Total pages in book: 54
Estimated words: 53034 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 265(@200wpm)___ 212(@250wpm)___ 177(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 53034 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 265(@200wpm)___ 212(@250wpm)___ 177(@300wpm)
“I’ll go with you,” I offer.
“Perfect!” Suki claps her hands together, looking up from Talia’s grocery list. “I have everything we need except whipped cream.”
“We know why you’re out of whipped cream, pervs,” Bash quips from the other room.
Talia’s face is a darker shade of pink now, but I don’t know why.
“You don’t have to do that, Lucien,” she says. “Really, I’ll be fine.”
“Are you kidding? I’d love to go with you. I can’t stand Kyle. We can sneak Nair into his shampoo. It’ll be fun.”
She looks flustered. “I don’t even know for sure if I’m going.”
“Well, if you decide to, I'm in.”
“I’ll go get some whipped cream.” She won’t meet my eyes, and I don’t know why she’s acting so strange.
“I’ll come with you.”
I haven’t even taken my coat off yet, and this will give me a chance to talk to her about why she doesn’t want me to come with her to the wedding.
Once we’re in my car, before I’ve even started it, I look over at her.
“It felt like you were uncomfortable back there. Is there someone else you want to ask to go to the wedding with you?”
She shrugs. “No. I’m just uncomfortable over the whole thing. If I don’t go, everyone will think I’m at home crying over it. If I go alone, I’m pathetic. If I go with you, they’ll wonder how a chunk like me got a date like you and assume it’s a pity date. I can’t win.”
I gape at her in disbelief. “If you don’t want to go, don’t. You don’t owe them shit, Talia. And don’t put yourself down like that. I don’t like it when people say shit about my friends.”
A smile tugs on her lips. “Are we friends?”
“I think so.”
“Even though I cockblocked you?”
I shouldn’t say it. She’s Turner’s daughter. Forbidden fruit. But that Loki energy takes over. “I was looking at the wrong woman that night anyway. You did me a favor.”
She drops her brows, looking skeptical. “What do you mean?”
“You’re everything a man could ever want in a woman. You’re beautiful. I have to force myself to look away from you when we’re stretching, and I only do it because I don’t want your dad to stab me to death with a skate blade.”
She laughs softly. “You don’t have to say that.”
“I’m not just saying it. When you touch my ankle to stretch me, I get ... you know.”
Hard. It makes me hard every time and I feel like a high school kid who can’t control himself.
She waves a hand dismissively. “Men are like that. Melina probably gets it all the time.”
“No, I’ve never gotten aroused from a female doctor or trainer touching me. Until you.”
She holds my gaze for a moment and then looks down at her lap. “If you’re willing to go to Hawaii with me, I’d really appreciate it.”
Relief floods through me. I didn’t like the idea of another man going with her. I don’t even like the idea of my teammates getting stretching or other treatments from her.
“I’m all in.” I start my car. “Let's make him regret every choice he's ever made.”
She hums with amusement. “I don’t know about that. Wait ’til you see my sister.”
“Okay, new rule.” I give her a serious look. “From now on, anytime I hear you put yourself down, you have to listen to three compliments and you can’t argue about any of them.” I don’t wait for her to agree to the rule. “You have a very sexy voice. When we’re stretching and you tell me to go as far as I can, I’m not thinking about stretching.”
Her cheeks flush and her brows arch with surprise.
“Number two: I would crawl on my hands and knees for miles just to touch your breasts. Happily, they’re incredible. And also, I think about the way you called me out on that bullshit pickup line every goddamn night. The compliment there is that I know there’s nothing easy about you, and it’s sexy as hell. Make me work for you, Talia. I will. I want to.”
Her lips are parted slightly as she holds my gaze, her hazel eyes glossy with unshed tears. I didn’t realize I felt all this for her until I said it. I like being around her, and not just because I’m attracted to her. She’s funny and sharp, and I want to be more than friends with her, but the friends part is important, too.
I want to go buy whipped cream with her. Watch shows with her. Eat lunch with her.
And more. A lot more. But she’s been hurt, and I have to move slow.
“I don’t have the right words,” she says, looking away. “Just ... thank you.”
Her voice catches on the last part, and I put my car in drive, sensing that the conversation has gone as deep as she can handle right now.