Chapter 8

Max's POV:


After leaving her apartment, it was all pretty clear. One, I was ridiculously attracted to her two, I actually liked her despite the fact that she got angry over the most ridiculous things and three, she was crazy. Not crazy as in asylum-insane but definitely crazy as in she obviously had some walls built around her and she wasn't going to make it easy on me.

It wasn't easy for me either. I didn't want to be attracted to her but the night at the club had cemented my interest in her not just physically but emotionally too. Throughout that night Mia had filled me in on a few details about Eliza's life and I got it, she was still dealing well, not really with her Dad's death. After seeing the way she had laughed and responded to the guys' teasing and friendliness, I knew that she definitely needed friends here and people to make sure that she didn't bury herself in work and stay in ordering too much Chinese food. I think Eliza's friend Mia picked up on my attraction also because before they left and Eliza bitched me out, she hugged me and whispered, "Make sure you take care of her. I'll kick your ass if you hurt her" before smiling at me and going back over to Eliza.

After Eliza's verbal beat-down, I realized that I needed a new approach to making myself a part of her life and vice-versa. I still didn't know what she even thought of me but if she went that nuts over me sitting close to her, who knew what she would do if I actually did make a move on her.

It was definitely a new experience for me, this whole having trouble with a woman thing. Usually my relationships were short and sometimes not so sweet but both parties got what they wanted before moving on. Even if I was the womanizer she claimed I was, it had been working for me for the last 25, almost 26 years. Now here I was actually worrying over a woman and going over early in the morning to make sure she's okay- even when my presence is clearly not wanted. I was trying to pursue the first woman who didn't want me back.

Part of me couldn't help but be intrigued. The other part told me to step back 10 steps and move on.

I decided that because she was unlike any other girl I had known, I was going to need a different approach. I was going to have to be sneaky and take it slow. That's something she definitely won't expect from me. Maybe the key to all of this was to take it so slow that she won't know what hit her and then by the time she realizes what's going on, it'll be too late.

But hey, if she was a woman who never got hangovers, then she was a woman I had to have.


Eliza's POV:

I groaned from my position face-down on my desk when someone knocked on the door.

"Hey, Eliza, do you have a minute?" Great, just what I needed right now, a visit from Mr. Lemieux.


"Sure, Mr. Lemieux, come on in!"

"Hey, so I just wanted to give you a heads up about tonight. We need to take the team Christmas picture and every one's invited to the game tonight so that we can take the organizational picture before the game. We figured we would do the picture at 5 before the guys change out of their suits and get ready for the game."

"Sure, sounds good. It's casual right?" I faked sounding cheery hoping he would buy it. How was I supposed to be excited about an evening watching the game with people I don't know and having to take a Christmas picture down on the ice?

"Yep, nothing fancy. Also, Nathalie and I would really like it if you sat with us in the box tonight. You've been a tremendous asset to the organization and we'd really like it if you'd watch the game with us tonight." He looked so genuine and eager to have me stay for the game tonight that I found myself nodding and smiling again in agreement.

"Great, well I'll let Nathalie know that you're coming and I'll leave two tickets and passes for you at the front gate that you can pick up before the picture." Wait, did he just say two tickets?

"Sorry sir, did you say two tickets?"

"Yeah, of course. I figured you might want to bring someone with you like a boyfriend or something. Of course if you don't, that's fine too. I'm sure Nathalie will talk your ear off anyway" he replied grinning at me from the door. He waved again before heading out the door. Who was I going to bring? If only Mia lived here and not 8 hours away. My mom and I still weren't talking so that wasn't an option. Every time I tried to pick up the phone to make peace with her, I couldn't.
Dinner at my Aunts had been awkward and we had politely kissed each other on the cheek before moving to opposite ends of the house to visit with family. Since that was Monday and it was now Friday, I figured that neither of us were going to pick up the phone anytime soon. All of this family drama was making wish that it was any other month than December. December was a time for family and obnoxiously long parties but instead this year, I was without my Dad, my Mom and I weren't speaking and I was buried in work and now expected to smile and look cute in a Christmas picture with the team tonight. All of this drama wasn't really putting me in the holiday mood and now that I was going to this tonight, I was going to have to postpone putting up my Christmas tree, again.
As I watched Mario walk back down the hallway and pause to talk to other people in the office, I realized that I was stuck going alone tonight. What else was new?

