Suck My Puck (Denver Bashers Series #3)

40. Bella

Chapter 40

Bella

W hen I walk into the hotel suite in Victoria, my jaw drops.

“Braden, oh my god. This place is amazing.”

I do a slow scan of the penthouse at the Wymore Hotel, which overlooks the Salish Sea. It’s a one-bedroom suite with dark wood floors, a plush sectional in the living room, a cozy white stone fireplace, and the biggest flatscreen TV I’ve ever seen in a hotel room.

I peer across the living room to the open doorway of the bedroom. There’s a massive king-sized bed with a fluffy down comforter.

“There’s a fireplace in the bedroom too?” I run into the bedroom. My mouth hangs open as I look around. It looks like something out of a magazine. There’s another white stone fireplace, flatscreen TV, and plush armchair. The bed faces a massive floor-to-ceiling window that offers another incredible view of the ocean.

I glance at the attached bathroom, which is covered in sleek, white subway tile. The marble counter top has dual sinks and there’s a massive rainfall showerhead.

Behind me, Braden chuckles. “You like it?”

I spin around. “I love it.”

I slide my arms around his waist and pull him close. I tip-toe up and kiss him. “You didn’t have to go through all this trouble for me.”

He cups my cheek in his hand, then softly traces his thumb along the hinge of my jaw. I shiver.

“I know I didn’t have to. I wanted to. You deserve to be treated, Bella.”

My tummy flips at his words. Just then there’s a knock at the door. He kisses me before walking over to answer it. A teenage bellhop stands there with our bags. Braden holds the door open for him and he unloads our suitcases. Braden hands him cash and tells him thanks. When he leaves, he shuts the door and turns to me.

“I have a surprise for you,” he says.

I bite back a smile. “What is it?”

“I booked a massage, manicure, and pedicure for you at the spa downstairs in thirty minutes.”

My mouth falls open. “Are you serious?”

He nods, grinning.

I’m about to say it’s too much, but he steps over to me, pulling me in his arms. “It’s not too much. You deserve be taken care of.”

Sparks fire off in my chest at how thoughtful and generous Braden is.

“I can pay for?—”

He cuts me off with a kiss. I moan into his mouth. When we break apart, I’m breathing heavy and my heart is hammering in my chest .

“I’m treating you, pretty girl. You’re not paying for a damn thing when you’re with me.”

Goosebumps skitter across my skin at his low, rough voice, how bossy he sounds.

“Okay,” I say softly, fighting a smile.

He checks his phone. “When you’re finished at the spa, meet me at the restaurant downstairs for dinner, okay?”

I bite my lip and nod. “Can’t wait.”

Butterflies zoom through my tummy as I take the elevator to the restaurant in the lobby of the hotel.

I catch my reflection in the mirror wall of the elevator. I look happy and relaxed after spending the last three hours at the spa.

I dab my finger under my eye and wipe away a fleck of mascara, then smooth a hand over my hair, which I styled into soft waves. I run a hand over my deep red cocktail dress. It’s strapless and hits me right at my knees. I smile to myself. I can’t wait for Braden to see me in this.

I remember the way his eyes popped out of his head when he saw me in my Jessica Rabbit Halloween costume. The dress I’m wearing now isn’t nearly that sexy, but it hugs my boobs and my butt and I’m hoping that it reminds Braden of it.

The elevator doors glide open and I step out. My heels click against the floor of the lobby as I make my way to the entrance of Très Buono, the fancy Italian-French fusion restaurant housed in this hotel.

I walk in and spot Braden at a table in the center of the restaurant. He’s looking at a menu, so he doesn’t see me.

I walk up to the table. “Hey. ”

When he looks up, his eyes look like they’re about to bulge out of his head. “Holy shit,” he blurts.

An older couple sitting at the table nearby frown at him. I hold back a laugh.

Braden clears his throat and mumbles, “Sorry” before standing up and stepping over to me.

He grins wide before kissing my cheek. “Holy shit,” he whispers. “You looking fucking incredible.”

I’m smiling so wide, my cheeks hurt. “Thank you. You look ridiculously hot.”

Braden’s wearing a perfectly tailored slate gray suit and a crisp white dress shirt, no tie. His sandy blond hair is neatly combed and the usually thick scruff on his face is trimmed close to his skin. He looks like a male model who just stepped off the runway.

I breathe in his cologne. He smells like rain and spice.

He flashes a sexy smile. “Thanks. I clean up pretty good for a guy who stops pucks for a living, right?”

I chuckle and he pulls out my chair for me. I sit down and skim the drink menu and notice him looking at me.

“You’re staring.”

