"Is this like a date thing? I hope not. You told him I was engaged, right?"

Brian cleared his throat and then spoke in a low voice, "I don't really like to lie to people I'm trying to be friendly with. Not sure exactly what your deal is, but my mother is in the jewellery business. I can tell that your lovely engagement ring did not cost more than $29.95, and I hear your handsome fiance is conveniently out of the country. For me, that adds up to bullshit. You're as engaged as I am." Brian was a workaholic and very, very single. He got teased about being The 40 Year-Old Virgin, but I didn't think he was forty yet.

I didn't reply, because admitting everything would be like giving up. Brian didn't have to deal with guys like Michael Hauser all day.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to blow your cover. But Ty would like you to come, and I would like him to owe me a favour."

"I have to work all day," I stalled.

"It's in the afternoon, and I'll tell Cheryl it's for building business relationships." He shook his head. "Don't get your panties in a twist, Kelly. Maybe the guy has a crush on you, but you don't have to do anything other than golf eighteen holes and eat dinner. Who knows, you might even enjoy yourself. These NHL guys make major moolah, you know. And it's for a good cause."

"Which one?"

"Damned if I know. Cancer or something."

There was one more thing I needed to know before I said yes, even under threat of blackmail. "Do you have a list of the sports celebrities who are going to be at this thing?"

Brian passed me his background sheet on the tournament. A quick read was all I needed to ensure that there was no James Frechette attending.

"All right, I'll go."

James

I was in bed when Baller called. He was a good guy and a great friend. This past season, I had lived in his house, and it was great to have someone to show me the ropes during my rookie year.

"Hey, Freeze. How ya doing?"

"I'm good. You?"

"Good, good. I wanted to check-any chance you're going to make it to my golf tournament this Friday?"

Why was he asking me again? "Sorry, Baller. If you were closer, maybe, but it's on the other side of the country. I'm jam-packed between training, family stuff, and the new condo." I felt kind of bad; he had done so much for me, and it was for a good cause. I think Baller had an uncle who had a liver transplant.

"No worries. Hey, I went for a radio interview today, and I met a girl."

Oh boy. Baller was always meeting new girls. He would think it was love, but then the problems would crop up. Like she was engaged, or psycho, or dumb. I didn't really want to get into this, so I kinda grunted in reply.

"Aren't you going to ask me about her?" Baller wondered. "I think you'll be interested."

"Why would I be interested in your latest girl?"

"She's just your type: a yummy little brunette."

"That's my type? Haven't you noticed-I usually date tall blondes?"

"Actually, I have noticed that, but I have a theory about your preference for blonde airheads."

"Awww, Baller, let's not-"

He cut me off. "I think you date girls who you would never want to get serious about. Girls you're not really into. Like the opposite of what you would really want."

"Thank you, Freud. That's such a crock. I date girls who are hot."

"So, last chance. Do you want to hear about this girl?"

"No. Look, I'm kinda tired, it's four hours earlier here, you know."

"Okay, your loss. For some reason, I thought you were into Vancouver women. But maybe I've got that wrong."

Wait. A vague idea was forming in my brain. "Who was she?"

"Don't want to hold up your beauty sleep. I better get going anyway. I'm meeting friends for dinner."

"Jeez, Baller, who did you meet?"

His voice was sing-songy, like a little girl's. "I met Kelly."

"You met Kelly! How did you know it was her?"

"Oh, I think the shrine you had in your room was my first clue."

"It's not a shrine. Crap, you didn't tell her about the photos, did you? How did she look? How was she?"

"She looked good, really good. I can see why you're so into her. But I didn't really talk to her long. She's the receptionist at this sports radio station."

Was that what she was doing now? It didn't seem like a very good job for a university graduate. She had asked me to stop calling and then promised to call when she got her life straightened out. She said she needed time to sort out her priorities and her career. I didn't think that being a receptionist was a dream career.

Man, I wished I could have run into her by accident. What if I had been the one who walked in for an interview? That would have been so sweet.

