“Yeah, we’ve spent some time together.” She didn’t really want to give any more details than that, and she guessed he didn’t want to hear them because he didn’t ask.
“You’re okay, though? At work and stuff? Because that’s all that really matters.”
“I’m good. And Stan did hear about it all, of course, but it didn’t bother him as much when I told him Will and I are dating. He said he was happy I found—and get this—abeau.”
Erik’s laughter filled her bathroom. “Are you serious? Did he actually use that word?”
“He did. I was surprised he didn’t tell me I should start wearing corsets and hoop skirts to the office from now on.”
“He’s such a jerk,” he said, sounding less amused now. “I hate that you work for somebody like that.”
“I know, but like I’ve told you a hundred times, he’s a means to an end. I can put up with him for now.”
They chatted a few more minutes, and then Kristen told him she had to let him go. She didn’t tell him why, but she could tell by his voice that he’d guessed why. It was a good thing she and Will were only fake dating because bringing him to family dinners would make Thanksgiving awkward for a good long time.
She pulled into the lot for the Skimmers’ practice facility about five minutes later than she’d intended to, and she spotted Will right away. He was freshly showered and leaning against a light post with his hockey bag slung over his shoulder.
When he saw her, he lifted his hand in a wave and then walked to the curb. She lowered the passenger side window, and he leaned down to speak to her.
“Where’s your car?” she asked, since the parking lot was pretty empty and she didn’t see his rental.
“At the hotel I’m staying in. It’s close enough to walk, and it wasn’t too cold today.”
She hit the button to pop the trunk. “Throw your bag in and let’s go, then.”
He hesitated. “Do you want me to drive?”
She wasn’t even surprised by the question. “Do I want you to drive my car around my city? Not really.”
“Hey, you can save on gas if we go grab my rental and take that.”
She laughed at him before shaking her head. “Nope. If you can’t handle the passenger seat with a woman behind the wheel, you can walk back to your hotel. Alone.”
“Of course I can handle it,” he said, rallying when she pointed out he was being ridiculous.
After closing his hockey bag in the trunk, he opened the passenger door. He had to put the seat all the way back before he could get in, and she bit back her amusement at his expression when he closed the door and put his seatbelt on.
He wasnotcomfortable in the shotgun seat, and she didn’t care if it was because she was a woman or he just liked being in control. She was going to have a little fun with him.
7
Of all the ways he could die, Will had never thought it would be in the passenger seat of a car being driven by a woman who drove like Boston was nothing but a video game and she was navigating a boss level while she laughed at him.
“Stop covering your eyes,” she said as she cut the car over a lane, into a space that looked half the length of the actual vehicle. “You’re a hockey player, for chrissake. You’re supposed to be tougher than this.”
“You’re a menace.” But he put his hands in his lap, clenching his phone to keep from grabbing the dash or the door handle. He hoped he didn’t snap the phone in half.
“We’ll be there soon.”
“Be where? I thought we were just going for a drive. Like a nicerelaxingdrive.” He sucked in a breath as she took an exit ramp without slowing down. “Okay, I’m sorry I implied I should do the driving just because I’m a man. We can’t help it. It’s just how we’re wired.”
“You can help it. You just don’t want to.” But she slowed down and actually used her signal when she made the next turn.
He was quiet for a little while, since there was no good way out of the conversational hole he’d dug for himself. And he was watching as the neighborhoods around them changed as she made her way through congested streets without her nav system. She obviously knew where she was going, even if she didn’t tell him their destination.
“How was work today?” he asked after a while. After he said it, he realized he was risking her being pissed off behind the wheel again if her day had gone badly and he brought it up, but he’d been thinking about her all day. And, really, her driving couldn’t get much more aggressive. “Your boss, I mean. Did he find out?”
“He did, but I think your plan worked,” she said. “I was able to make it sound suitably respectable and kind of threw Erik under the bus since Stan already knew he plays hockey, so his expectation of him is already low.”