“Can’t help it. You look beautiful. That dress.” He runs his gaze down my neck and chest. “It kind of reminds me of your Jessica Rabbit costume.”

“I did that on purpose. I could tell you liked that dress.”

“I fucking loved it,” he growls softly. “Anytime you want to wear it again, please do.”

I’m giddy at the hungry flash in his eyes. The server stops by and takes our drink order, then leaves us to browse the menu.

“How was the spa?” Braden asks.

“Amazing. It felt so good to relax and unwind for a few hours. Thank you again. That was so thoughtful of you to plan that surprise.”

“It’s my pleasure.”

The server arrives with the bottle of red wine we ordered and pours it into our glasses. We both take a sip. A couple of minutes later, the server returns to take our dinner order. I sit back and drink my wine, taking in the low hum of conversation around us and the dim romantic lighting of the restaurant.

I glance over at Braden. He’s staring at me with that same fiery look in his eyes from earlier.

“Are you having a nice time?” he asks.

“I’m having the best time ever.” I’m quiet for a long moment, feeling overwhelmed at everything he’s done.

He slides his hand across the table and touches my hand. “What is it?” he asks softly.

Emotion surges up my chest. “It’s just…you’ve been incredible, planning all this and taking care of everything. And I don’t just mean today. The way you helped me when I had to move out of my aunt’s place blew me away. And how supportive you’ve been about my coffee business. I’ve never been treated like this. I feel so taken care of.”

Braden blinks at me, his soft blue gaze focused and intense. “I like taking care of you, Bella.”

Warmth burrows in my chest at the conviction in his tone.

He laces his fingers in mine. “I know you can take care of yourself. I know how strong you are. I see how hard you work every single day. I’m in awe of you. I just want you to know that you deserve to be taken care of too. You deserve to rest and take breaks. You deserve to be spoiled with spa days and vacations and fancy dinners and anything else you want. And I love being the guy who gets to spoil you. ”

Tingles fly across my body at the same time that my heart races.

“You mean that?” I ask.

A tender smile dances across his lips. “More than anything.”

The server returns with our entrees. We dig into our beef bourguignon and cacio e pepe.

When I take my first bite of beef, I moan. “Oh my god, this is incredible. Here, you have to try this.”

I feed him a forkful of the tender meat. His brow lifts as he chews. “Wow. That’s really good. Want a bite of my pasta?”

I savor the rich, sauce and al dente noodles. “So yummy. The beef is better though.”

He chuckles. We chat and laugh while eating and sipping our wine. When we finish dinner, the server takes away our empty plates and tops off our wine glasses.

My phone buzzes with a call from Ingrid’s mom. I frown at the screen before looking up at Braden.

“It’s Ingrid’s mom. Shoot, maybe she has an issue with the coffee she ordered from me this week. I should take this.”

“Yeah, of course,” Braden says.

I stand up and answer the phone as I walk toward the restrooms at the back of the restaurant.

“Hi, Amy.” I find a quiet corner to the side of the ladies’ room.

“Bella, honey! Hello! I’m so sorry to bother you in the evening like this.”

“It’s okay. Is everything alright with your latest coffee order?”

“Oh yes, everything is amazing. I brewed a pot for myself and my husband this morning and we loved it. I think your French roast is our favorite so far.”

“I’m so happy to hear that.”

“The reason I’m calling you is because I was at dinner with my girlfriends this evening and we were all raving about your coffee and how it’s a shame that more people don’t know about you. And we got to thinking, what if you open your own coffee shop?”

A sad smile tugs at my lips. “That’s my biggest dream, to have my own coffee shop. I just don’t think it’s in the cards for me anytime soon.”

“Why not? You’re young and an incredibly hard worker. You could make it happen.”

“I wish I could, but I’d need to save a lot of money before I can even think about opening my own place.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, dear. I should have said this in the first place. My friends and I would be your investors.”

I fall against the wall. “What?”

“We would give you the money to open your own coffee shop. That way you wouldn’t have to take out some predatory business loan.”

I stand there, my mouth hanging open as I struggle to process everything Amy says.

“Wait, you’re serious? You and your friends want to give me money to open my own coffee shop?”

“Absolutely. Bella dear, you have such a talent and you should share it with as many people as possible.”

I’m speechless for a long moment. Excitement bubbles up inside of me at the incredible opportunity that’s just been dropped in my lap. I have to bite back a squeal, I’m so pumped at the thought of finally having my own coffee shop.

But then the logical part of my brain chimes in.

I’d be going into business with my friend’s mom and her friends. What if they hate my vision? What if they change their minds and want to take back their money? I’d be so screwed.

A million other worst case scenarios flash in my mind.

