hurt.

She dug her toes into the warm sand, tossed her blowing hair over her shoulder, but when she went to respond, she didn’t know what to say. So she ended up sending Faith a sad emoji.

Miss you. When will you be back? Faith asked.

“Ah crap.” Mia dropped an elbow to her knee and her forehead to her hand. She hadn’t thought about that when she’d made the decision to stay.

She hadn’t said good-bye to anyone in DC. And once she started working here… By the sounds of it, Mia wouldn’t get a break until they had to legally give her a break, which would be two weeks’ vacation every year and a few holidays.

Shit.

She might need to push back her start date a day or two. Sneak in a quick flight back east just to see the girls and say good-bye. Sure, Rafe and Tate would hear about it, but Mia would be gone by then. She just wanted to see a few people personally before she didn’t see them again for, hell, probably a year. Tina, Eden, Faith, Sarah, Amy, Rachel, Lily…

Amy, Rachel, Lily.

Her heart broke a little more. They’d be so different in a year. Mia wouldn’t know their sizes or their color preferences like she did now. How could she make outfits for little girls whose tastes changed on a whim when she saw them only once a year?

Would they even r

emember Mia in a year?

Then she thought of another year without seeing Rafe. Thought back over how miserable she’d been this last year…

A fresh wave of loss tumbled through her and the tears she’d been fighting for hours rose up in her throat. She let her gaze drift to the ocean.

“Suck it up,” she murmured to herself. Everyone moves on. If one of the players got traded, they’d be leaving just like she was leaving. No one was going to watch out for Mia but Mia. That was abundantly clear. It was her own damn fault it had taken her so long to see it.