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Reese finished her coffee and got ready for her workout with Grady and the guys. She was ready to go when Grady texted her. As they walked to his car, she asked him if he’d seen all the gossip.
“I saw it this morning. Daria sent it to me. I guess she’s trying to keep me in the loop.”
“What do you think?”
He shrugged. “I think we make a cute couple.”
She slapped him on the arm. “I meant about the reaction.”
“Right, that,” he said and chuckled. “It seemed positive.”
“I’m not sure I like my new moniker. Bully Queen just doesn’t have a nice ring to it. Hockey Hunk, on the other hand…”
“I feel very objectified,” he said, trying to keep a straight face.
She rolled her eyes and got into his car. “I think you’ll survive.”
They got to the team practice facility, finding both Dylan and Preston inside, already working on some stretching exercises Reese had shown them.
“If it’s not the lovebirds,” Dylan said with a playful smile.
“All right, you’re not going to be doing that, are you?” Grady said.
“I can’t help it.”
Reese ignored it all and got right into her workout. She hadn’t worked with weights in a while, so Preston offered to be her spotter while Dylan and Grady worked on the exercise bikes.
“I’m really happy you and Grady decided to try the dating thing,” Preston said as Reese bench pressed her weights. “I could tell the first time he brought you here that he was interested in you. I don’t know if he’s told you this, but we were friends from back in our junior hockey days. I’ve seen him go in and out of relationships without even thinking about it, but you’re different, Reese. He looks at you differently, he talks about you differently. No pressure, I just thought you should know.”
Reese wanted to tell him itwasdifferent because it was no relationship at all, but at the same time it was all a bit overwhelming. She needed to keep Grady in the friend zone. “He’s a great guy, so we’ll see where this goes.” She decided the diplomatic approach was best.
“If it helps, Dylan and I think you’re pretty cool.”
“You guys are cool too.”
Once their workout was finished, Reese and Grady headed back to their condo building. She kept running her conversation with Preston through her head and hated what she concluded: Grady was too good for her.
“Does Daria have anything planned for us tonight? If not, maybe we could hang out and watch a movie?” Grady suggested.
Reese thought nothing of it at first, but then something niggled at her. Something about hanging out and watching a movie together seemed too familiar, like something a couple would do, and they certainly weren’t a couple. And the last thing she wanted was to get involved in a legitimate relationship. Life was already too complicated, and adding a boyfriend to the mix was not something that interested her, even if that boyfriend was Grady. And she knew her track record. She’d either drive him away or he’d somehow morph into someone like Jordy.
“I’d love to, but Daria has me looking over some paperwork. Rain check?”
“Yeah, any time.”
She felt bad turning him down, but it was for the best. The less attached they were, the better.
* * *
With John’s blessing, Reese went into the office the next morning. She couldn’t believe how much she’d missed it. She sat at her desk and let out a contented sigh. It looked just as it had all those weeks ago. The only difference was that Daria had left all the correspondence that wasn’t time sensitive. Reese went through it slowly, savoring each moment. She’d barely noticed when Daria entered her office and sat down across from her.
“You know how much I love you, but Operation Fake Relationship is a pain in the ass,” she said, setting a manila folder down on Reese’s desk. “I get to make all the arrangements but don’t get to have any of the fun.”
Reese looked up at her and then at the folder. “What’s this?”
“A whole list of things PR wants you and Grady to do together. They found out about his family’s place up in Muskoka. They want you to go up there with Grady and do a photo shoot.”
Reese frowned. “A photo shoot? With lighting and a bunch of other people?”