“Amy, this is such a generous offer from you, but I don’t know if I can accept it. You’re my friend’s mom and I’m scared to blur the lines in that way. I’d hate to think how things could fall out between us if we had a disagreement or if someone changed their mind.”

I hold my breath and brace myself for her reaction.

“I completely understand your concern. I’d be worried about that too if I were you,” she says, her tone easy. “But we’d go into this professionally and totally business-minded. We’d draw up contracts and have a legal team go over everything. Everything about this would be fair to you, I promise.”

I’m quiet as I think about what she said. That makes sense. And as long as we go about this in the right way, I’d have a hard time saying no.

So maybe I shouldn’t. Maybe I should take this leap and go for it.

“Can we set up a time next week for all of us to meet and hammer out the details?” she asks. “I’m so excited about this, and I hope you are too.”

Those sparks of excitement from minutes ago fire off inside of me.

I grin so wide my cheeks hurts. “Let’s do it.”

We wrap up the conversation and say good-bye. When I walk back to the table, I’m beaming.

Braden looks at me as I sit back down. “Judging by your smile, I’m guessing you got some good news?”

“Amazing news.” I take a breath. “That was Ingrid’s mom. She and her friends want me to open up my own coffee shop and they want to give me the money to do it as investors.”

His eyes go wide. “Are you serious?”

I nod excitedly. I tell him how next week I’m meeting with Amy and her friends to start planning the coffee shop.

I shake my head, dazed and giddy. “I can’t believe it. I mean, this is my dream. My whole life I wanted to own my own coffee shop, but after my breakup with Matt and losing all my savings, I thought it would never happen. But it is. It’s actually happening.”

I let out a shaky breath. Excitement and adrenaline surge through me.

Braden moves closer to me. He cups my face in his hands, beaming at me.

“I can believe it. You’re brilliant and talented and the people around you see it. I’m so, so proud of you.”

He presses a soft kiss to my lips. Warmth pools in my chest at just how happy Braden is for me in this moment.

“We should celebrate,” he says.

I stand up. “I know just what we need.”

I head over to the bar and order two glasses of Prosecco from the bartender. He steps away to grab my order. As I stand there and wait, I catch eyes across the room with Braden. He winks at me. I blow him a kiss.

“Damn. You should save a kiss for me.”

I turn and see a guy standing next to me. His slimy gaze slides to my cleavage. I glare at him. “No, thanks.”

I scoot away from him, but he follows me, pressing the side of his body against mine.

“Oh, come on. Don’t be like that. You’re hot and I wanted to say hello. ”

“You’re being a creep and I’d like you to leave me alone.”

Instead of backing off, he laughs, like he’s taking my rejection as a challenge.

He reaches out and touches my arm. I pull away. “Don’t touch me.”

He frowns. “What’s your problem? I was just trying to talk to you?—”

Just then, Braden appears next to the guy. He claps a hand on his shoulder, throwing the guy off balance. He frowns at Braden, then looks at Braden’s hand on his shoulder. The guy tries to shrug out of Braden’s grip, but Braden’s bigger and stronger than him.

“You mind taking your hand off me?” the guy says.

Braden stays quiet and shakes his head as he glares at the guy.

“You look hot,” Braden says to the guy. I hold back a laugh.

The guy’s frown deepens. “Um, what?”

Braden steps forward, pinning the guy between his body and the bartop. The guy’s frown fades and his eyes go wide with panic.

“U-Uh…” the guys stammers. Braden cups his free hand around the guy’s face.

“I mean it. You’re a handsome guy,” Braden says.

The guy squirms, but he’s not strong enough to get out of Braden’s hold.

“Dude, I’m not into guys, okay?”

“What’s your problem? I was just trying to talk to you,” Braden says.

The guy stammers some more. Braden doesn’t say anything. He just keeps him pinned between his body and the bar for a few more seconds .

“Feels pretty fucking awful to be cornered by someone bigger than you, right?” Braden says in a low, hard tone.

“Y-Yeah. It does,” the guy stammers.

“So don’t fucking do it to women, you scumbag.” Braden lets go of the guy and steps away. The guy stumbles back.

“Apologize for being a fucking creep to my girlfriend,” Braden orders.

The guy aims his panicked stare to me. “I-I’m sorry.”

“Go away,” I say. He stumbles off.

Braden turns to me and cups my face in his hand. “Are you okay?” His voice is low and soft.

I nod, in awe of how he handled that. “Yeah.”

His soft blue gaze is watchful as he scans my face. “Are you sure? We can go back to the room, if you want.”

I smile softly and shake my head. “No way. The night’s not over yet. I want to drink Prosecco with you, then I want to take you somewhere.”