She lifted her gaze to his and offered up a tremulous smile. “And that’s how I ended up in San Francisco.”

   He saw the tears shimmering in her eyes. As one slid down her cheek, he swiped it away with his thumb.

   “I’m sorry, Amelia. I shouldn’t have brought it up.”

   “It’s okay. It’s in the past now.”

   He took the wineglass from her hands and set it down on the table, then pulled her against him and wrapped his arm around her.

   “The past has a way of not staying in the past. Obviously it still lingers.”

   She shuddered as she took in a breath. “A little.”

   Probably more than a little. Flynn would like to shove a fist into that bastard’s face for hurting Amelia. “Thanks for telling me about him. I’m so sorry he hurt you.”

   “Me, too.”

   He smoothed his hand over her hair. “You realize none of this was your fault, right?”

   “I do now. For the longest time I tried to figure out what I’d done wrong, how I could have managed it better, what I could have done to make him trust me. I went to counseling and the therapist helped me realize it wasn’t me at all. I did everything right. It was all on Frank.”

   He was glad she was smart enough to seek help to support her through a terrible experience. “Good. Because your counselor was right. None of this was on you.”

   He let a few minutes pass while he stroked her hair and her back. He really felt shitty about her marriage. What kind of man was that guy, anyway? The more he thought about it, the angrier he got.

   “Amelia.”

   “Yes?”

   “Your ex-husband is a dick. Never cry another tear over that worthless piece of shit again. He didn’t deserve you.”

   She laughed, then straightened and shifted to face him. “Thanks for that. It does make me feel better.”

   And now he needed to shove that part of her past where it belonged—in the past.

   He pushed her onto the mattress. “I’ve got something that’ll make you feel even better.”

   She raised her arms above her head as he moved next to her. “Oh, really? And what might that be?”

   “A bedtime story.”

   “Do tell.”

   “Once upon a time there was a tongue, a pair of hands and a really big cock . . .”

   She sighed as he bent to lick her breasts. “I do love a good bedtime story.”

NINETEEN

   Amelia enjoyed watching a good football game, but admittedly she’d never actually been to a stadium before. This was going to be a first for her.

   Since Flynn had to be at the stadium super early that morning, she wouldn’t show up until later. She made arrangements to meet up with Mia and take Caltrain and the light rail to the stadium, since she knew traffic would be a nightmare. Flynn had offered to arrange for a private car to drive them there, but Amelia and Mia decided public transportation would be a lot more fun. They’d be able to engage with the other fans that way. And Mia had insisted they wear Sabers gear so they could get into the spirit of the game.

   Amelia wasn’t about to let either Mia or Flynn know that she didn’t own Sabers gear. What kind of fan—or girlfriend—would she be if she admitted she didn’t own Sabers gear?

   Not that she was Flynn’s girlfriend or anything. Or was she? She had no idea. She wasn’t much for labeling. They were dating. That was enough to admit for now.

   Before she headed into work on Saturday she stopped into one of the pro gear shops in the city and bought a jersey. And she just happened to find a number Ninety-Two jersey with Cassidy on the back. If she was going to gear up, she might as well do it right.

   She drove over to Flynn’s house several hours before game time. Mia came out wearing a Sabers long-sleeved shirt and a jacket and climbed into the front seat.

   Mia grinned at her. “Nice jersey. Is it new?”

   She knew she should have dirtied it up some. Then again, the thought of wearing a dirty jersey made her shudder. “It might be. Don’t tell Flynn.”

   Mia laughed. “Your secret is safe with me.”

   They drove to the train station and parked, bought their tickets and climbed aboard. As she suspected, at each stop the train filled with more and more Sabers fans. By the time they got to their transfer stop, everyone on board was talking about today’s game against St. Louis, and their entire car made the transfer over to the light rail system that would take them to the stadium.

   They rode with a happy crowd of people to the stadium. She was so glad they’d decided to travel this way. It really amped up her enthusiasm for the game.

   Flynn had gotten them passes to the suite where the players’ wives and families sat and watched the games. After they showed their passes at security and made their way upstairs to the suite, Amelia could only gape in awe.

   “Wow,” she whispered to Mia. “Fancy.”

   “Right?”

   The room had plenty of seating in front of floor to ceiling windows with a perfect view of the fifty-yard line.

   “Hi.” A beautiful dark-skinned, dark-haired woman came over. “I’m Tiffany LaSalle. My husband, Randy, plays wide receiver for the Sabers. Is this your first time here?”

   Mia nodded. “I’m Mia Cassidy. Flynn is my brother. This is Amelia Lawrence, Flynn’s girlfriend.”

   Amelia didn’t know what to make of Mia’s ease in introducing her as Flynn’s girlfriend, but Tiffany gave them both a wide smile.

   “It’s so great to meet both of you. We’ve had Flynn’s parents here before, and a couple of his brothers. Come on in and I’ll introduce you to everyone.”

   She met so many people she wished they were all wearing name tags, because she was never going to remember everyone. But they were all friendly and welcoming, so her immediate nervousness evaporated.

   “I don’t know about you, but I need a drink,” Mia said after the meet and greet. She hooked her arm in Amelia’s and dragged her over to the bar, where they each ordered a glass of wine.

   They wandered over to one of the sets of windows. Amelia looked down onto the field. They had a really nice view of the Sabers players.

   “They’re doing warm-ups right now,” Mia said.

   “I don’t usually get to see a lot of the warm-up portion when I watch it on TV. Maybe a brief view, and then they go back to the sportscasters or commercial.”

   She was fascinated watching them on the field. Okay, so she was watching Flynn and his teammates stretching, running and shoving each other. He looked fine in his uniform. There was no doubt the man had a stellar ass, and it was shown off to perfection in that uniform. He looked so formidable, so fierce out there.