Chapter 5 #2
I shot a glare Bob’s way, restraining myself from shouting back that it was Zane who had scored both the first go-ahead goal and the winning goal the night before. But instead of putting dear, old Uncle Bob in his place, I took off after my dog and my…
What was Zane to me?
My crush? The guy I couldn’t get out of my head? The guy I was afraid to fall for?
I tried to figure out the answer to my question as I ran.
Zane was the man who’d smiled when I spilled his smoothie all over his shirt.
The guy who thought enough of my dog to bring him a snack wrapped in a napkin after a hard-fought win on the ice.
He was the man who made me smile whenever he was around.
The one who stepped up to help when I was having parking troubles.
Last, but not least, he was the one chasing down my demolition crew of a dog.
I think more than anything else, Zane had become… my friend.
By the time I caught up, Percy was spread out on the grass, scarfing down Zane’s beef jerky like he’d just won the jackpot. Zane worked at the buckle on the harness with a grin on his face. “I think I know what you see in this big guy,” he said, smiling up at me. “You’re into books, right?”
I folded my arms across my chest, suddenly feeling exposed.
I hadn’t told him I worked at a bookstore or that I loved books enough to read the good ones over and over again.
My stash of markers and sparkly pens that were reserved strictly for highlighting the best parts of said books were a secret known only to me.
“How’d you know I like books?”
He chuckled. “You think I don’t talk to my sister?” His voice dropped an octave with his next words and rumbled in his chest. “I know all about you, Wren Penrose.”
I swallowed hard, my legs turning to jelly as his voice reverberated through me. I sat down in the grass on the other side of Percy. “Well,” my voice squeaked, “if you know me so well, why don’t you go ahead and tell me what it is about Percy that I love so much.”
“He never fails to deliver on the plot twists.”
My jaw dropped. “Wow, that’s really… insightful.”
“You sound surprised.” He raised a single brow, his fingers still working to free Percy from his harness.
I shrugged. “I guess I just never thought of Percy in those terms, but you’re exactly right. Life is never dull with him around.”
“He’s a cool dog, but I’m not much for plot twists. That’s one thing I love about hockey—no twists. You go to work, do your job, and win. It’s predictable.”
“Unpredictability’s the spice of life,” I said, stroking Percy while gazing into Zane’s icy-blue eyes. “It’s what makes a story worth telling.”
Zane shrugged, leaning toward me. “I can tell my own story without twists. I like to go from point A to point B with no detours.”
“What about our smoothie fiasco? Was that part of your point A to point B plan?” I rested my forearms on Percy’s back, inching closer to Zane.
The corners of his eyes crinkled as his smile widened. “Okay, I’ll give it to you, some plot twists are good. But I still prefer a third-period comeback to a plot twist.”
“But that’s the biggest plot twist of all,” I said, holding his gaze. “You’ve got to be losing to have a comeback. What better twist could there be than expecting to lose but winning, instead?”
“Ah, but that’s where you’re wrong.” His eyes lit up. “I never expect to lose.” He ran the back of his index finger down the length of my arm, lighting my skin on fire. “My third-period wins aren’t twists—they’re destiny playing out.”
I had no comeback that could measure up to that.
His confidence was on another level—a level higher than I even knew possible—and it was magnetic. He believed he could will anything into existence, and he was probably right. I didn’t think fate would even want to cross hockey sticks with Zane Hayes.
Bookstore Wren tapped me on the shoulder and reminded me that Zane was a player. I told her to go read a book and leave me alone. I wasn’t ready to walk away just yet.
“Don’t you ever worry about losing?” I asked, almost at a whisper, searching the depths of his eyes. My heart pounded, our faces mere inches apart. Zane’s eyes flicked to my lips, and for the second time that day, I forgot how to breathe.
He traced another line up my arm, “I always win the important games.”
I chewed my bottom lip. Somewhere along the line, we’d gone from harmless flirting to something more—something deeper. It was terrifying and exhilarating at the same time. I wanted more. I needed more.
I began to wonder if Bookstore Wren had it all wrong. Maybe the best way to safeguard my heart was to get to know Zane better, not shut him out. If I walked away from him now, I’d wonder what might have been until I was old and gray. Who wanted to carry that question around for the rest of forever?
Not me.
A shadow fell over us. “Um, if you two are done flirting,” Bri said with a wry smile on her lips, “we’ve got a problem to solve.” She gestured toward the shards of wood around us that had been a wagon fifteen minutes ago.
I blushed, scrambling to my feet.
Zane placed a dramatic hand over his heart in mock surprise. “Yeah, Wren, take it down a notch. I know you’re into me, but we’ve got a wedding to prepare for. You’ll have to flirt later.” He wagged his brows at me, then gathered the broken pieces of the wagon before heading toward the gazebo.
I was speechless, with my cheeks burning and my mouth hanging agape.
“Don’t let him get under your skin.” Bri laughed. “I know my brother, which means I know who started the flirting.”
I was about to apologize for making Bri’s special weekend about me when she looped her arm around mine and gave it a squeeze. “You know my brother has a bit of a reputation, right?”
“I kind of got that impression last night at the game.”
“Some of it was earned.” She shrugged. “But some of it wasn’t. He’s a good guy, Wren.”
We strolled toward the gazebo with Percy, Bri’s words sinking into me along with a strange tingling sensation. Was she giving me permission to date her brother?
“He’s been asking about you for years, you know,” Bri said.
My stomach dipped. “What?”
“Yeah, all it took was one look at a pic from college, and he was hooked.” She laughed.
“He’s begged me to introduce you ever since.
But I always told him that if it was meant to be, it would happen without my interference.
” She stopped and sighed with a twinkle in her eyes.
“And here you two are, hitting it off all on your own.”
I allowed my gaze to find Zane. He knelt by the gazebo, laughing with a group of men as he tried to piece the wagon back together. Something velvety warm, like melted milk chocolate, filled my stomach and flowed to every part of my body. I didn’t know him that well, but Bri did, and I believed her.
Zane was a good guy, and I’d been going about this whole thing all wrong. Was there a chance that he wouldn’t like the real me if he got too close? Yes. But I’d never know if I didn’t let him in, and with Bri’s blessing, that was just what I was going to do.