Romance Reflections on Ice

She kept replaying her conversation with Dylan over and over. What was she doing, getting herself involved in this weird deal with him? It wasn't fair to either of them. She knew he had a hard enough time with women, and now she was going to be monopolizing his time for the next month and a half. And she already liked him more than she should. Every passing moment, everything he said to her, she liked him more and more. It was a slippery slope, one she'd been on before, and it terrified her that she was going to become attached only to have him wave good-bye after the wedding, as if nothing had happened.

Rolling over, she pressed her hot cheek to the cool pillow and squeezed her eyes shut. Worrying about it wouldn't do any good. She could fake it for the next five weeks. Except she knew she was no good at that.

The end of the week, and the first of their 'dates' approached. Dylan called her the morning after his final road trip game in Minnesota, a loss that she could tell he was down about when they spoke.

She sat at her dad's desk in the office, as standing outside in the pouring rain wasn't an option. She turned around in the chair, turning her back to the rest of the garage.

"Did you watch the game?"

"I did."

Dylan blew out an annoyed breath and Cassia pictured him running a hand through his hair, like she'd seen him do once or twice, messing up his hair. "I wish I could say it was a good effort."

"I thought it was." Cassia honestly couldn't recall much about the game. She remembered seeing Dylan take a rough hit in the first, after which he didn't play a whole lot until later in the second period.

"You're just being a supportive girlfriend."

"Pretend girlfriend." He fell silent at her quick correction and Cassia squeezed her eyes shut. "So, listen, I'm a little worried about this casino thing tonight."

"What are you worried about?"

"Is it fancy? Because if it is, I have absolutely nothing to wear." Add that to her growing list of inadequacies.

He laughed. "You're worried about what to wear?"

"Yes." She bristled, even as her cheeks warmed. "I don't want to embarrass you."

"You won't, trust me. And it's not fancy dress. The whole theme is some kind of Old West casino-slash-saloon thing. Everyone's going to be wearing boots, cowboy hats and Wranglers."

Cassia's mind stalled out at the thought of Dylan wearing Wranglers. She swallowed and tried to focus. "OK. Old West. I can do that."

"I'm sure you can."

Cassia smiled at his tone. "And what time does it start?"

"Five, I think, but if you can't get away from work, we'll go later. It goes until midnight or something."

"That's fine. I came in early so I could leave before four."

"Great. I'll swing by to pick you up at five then. Does that give you enough time?"

"You don't have to pick me up."

He chuckled. "Would you rather walk in there alone and have to look for me?"

Cassia blinked. "No. Good point. I'll see you at five."

"OK, see you then."

"Bye." Cassia ended the call and swung around in the chair to see her brother, Kurt, standing in the doorway, a frown on his face. "Jesus, don't sneak up on a person like that."

"Who was that?"

Cassia scowled. "None of your business."

"Sounds like you've got a date."

"How long were you eavesdropping on my private call?"

"Long enough." Kurt took a few steps into the office. "Who was it, Cass?"

Cassia stood and strode over to stand right in front of her brother. She had to tip her head back to look him in the eye - all the Morgan men were bigger than they needed to be. "None. Of. Your. Business." Without another word, she swept around him and out into the garage, heading for the car she'd been working on when Dylan had called.

"Kent, did you know Cass has a date tonight?"

Cassia pinched the bridge of her nose and reminded herself that Dylan wouldn't be able to take her to the wedding if she was in prison for fratricide.

Kent scoffed. "No, she doesn't."

"I just heard her on the phone."

Cassia ignored them as they discussed her dating life as if they knew anything about it. She reached in with a wrench and worked on the engine before her. A minute later, Fernando joined her to help.

"Hope she knows that putting out on the first date isn't a good thing."

Everyone in the shop froze. Fernando lifted his eyes to meet hers, his comically wide, before he backed out of the engine and disappeared around the side of the car.

That's it.

Cassia slammed a hand on the side of the car and straightened. She spun around to see her twin brothers wearing twin idiotic grins. "You really want to start comparing dating etiquette?"

Their smiles slipped, as if they were just now remembering she was their sister and had been privy to most, if not all, of their moronic dating episodes while growing up.

"I seem to recall the time you hooked up with Jolene Hastings in the back of Dad's Cadillac when you were supposed to be changing the oil." Cassia planted her hands on her hips as she turned first to her brother, Kent. "And instead, you forgot to set the e-brake and the car rolled down a hill into a tree. Something about the rocking motion of the car set it off."

Kurt guffawed as Kent's expression turned sour. Then Cassia turned to Kurt, and he clamped his mouth shut.

