Page 70 of Lucky Mother Pucker

“What?”

“You have whipped cream on your lip,” he says.

I wipe my mouth. “Did I get it?”

He shakes his head. I try again, but he just laughs.

“How about you help me instead of laughing at me?” I tease.

He reaches over and gently grips my chin with his massive hand. “Hold still.”

I shiver at the command in his tone. Hot.

He softly swipes his giant thumb along the edge of my bottom lip. He holds my gaze. Heat flickers in his eyes. My breath catches. I have the sudden urge to stick my tongue out and suck his thumb into my mouth…

“Got it,” he rasps.

I snap out of the trance. When he pulls his hand away, I hold back the whiny noise in my throat.

That was so hot. Unexpectedly hot. And I don’t want him to stop touching me…

I cut the thought off instantly. Nope. I can’t have a crush on Leo.

Yeah, he surprised me with the sweetest, most thoughtful gesture ever, but it’s not romantic. He’s just my friend. Nothing more.

“I should head back and get ready for work,” I say.

He clears his throat and blinks a few times. “Uh, yeah. Right.”

“You want more cheesecake?”

He shakes his head and starts his car. “No, I think I’ve hit my sugar quota for the week. The rest is for you.” He pulls out of the parking spot and drives back to the house.

The whole ride there, I try to ignore that giddy feeling as it intensifies inside of me. It feels a lot like a crush.

I shove away the thought and remind myself for the millionth time that he’s just a friend.

* * *

I finish cleaning the equipment in the training room, gather all the dirty towels, and take them to the laundry room.

I stop by Evan and Paula’s office. Evan’s working with one of the players from the team, so it’s just Paula sitting at her desk, going over some notes.

“Hey, Paula. It’s the end of my shift, so I just wanted to check in with you and see if there’s anything else you need me to do?”

She smiles. “No, you’re good. Great work, by the way. You really impressed us during your first week on the job.”

Pride blooms in my chest. Working as an assistant has been a blast. No day is the same. Sometimes I’m assisting Evan and Paula as they treat the players and guide them through therapy exercises. Sometimes I’m testing equipment and cleaning the massage tables. I go to their meetings with the staff and coaches and take notes. And I’ve been reading a lot of articles about training and massage methods, so I’m more knowledgeable about the job.

“If you want to watch tonight’s game, you’re welcome to,” Paula says.

“Really? That would be okay?”

“Yeah, of course. I think it would be helpful for you to see how the players warm up and move on the ice. You’ll get more familiar with the intensity of their training,” she says. “Evan and I attend home games when our schedules allow it. We get tickets through the team, so you don’t have to pay. Or you can always watch from the tunnel too, if you don’t feel like sitting in the stands. That’s where I’ll be tonight.”

“Yeah, sure, I’d love to.”

* * *