Chasing Charli - Kat Mizera Page 0,25

if they did, it meant she wouldn’t get to see him much in general. He’d already warned her that his schedule was filled with practices and team meetings, so she was anxious to see him tonight. In fact, she was considering following the girls’ advice about taking things to the next level with him.

It had been too long since she’d had an emotional, intimate connection with anyone, and there was nothing Miikka could do to her, short of physical violence, that hadn’t already been done to her by others. It would hurt if he left her, but she’d put up huge walls around her heart and didn’t plan to let anyone get close enough to break through any time soon. Sex and a little romance with a gorgeous hunk of a hockey player might be good for her, though.

She was so lost in thought she didn’t notice a guy approaching her until he leaned on the wall next to her.

“Hi.”

“Oh. Hi.” She stared into a pair of long-lashed green eyes. Damn, he was hot. She had no idea who he was, though.

“I’m Ryder.”

The new guy Amy had mentioned. The one that slept with all the girls who hung out at the rink. Well, with those green eyes, it was no wonder. She wasn’t into bad boys, though, and she didn’t have eyes for anyone but Miikka anyway.

“I’m, um, Charli.”

“Short for Charlotte?”

“It is.”

“That’s a pretty name.” He gave her a charming smile and she couldn’t help but smile back.

Miikka, Donovan and Logan walked down the hall to the family lounge together. Miikka couldn’t wait to see Charli. He was hoping she’d want to hang out since she didn’t have to work tomorrow and tomorrow would probably be his only day off until the season ended. Unless they went all the way to the championship, in which case Coach Saunders would most likely give them days to rest, but they’d always been taught to focus on one game at a time, so he was trying not to think ahead.

They rounded the corner and stepped into the lounge, and he immediately spotted Charli. She was laughing up into Ryder’s face and he was laying on the charm. Sonofabitch. Was Ryder hitting on Charli, knowing she was here with Miikka?

“Kusipää.” Miikka grunted the words under his breath.

“What does that mean?” Donovan asked, following his gaze.

“Pee head.”

They looked at each other and burst out laughing.

“Imma use that one.” Donovan nodded. “Kusipää.”

“Is good insult.” Miikka nodded. “I can teach more if you want.”

“Right on.” Donovan high-fived him but Miikka was distracted, his gaze never leaving Charli, and he took a step in that direction.

“Breathe.” Donovan caught his arm, pulling him back. “You don’t want to make a big deal out of this. She’s pretty and as far as I know, you haven’t let anyone know she’s taken.”

Miikka looked up at him and took a deep breath. “Yes, but he can’t…”

“Then go over there and lay your claim. Don’t make a scene. He’s new. He’s young. He doesn’t know who’s who. You be the bigger man and the role model. Now, if she was into him, that would be different, but look at her body language. She’s totally leaning away from him. Go play boyfriend, but do it nicely. It’ll show her you’re not some jealous asshole and it’ll give Ryder the hint without sacrificing your relationship, because hating the new guy on the team never ends well.”

Miikka nodded, took another deep, calming breath and approached Charli and Ryder casually, as if he didn’t have a care in the world.

“Hi.” He leaned over and brushed his lips across Charli’s cheek, sliding an arm around her waist.

“Hey.” Ryder gave him a grin. “Charli was just telling me about her dishwasher debacle and how you guys are renovating her bathroom. My uncle is a contractor and he might be able to hook us up with a distributor to get new tile dirt cheap. I can call him and get you the info if you want?”

Miikka nodded absently since this was the last thing he’d been expecting. “Yes. This would be excellent. Thank you.”

“Ryder said if the three of us work together, we could probably knock out the tile project in an afternoon. Once hockey season is over, of course.” She gave him a grin.

“My dad’s military,” Ryder said, “so he was gone a lot, and my uncle kind of stepped in to help raise me since, you know, I was a bit of a troublemaker. So I can do