"And do we really need to go over the time you asked us to lie for you when you snuck out to that Fourth of July party on the coast for three days? All because you wanted to get inside Marie Collins' pants?"

Kurt gasped and pointed a finger. "You swore you'd never tell!"

"You were seventeen, Kurt. Get over yourself. And both Mom and Dad figured it out when Mr. Collins called to let them know you'd all arrived safe in Galveston."

She heard a laugh and looked over her shoulder to see her father standing by the office door, listening to everything. She didn't care. She'd had enough of her family's meddling, well-meaning or not.

"You two need to realize that I'm a grown-ass woman and I can date or sleep with anyone I want, even if it's the entire line-up of the Cowboys."

Another chuckle, this time from James, quickly choked off at Kent's dirty look.

"The point is, I don't answer to you, and if I date someone, I don't need to tell you a damn thing about it until you get the wedding invitation. Got it?"

Kurt opened his mouth to reply but Cassia cut him off.

"No. There is only one response to that, Kurt, and it doesn't start with 'but'."

He clamped his mouth shut, shooting her a mutinous glare. She returned it in full measure and when the twins each gave a jerky nod of agreement, she turned back to the car beside her. Fernando reappeared in another minute, and they finished up what needed work.

The tense silence only lasted a few minutes. Then a customer arrived to pick up their car, told a joke, and everyone laughed. Cassia didn't. She was still pissed and not a little embarrassed that her brother had heard any of her conversation with Dylan. She liked to keep her dating life quiet. With so many brothers, she had a hard time introducing anyone to the family. Never mind that her situation with Dylan wasn't something she could ever explain to her family.

An hour later, she wiped her hands on a rag, checked the line-up of tickets and shrugged. She'd been there since seven in the morning. She'd had enough. She packed up without saying a word to anyone, and left.

On the short walk home, the rain had eased so she didn't get soaked on the way. As she walked in her apartment, she was relieved that Kyle was out. She was still in enough of a mood that she'd have taken his head off even if he said 'hello.'

She checked the time as she walked into her bedroom. She had a little over an hour to get ready. Stripping down, she glanced in her closet to make sure she had a clean pair of jeans. She tossed the dark denim on her bed and turned back to the closet to dig out her boots. When she couldn't pick a shirt right away, she shook her head and walked across the hall to have her shower first.

After, she stood in a towel before her open closet, her hair drying around her shoulders and still couldn't decide on a shirt. Sure, she had some western-style shirts but even they were a bit dated. When she pulled one on and tried to button it, she realized they were also old, and didn't fit the same way they used to. Shoving the hangers to one side, she groaned in frustration. Dylan was going to be arriving in fifteen minutes and she hadn't even done her make-up yet.

"Are you all right, Cass?"

She turned as her brother appeared in the doorway. He took in her appearance and scowled. "Kurt told me you were going on a date tonight."

Her eyes narrowed. "I told him to mind his own damn business."

"Is it that Dylan guy?"

Cassia sighed and turned from the closet. "Yes, OK. I'm going on a date with Dylan and there's nothing any of you can say to stop me."

Kyle returned her glare for a moment before shrugging. "Fine. So what's the problem here?"

She blinked at his quick change in demeanor but lifted a hand to her selection of shirts. "I can't decide what to wear."

Kyle came into the room and walked over to rifle through her clothes. He chuckled at a couple of her older shirts and then pulled out a plain black, button-up, sleeveless shirt with silver thread. "When did you get this?"

She shook her head. "No idea."

He handed it to her and grabbed a belt, something classic with a big buckle. "Here you go." And then he reached up and pulled her black cowboy hat from the top shelf. "And you have to wear this one."

Cassia took the items from Kyle and gave him a narrow look. "When did you become a fashion expert?"

He shrugged. "I took a design course when I was still in Austin."

"I thought your major was architectural design?"

"I was branching out." Kyle crossed his arms as she moved to throw the clothes on the bed with the dark jeans she'd pulled out before. "I know you don't want to hear this, but be careful."

Cassia laughed. "What?"

"I don't want to see you get hurt again."

Turning to him, Cassia couldn't help but smile. "I know, Kyle. Thanks."

He nodded and left her to finish getting ready, closing the door behind him.

She pulled all the clothes on, leaving the hat off for now. In fact, she might just leave the hat off for the night. The event would be inside, and there'd be enough cowboy hats floating around without her adding hers into the mix. Fluffing her hair a bit, she leaned close to her mirror and applied mascara, and a touch of color to her cheeks, finishing with some dark lipstick.

She was just tucking her shirt in again, making sure it didn't bunch anywhere, when there was a knock at the front door. With a gasp, she tried to hurry, but Kyle answered the door.