At 4:30 I was naked in my room freaking out. I had managed to leave the office at 4 but until I sped my way through traffic and showered freakishly fast, I hadn't had time to think about what I was going to wear. He said jeans but my choices for 'cheerful holiday sweater' were limited. Why did I only own black, oatmeal and white shades of clothing? Anything that was colorful was reserved in my wardrobe as 'bar clothing' that I had leftover from my days as a law student. I couldn't look slutty tonight! I had to sit with the Lemieux's for god's sake.
After stalling and finishing my hair and makeup, I was still naked, and bordering on running late.

"I don't have time for this!" Why was I talking to myself, naked, in my own apartment? In the end I decided on skinny jeans tucked into my favorite brown, riding boots that took me forever to save up for and a long oatmeal sweater. I still needed something Christmas-y on so I grabbed my jingle bell dangly earrings and left my blonde hair down so that it fell long and straight.
Just because I was starting to feel more into the holiday cheer, I wore my long white parka and grabbed a red scarf before running out the door and praying that I wouldn't be late.

45 minutes later I wondered just how many pictures we were going to take. I had arrived only 10 minutes late but everyone was already standing around on the ice talking and mingling so I was able to sneak in before finding some girls from the office to talk to. Max had caught my eye when I walked in and smiled before pointing to the watch on his wrist teasingly. Who knew he could look so good in a suit? He was completely without facial hair for once and was wearing his glasses again which I secretly really liked on him. I rolled my eyes at him and his need to point out the fact that I was late before my vision was blocked by a few of the players who had come over to greet me. I hadn't seen them since the night at the club and they were all talking about something funny that had happened on their way home.

"So anyway, after the game do you want to come out to eat with us tonight Eliza?" Jordan asked turning to look at me. "We could use a pretty face. I'm tired of looking at his mug all night" he added gesturing to Marc who had walked over too.

"I think we're just going for Italian or something" Marc added. I smiled, I could never turn down Italian food.
"Sure, sounds great. I'm watching the game here tonight so just text me and I'll meet you guys at the restaurant." I gave Jordan my number before we were called into attention by the photographer. The picture itself was pretty sexist with all of the women lined up in the front of the picture and all of the managers, owners and players lined up behind us. Unfortunately, Max was behind me and made sure that I knew it by leaning down and whispering, "So are you going to be nice tonight?"

I turned slightly to glare at him before replying "Yes, to everyone else."

He blinked in surprise at me before looking irritated and leaning in again to whisper to me, "I was only kidding but I see that you're not." Was he serious?

"Are you kidding me? You're the one who made me have to be mean with you last weekend with all of that messing with me crap on Sunday!" I said trying to be quiet and ignore the fact that we were standing so close together. That familiar hollow feeling I always got every time he was close to me returned to my stomac
He narrowed his eyes at me like he was picking me apart. "Made you get mean with me? Oh yeah, I just asked for it by being nice to you, taking care of your drunk ass and then insulting you by thinking you're attractive." Wait, what?

Marc, who was standing next to Max leaned in and whispered harshly at both of us to shut up and face the photographer before I could say anything back to Max. Did he seriously think that I was attractive and that brushing up against me would make me realize that? This was not high school where rubbing up against each other is considered a "move."

Just as the photographer was ready to take our picture, I felt Max's hand slide and rest up the middle of my back. As the flash went off, I'm pretty sure that everyone else was grinning and I had a big frown on my face. Immediately after the picture was taken, his hand was gone and he turned away to walk off in the direction of the locker room not looking back at me once.

I watched him go and was about to walk away when Marc grabbed my arm and asked "what the hell was that?"

"Uhh, nothing why?" I answered trying to slowly move away. Maybe if I got out of there he would drop the subject. The very non-existent subject.

"That didn't look like nothing. He's been staring at you all night and then it looked like you guys were fighting."

"He's just being juvenile. And we had a disagreement over some paperwork." Clearly I was lying but Marc just laughed and then smiled at me like I was stupid.

"Oh Eliza. If only you were french. You don't understand because you are not like the women Max is usually with." What did being french have to do with anything? Maybe it was just me. "What does being french have to do with it, Marc?" Before he could answer I spied the rest of the team heading into the locker rooms off of the ice and saw opportunity for escape. "Listen, I don't know what you're talking about but a lot of the guys have already gone into the locker room to get ready. I'll see you after the game!" Even as he looked at me skeptically he finally nodded and walked in the direction of the rest of the players.
Finally. Now I need to find the owners box.

