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She kisses me again. This time on the corner of my mouth. It’s like she’s trying to see how far she can push me before I break.
It takes every ounce of self-control I have not to turn my head, to take control of the kiss. To push her against the wall and let her know how she affects me.
But I don’t want to do this the wrong way. I already regret pushing things too far that first night. Not because I don’t want her but because I do.
So no, I’m not going to kiss her. Even though I’m almost certain that’s what she wants right now. I stroke her hair then step back, and this time when our eyes catch her gaze is hazy. A little dazed. It dips down to my chest and back up again.
“I’m still thinking,” she whispers.
I give her a grin. “Good.”
CHAPTERTWELVE
MACKENZIE
“We’re going to have an exhibition game,” my dad says through the phone line. I blink at the clock beside my bed. It’s six a.m. and I was dead to the world when my phone started blaring incessantly. I’d answered it thinking there was something wrong with Gramps. While I’m here, I’m the first point of contact for the nursing home.
“A what?” I croak, trying to blink the sleep out of my eyes.
“To raise money for the IRS. We’ll have a big exhibition game. Charge premium for the seats. An all-stars versus the Mavericks game. It’ll be fantastic.”
I sit up in my bed, my sleep-heavy mind reminding me it’s a Saturday morning. The one day I let myself sleep in until I wake up naturally. Which is usually by nine, anyway. I have yoga at eleven and this afternoon I need to do some grocery shopping and drop in on Gramps for dinner.
It’s been two days since Eli asked me out on a date and I haven’t seen him since. The Mavericks had an away game and I was kind of thankful for that.
I need time to think.
The truth is, I’m attracted to Eli. But I also know it’s a very, very bad idea to get involved with somebody at work. The fact that he’s a hockey player makes it worse.
Ex-hockey player.Whatever.
But really, I want to say yes to his offer. I want to spend time with him. I want him to touch me. I can’t stop thinking about him.
It wouldn’t be forever, anyway. I’m leaving for New York as soon as Gramps’ IRS matter is settled. And he’s clearly here for the long term.
Would it be so wrong to have a fling?
“So that’s great, right?”
I blink. I’d forgotten about Dad. “Um, you cut out for a minute there. Can you tell me again?”
“I said I’ve already got a team in mind for the All-Stars side. I have connections, so we’ll make sure the best come to Morgantown. We’ll sell it out in no time.”
“We’re in the middle of the season,” I tell him. “We can’t fit that kind of game in between our fixtures.”
“We’ll do it during Bye Week.”
Every team gets a week off mid-season. “Most of the team will want to go home then,” I tell him. It’s their one chance to decompress during a hugely over scheduled season.
My dad sighs, letting me know I’m annoying him. “I know the owner. We’ll make it work.”
“We don’t have the staff to do this,” I warn him. I know I’m being a Negative Nancy but the kind of event he wants to put on is huge. “To deal with ticket sales and publicity and then to man the stadium.” We’re small fry compared to the NHL. We don’t have the steward and security that those big guys have.
“I’ve got that covered.”
“How?”
“The production company is going to do all that.”
