Hot Shots

When it came time for college, Matt applied only to northern schools that had ice hockey programs and with the help of his coaches, managed to score a scholarship to the University of Michigan. He worked his ass off, spending every hour in the workout room to build up his muscles and his strength. His focus was so intent on playing, his obsession and single-minded determination so strong, he had no room in his life for anything else. Just The Game, always capitalized like that in his mind. Again, as he thought about it now, unbelievable arrogance.When he was drafted he was sure he was on his way to a championship team and The Cup. But unfortunately life doesn't always go the way you wanted it to. Somehow after a quick start, he fell just short of first team status. He spent so many years in the minors he wondered if he'd ever get to realize his dream. Would he, in the end, be left with nothing? For a while there the prospect actually gave him a scare, but he refused to give up. O

"We did it, Liz."Dara Flynn high fived her partner as they collapsed on the couch in Lizzie's office. They had just returned from Delfina's, an upscale restaurant on San Antonio's south side where they'd overseen a bridal luncheon for one of the city's best-known television reporters. Going into it they both knew that a major success here could take their business to the next level. Conversely, a screw-up could easily trash their reputation and destroy their fledgling business, Wonder Works, that had just celebrated it's one-year anniversary. They'd both put in a lot of hard, slogging time at the largest event planning firm in the city, Affairs to Remember. Starting her own firm had been a risky venture for them, but their former boss had actually encouraged them and referred some smaller events to them."San Antonio needs more firms like this," Margot Shanley, owner of Affairs to Remember, told her. Liz (she hadn't been Lizzie for a long time) reached into the pocket of her skirt

"Is that The Cup?" Matt's father pointed. "Dora, don't make him stand there all day. Let's bring it in the kitchen.""Here." Matt lifted it and handed it to his father." How about you holding it for a while."A grin split his father's face as he took the large icon from Matt's hands and carried it into the kitchen. There he set it on the table and ran his fingers over it with reverence. Matt's dad had become a big hockey fan since Matt got drafted, so he knew The Cup's significance. He looked at his son now with pride."Good job, kid." Then he sobered. "But you know we love you whether there's a trophy or not, right?"Something Matt was just coming to realize, to his chagrin and dismay.His mother couldn't seem to stop hugging him. Finally he eased himself from her grasp and sat down in one of the chairs. "Are you alright?" she asked. Then she bit her lip. "I probably shouldn't ask, right?"That made him feel bad. When he was raging in the hospital room, he'd told them in no u

Liz lifted one of the roses from the bouquet and inhaled. A warm feeling wriggled through her that after all this time Matt still remembered roses were her favorite. Oh, of course they were from him. No note, but who else that she knew would have possession of The Cup.Then, like a flash of lightning searing her brain, she remembered a night, just before he was drafted, when they had dinner on San Antonio's famed Riverwalk, that well-known eclectic collection of restaurants, shops and iconic sites like Honeymoon Island. They were waiting for their dinner to be served when she looked up and saw one of the regular horse and carriages that gave rides to tourists in Alamo Plaza stop at the top of the stairs down to the Riverwalk.She watched, mesmerized, as the driver stepped down and then helped a woman to alight, turning her over to a man in a mariachi outfit. The woman carried a single rose in one hand, her other held by the mariachi man, who led her down to the very restaurant where Li

Matt sat in his car with The Cup, now emptied of its flowers, and tried to think what to do next. He'd approached it all wrong. He realized that now. It was a dumb shit thing to do, leaving The Cup with roses fillings its bowl in front of her office door, then hiding until she picked it up and took it inside. What did he think, that she'd be so overwhelmed by the roses that she'd throw her arms around him?He should have listened to Brenna. His big grand gesture had fizzled. But he still had hope. There was a legend going around that whenever a player of the championship team had his day with The Cup, he fell in love. Or found love. Well, he'd already fallen and certainly found it. The problem was he was afraid he'd lost it.One look at her today and he couldn't for the life of him think why he'd walked away from her. He had really screwed up. He was determined to get it back now that his stupid brain had finally realized how much he'd lost. Lizzie. (He'd always think of her that w