As soon as I made my way up to the box and entered the room, I was greeted immediately by a slight, blonde woman who after a minute of hugging, I realized she must be Mrs. Lemieux.

"Ms. Smith we're so glad to have you tonight! A few other people are already here but I've been so anxious to meet the woman who has kept so many of the boys in check this season." She was friendly but not in an obnoxious way and I liked her immediately. It was so easy to see her married to Mr. Lemieux.
I smiled and said, "Thank you for inviting me to sit up here and please, call me Eliza."

"Then you must call me Nathalie" she added before getting excited again and leading me over to some other women.

"Ladies, meet Eliza, she's the newest lawyer to join the team and has personally kept Max Talbot out of trouble this season!" Everyone who had been paying attention began to laugh.

I blushed and didn't really know what to say to that. It wasn't just him who I kept in line. I couldn't help it if he usually required more looking after than the other guys.

"Hi Eliza, I'm Emma." A small woman with auburn hair said standing up from her seat closest to the ledge. "I work for the PR team organizing charity events for the players. I think I've seen you around the arena a couple of times but you always look sort of stressed out." She smiled looking sheepish but friendly all the same.

"Yeah, sorry if I look a little scary when I'm in work mode. It's all of those files I tote around with me that make it look worse" I joked. She grinned at me before looking down closely at the ice again. I couldn't tell who or what she was watching so closely but she looked preoccupied so I started to watch too.

Nathalie appeared again at my side and offered to introduce me to everyone else before showing me where the food was thank god. After grabbing a plate and a drink, I sat down next to Emma who was still watching the warm-ups closely.

"God, I love hockey, don't you?" Emma commented with her gaze on the ice below. She was still intently following some of the players who were out skating before the real warm-ups began.

"Actually since working here, I've grown to like it a lot more. But before it was something only my Dad and I did when I was a kid."

Emma appeared to be in a trance watching the ice but replied "I've always loved it. It was just good luck that my parents are friends with the Lemieux's and when I graduated from college, Mario helped get me my position now. You look pretty young too, how old are you?"

"I'm 25, you?" I asked her.

"Oh, I'm 23. I just graduated last year and began working here last August."

We chatted some more and found that we both had a lot in common. We resolved to grab lunch next week given that we were two of the youngest women working for the organization. It would definitely help to have some female friends around instead of just guys. In the middle of getting to know Emma and the rest of the ladies around me, the lights in the arena dimmed and the players began to skate out onto the ice and be introduced. As each player was introduced, everyone cheered and clapped in the box obviously getting excited for the game to begin. As Max skated out onto the ice and waved to the fans Nathalie leaned in towards me.

"So has Max been giving you a lot of trouble?" she said with a knowing smile on her face.

I turned to look at her but her gaze was focused out on the ice instead. "Um, he's definitely...interesting. It's been fine though. Nothing that I can't handle and besides, I really like all of the guys." No need for her to hear a speech about how big of an ass one of her husband's star players was. An interfering, rude asshole.

With her gaze still on the ice she answered "Of course- they're a great bunch. It's just that I couldn't help but notice you two tonight during the picture. It looked like you were arguing and I wanted to make sure he was being good." Good? When was Max ever good? She must have noticed my expression because she added, "Max is pretty close to Sidney as you may know and we have gotten to know Max well as a family friend off of the ice so believe me, I know how he can be."

Why did everyone around me feel the need to talk to me about Max? Honestly, the man was not that important. "Well our working relationship is fine, thanks. You have to adjust to his personality quickly but I think I've managed." I tried to lighten the mood by smiling and changed the subject with questions about different people sitting with us while keeping one eye on the ice watching Max skate in laps and practice with the team. It was enough to distract her until the game started and then finally there were no more questions, just a lot of cheering. I had to admit, I hadn't seen a hockey game in person in the longest time and it was really fun to sit and feel the energy in the arena. I liked seeing the guys in their padding skate around like stay-puft marshmallow men.

Part of me couldn't help but feel sad though too. As a kid my Dad would take me to games all of the time and would surprise me with tickets in the middle of the week just so we could go and spend time together. I grew up watching it so it was hard to be back here knowing that I was now watching the games alone. I didn't realize that I was tearing up until I felt a gentle nudge in my side.

"Eliza honey, are you okay?" Nathalie asked quietly leaning in towards me. I blinked back tears and nodded trying to look normal.

