Danielle
She has a crush, and she doesn’t know what to do about it because it is the least opportune time for this to be happening.
You know, with grief and everything trying to take up most of her time.
She’s been texting with Andrew for the last week, and every single time her phone buzzes she grins in anticipation of what he’s going to say.
They have more little details of their lives in common than she ever thought possible.
They love the same shows, the same music, they make the same pop-culture references when the moment calls for it.
And he’s kind . He’s someone as clear as water .
There’s no deception, no anger, no malice in his words or his attitude. He genuinely has a heart of gold, and is such a caring, loving human it makes her chest ache.
She never thought she’d be this caught up in a hockey player again, not after Jet.
Every time the door to the bookshop opens and he’s standing there with an iced coffee in his hand for her, her heart skips a beat and she has to turn away to hide her smile before taking it.
She thought that her feelings for Jet in high school were intense, but what she feels for Andrew is nothing like those were. She’s not sure if it’s because she’s an adult, or because it’s him.
He’s a calming presence. Someone who makes her feel stable, while also making her heart race and making her feel excited for the morning to come so that she can see him.
It also doesn’t help that he loves Harper.
He’s known her all of a week, but Harper lights up every time she sees him, and all but begs for his attention.
Danielle has caught him coloring with her, having conversations about Dukes of Hazzard and Barbie, and helping her learn how to read and tie her shoes .
He treats her like her six-year-old opinions are the most important thing in the world, and every day, Danielle sees Harper’s eyes shine just a little brighter. Her smiles get a little bit bigger, and her drawings of her family start including Andrew in them.
Danielle didn’t think her heart could melt again, not after she had left it frozen and behind steel walls in her chest for so long.
Not after she had been hurt, repeatedly, by people in her life that had been so important to her.
She’d had a lot of learning and growing to do, but even then, she kept her walls high.
She felt like she’d had to, if only to keep her heart from the warmth that would finally thaw it.
Andrew is breaching the walls day by day.
He’s climbing them, getting his fingers into the forming cracks and making his way over them instead of blasting through them like anyone else would. He’s patient, taking his time, like he wants to know her.
And she wants to let him.
She thinks that he could be the first person in her life meeting her without some preconceived notion of who she is and what she’s about. That he could be the first person who sees her .
Andrew: coffee?
Danielle: is that a question?
Andrew: forgive me for asking what you want
Danielle: good boy
Andrew: first of all, how dare you
Andrew: I’m all man
Danielle: prove it
Andrew: don’t tempt me, woman
Danielle: you’re ridiculous
Andrew: what of it?
Danielle rolls her eyes and heads back into her office. The door is unlocked, but it’s a Monday. All of the weekenders have gone home by now, but a new group of people should be in by Wednesday. She loves tourist seasons, but she also can’t deny that the quiet is nice, too.
Andrew, as always, shows up fifteen minutes after she opens, styled in her personal kryptonite combination of a white t-shirt and jeans with his frayed baseball cap, coffee in hand for her, so that he can get his daily briefing.
There are projects that she needs him to do, and he’s also an athlete which means he’s conditioned to be early for everything .
No matter how trivial it is.
And for an NHL player, working at an indie bookstore in the mountains is about as trivial as it gets. She has to hand it to him, though, he’s been nothing but dedicated to what he’s been doing at the store, even hanging back after closing to dust shelves.
She’s pretty sure she’s living every female hockey fan’s wet dream, having a captain working for her and seeing him every day while the rest of the NHL wonders where he’s disappeared to.
Not that she’s keeping up with the gossip.
She hadn’t lied when she had told him that she googled him after listening to that podcast episode, but only to read his player profile.
Of course, the minute she had, a flurry of trading rumors had exploded on the screen and she had nearly gone down a YouTube rabbit hole to see his playing style, and what might have triggered him going off the grid.
It couldn’t have just been missing the goal.
She knows that he’ll tell her when he’s ready.
In the meantime, he’s doing just fine as an employee, and she thinks that they’re on their way to being actual friends. Even if she’s a little skeptical that he’s staying with Jet and Ainsley .
There’s no telling what they’ve said about her. She wasn’t the greatest to either of them when they were younger.
