Page 27 of Hockey Nanny

Our eyes met. Just for a beat. I caught the curve of his lips, the angle of his nose, and the dark pull of his gaze. My thoughts scattered, a riot of disbelief and longing. Every rational part of my brain screamed that this was insane. Every irrational part of me didn’t want to move, didn’t want to break the spell. Boone’s fingers brushed mine against the joystick, and a spark ran straight through me, a whisper of electricity.

I could feel him shift slightly behind me, the pressure of his body teasing, coaxing. My breath hitched without my permission. I wanted to turn fully and close the distance, to feel that smirk pressed to my own lips. My pulse was a drum, loud enough I was sure he could hear it.

“Are you blushing, McCabe?” His voice, low and amused, sliced right through the tension.

I froze, mortified and self-conscious, heat flaring across my face. My brain refused to cooperate. I mumbled something incoherent, aware of how ridiculous I must look, all while he stayed close enough to feel every subtle movement, every twitch of my shoulder.

And then Henry’s little voice broke the spell. “Carissa, I’m sleepy.”

The kid appeared at my side, rubbing his eyes, his excitement replaced with exhaustion. Boone straightened immediately, letting go of my waist with a grin that didn’t quite soften the teasing glint in his eyes. I exhaled, trying to calm the sudden chaos of sensation inside me, while Henry clambered into my arms with a yawn.

Boone nudged me lightly with his elbow. “Duty calls.”

He knew exactly what he’d just done to me, and he wasn’t sorry. I huffed and glanced at him, my heart still hammering, aware that for a few minutes we had been closer than we probably should have been.

I shifted Henry in my arms, trying to keep him upright without crushing him. “I think we should probably head back to the hotel.”

He raised a brow, that lazy, amused lift that made my stomach tighten. “Hotel, huh?”

I hugged Henry a little closer, pretending to look down at him, but there was no mistaking the look in Boone’s eyes. This wasn’t the end of our night together. Not even close.

*

I eased the door shut behind me, careful with the latch. The hallway lights felt brighter after the quiet of Henry’s room. Boone stood a few feet away, hands in his pockets, waiting like he’d been holding that spot for a while.

“He’s out like a light.”

The words came with a tired exhale I couldn’t stop. It settled into my bones now that I wasn’t running on adrenaline anymore. Boone’s mouth tipped into a small smile, the kind that never quite reached casual.

“And the other two are still AWOL.”

Something shifted between us. A stretch of silence that was saying so much it caused a ringing in my ears. My shoulders stayed still, but warmth crept up the back of my neck anyway. Boone didn’t break eye contact, and the hallway felt too narrow all of a sudden.

The quiet said more than either of us did.

“I could actually use a dip in the hot tub,” he said at last. “Wanna join me?”

My first instinct was to deflect. Make a joke. Step sideways out of it. Every rule I’d been following all night lined up in my head, neat and responsible.

Then there was the way he was looking at me.

I let a second pass. Maybe two.

“Sure,” I said. “I think it’s called for after the night we’ve had.”

His smile changed into something more along the lines of what I’d seen at the arcade, and it sent my heart racing.

“I’ll meet you down there.”

I nodded, already feeling the decision ripple through me as I turned back toward my room. Tired, yes. Wired, too. My pulse refused to settle as I reached for the door, the promise of hot water and Boone waiting just ahead.

By the time I stepped onto the hot tub terrace, my nerves were humming. The night air brushed cool against my bare legs as I clutched my robe closed with both hands, fingers gripping the tie like it might loosen on its own if I wasn’t careful. My eyes flicked instinctively to the far corners of the terrace, the empty lounge chairs, the darkened pool beyond.

No one.

Just steam curling lazily into the night and Boone.

He was sitting on the edge of the hot tub, shorts riding low on his hips, all bronzed skin and muscle caught in the soft glow of the terrace lights. Broad shoulders. Thick thighs. A chest that looked carved rather than built, rising and falling slow and unbothered. One arm braced behind him, the other resting on his knee, and that mouth. That crooked, knowing smirk that did things to my bloodstream it had no business doing.