Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 121764 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 609(@200wpm)___ 487(@250wpm)___ 406(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121764 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 609(@200wpm)___ 487(@250wpm)___ 406(@300wpm)
“Tell the camera something good so I stop wasting valuable space in my phone,” she said, wiggling the camera in my face.
I shrugged, looking around like there was an answer floating in the air before I looked back at the camera, and at the girl sitting next to me, reflected on the screen. Her sunglasses were halfway down her nose, her smile wide as she took another bite of the fucking alligator jerky in her hand.
“It’s off-season, and I’m on a road trip with a pretty cool girl.”
Grace slid her sunglasses down even farther to smile at me. “Awww,” she said, wrinkling her nose. Then, she popped her sunglasses back on and said, “Stop flirting with me, Brittzy.”
She cut the video with me biting back a smile.
Actions Speak Louder Than Words
Grace
“You’re joking, right?”
I shook my head, popping another handful of white cheddar popcorn into my mouth as we pulled off the busy Atlanta midtown street into the valet line of our home for the night. “The fucking Four Seasons, Jax?”
Jaxson looked confused as he cut the wheel, pulling our Mercedes-Benz in behind a Maserati. “It’s a nice place,” he promised, as if that was my concern. “I stay here with the team a lot when we play the Stars.”
“We’re on a road trip,” I reminded him, tossing a kernel of popcorn his way. “Not a bougie NHL overnight trip.”
He grabbed the popcorn from between his legs and popped it into his mouth. “Are you seriously mad that I booked us a swanky hotel?”
“I’m disappointed.”
He covered his heart with a fist as if I’d wounded him, but then smiled and pulled us in farther, a young kid in a valet uniform hustling our way. I rolled the top on the popcorn bag and put it away.
“That’s funny, considering I’m pretty sure you stayed at the JW Marriott last time you visited Tampa.”
“Again, that wasn’t a road trip. Besides,” I added as the valet opened my car door. “That was all my parents’ doing, not mine.”
I smiled and thanked the guy who helped me out of the SUV, as if it were a carriage and I a princess. I didn’t miss the way his eyes darted over my sleep shorts, no doubt covered in dust from the various snacks I’d been munching on, before they found mine again.
His eyes widened when I smirked at the fact that I caught him staring.
I turned around, looking over my shoulder and running my hands over the back of my shorts. “Do I have anything on my ass?” I asked, feigning innocence as I batted my lashes at the poor kid.
I saw him flush crimson before looking almost green as a strong hand gripped me by the inside of my elbow and toted me away.
“You trying to give him a heart attack?” Jaxson growled into my ear.
I grinned up at him. “Maybe I’m trying to give him my number.”
Jaxson’s nose flared a bit at that, and he kept his hold on me as the valet crew struggled with my suitcase behind us.
“Aww, are you jealous,” I teased him, and then I lifted his hand from my elbow until I was draping his arm around my shoulders. I leaned into him, putting my own arm around his waist. “Don’t worry, Brittzy. I’m currently celibate, due to men being dreadfully disappointing, and the unfortunate fact that I am not sexually attracted to women. Besides,” I added, my neck aching with the effort it took to look up at him — the tall motherfucker. “He’s not really my type. I’m more of a brother’s grumpy teammate kind of gal.”
He closed his eyes and shook his head once, a long sigh leaving him, but I saw the way the corner of his lips curled just a little.
“Okay, you win tonight,” I conceded, and I was content to stay there under his arm, but he released me when we approached the front desk.
I was suddenly very aware that I was in my dirty pajamas with no bra on in a Five-Star hotel lobby. I crossed my arms over my chest, and I swore I could hear my mom’s voice whispering in my ear about my indecency, as if she was there with us.
“But tomorrow night, I get to pick our accommodations,” I added.
Jaxson looked like he was ready to argue, but he was next to check in, and I watched as every muscle in his face shifted as he approached the desk with a glittering smile.
Holy shit.
It was magic, how he completely transformed. I watched him tuck his true self behind some invisible wall as he lit up like a fucking Christmas tree, leaning one elbow on the desk as he fished his wallet from his pocket. He told the woman behind the desk that he was checking in for the night, and when he gave his name, recognition sparked in her eyes, as well as a few of her colleagues at the desks on either side of her.