and gush” kind of woman.”
“No, you are not.” There was no trying to put her at ease for the sake of it, which she loved. His honesty was a salve. “But that doesn’t mean you’re not feminine enough. You’re strong, fearless, smart, and sexy, which is all woman as far as I’m concerned.”
Holy wow. “I am?”
“Just said so.”
Indeed. But was she supposed to take it at face value without delving deeper? Like any good mentor, he was probably trying to give her a boost.
“So what would work for you?”
“Do I have to tell you that what works for one guy won’t necessarily work for another?”
“No. But there must be some common themes. What do men want in a woman?”
He looked deep into his coffee, and for a moment, she wondered what was holding his interest beyond the creamy swirls.
“Cal?”
“Guys like women who respect themselves and their men and who aren’t afraid to challenge and call them out on their shit.” He peered at her. “But you’ve got to get into a relationship before you can even demonstrate this.”
“I know, I know. So how do you get your crush to like you back?”
“Do you have any opportunities to spend time with him now? Talk to him? Make an impression?”
She had left Tommy a message asking about setting up a time for lunch and hadn’t heard back. Of course he was a busy guy, so she had yet to let it seed her self-doubt. Telling Cal that would give away Tommy’s identity and she wasn’t quite ready to do that.
“Sometimes. But other people are usually there so it’s hard to get him alone without it looking really obvious.”
He put his mug down, the sound of it hitting the table loud even in the busy restaurant. “Is this a player on the team?”
“No! I already told you hockey players are verboten.”
“Really? An entire profession is off the table, no allowances made for exceptions to the rule?”
“I’ve met my share of asshole hockey players in college.” One in particular who had shaped her viewpoint in a way her brain despised but her heart refused to dismiss. “I know what they’re like. There’s always some romantic drama with the ladies”—she gestured at him, trusting they were on a good enough footing now for him not to take offense—“and I’d rather someone who would never be at the center of that. I need to know what might work to reel him in.” She leaned in a little closer. “How about this?”
His gaze held hers steady, those velvet brown eyes making her heart trip faster. “How about what?”
“If I incline my head like that and hold eye contact, does that seem like I’m projecting confidence, mystery, desire? Would that work on you?”
“Probably but then I’m not a sophisticated, scotch-drinking, suit-wearing, graduate degree-totin’ guy. Anything works on me because I’m a dumbass jock who loves drama and any chick who looks like she’s into me.”
She laughed so hard she snorted. Way to demonstrate her femininity. Cal Foreman’s self-deprecation was very appealing.
But hockey player plus drama (combined with nice smile, velvet brown eyes, excellent butt, and droolworthy forearms) equaled nope.
“Okay, so how do I get myself in play with this guy? I’m aiming to make my move during the Hockey for Everyone fundraiser in November. That’s less than two months and I need to have primed the pump before then, so he’s ready for my killer blow.”
Cal briefly shuttered his eyes. “Pump. Blow. You need to think about how you describe your tactics, Wallace.”
She giggled and then leaned in provocatively with a breathy gush of, “Do I?”
“I’m convinced. I’ll meet you in the restroom for a quickie.”
“Yes!” She pumped the air with her fist, drawing his low-graveled chuckle. Something about his humor was doing things to her. Warm, blooming in all the wrong places things. So Foreman was funny, but lots of guys could make her laugh. That didn’t mean she should be attracted to them on a deeper level.
She’d made that mistake before.
“Hey, what gives?” Foreman regarded her with concern.
“Oh, nothing.”
“Mia, that frown does not correspond to nothing.” He helped himself to a piece of bacon off her plate. When he was finished chewing, he added, “Now, I know something is seriously wrong because you didn’t say a word about me stealing your bacon.”
“Just someone walking over my grave. A bad memory.”
“This asshole college hockey player who did you wrong?”
Good job on keeping it close to her chest.
“You get this little crimp between your eyes, right here.” He