Love In Moments (Love Distilled #2) - Scarlett Cole Page 0,24

the full version, or the summary?”

“The full version.”

“I’m at a turning point in my career. A big one. I was drafted first overall, but to a team I didn’t want to play for. It was full of veterans, so little room to grow. As a rookie, it was hard to influence the style and speed of play. It suited them, not me. But I worked hard, stayed healthy, outlasted many of them. But without the right investment in rebuilding and coaching staff, we were never going to win.”

He reached for her gloved hand and felt a wave of relief as she closed her fingers around his. “That must have been really frustrating.”

“It was. It is. I think it was frustrating for the team too, because they knew I wasn’t happy and that I wasn’t going to stay around once my free agency came about, but they needed me. I tend to be intense.”

Olivia looked over at him and shook her head. “Really? I would never have guessed that about you.”

He couldn’t help but grin. “Fine. Yes. I am. But they traded me to Denver. The organization has expressed interest in me staying for the long term. They offered me a one-year extension beyond the rest of this contract, and I turned it down. This isn’t my dream situation, either.”

“Why not?” she asked as they came to a stop before a five-story building.

“My older brother’s here and, while I love him, it’s sometimes hard for him to forget he’s my peer, not my older sibling on the ice. And second, I don’t want this to interfere with negotiations with teams I want to play for.”

“This is me,” Olivia said, looking at the door briefly.

Damn. He didn’t want to stop talking with her just yet. “Do you want to grab a drink with me? Perhaps there’s a coffee shop?”

She shook her head and held up the bag she was carrying. “My dinner is likely already cold.”

“Right. Sorry.”

He should go. He should leave her to what was left of the evening.

“Do you want to come upstairs for a little while? Just to talk,” she added hastily.

The tense muscles in his stomach relaxed. “I’d like that.”

They didn’t speak as she led them up the elevator to her apartment. It was a riot of color. A vivid turquoise sofa in a plush fabric that looked like velvet. Contemporary artwork of vibrant circles hung in the open-plan living area. There was a deep green accent wall in the kitchen. It shouldn’t have matched, but somehow it all did.

“I like your place.”

Olivia smiled. “I share with my friend, Natalie. It’s her place and mostly her doing, but some of the art is mine.”

“Who’s the artist?”

“Oh, me. When I said some of it was mine, I meant I painted it.”

He looked from Olivia to the artwork and back again. “Wow. You’re really talented, Liv.”

She shrugged as if it was no big deal. “It relaxes me. At least, it used to. Do you mind if I eat?”

He shook his head. “No, please do.”

Anders watched as she moved around the kitchen. She had the same grace of movement as she had the night at the distillery. There was a lightness to it. Olivia grabbed a bottle of red wine off the counter and offered it and a corkscrew to him. “Would you mind opening that? I know it should probably be white, seeing I’m having fish, but it’s all I’ve got, and I think this conversation needs alcohol.”

He’d stuck with water at the restaurant with Karl, but Olivia was right, having a glass of red would make things feel less formal somehow. As they poured the wine and got settled at the small kitchen table, Anders thought about what he was going to say.

“I’ve been really torn, Liv. I’ve thought about you. A lot. Even before I knew I was being traded. You gave me plenty to think about. What a great leader you were. How you stayed calm under pressure after your staff were injured. How you turned the night around. How good you looked in that black dress and how you looked even better without it in bed. Even how honest you were with me. And how you trusted me so easily.”

She waved her fork as she finished chewing her mouthful. “Don’t elevate me to sainthood, Anders.”

He took a gulp of wine and then smiled at her comment. “I’m serious. But I’m also messed up. Before I left Sweden, I found my girlfriend in a compromising situation with