Page 35 of Hockey Player Seeking Fan

I hang up, text him the details of the bar, and head back inside. John is sitting there, typing something on his phone. He looks up guiltily, his face red.

"Hey. I just wanted to apologize," he says in his polite Scottish accent. "I know this was meant to be a date between the two of us, and this was the first time you met me. You got so dressed up, and you look so pretty. And here I am like a prat, talking about?—"

"It's okay," I say. "She's the one for you. She's the love of your life. And lucky for you, I believe in soulmates. I've put in a word to a friend of mine, and we're going to see if we can help you out."

"What do you mean?"

"You'll see," I say, leaning back and smiling. "Why don't you order us two more drinks while we wait for Tyler to show up? And hopefully, that will give you some liquid courage to change your life tonight."

He stares at me for a couple of seconds and shakes his head. "I don't know how I got to match with someone like you. And I'm sorry that we weren't it for each other, but you're a really cool girl, Erica."

"You know what? Thank you."

"Why are you thanking me?" he asks.

"Because you've given me faith that I'm not living a pipe dream. You've given me faith that maybe somewhere out there, there's a man who's willing to do anything for me."

Chapter Ten

Tyler

“Thanks again, mate. That was awfully nice of you. You don't meet many chaps like you these days.”

“You're welcome. I hope it goes well,” I say to John as he stands there, saluting me like I'm the general in the Army or something.

“And you, Erica, what can I say? A rose as beautiful as you deserves?—”

“She gets it,” I cut him off. “Why don't you go and find your lady at the restaurant so that you can make your move?”

“I will.” He laughs and runs his fingers through his hair. “Erica, it's been such a pleasure. Maybe in another life... we would've been lovers.”

Erica giggles. I try not to roll my eyes. She's obviously drunk, and if I'm not mistaken, she's flirting with him a bit, which makes absolutely no sense because I literally just gave him $5,000 in cash so that he can make a play for another woman.

“Well, it was good seeing you, John. Good luck.”

“Thanks. Appreciate it. Can I get a hug?” he says to Erica, and I can feel myself tensing up. Why does this dude need a hug?

“Of course.” She stands up, her red dress tight against her body, and gives him a big hug. He kisses her on both cheeks and stares into her eyes.

“A beauty like yours is?—”

“Okay,” I say, standing up myself. I wrap my arm around Erica's shoulders and give him a look. “You have a good evening, John.”

“You too, Tyler. Don't do anything I wouldn't do,” he says with a big wink.

Erica makes a retching noise. “Oh, John. He is my big brother's friend. There's definitely no way that anything would ever happen between us.”

“Yeah, there's literally no way,” I say.

John just smirks. “Okay, then. Bye.”

I watch as he walks out of the crowded bar. Erica takes a seat and finishes the rest of her drink. She looks over at me, an impish smile on her face. Her eyes are glittering, and it's then that I realize just how drunk she is, because she's never looked this happy to see me.

“You’re not a bad guy, Tyler Kane,” she says. “Not at all. I mean, I thought you sucked—and maybe tomorrow morning I'll think you suck,” she giggles, “but right now, you're not so bad.”

I don't know if I should take this as a compliment or not, but I stare at her. “Are you sure that you should be out right now?”

“What do you mean? Are you going to ask to buy me another drink?”