He laughed and took a step into the room, reaching for her...
"Fletch?"
Riley was standing in the doorway staring at Fletcher, and Samantha knew exactly what that was about. The California Sunbursts and Chicago Otters weren't on the friendliest of terms after a huge fight last season. Samantha was in the arena in Chicago that night with free tickets from Riley quietly cheering on Fletcher as he punched the hell out of some Chicago defenseman. Not that she would ever admit that.
"Rook," Fletcher responded coolly. "I don't usually see you around here."
"I'm not usually here. It's a little too warm for hockey players."
Ah yes, Samantha recognized the dig at hockey players who played in cities where it didn't actually snow. It was a cheap shot from Riley, but she wasn't going to get involved in this.
"So why are you here?" Fletcher asked.
"I own a bakery."
"Shut up. You don't own the bakery."
Samantha finally smiled. Leave it to Georgia to take her brother down a peg in front of one of his team's biggest rivals.
"I invested heavily in your business," he told her.
"And my share is still worth something," she replied. "In fact, it's probably worth more now that everyone has heard of the U.S. Cupcake Frosting Champion."
"I still own part of the bakery."
Georgia rolled her eyes before turning to Fletcher with a big smile on her face. "Anyway, I'm Georgia, one of the founders of Icing in Chicago. This is my friend, Cora."
"Hi." Cora gave Fletcher a little wave and he smiled back.
"And I see you've met our cupcake queen, Samantha."
Fletcher's teasing smile was back as he turned to her. "I have met Samantha."
Samantha could feel her body getting warm as she tried to figure out exactly how to handle this whole situation. She had never told her friends that she knew Fletcher in high school, and that fight during the season was proof that she had made the right decision to keep that information to herself.
But how was she supposed to explain this hockey player in her green room? It was getting awkward and she didn't know what to do. Fletcher was looking at her with that little smile on his face, Riley was staring daggers at Fletcher, and Cora and Georgia were standing there trying to figure out what the hell was going on.
It was Fletcher who finally decided to break the tension and save Samantha's butt.
"Well, I just wanted to congratulate you on the show. I know it can be hard when you're not used to being in front of cameras, but you did a great job."
His tone was professional and not flirty like it had been before. Samantha wanted the flirty thing again.
"Thanks," was all she could reply.
Fletcher gave her a small smile and a nod before he turned to the group. "It was nice meeting you," he said to Georgia and Cora before turning to his hockey rival. "Riley."
"Fletcher."
He turned and gave Samantha that smile again and then walked out.
She could feel the tension growing in her muscles to go after him. She wanted to tell him that she was staying in town for another day and maybe they could catch up. Maybe talk about cupcakes and math or something. Maybe tell him that her crush on him back in high school was still very much alive.
But he was a hockey player in Los Angeles. She baked cupcakes in Chicago. One of the investors in her bakery was his biggest rival.
It was also Fletcher Keris. She wasn't in his league back in high school and she wasn't in his league now.
"That guy is such a prick," Riley muttered.