"Yeah, I'm fine thanks. I'm going to go to the restroom real quick." I said jumping up and making my exit. Great, now I was crying and didn't have an easy way to explain it to Nathalie without letting the whole story spill out. I'm pretty sure that she doesn't want my mess of a life dumped on her right now in the middle of a hockey game. I also really didn't need to look like a complete mess in front of a bunch of people who make sure I get a paycheck.

After splashing some water on my face and taking a few deep breaths, I slid back into my seat next to Nathalie.

"Sorry about that. Has anything big changed in the game while I was gone?" Nathalie apparently didn't buy my facade of cheer.

"Sweetie, I know that we just met and that I shouldn't pry into your personal life or anything but are you sure that you're okay? I know I saw you tearing up." Nathalie said watching to make sure everyone else was absorbed in the game and not listening.

I felt my defense crumble and really didn't have a choice except to stop pretending in front of her. "Yeah, I promise I'm okay. I got a little emotional because hockey's something I did with my Dad. I didn't mean to make you worry or anything." God I hated looking like a fool. Nathalie surprised me by grabbing my hand and squeezing it in support.

"No, don't think that. I just wanted to make sure that you were okay and that no one here upset you. Are you going to be alright for the rest of the game?" There was only the third period left and I didn't want to leave and be rude.

"No I promise I'm fine. It's just me getting overly emotional. Besides, this has been so nice tonight that I don't want to leave." I said squeezing the hand she held back and feeling a bit better.

Before she could say anything else, a cheer rose up from the crowd and I looked down just in time to see Max slip the puck past the Flyers' goalie. Immediately his hands shot up in the air in a victory pose as he circled around the net hugging the guys and I was tugged up from my seated position by Emma to watch who was dancing in excitement from beside me.

As everyone freaked out in the box I grinned at the guys who were still celebrating on the ice before being shooed aside by refs. As Max skated by I saw him lift his head up to the box but I couldn't tell where or why he was focusing up here.

"Did he just look up here?" Emma asked excitedly from my side.

"I don't know. Maybe he was looking at some fans or something?" I said back hoping that were true.

Why would he be looking up here anyway?

Max's POV:

After scoring that goal I felt amazing. The whole game I had been tense from my encounter with Lizzy earlier. I still didn't know why she was being such a bitch to me just from touching her and when Marc joined me later in the locker room all he did was give me sympathetic looks like I was stupid and tell me "to get a move on already." What did he know anyay? He doesn't like the most difficult girl put on earth ever- he has a nice calm girlfriend who doesn't freak out over nothing and search his car every week.

Up until the goal in the third period, I had been playing like shit and all because of my lawyer turned major headache sitting above me probably scrutinizing my hockey moves too. Or pretending that I don't exist.

Her attitude was pissing me off. Maybe 'new approach' didn't work with women like her. Maybe it was best not to approach her at all unless I had a speeding ticket in hand and even then that was a bad idea.

Nope, I was pretty sure that she used up all of her bitchiness on me and was perfectly happy to be nice to all of the other guys. She was even going out to dinner with us tonight thanks to Jordan and Marc's invite. I'd have to make sure that I didnt' sit across the table from her in case she decided to use those fancy boots of hers on me.

Did I mention that she looked freaking gorgeous tonight too? She was wearing jeans that made it hard for me to concentrate and left her hair down so that it was silky looking and straight. She had also given up her usual jewelry and was wearing these bell-type earrings instead that jingled when she moved. If she hadn't been hissing at me during the picture, I probably would have found it cute that when she was angry, her red cheeks matched the red color of the bells in her earrings. Probably.

Now after the game sweaty and annoyed at having to give interviews about my goal for a half hour, I just wanted to eat, go home and maybe find a woman who wasn't annoyed by everything in my presence.

"Yo, Mad Max! You coming to eat with us?" Kris called from the other side of the locker room.

"Yeah, I'll meet you guys there. I need to shower quick" I said grabbing my stuff and heading to the showers where I hoped to possibly drown myself. Why did I even agree to go? I wasn't really in the mood to hang out with all of them and Eliza.

In the end my growling stomach won and I found myself dressed in jeans in a sweater and heading over to the italian place they had picked. After being led to the table, I wasn't surprised to see that the only available seat was located directly across from Eliza. She was staring at her menu instead of saying hi to me like everyone else and only looked up at me slightly when I accidentally knocked her leg with my shoe. Even then, no reaction. Just a look and then she went back to staring at her menu while everyone re-capped the game. Crosby was of course, analyzing every small detail and picking it apart while Marc and Kris ignored him and spoke in french about one of the waitresses in the restaurant. Eliza had gotten over her fascination with the menu and was chatting with Jordan about a charity event coming up.