“Your beverage, Madame,” Andrew says, handing her coffee out to her with a flourish.
He bows low, hat flopping onto the ground in front of him as his hair falls into his face and she rolls her eyes.
Andrew stands to his full height, grinning as she takes the drink from him.
She tries, and fails, to be annoyed as he settles his hat back on his head.
“Thank you,” she says, taking a sip. She can almost feel the caffeine sink into her bloodstream and she hums in content.
“What’s on the list for today?” he asks, sipping his own coffee and watching her.
He rarely takes his eyes off of her when they’re in the same space, and it’s not in an unsettling way.
She feels at ease in his presence, like he has her back in any situation, like he’ll be there if she needs anything.
“We have to reset some of the displays,” she says. “I thought you could have your own… if you wanted. Just to put some of your favorite books on.”
“Really?” he asks, raising a brow. “You want my favorite books on display? ”
“If you want,” she repeats with a shrug. “It’ll drive sales. People love to know what their favorite celebrities have read. Now that the town is getting wind that you’re the hot-shot NHL player here, they’ll be curious.”
She’s also curious about how well-read this man is, but he doesn’t need to know that.
“I’m not much of a reader,” Andrew says, teasing glint in his eye. “That’s always been JT’s job. But, I’ll give it a shot if I can find the books I’m thinking of.”
“If we don’t have them, I can order them,” she replies. “I’ll have to, anyway. I’m doing my own list, and so is Cara.”
“You know how to make a man feel special,” he says, teasing, as he sips his coffee. “Anything else?”
“I have inventory we have to pull for returns, which will probably take a week at least.”
“Is Cara coming in today?”
“Not until the afternoon, why?” she slides the list across the table to him, waiting for him to extend a hand and take it.
He watches her hand him the piece of paper like it’s the most attention-grabbing thing in the world, and she feels her face warm .
She tries to stay as cool about this as she can when he’s around, but sometimes it’s unavoidable. Especially when his focus is on her, and he’s making her feel like the only thing that matters.
He grabs the paper, her eyes trailing up his forearm slowly.
From the tiny scars that make up the back of his hand, to his slightly crooked index finger that tells her he’s probably broken it.
To the leather bracelet and up his the rest of his forearm to where his bicep disappears under his shirt sleeve.
“Harper asked if I could take her to get ice cream,” he says, cautiously, “and I told her I would ask. Would that be okay with you?”
She studies him for a moment, trying to get a read on his motives. If he even has any. The man in front of her is as clear as Mirror Lake on a Tuesday.
“Why?” she asks.
“Why what?”
“Why are you doing this?” she asks, before she can stop herself. “You show up in Lake Placid and get a job at my store, and you want to hang out with my – Harper. Why?”
“Call it… looking for what’s important in life.”
There’s a pause .
Andrew pulls his hat off and runs a nervous hand through his hair. “Can I take her? You can come if you want.”
She studies him for a moment, finding only honesty. She trusts him, she realizes, more than just about anyone these days, and so does Harper.
“You can take her,” she says, finally. “Only a small. In a dish. She makes a mess if she gets a cone.”
“You got it, boss,” Andrew says, million-watt grin splitting his face as he salutes her. “I’ll get to pulling inventory.”
“Hey, Andrew?” she calls, he turns, blue eyes meeting hers. “What’s with the bracelet?”
He looks down at his wrist, then back up at her.
“My mom got it for me when I got drafted in college,” he says, “It was a really big deal for me, and now I keep it on as a fidget, mostly.”
“What’s on the beads?” she asks. He crosses the room and holds his wrist out for her so she can look closer.
This man has forearms to die for, tanned and strong, with corded muscle that can only scream ‘hockey player’. His arm flexes and she’s not sure if he does it on purpose .
“Nineteen was my number in high school,” he says, showing her the first bead, he slides the second and third beads around the cord, “seventy-four was college, twenty-six was my number when I played in the Olympics, and thirty-four is my number now.”
“Okay, we’re definitely not going to pretend you didn’t just say you played in the Olympics ,” she says, “because seriously what the hell?”
“I mean, we didn’t even place, but yeah, that was a thing,” he says with a shrug, “I don’t really bring it up much. People tend to forget if you don’t win.”