Total pages in book: 169
Estimated words: 162138 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 811(@200wpm)___ 649(@250wpm)___ 540(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 162138 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 811(@200wpm)___ 649(@250wpm)___ 540(@300wpm)
I sat down beside her again. To my left, I had two basketball players I’d already met. To my right, I had the most maddening woman I’d ever met. I had no idea who was next to her or sitting next to him. She was the only reason I was at this table. She was the only reason I was here at all. I’d turned it down for three consecutive years, but Prescott mentioned she hated it and was always forced to come, so here I was. I could’ve sat with my agent, who had already stared at me like I’d lost my mind for not sitting with one of the three NHL coaches here, but I didn’t care. And after the display of emotion she showed me, I was even happier with my choice.
“Banks,” the guy next to her offered me his hand.
I shook it. “Lachlan.”
“Hockey, right?” he asked. “Lachlan Duke?”
“That would be me.”
“I’ve caught some of your games. You’re, hands down, the most fun to watch.”
“Thanks. I appreciate that.”
“You’re going pro soon,” he said matter-of-factly.
“That’s the plan,” I said. “What do you play?”
“Football.” He turned his body slightly toward Lyla.
I stared at him for a moment. This fucker was probably the one Marissa was talking about. We could’ve been friends in any other situation, but that automatically put him on my shit list. Now, I’d have to scour his social media platforms for pictures of them together. And I’d sit here on high alert trying to see whether or not he touched her and if she’d let him. I wanted to put my arm around her chair to stake my claim. I wanted to scream dibs so loudly that everyone in this goddamn room would hear it because even though it was a hockey thing, it seemed like everyone fucking knew about it.
I looked at the basketball players to my left and continued our conversation about March Madness, but I was tuned in to Lyla and Banks’s conversation. She was obviously comfortable with him. She’d said more words to him tonight than she had to me in a week. I closed my hand to calm the itch I felt to pull her away from him and smiled when I felt the stickiness of her lip gloss on my palm.
“Dude, you can totally make it from the twenty,” he said. “You’ve done it before.”
“Yeah, but not against them.” She brought her hands up to cover her face and let them drop. “I don’t want to do it.”
“Lyles.” He groaned. “When have you ever doubted yourself?”
“Never, but this is different.”
“If you don’t make it, no one will care. It’s not a real game,” he said, “Besides, your winning kick was the only reason we won the game that closed out our season.”
“I don’t need you to convince me that I’m good. I know I’m great and definitely better than the lousy kickers on your roster,” she said. Her cocky attitude created an instant problem in my pants. I shifted. “If I miss this, even though it doesn’t count, they’ll talk about how I’m another example of why women can’t play male-driven sports. They’ll put my face on their stupid little Gazelle Newspaper. You know they will.”
“They won’t.”
“What are you talking about?” I asked, unable to stop myself.
“Football. We have a fun game coming up against our rival team.” Banks looked at Lyla briefly. “Lyla kicked for us a few times, but she’s scared of losing this one since they’re our rivals.”
“I don’t lose,” she mumbled, looking at her nails.
“You kick for the football team?” I looked at her, taken aback by this new information. She continued to look at her nails. “That’s pretty badass. Maybe we can recruit you, and you can join me on the ice.”
Her eyes snapped to mine. “Hard pass.”
“Aw, come on. I thought you liked some of the hockey players.”
“That’s a lie.”
I bit back a laugh.
“Don’t take it personally. Lyla doesn’t like anyone,” Banks said.
Her eyes hadn’t left mine since she snapped her little comment at me. I loved it.
“Is that true?” I raised an eyebrow.
“I like a handful of people,” she said quietly. “Only one hockey player is on the list. There’s no one on it with a name that starts with the letter L.”
That bothered me more than it should have, but I didn’t let it show. I knew Prescott was on her stupid fucking list, and again, I had to remind myself that he was just a friend and they’d known each other a long time.
“Yet.” I winked.
She tore her gaze from me immediately, like she was offended by my wink. I held back another laugh. I knew she didn’t like people, but she liked Banks. She liked Prescott. She liked Marissa. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, she definitely liked me. I wanted to hear her say the words, though. And because I never did things half-assed, and like her, I never lost, I wouldn’t just be on the list of people she liked. I’d fucking dominate it.