Why couldn't she be that relaxed with me? Jordan flirted with her too, and in a much more obvious way so why was it that when I touched her she flipped out for no real reason? I stretched my legs out and let my foot brush against hers again. She looked up sharply when I did it a second time this time letting my foot just rest on hers.

I couldn't help but smile when I felt her shake her leg in an effort to make me move my foot. Yeah right. I wanted to see how long she would last before finally yelling at me or showing any emotion. I forgot who I was dealing with though and choked on my water when I felt the toe of her boot edge its way up my thigh and rest on a very important part of my body.

She smirked at me before dropping her foot and continuing her conversation ignoring me again.

After dinner we all decided to stay at the restaurant bar and hang out a little before heading out. At least this gave me the opportunity to talk to her without everyone at a table hearing us. After meeting her eyes a couple of times from across the bar, I edged over to her to try to talk again. Surprisingly, she grabbed my arm pulling me slightly away from the guys and spoke even before I could.
"I'm sorry" she said still holding on to my arm. Where was this coming from? First she's acting like she hates me, then the thing with the boot and now she's apologizing?

"I know there's been tension or something between us but I think we should call a truce or something. You know, try being friends again." Oh, so now she wanted to be friends. The woman needed to take mood stabilizers.

"Wait a minute. Why the sudden mood swing?"

"It isn't a mood swing" she said rolling her eyes. "I just thought that because we work together and I do really like hanging out with all of you guys, that we should try to be nice to each other again." She looked adorably shy and out of place in a room full of hockey players apologizing to me. I decided that maybe honesty was the best way to handle this if she was ever going to understand.

"Lizzy" I said grabbing her shoulders and making her look up at me. She glanced down at the hands I had on her shoulders before meeting my eyes. "I am nice to you." Before she could argue with what I just said, I silenced her by putting my hand on her mouth and continuing.

"You don't always let me be nice to you. And you don't seem to understand that I'm not trying to mess with you everytime I touch you." Her eyes had gotten really big and she stood there staring at me. I had never felt more unsure of myself talking to a woman before. Did I really have to spell it out for her?

"What do you mean you like me?" she whispered looking around to make sure no one was listening. I rolled my eyes at the absurdity of the situation. Was she really that stupid or was I really not as smooth as I thought I was? We were both acting like teenagers with the hots for each other in the middle of a pep rally. Instead of arguing with her, I did the next best thing and shut her up by covering her still open mouth with mine. As soon as I kissed her, she stiffened but stayed where she was instead of pulling away like I half expected her to. Her lips were soft and felt unbelievable against mine. Just as I was about to pull away and step back I felt her lips move against mine. I couldn't believe it, she was actually kissing me back. I pulled away to find her looking at me cautiously and a little bit dazed.

"Do you get it now?" I asked her. She continued to stare at me before shifting the hand she had wound around the back of my neck. I hadn't even noticed it until now but felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up at her attention. Somehow, no one had noticed us or were at least pretending they hadn't.

"Um, yeah." she said laughing slightly.

"Do you want to get out of here?" I asked her. We were still standing closely together but no longer touching. She was staring at me and not saying anything but nodded yes. I turned and caught Sid smirking at me from across the bar where he was standing with a few of the guys who hadn't noticed us yet. He gave me the thumbs up before ignoring us again.

"I uh, have my car. Where do you want to go?" she asked grabbing her coat and slipping it on over her red scarf.

"I have mine too. Why don't you just follow me in your car?" I asked grabbing my coat as well. She nodded and busied herself by digging through her purse and saying goodbye to a few of the guys. I paid both of our tabs and waved to everyone to signal that I was leaving. We were leaving.

"Don't be late to practice!" Marc yelled at me as I left. I ignored him and followed Eliza out the door. She was standing shyly by her car door and waiting for me. It was weird seeing her take commands from me when usually she was the one bossing me around. I was used to her being reserved and serious in general but I wasn't used to this shy side of her. I kind of strike that, really liked that I could make her this way. Not to mention that her cheeks were still red from our brief kiss and I wanted to keep that blush there for awhile.

"Okay, just follow me. I want to take you somewhere." I said walking to my car a few feet away from hers. Before she could change her mind, I got into my car and hoped she would follow. Maybe now we could figure out what was happening.