"Hi. Kyle, right?"

"And you're Dylan. Come on in."

"Thanks."

The front door closed again and Cassia heard them moving further into the apartment.

"So where are you going tonight?"

"There's a team charity event, a sort of Old West casino night."

"I see. Will there be alcohol?"

Dylan chuckled. "Probably."

Cassia smiled at their exchange.

"Don't let Cassia have too much, she can't hold her liquor."

OK, that's enough. She yanked open the bedroom door and shot down the hall to the living room before her brother could offer any other useful tips.

"Hi." Oh, damn, Dylan looked good. He had on a plaid button-up shirt and loose-fitting jeans instead of the snug Wranglers she'd been expecting. He had on proper boots though, scuffed and marked up like a real cowboy's. Then again, he had grown up in rural cattle country in Alberta. He held his hat in his hand, taken off at the sound of her greeting, like a proper gentleman.

Dylan's face turned to her, his smile at Kyle's comment fading when he saw her. For a moment, she thought she'd forgotten to button her shirt or something.

"You look..."

She glanced down at herself, one hand rising to her chest to check the buttons. No, all good. When she looked up again, Dylan was shaking his head. "Is this all right?"

"Yeah." His voice was husky. He cleared his throat, taking a step towards her. "Yeah, you look incredible."

She smiled and looked down, her fingers falling to the gaudy silver buckle her brother had picked out for her. OK, she needed to get a grip, and possibly remind him that compliments weren't required for their little arrangement.

"It's a little cool outside though. Have you got a jacket?"

"Yeah. One second." She hurried back to her room and picked up her black jacket that matched the ensemble. Returning to the front room, she smiled at Dylan as she pulled it on. "OK, let's go."

Kyle saw them to the door. "Have fun."

Cassia waved and grabbed her keys before leaving, pulling the door closed behind her. When she looked up, Dylan was sliding his hat back on his head and her breath caught. The cowboy look really worked for him. She felt her heartbeat pick up and she swallowed, trying to calm down.

Not a real date, not a real date, not a real date.

With that thought on repeat in her head, she offered Dylan a smile before they started to walk down the hall to the stairs.

"How was work?"

Cassia shrugged. "It was fine, until my brothers decided to try and lecture me on my dating habits."

He held the door at the bottom of the stairs for her. "I bet that went over well."

They walked around the block to where he'd parked his truck and Cassia slid into the passenger side, feeling nervous again.

"Are there going to be a lot of people there?"

"Probably." Dylan started the car and they slipped into traffic on the main road a few minutes later.

"How do you handle these events?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you can't talk to women. There must be a ton of women at these things."

Dylan smiled as he glanced her way. "Usually. Most of them are spouses of teammates or Stars staff. There's less pressure in those cases."

"But there must be other women, single women or friends of friends, or something."

He shrugged. "I suppose. Most of the time, I hang out with Tristen and the other single guys."

Cassia nodded, turning her face to the windshield. They didn't say much for the rest of the drive to the downtown hotel that was hosting the event. There was a long string of vehicles lined up out front, with valet service. As they pulled up and stopped, Dylan hurried around to open her door for her.

They stood on the sidewalk outside the hotel for a moment, staring up at the building. Then Dylan touched her arm, startling Cassia. She turned to him, her heart flipping at his crooked smile. He was too damn sexy for his own good.

"Ready?"

She took his hand, smiling at the way his eyes widened. "Let's do it."

They walked inside, hand-in-hand, checked her coat near the entrance, and followed the crowd of cowboys, cowgirls, and saloon workers to the big ballroom that had been converted to an Old West saloon and casino.

"Wow." Cassia looked around in amazement.

They'd done the entire room to the western theme, even covering the walls in fake wood paneling. There was an old-timey piano in the corner, and scattered throughout the crowd were dancing girls in big, ruffly, red skirts, men with big cowboy hats and thick mustaches, and just about everyone had a gun strapped to their hip.

"Sams!" Someone yelled and the two of them turned to see Jake Brown hurrying towards them. "Well, hello again."

Cassia smiled. "Hello, Jake."

He grinned and shook her hand. "You look great."

"She's my date, Brown."

Jake chuckled. "I can't believe you actually brought her. Tristen is going to shit a brick."

Cassia grinned. "Well, by all means. Let's go find Tristen."

"Right this way, ma'am."

Dylan and Cassia followed Jake through the crowd to a tall table surrounded by Tristen, John Brown and a couple other people who Cassia didn't recognize.

Conversation halted when Dylan and Cassia arrived. Cassia sidled closer to Dylan's side, unnerved by the way everyone's eyes turned to her.

