Talk Hockey to Me (Bears Hockey #3) - Kelly Jamieson Page 0,30
a little pang thinking of what he went through years ago, but he’s come so far. “Thanks for the laugh.”
“You’re welcome. Anyway, apart from the sex, does it bother you that your dad might love someone else?”
I drop my gaze. “It’s been ten years since my mom died. That’s a long time. I worked with a guy whose wife died and six months later he was with someone new.” I wrinkle my nose. “That didn’t sit right. But Dad’s been on his own a long time.”
“You haven’t met her?”
“Nope. Just found out last week. I have to make a trip to Chicago and check her out.”
He grins and shakes his head. “You haven’t changed.”
“What?” My head pulls back. “What does that mean?”
“You’re still looking after everybody.”
“Oh. Well.” I play with my water glass. “I guess I don’t need to anymore.”
“It’s good to care.”
“Oh please.” I toss my head with an eye roll. “It’s just that men are such helpless babies.”
“Uh-huh. Thanks.”
“Okay, not you.”
Our eyes meet and the air shimmers between us. I’ve sure never thought of Hunter as a helpless baby.
He’s a man. Grown up, big, more mature and responsible than he should have been at nineteen, when I met him, and now he’s even bigger. More confident. More vital. He’s a man in his prime.
I squeeze my thighs together on the pulse I feel low down inside me. Damn.
“Another drink?” Hunter asks.
We finished our tequila a while ago. I feel pleasantly mellow but not drunk. I shouldn’t but… “Okay.”
Hunter signals the waitress with the confidence of a multi-million-dollar pro athlete, which he is not…yet. But I’m going to make him that. Because he deserves it.
“What would you like?” he asks me.
“I’ll have a margarita this time. On the rocks.”
“Another Casamigos,” he requests for himself.
The waitress departs.
“So.” Hunter folds his arms on the table. “What do you do for fun in New York?”
“I work a lot.”
“That’s no fun.”
“Yes, it is! I love my work. And I’m just starting out, so I have to bust my butt. Come on…you love your job, too.”
“Sure.”
“What do you do for fun?” I lift my chin. “In college, you were Mr. Serious.”
“Ha. And you weren’t?”
My head jerks involuntarily. “What?”
“You were just as focused as I was. You took everything seriously—hockey, school, all our friends’ problems.”
I let that sink in. “I guess I did.” I didn’t think much about how people saw me. I always thought Hunter was no-nonsense and focused, but I didn’t think I came across like that too. “But not all the time.”
His smile is achingly gorgeous. “No. Not all the time.”
Oh yeah…Cancun.
I pull my bottom lip in between my teeth briefly.
The waitress arrives with our drinks and I take a gulp of my margarita. “Yum.” I lick some salt that sticks to my lips, catching Hunter watching me, his eyes hot. My heart bumps. I swallow another tangy mouthful.
“There’s a lot to do for fun here,” Hunter continues the conversation easily. “It’s New York.”
“True. Well, I hang out with my friends. My friend, Soledad, and I workout at the gym together. We both love going to the theater. And in the winter, I coach a girls’ hockey team.”
His eyes widen. “Really?”
“Yeah.” I smile, because this is part of my life, apart from my career, I do feel passionate about. “I wanted to get involved and make sure girls have opportunities to play.”
“That’s fantastic.” He tips his head. “Do you ever play?”
“Oh sure. It’s always great to get on the ice.”
“Yeah.” He pauses. “Do you miss it?”
So much. But I smile. “Of course.”
He narrows his eyes knowingly. “I missed it too, when I wasn’t playing. It’s such a big part of me.”
“I know.” I pause. “Have you been watching the playoffs?”
“I didn’t want to at first, but yeah, I’ve been watching some.”
“I try to watch my clients. The Bears are out now.” I sigh on behalf of Kevin. “I’m missing the St. Louis game tonight.”
“Who’s your client?”
“Callum Booker. Remember him?”
“Oh yeah.” He laughs. “I can’t believe you signed him as a client. He was so insulted when you knew more than him.”
I grin. “Right? It’s good to have the know-it-all working for you though.”
“We can go somewhere else and watch the game, if you want.”
I check the time on my phone. How can I say no to hockey? “Okay.” I toss back the rest of my margarita. When the waitress brings the check, there’s a bit of a skirmish between Hunter and me over who will pay.