Page 35 of Heartless As Puck

“Leave her alone. Goodbye, Gus.” Austen hung up the phone. “I had a quick look through the contract before coming up here, and I know I can trust Gus to take care of my best interests too, so I’m happy to sign now. I’ll be in my suite watching game tape when you want me.”

He left before I could reply.

I opened the contract on my laptop so I could read it on a bigger screen. I worked my way through it sentence by sentence. It wasn’t a long document, and the language was simple. None of the legal jargon that I’d need to run by someone else.

Satisfied, I added a digital signature and submitted it, then immediately downloaded the PDF to both my phone and my laptop and uploaded it to the cloud in case I ever needed a safe copy that was accessible from elsewhere.

I found Austin on his sofa, his long legs stretched along the length of it and a pillow propped beneath his cheek.

“All done,” I said.

“Good.” He sat up and made an awkward hand movement as if he wasn’t quite sure what to do with them. “We have reservations for the restaurant along the far end of the pier. You know the one?”

I closed my eyes, trying to picture the pier’s layout. “I think so. What kind of dress standard are we going for?”

He cocked his head, thinking. “Tidy, but not formal. I thought I’d wear dark jeans and a button-down. You can obviously choose whatever you’re comfortable with.”

“Okay.” I fidgeted, tapping my fingers against each other. I’d kind of hoped for more guidance than that. While I wasn’t about to say as much, it had occurred to me over the past few days to wonder who exactly was going to believe that Heartless Austin Harris, the heartthrob of many a Chicago Chaos fan girl, would date someone quite as unremarkable as me.

He had every option in the world available to him—or, at least, all the ones who were attracted to men. The Sylvias of the country would line up at the doorstep if they thought they stood a chance with him. Yet he and Gus expected everyone to think he’d chosen the girl who’d been dubbed “Plain Jane” in high school?

I knew I wasn’t ugly and that attractiveness wasn’t everything, but my clothes and makeup were generally selected to help me avoid attention. Hardly the kind of woman that men went crazy for.

“Jane?” Austin stood up, his face creased with concern. “You’ve been staring into space for about a minute now. Are you okay? We really can wait before we do this, you know.”

I shook myself. “I’m fine. Just… This week has been a lot.”

To my surprise, he smiled at me softly. It was an expression I’d never seen on him before.

“For me, too,” he said. “Thank you for agreeing to this. I know it wasn’t your first choice, and I hope I haven’t bullied you into it.”

My mouth turned up at the corners. “You may be persistent, but I do know how to say no. I’m quiet but not a pushover. I’m doing this because you’re making it worth my while, and then I will move on, and you can hire someone new as your assistant.”

He nodded, though he didn’t look convinced. “I’ll meet you down here in half an hour?”

ELEVEN

JANE

I returned to my bedroom and rifled through my closet, searching for something nice enough to wear on a date with a professional hockey player. I had plenty of professional work outfits, but not a lot in the way of date wear. Honestly, I couldn’t even remember the last time I’d been on a date. Perhaps a little while after I’d moved here.

I pulled out a dress and looked it over. Short and black, with a conservative neckline and thick fabric to keep my torso warm. But was it too short?

Grimacing, I laid it on the bed and continued to search. I had a nice summer dress, but it was cold outside, and I really didn’t think the dress would be suited to the conditions. Truth be told, the black dress probably wouldn’t either, even paired with warm tights. Perhaps I ought to use the same jeans and shirt approach as Austin.

Or… I reached in and grabbed a soft, navy pair of trousers. I usually wore them for work, but they had a slightly playful flair and a cute belt. If I chose the right blouse, it could definitely be date-worthy.

My pale pink blouse with puffy sleeves might work. Especially combined with a stylish jacket the same shade of blue as the pants. None of it was particularly eye-catching, but for now, it would do.

I dressed, brushed my hair out, and let it fall around my shoulders, then applied a touch of mascara and lip gloss.

Then it was time to go.

Time to face the fact that I’d agreed to enter the public sphere once again and that there was every chance people might stare at me.

Austin attracted attention. That was just the way it was.

Even without his hockey, he was an incredibly good-looking man, with a sense of presence that drew others to him.