Baller interrupted my fantasies. "It was weird meeting her, after hearing you talk about her so much."

"What are you talking about? I never talk about her."

"C'mon. Every time you talk about your ideal girl, this hypothetical perfect woman, it's her. She has to know about hockey, a great sense of humour, athletic, she doesn't wear a lot of makeup, blah, blah, blah. I've known it was her for ages, even if you don't say it's Kelly."

Shoot. I thought I had hidden my feelings for her pretty well. I had gone out enough in the meantime. "I wish I could have seen her."

"Yeah, I know. You are going to owe me huge."

"I am?"

"Get your ass out to B.C. I've got her lined up to be in your foursome in the tournament."

"No way. How did you manage that?"

"Haven't you learned this yet? Being an NHL player means you can ask for whatever you want. All they can say is no."

"Does she know I'm going to be there?"

"Not yet. I'll leave it up to you if you want to tell her. So you're coming?"

Oh yeah. I'd been waiting for this opportunity for a long time.

7.

Teed Off

James

"Are you kidding me?"

Kelly's first words, when she saw me, weren't exactly joyful. She plunked down beside me in the golf cart and scowled. I switched it on, and we took off down the track. She didn't say another word.

"Are you okay?" I asked. She was making me nervous. I had prepared a whole speech to say as soon as I saw her, but her reaction had set me back.

"Of course I'm not okay. I was manipulated into doing a day of something I suck at with someone who is supposed to be on the other side of the country."

"Why are you so upset to see me?"

"I'm in total shock. Would you be happy if I parachuted into your life unannounced?"

"Well, yeah." I couldn't think of any place I wouldn't want Kelly to be with me. She was so cute. In fact, she looked almost exactly the same as she had when I last saw her a year and a half before. Her pretty face, her dark hair, and her tight body hadn't changed at all. Today, she looked like the perfect golfer in a little black and white outfit. Kelly claimed she couldn't dress herself, but she always had nice athletic gear.

"What exactly are you doing here?" she asked.

"Supporting Baller. And organ donation, of course."

"So, the fact that out of everyone here, we get to be partnered is a big coincidence? I think not."

"Well, no. But it wasn't all me. Baller told me you were going to be here, so I came. It was kind of a last minute thing."

"Yes, because if there's anyone who's spontaneous, it's you. It's practically your middle name."

Was she going to take shots at me all day? Hey, I knew Kelly as well as she knew me. She burned hot, but she didn't stay mad long. And fiery was way better than cold. If she was this upset, she was fighting the feeling. I was already having trouble being this close and keeping my hands off her.

It was a shotgun start, and we were beginning on the ninth hole. The two guys we were golfing with were middle-aged businessmen. They were avid golfers and bigger hockey fans.

"I'm shocked that they didn't publicize you were going to be here, James," said one of them, Moe Wilson. "It would be an even bigger draw to meet one of the league's top rookies."

"The top rookie. You're gonna win the Calder, for sure," declared the other one, a guy named Stan Douglas.

"Thanks, but I'm in tough." Although my numbers were good, I didn't have the most points. I could have gotten more if I hadn't been injured in the middle of the season.

"James is a two-way player. The voters have to appreciate what he does at both ends of the rink." Then Stan remembered we weren't alone. "Sorry, Kelly, are we boring you with all this hockey talk?"

"Not at all," she said. "I love hockey."

"Sure, it's Ty Ballanchuk's tournament, right? You gotta be a hockey fan to be here. Anyways, as I was saying, who votes for the Calder? It's the hockey writers, right?"

"Yes," replied Kelly.

"Gotta watch out for that Eastern bias. That's why the Canucks players never win anything; most of the media are already in their jammies and fast asleep when our games are on. And you're in the Western Conference, so that can be a strike against you right there. But Chicago's in the Central Time Zone, so that's in your favour."

Man, this was boring. All I wanted to do was get back in the cart and talk to Kelly alone. Finally we all finished teeing off and headed down the fairway.

"If you wanted to see me, why didn't you call and say you were going to be here?" Kelly asked. I could tell she was calming down.