Read Online Out of the Game3 by Kate Willoughby - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Kate Willoughby
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for breakfast. Hot coffee. A croissant breakfast sandwich. It’s pricey, but it’ll hit the spot.”
The mention of coffee roused her enough to say yes.
Forty-five minutes later, she was getting into Alex’s Mercedes. “Hey,” he said, greeting her with a wide smile. “I’m glad you wore comfy clothes. Do you have your driver’s license with you?”
“Um, yes.” She fastened her seatbelt.
“Good.” He pulled away from the curb of the CityView apartment building where Claire lived, a luxury high rise in the heart of downtown San Diego.
“Am I driving somewhere?” She stretched out her legs, noticing a scuff mark on her gladiator-style sandal. She’d worn a belted summer maxidress and light sweater.
“Nah. You need the license for ID.”
“Alex, no one’s carded me in ages and it’s too early to drink anyway.”
He made a dismissive noise. “We’re not going drinking. We’re going to talk about where we want to go on our trip. You have any ideas? Because I want to go someplace I’ve never been.”
“That rules out any city that has a hockey team. What’s that? Thirty cities out of the running?”
“Something like that, but it still leaves a lot of places. What do you like to do when you’re on vacation?” he asked.
“Relax. I read a lot. I shop. What about you?”
“Same thing,” he said. “Except for the reading and the shopping.”
She laughed. “So, you relax.”
“Kind of.” He laughed. “Relaxing to a hockey player isn’t the normal kind of relaxing. I can’t just lie around. I have to stay active otherwise it’s too hard to get back into shape. Sad to say, but I’m not young anymore.”
“How old are—hey, wait a second.” She sat up, realizing for the first time where they were. “Are we going to the airport?”
He grinned. “Yup.”
“Alex, did you...did you buy us tickets somewhere?” The possibility was both exciting and daunting. Vic’s idea of a surprise was to bring home a new fish for the aquarium.
Alex merged into a lane leading to one of the parking lots. “I thought about it, but I didn’t want to take the decision out of your hands. I figured we would just decide here. Over breakfast. It
is
the most important meal of the day.”
“But we don’t have any luggage. At least,
I
don’t.”
“I don’t either.” He pulled into a parking spot and cut the engine. “I figured we’d just buy what we need. It’ll be an adventure.”
“You’re crazy.”
“It sounds like fun though, doesn’t it? Come on. Let’s just go to the departures board and choose a place.”
She had to admit, it did sound like fun. But it was so...unconventional. Who went to the airport with no destination in mind? And with no luggage? She wasn’t worried about the money. She had plenty of that. So did he, presumably.
“This is insane.”
“But fun.”
Making her decision on the spot, she turned to him and smiled.
* * *
After getting breakfast, they looked at the twenty flights listed on the departures board of American Airlines. Some destinations they nixed right away—New York, Dallas, Chicago, D.C. Those big cities all had NHL teams. Other places were too far, causing them to agree on nothing over five hours flight time, which automatically excluded anything overseas, except for Hawaii. They didn’t have their passports anyway.
“What about Hawaii?” Claire asked, remembering her trips there with Vic. “That’s a beautiful place. Lots of activities for you. Lots of beaches for me to relax on.”
“As much as I love the idea of seeing you relaxing on the sand in a skimpy bikini, the food there is too weird. I’ve heard guys say that poi made them want to puke.”
Claire wondered if the man ate anything that wasn’t fast food. “So don’t eat poi. There are plenty of things to eat other than poi.”
“You’ve been there before?” he asked.
“Several times. You really should go. It’s a paradise.”
“Maybe someday. But I think we
The mention of coffee roused her enough to say yes.
Forty-five minutes later, she was getting into Alex’s Mercedes. “Hey,” he said, greeting her with a wide smile. “I’m glad you wore comfy clothes. Do you have your driver’s license with you?”
“Um, yes.” She fastened her seatbelt.
“Good.” He pulled away from the curb of the CityView apartment building where Claire lived, a luxury high rise in the heart of downtown San Diego.
“Am I driving somewhere?” She stretched out her legs, noticing a scuff mark on her gladiator-style sandal. She’d worn a belted summer maxidress and light sweater.
“Nah. You need the license for ID.”
“Alex, no one’s carded me in ages and it’s too early to drink anyway.”
He made a dismissive noise. “We’re not going drinking. We’re going to talk about where we want to go on our trip. You have any ideas? Because I want to go someplace I’ve never been.”
“That rules out any city that has a hockey team. What’s that? Thirty cities out of the running?”
“Something like that, but it still leaves a lot of places. What do you like to do when you’re on vacation?” he asked.
“Relax. I read a lot. I shop. What about you?”
“Same thing,” he said. “Except for the reading and the shopping.”
She laughed. “So, you relax.”
“Kind of.” He laughed. “Relaxing to a hockey player isn’t the normal kind of relaxing. I can’t just lie around. I have to stay active otherwise it’s too hard to get back into shape. Sad to say, but I’m not young anymore.”
“How old are—hey, wait a second.” She sat up, realizing for the first time where they were. “Are we going to the airport?”
He grinned. “Yup.”
“Alex, did you...did you buy us tickets somewhere?” The possibility was both exciting and daunting. Vic’s idea of a surprise was to bring home a new fish for the aquarium.
Alex merged into a lane leading to one of the parking lots. “I thought about it, but I didn’t want to take the decision out of your hands. I figured we would just decide here. Over breakfast. It
is
the most important meal of the day.”
“But we don’t have any luggage. At least,
I
don’t.”
“I don’t either.” He pulled into a parking spot and cut the engine. “I figured we’d just buy what we need. It’ll be an adventure.”
“You’re crazy.”
“It sounds like fun though, doesn’t it? Come on. Let’s just go to the departures board and choose a place.”
She had to admit, it did sound like fun. But it was so...unconventional. Who went to the airport with no destination in mind? And with no luggage? She wasn’t worried about the money. She had plenty of that. So did he, presumably.
“This is insane.”
“But fun.”
Making her decision on the spot, she turned to him and smiled.
* * *
After getting breakfast, they looked at the twenty flights listed on the departures board of American Airlines. Some destinations they nixed right away—New York, Dallas, Chicago, D.C. Those big cities all had NHL teams. Other places were too far, causing them to agree on nothing over five hours flight time, which automatically excluded anything overseas, except for Hawaii. They didn’t have their passports anyway.
“What about Hawaii?” Claire asked, remembering her trips there with Vic. “That’s a beautiful place. Lots of activities for you. Lots of beaches for me to relax on.”
“As much as I love the idea of seeing you relaxing on the sand in a skimpy bikini, the food there is too weird. I’ve heard guys say that poi made them want to puke.”
Claire wondered if the man ate anything that wasn’t fast food. “So don’t eat poi. There are plenty of things to eat other than poi.”
“You’ve been there before?” he asked.
“Several times. You really should go. It’s a paradise.”
“Maybe someday. But I think we
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