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herself. Maybe if she kept her head down and her mouth shut, he wouldn’t see her. The players were totally focused on the kids, who were sure to keep them busy for the next hour. She’d just lay low and—
    “Hey, Chloe!”
    Damn! Her head shot up, searching for the source.
    “Chloe! We need some advice over here. Got a minute?”
    She waved to Becca, her Garden of Dreams liaison, hoping to shut her up before she attracted the attention of everyone in the tri-state area, namely Ryan. Sneaking a peek in his direction, she found his gaze locked on her like a heat-seeking missile.
    Double damn.
    Pretending not to see him, she joined Becca and the other PR guys, answering their questions and focusing on her job. Every menial little task. Every minute detail. Anything to avoid thinking about that night. About Ryan.
    Although she was doing her best to ignore him, she could feel his eyes on her as he worked with the kids. The slow burn that crept up the back of her neck was a dead giveaway. No matter how hard she tried, it was impossible to shut him out. Hell, hot under the collar didn’t even begin to describe her current situation. When she couldn’t take it for another second, and she thought her hair might actually go up in flames, she cracked.
    Abandoning all pretense, Chloe watched Ryan glide across the ice backward, the kids giggling and swiping at him with their sticks, doing their best to steal the puck. Much as she hated to admit it, he was good with them and the smile on his face suggested he was having as much fun as they were. She cut her eyes at the photographers. They were eating it up. At least they’d have plenty of material to use for the campaign. Returning her gaze to her iPad, she watched from under her lashes as Ryan and a couple of the other players attempted to teach the kids to pass a puck. She grinned. It was a complete disaster. They were too excited to take direction and the pucks were flying all over the place. But everyone was having fun and that was the only thing that mattered.
    Too bad the more she watched Ryan with the kids, the more pissed off she got, realizing she’d probably been a big freaking joke to him. She was the only one in the stupid store that hadn’t recognized him. It all made sense now. The free groceries. The cops falling all over themselves to take his statement. His hesitation to explain when she asked him about it. Not only was Ryan a hockey player, but judging by the big ol’ C on his chest, he was also the freaking team captain. God, she was such a fool. And probably the only person in the whole damn city who didn’t know his name or his face.
    Why would she? She didn’t give a crap about hockey, and really, things like this didn’t happen to girls like her. Why would someone as sinfully hot and famous as Ryan Douglas have sex with her anyway? Especially after she’d told him about her broken date. Humiliation burned her cheeks. Two words came to mind, and try as she might, she couldn’t chase them away.
    Pity fuck .

    O f all the gin joints… At the sound of Chloe’s name, Ryan found himself doing a double take, scanning the arena for her face. After the night they’d shared? Hell, his cock did a double take, too, hoping for an encore performance. And against all odds, there she was, prancing around in a tight little black skirt and a pair of sky-high red fuck me heels that should have been outlawed. She wore her hair down, her curls looking as wild as they had when she’d been coming for him Friday night. An image of her climaxing on the kitchen counter, hips rocking, lips parted, flashed through his mind, making his shorts uncomfortably tight. He shifted his weight and his train of thought. What was she doing at The Garden anyway? Not that he was complaining. The view from the ice was a hell of a lot better. It had occurred to him they might bump into one another at the corner store again, but he’d never imagined she might show up here. He leaned on his