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Lilly leans over and bumps her shoulder against mine. “I bet you have all the girls tripping over themselves to get a crack at you.”
I bump her back. “What makes you think that?”
She rolls her eyes. “Oh, let’s see. You’re hot, famous, rich. Shall I go on?”
She thinks I’m hot?I’m not sure why that surprises me, but it does. Normally, I can tell if a woman is interested in methatway, but Lilly has never so much as given me more than a friendly smile.
She stares at me earnestly, curious to learn more. “I’ve dated,” I admit. “But never anything serious.”
“Playing the field?” she guesses.
I chuckle. “You’d think so, right? Like you said… Hot, famous and rich.”
“And conceited.”
I glare at her. “It’s not me though. I’ve got some teammates who like racking up notches on the bedposts, but it’s not my jam.”
“You’re averse to meaningless hookups,” she concludes.
“Yeah… I guess I am. I like to have a connection.”
Lilly sighs. “That’s the way it should be.” She tips her head back one more time to look at the sky, then slaps her palms on her thighs. “Okay… it’s late. I need to get to sleep.”
We stand and she shrugs off my coat to return to me. To my surprise, she moves in and goes to her tiptoes, placing one hand on my chest to kiss my cheek. “Thank you, Boone. I won’t forget this night, from the awesomeness of my first hockey game to probably one of the best conversations I’ve ever had in my life just now.”
“You’re welcome,” I manage as Lilly turns her back on me to open the door. My fingertips touch the place where her lips just kissed my cheek.
It falls away when she glances over her shoulder. “Good night.”
“Good night,” I murmur as I watch her slip inside.
CHAPTER 8
Boone
Iknock outall of my visits first before hitting Aiden’s room since I plan to spend extra time with him. I hope no one gets upset by the favoritism but the truth is, I’m now more connected to Aiden and his entire family. Regardless, I spent almost three hours after practice this morning hitting every kid on the ward that I’m able to visit and now the rest of my time is for Aiden. It’s particularly important since Steven is in detox and this is the time he’d normally spend with his son. Aiden’s used to having a support system and I don’t want him to feel alone or abandoned.
I gown up and enter to find him watching a movie on his iPad with headphones on so he doesn’t hear me. I nab another blue glove from the supply box on the door and sneak up to the edge of the small alcove into his room. Stretching the glove to capacity and aiming it at Aiden, I let it whip. It’s not the most aerodynamic missile but it splats him square in the chest, snapping his head up.
He breaks into a wide grin when he sees me, yanking off his headphones. “Boone!”
“Hey, buddy,” I say, sauntering around his bed to kick back in the recliner. I unlock the wheels and turn it so I can face him before extending it out. “What’s been exciting today?”
“I had a blood transfusion this morning,” he replies, waggling his eyebrows.
“Scintillating,” I say dryly. “Any cute nurses on duty today?”
Aiden’s eyes cut to the door, then back to me. He nods. “Andrea.”
I hold my hand. “About this tall… long blond hair?”
Aiden shakes his head. “About that tall but bright red hair.”
Frowning, I try to recall her but nothing comes to mind, mainly because I don’t really check out the nurses here. I like to tease Aiden about it though. It’s become a bit of a schtick between us.
“Heard from your sister today?” I’m being incredibly nosy. I texted her first thing this morning to see how she slept. She didn’t respond for a few hours and when she did, it was somewhat standoffish.Sorry… swamped today. Not enough sleep but the game was worth it. Thanks again.
I didn’t reply because she was busy and I think that was sort of a hidden message that she didn’t have time to chat.