"Well, shit." John laughed and slapped a hand on the table. "I just lost twenty bucks."

Jake stuck his hand out. "Pay up, bro."

There was a round of laughter.

"They bet each other that you were making her up." Tristen approached and held a hand out, his smile wide as he greeted Cassia. "Hi, I'm Tristen Sturgess."

She shook his hand. "I know who you are."

"A hockey fan?" His eyebrows lifted and he glanced sideways at Dylan. "How did you manage to find her?"

When Dylan didn't respond right away, Cassia looked over to see his smile was tense, his jaw clenched. She squeezed his fingers before turning back to Tristen. "I'm pretty sure he's already told you. And anyway, it doesn't matter how we met. We just did." When she looked up again, Dylan was looking down at her and his smile relaxed when their eyes met. "So where are the blackjack tables?"

Laughing, Tristen pointed them out and Cassia pulled Dylan in that direction. Once they were out of earshot of his teammates, Cassia stopped and faced him.

"Are you all right?"

"I'm fine."

She squinted at him.

He sighed and rubbed his chin. "I guess I'm just really tired of the jokes. More than I thought I was."

"Sure." Cassia looked around. "Do you want to get a drink? Or play one of the games? I see a half-empty poker table over there."

"Yeah. Let's get a drink."

She nodded and they made their way through the crowd to one of the bars. Drinks in hand, they moved around the room, checking out the games and occasionally running into more of Dylan's teammates. The more he introduced her, the more Dylan seemed to relax. Not everyone made a joke or comment about him bringing a woman, and Cassia spent most of the time gushing over meeting these players she'd watched for years.

After another circuit of the room, they paused at an empty table.

"I can't believe I just met Paul Scott." Cassia looked over her shoulder where Paul Scott had disappeared with his wife. "I've been a fan since he was with the Blackhawks. He's such a classy guy."

Dylan smiled as he finished his drink and set the glass on the table. "Yeah, Paul's great."

Cassia turned back to him and leaned her elbows on the table. "This is all a bit surreal to me."

"You didn't seem this starstruck when you met me."

She laughed at his mock-wounded expression. "I was in a mood when I met you. If I'd met you under different circumstances, I might have reacted the same."

"Would you have?"

Cassia paused, considering. Dylan wasn't the biggest or most well-known name on the Stars, but he was a solid, consistent player. He didn't put up a ton of points, but he had a great plus-minus rating and he was a regular part of setting up plays for everyone else. More than anything though, she'd thought he was more attractive than anyone else on the team, even if he wasn't a stereotypical pin-up, like Tristen Sturgess. Had that been the difference in how she viewed him? She didn't know. She did know she liked him, more than she should, at this point.

At the look on his face, she knew she had to respond. He looked so uncertain and self-conscious again. She moved around the table, getting closer, and enjoyed the way his eyes widened at her approach. "Should I pretend like I'm starstruck?"

"Wh-what?"

She touched his arm and opened her eyes wide, fluttering her lashes a little. "Dylan Samuels? I'm a huge fan."

He laughed, but Cassia could see the tips of his ears turning pink. She grinned, leaning more, and lifted her face closer so she could speak softer.

"You're so much more handsome in person than on TV." Lowering her lashes, she pressed against his side. "And you're so tall and... big."

She raised a hand and fiddled with the top button on his shirt until it popped loose.

Oops.

Biting her lip, she tried to fix it, but Dylan's hand came up to close around her wrist. When she lifted her eyes again, his had darkened. Her breath caught as he leaned down, bringing their faces so close together that she could feel his exhalation on her lips. His next breath was warm, and his lips brushed hers once, before he jerked back.

A moment later, someone called his name and they both looked over to see Tristen approaching. He took in their positions and his grin turned teasing. "Sorry to interrupt."

Dylan shook his head, and let go of her hand, but neither he or Cassia moved apart. She counted to ten in her head, trying to slow her breathing. She hadn't meant to do... whatever that was.

"What's up?"

"Coach wants us all on stage. They're doing the speeches and all that."

"Right." Dylan met Cassia's eyes. "Be right back."

She nodded, incapable of speech, not entirely sure what had just happened. Dylan gave her that crooked smile before walking away with Tristen.

She listened with only half an ear to the general manager and the team owners talking about the charity this event was being held for. She clapped her hands when other people did and couldn't tear her eyes away from Dylan.

He had a relaxed smile on his face as he stood on stage with his teammates, listening to the speeches and acknowledgments. He had his thumbs hooked in his belt, behind the gold and silver buckle that drew her attention far too close to certain parts of him. Every once in a while, his eyes turned towards her and Cassia's temperature spiked.

Damn, she was in big trouble.
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