Page 61 of Snowflakes and Ice Skates

I blew out a breath. “Of course I am, but that’s not all Lance is.”

“What do you mean?”

“He’s also a professional hockey player. He has women throwing themselves at him constantly.”

“Jess.” Her tone made me pause. I turned to see her watching me with sad eyes. “Is that really why? You won’t give him a chance because of his fame?”

“No, I’m used to that. I’ve been around them long enough that it doesn’t bother me.”

“So it’s the women?” she prodded.

There was no point in lying. She knew me well enough to call me on it. “Yeah.”

“What about it bothers you?”

I knew she wouldn’t like my answer, but she was the one pushing for information. “I just think he would get bored. Once I say yes, he’ll move on to the next available woman because he can.”

“He might not.” She waved a hand in front of her. “Jake and the other guys were in the same situation, but they found women they loved, and that was all they wanted.”

I knew most of the guys on the team were in committed relationships. I was friends with several of the women in the Pride. It was possible, but Lance? I didn’t see him changing his ways anytime soon. He didn’t seem interested in family life.

“You’ve thought about this.” It wasn’t a question, so I didn’t reply. “You’ve thought about him. What would happen if you did give in?”

Of course, I had. The first time he asked me out, I almost shouted yes. Until I stopped to really think about what would happen. Luckily, I was quick enough to realize how things would most likely end. Me liking him and him finding a different flavor of the week without so much as a backward glance at me.

“You like him,” she accused, taking a step toward me.

I held up the box in front of me, using it as a buffer. “I never said that.”

She looked like a cat on the hunt. She sniffed out and found her prey and wouldn’t give up until she caught it. Me. “You didn’t need to. Uh! I’m such an idiot. I should have seen it sooner.”

I shook my head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t like Lance.”

“I think you do.” Her eyes held a glint I didn’t trust.

“No, you want me to like him,” I argued and took a careful step away, but she matched me.

“I really don’t.”

“Oh no. You don't want to like him. That’s different.” Cue the evil grin on her lips. “This changes so much.”

“Nope. It doesn’t.” I set the box down on the table and went to my desk, pretending I was looking for something. Well, I was. But I doubted an escape was there.

“Jess! Why didn’t you tell me sooner? I shouldn’t have warned you about him, or let Jake say anything.”

“I knew about his reputation long before I worked here.” I stopped her from spiraling. “His interest in me has just been since I moved over.”

“Yeah, because you don’t work for the team anymore. You’re not off-limits.”

“I don’t think that was stopping him.” I could count three couples that completely ignored any fraternization rules off the top of my head. Chloe being the number one. If Lance ever wanted to ask me out before this summer, he would have.

Which made me wonder what had changed. He’d known who I was for over a year. Why now? There had to be some game behind it all.

“Admit it, you like him a little. Just a little.” She held up her pointer finger and thumb, leaving less than an inch between them.

I stepped forward and brought them together. “No.”

It was a lie. An outright, blatant lie. He was one of the first guys I noticed when I first started working at the front office. His smile could light up a room. As cliche as that was, it was true. He smiled with his whole face and body. Relaxed and open. And those two blasted dimples. It was rude, really, when I stopped to think about how attractive he was. It wasn’t fair.