Free The Heart Of The Game by Pamela Aares Page A

fans before a big game. He hadn’t considered the value of rituals before. Well, other than personal ones. God knew, players each had their own rituals for prepping for a game, whether they admitted it or not.
    “That’s Santino Tavonesi, Zoe’s father, escorting Sabrina,” Scotty said.
    Cody knew Alex’s dad had passed away years before. It hadn’t occurred to him to wonder who would walk Sabrina down the aisle. It made him think about his own sister and wonder who would walk her down the aisle— if she ever found a man who could live with her hardcore independent ways. She’d never ask their dad. He’d be flat on his face drunk before the first note sounded.
    Sabrina and her uncle started down the aisle.
    Lifted by the music and pounded by the unfamiliar emotions hammering in him, Cody now knew why he’d avoided weddings. Besides feeling out of place in all the opulence and ceremony, the power he felt infusing the event wasn’t one he understood. Wedding rituals weren’t about control—he suspected they were all about surrender. And surrender wasn’t a word in his arsenal, certainly not a force he trusted.
    When they reached the minister, Zoe’s father stepped back and Sabrina took Kaz’s hands in hers.
    Or maybe he took hers in his. They’d both reached out and were now firmly connected.
    The minister spoke words Cody couldn’t quite hear. But he could read the emotion flowing between Kaz and Sabrina that filtered out into the crowd. Women wiped at tears and men pressed their lips into determined lines.
    And Cody couldn’t take his eyes off Zoe.
    But when the minister looked out at the courtyard and asked whether anyone had any objection to the marriage, he felt a wave of impatience rustle through the crowd. He imagined that if it were his wedding, there’d be a resounding chorus of yes, yes, yes ! No woman in her right mind would marry him. And he’d not be in his right mind if he were standing at an altar. He wasn’t marriage material—too much baggage. He’d likely end up being an asshole like his dad. But being a loner suited him. Better for everybody. And what the hell was he doing imagining marriage anyway? Damned wedding. He swore the first would be his last.
    He returned his gaze to Zoe. Emotion he couldn’t read filled her face as she watched Kaz and Sabrina exchange rings and vows and seal their union with a long, deep kiss. The cheers of the crowd didn’t lift the odd, dark mood settling into him. The fisting in his gut reminded him that he shouldn’t have come. He’d retrieve his bag and make some believable excuse to Alex about not spending the night. Maybe he could skip the dinner and reception as well.
    The music soared and the wedding party returned down the aisle, this time bathed in a chorus of cheers and the burst of flashes from phones and cameras. As Zoe passed by, she smiled. He smiled back and felt the bite of challenge nip into him. Wanting to know her better trumped any good sense he’d managed to hold on to. Maybe he’d brave the reception after all.
     

 

Chapter Five
     
    Zoe made her way into Trovare’s great hall. Though she’d been in the room many times, she’d never seen the hall decorated for a party. Candles glowed in the waning autumn light and cast dancing shadows along the brightly painted murals decorating the walls. The room was likely designed and built for occasions just like the wedding. As guests greeted each other and found their way to their tables, the clamor of their celebratory chatter eased into the melancholic mood she was determined to banish.
    She jumped at a touch to her bare arm.
    She whirled around and nearly crashed her nose into Parker’s tuxedoed chest.
    “You should have a bell on you the way you steal up on people.”
    She didn’t have adrenaline to spare. Getting through the wedding had been harder than she’d imagined. When Sabrina had asked Zoe if she thought her father would give Sabrina away, Zoe’s immediate response