Chapter 1 #2
Instantly, I’m offended, as it’s a sore spot.
“Just because my dad is floating in cash from his little investment empire, I assure you that his ability to step on the ice is non-existent, and I had to work just as hard as anyone to land a spot on the college team, then be to be drafted and play pro for a few years. And last year? You know, coaching a team that actually made it to the playoffs? Yeah, that’s all me, princess,” I bite back.
It only causes her to grin. “Touchy.”
I roll my eyes and internally remind myself of Declan’s words, but this woman pulls at me in every miserable yet enticing way, and we’ve only just met. “How is it going with your life? Out from under mommy and daddy’s thumb? Or still playing messenger so you can see your parents every day?”
She doesn’t flinch an inch. “Life is going perfectly, thank you. I will not apologize for my mother owning a beautiful lingerie company or that she has taught me the art of designing and creating dresses. A profession passed down generations. Tradition and all.” Grace seems completely comfortable and confident with her belief.
Proven by the fact that she pretends to evaluate her nails.
The confidence is refreshing. She’s on my level, and it’s compelling to see, which is why I ease and tone down my smirk as our eyes lock. “Seems we might have things in common then.”
“Hardly. I have a feeling that I get more excited for the team Halloween party than you.”
“It’s the start of the holiday season, what’s not to love?
” I’m sarcastic. Halloween rolls into weeks of crunchy leaves and pumpkin lattes and all the crap that people say they love.
Then comes Thanksgiving, and the family doesn’t back off for the next six weeks.
There are too many holidays between now and January.
Hey eyes squint, and she seems to be studying me, and I return the look. “Yes?” I wonder.
“Nothing. It’s just… I’m sensing you actually have a soft spot for Christmas.”
I sigh and shake my head as I lean my back against the wall with my hands stuffed in my pockets and my ankles crossed, our proximity still far too close. “I’m like you from what I heard at the table. It’s Chrismukkah in my family.”
“Ah.” Her smile is genuine. “What’s the divide? Mom or dad?”
“Hanukkah is from her side, and my dad is all Christmas. Some years they go crazier for one over the other.”
She clucks her tongue. “My mom too. I’m named after her grandmother.
Ruth is my middle name. Normally my dad and mom flip a coin because even when we do both holidays, it feels like one always prevails over the other.
This year, I don’t think they even tossed a coin, it’s more that she isn’t even religious, yet heard the local rabbi is going through a divorce, and she thought of presenting that option to me.
It’s totally fine. He’s one of those liberal Judaism guitar-playing kind of guys.
Trying to relate to the younger crowd. Could have potential.
” I sense that her wit is out, and I find it funny.
“You sound convinced,” I say, playing along.
She wiggles her finger at me. “Trust me, it would probably be more bearable than if I brought home a hockey player. That would be an intense holiday dinner. Sometimes, I’m convinced my dad is a secret agent because his interrogation skills are top notch. It was hell when I was a teenager.”
“Should he have been worried?”
Grace fakes a gasp. “Of course not. I was a perfect straight-A student who most definitely never ever ditched a class at Lake Spark Academy to hang out with the quarterback on the football team.”
I chuckle because she is a character, that’s for sure. “Is that why there is a memo that every guy from the team should stay outside a ten-mile radius of you and Willow?”
Her eyes blaze open. “Is there?” Her face screws up. “Because for Willow, the owner’s daughter, I know there is. Declan would get that player traded faster than you could sneeze.”
“Fair enough.”
We both give the older man walking by a mere glance before our sight darts straight back to each other. “Anyhow. You can warn your wife that the Halloween party is the start of holiday hell for most of us. But hey, if there are no puppies, then at least there are decorative cookies.”
“No wife or girlfriend,” I clarify bluntly.
She brings her hands together and near to her chest. “Oh, really?” She fakes shock. “I was getting concerned about five sentences back that I was flirting too much when my conscience hit me. Then I remembered that I should probably double-check a fact that I already suspected.”
I chortle a laugh and can’t help the grin that I shouldn’t be sporting. “I would say that I should be concerned about every word in that sentence, but…” The way the corner of her mouth is etched with a shade of a gentle smile draws me in. “I guess I’m not,” I softly answer.
She hums a sound.
I lift a finger into the air. “You know, you really are a Gracie instead of a Grace. You are too bubbly and playful to be just a Grace.”
Her brows lift. “I’m also not five with piggy tails, so nicknames are not needed.”
“Too bad. I’m calling you Gracie.”
Her eye roll is classic but suits her. “So be it. Nobody listens to me anyway.”
For a second, we both stand there in a moment that feels like an October breeze. Refreshing yet there are unsettling leaves that blow around.
There is something about Gracie that feels like she is causing chaos in the air around me. That’s probably why I can’t seem to shake my thoughts and force myself to step back, instead opting for our stare to linger and my eyes to drop down to her lips.
I’m a guy with needs, and sometimes you need a no-strings-attached night. Yet, every alarm in my head has me screaming that she is trouble and I should walk away.
One of us breaks the moment, and I can’t even say who. “Well, you should get back to your little meeting.”
“I should,” I agree.
After a long moment, I finally move. She has the same thought, and we nearly run into one another. Our feet shuffle, but we keep moving to the same side.
“Oh, sorry,” she apologizes, but there is no need. I just got an opportunity to orbit closer to her body that radiates warmth, the smell of roses wafting in the air. And when we finally move in opposite directions, we both pause.
“Seems our feet have different ideas,” I comment. Because my thoughts involve inappropriate behavior.
Her eyebrow rises, and I realize that she might have picked up on my less-than-honorable thoughts. Maybe that is why she seems entertained.
Clearing my throat, I move us past that. It’s been a fun few minutes, but I have a team to manage and no distractions to be had.
We both give the faintest of smiles for our goodbye. “See you around, Coach,” she rasps in passing as she walks away with a sway to her hips. I don’t even think it’s forced, she is just a natural tempting creature.
My jaw flexes side to side as I take a moment for myself.
I know one thing for sure. At tomorrow’s practice they are going to catch hell, because I need to work out some frustration that I didn’t get to touch the woman currently walking away.