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“He did,” I say happily, spreading my arms and twirling. “What do you think? Do you like it?”
She tilts her head. “Sure. It’s nice. It shows off your figure. Probably why Jesse likes it.”
“Is this true, Jesse Prince?” I ask, nudging him.
“Just ring her up, please,” he says, pushing his card toward her.
I turn my back toward the counter and pull the tag out. The scanner gives a little beep. “Do you want a bag for the rest of the panties Jesse bought you?” she asks.
“Um, yeah. Unless Jesse wanted to shove them in his pocket or something.”
“A bag,” he says quickly.
I bite back a smile. Katie meets my eyes and smiles a little, too. Maybe I’m not the only one who enjoys pushing Jesse’s buttons, then.
“Thank you,” I say, going up on my tiptoes to kiss his cheek. He flinches back like I tried to bite him.
“You’re welcome. Jake doesn’t need to pay me back, either.”
“Oh, no. I don’t ever let people buy me stuff without paying them back. You’re going to get all…” I check the receipt. “Eighty-seven dollars and forty-three cents back. Wow. That dress was expensive, huh?”
“Really. It’s fine. If I have to tell Jake I paid for your underwear, I think he’ll try to murder me, anyway.”
“Oh,” I say, laughing a little. “I guess you have a point. Then I’ll pay you back. You may just have to give me a couple days.”
We walk toward his car.
“Know any good places around town where a girl can make some quick money?”
“You want a job? Are you seriously planning to stay that long?”
“This place gives me good feelings,” I say, looking around and taking in the scenery. It really is picturesque, with cutesy little shops and homes dotting the hills that eventually back up to a towering range of snow-capped mountains. “Maybe I’ll stay a little while.”
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea.” Jesse pulls open my door and waits for me to get in, but I stop, leaning on the car to look up at him.
“Why wouldn’t it be a good idea?”
“Don’t you have a life to get back to?”
“I have friends, sure. But only one I’m really close with. She’s the kind of friend where distance isn’t going to keep us from being close, if you know what I mean.”
“What about your parents?”
I shrug. “They can visit. They’ll be happy if they know I’m happy.” I look around again, smiling as the thought starts to really take hold in my chest. “Right now, this place makes me happy.” My eyes linger a beat too long on Jesse, so I drag them back to the mountains.
“After the holidays, it might be best if you had plans to get your own place. The guys are here until Christmas, then they’ll be traveling more for games.”
“Won’t you be with them?” I ask. “Jake got injured once and I remembered he still went to the games and all that.”
“I have a good agent. My contract says I’m free to rehab with my personal trainer and stay home if I choose in the event of an injury.” He hesitates.
“What?” I prompt.
He shakes his head. “I should still be acting like part of the team. I know I should. It’s hard for me right now. Being around the game makes it feel farther away, somehow. It’s easier when I–” he laughs, almost like he said something stupid. “Anyway. Until this rotator cuff heals, I won’t be swinging any hockey sticks. Lucky for me, I can still do pretty much everything else.”
I want to pry for more detail, but I bite back my questions. He didn’t seem to want to go into more detail than he already did. “I’m sorry. That has to be hard. I know how Jake got when he hurt his ankle that one season. He was super cranky and emotional.”
That gets a grin from Jesse. “Is that how I’m coming off? Sorry.”
