Chapter 32
CHAPTER
THIRTY-TWO
JULIAN
My last call of the day went longer than it needed to, and now I’m late for my date with Harper. Running on Julian time is nothing new, but I want to be punctual tonight. It’s important. She’s important.
As I walk out of my office, Violet hands me a black bag from the NHL store. “Thanks Violet. I appreciate your help in making this happen. You’re doing great. Enjoy your weekend.” I appreciate the extra tissue paper and bow she added to make the gift more special. Maybe Violet will work out after all.
When we pull up to Harper’s building, she’s waiting outside. She looks amazing in figure-fitting jeans and a simple button-down shirt and sweater. There seem to be two camps when it comes to female hockey fashion. They either dress to impress or they dress to cheer. Harper is the fan type, and I like that about her. What I don’t like is her waiting on the New York sidewalk.
“What are you doing out here?” When she narrows her eyes at me, I realize I sound harsher than I intended. I do my best to recover from my mistake. “I don’t want you getting cold.” Holding her by her shoulders, I press my lips against her forehead. It's a greeting, far too tame for my liking, but we're short on time.
“You said you were running late, and I didn’t want you to have to wait on me.” She offers a slight shrug, her eyes kind, and I feel the warmth of her forgiveness wash over me.
I pinch her chin between my fingers and make her look at me. It takes everything I have not to get lost in her dark eyes. “Gorgeous, I’d wait a lifetime for you.”
She rolls her eyes at me and groans. “Save the words for the page.”
“But did they make you swoon?”
She shoves at my shoulder. “Absolutely not.”
Forget being late. That needs to be fixed immediately. I lean down to give her a simple, sweet kiss, but one taste of her lips, and my mouth has a different idea. She tastes like peppermint and happiness. I lose myself in her for a moment when a short honk gets my attention. I glance at Kat, and she taps her watch. Shit. Right. We’re late.
“Not even a little?” I tease.
“Maybe a little.”
I laugh as the lie leaves her lips. A little, my ass. I lead her to the car, and we settle in for the short ride to Penn Station.
“How was your day? Any good drama?” She's always hungry for the latest celebrity news.
“Not really. Mostly boring contract negotiations. Nothing as exciting as seeing you tonight.” I tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. “My god, you’re amazing.”
“Please, stop.” She’s not convincing me.
My warm breath ghosts over her skin as I lean in, whispering secrets into her ear, the scent of her perfume filling my senses. “I will never stop telling you how incredible you are, Harper.” A blush creeps onto her cheeks, a rosy hue spreading as she reacts to my words, her eyes lowering with shyness. I fucking love it.
I reach behind us and grab the bag. “I got you a little something for tonight.”
Her eyes light with excitement, and I’m gifted with one of her surprised looks. “Is this?”
I shrug. “Open it.”
She pulls out the Lawson Cartwright Renegades jersey, and her high-pitched squeal frightens Kat. I laugh at both their reactions. Harper lovingly runs her fingers over the name on the back and then tightly hugs the jersey to her chest. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.” She kisses my cheek several times. “You have no idea how much this means to me.”
“I’m getting an idea.” She bounces with joy at my quiet chuckle.
“Look away,” she orders as she tosses her cardigan and unbuttons her shirt. Always the gentleman, I comply. Thankfully, the heavily tinted windows prevent anyone from seeing Harper without a shirt on. Although I try to look away, I see her reflection in the window, and I can’t help but lick my lips at the tease of her perky breasts in a lacy pink bra. She tosses her shirt over the seat and covers up in the red jersey.
Her arms wrap around my waist, and she presses her cheek against my shoulder. “You make my heart flutter.” Her whispered confession wraps around my heart.
“Same, gorgeous. Same.”
“We’re here,” Kat announces. Harper looks around, confused.
“That didn’t take long. I thought we were going to New Jersey?” Her face is a mask of confusion as she tries to figure out our location.
“We are. Traffic is a bitch, and Kat has a date, so we’re taking the train.” Introducing her to different parts of New York is one of my favorite things to do. Today, it’s Penn Station and a quick train ride across the river.
“I thought you hated the subway?”
“Yep, not a fan. But this is different. Come on.” She lets me take her hand, and we make our way to the track as they announce boarding. Several people are wearing hockey jerseys, but Harper’s Renegade jersey stands out. She’s entering enemy territory, but I’ll be by her side the entire evening.
We’re rink side again, and when Chance and Lawson come out on the ice for warmups, Harper jumps up and cheers for them. There’s no swarm of Havoc players vying for her attention. Tonight, she’s all about her brother. She values family, and that’s another thing that makes us compatible. Family means everything to me.
Our popcorn is sitting on the ledge in front of us while Harper snaps pictures on her phone. Chance slams against the glass, popcorn flies into my lap, and her laugh fills the arena. Lawson slams into him, and she laughs harder. Seeing her happy is becoming my new kink.
“Glad you could make it,” Chance shouts at me through the glass. “Why aren’t you wearing my jersey?” He pokes his lip out in a pout.
“You don’t pay me enough for that!” He kisses the glass in front of me, and his lip prints are in my line of sight. Great, I’ll have to look at them the entire game. What a loveable asshole.
Harper loops her arm around mine, and Chance arches his eyebrow. I shrug, pretending I don’t know what’s going on.
The Renegades dominate tonight, and New Jersey isn’t happy about being down four goals on their home ice. They’re pounding on Chance and Lawson pretty hard, but it only increases their chirping and smack talk. When Jack Houston checks Chance into the glass right in front of us, I wince at the hit. That had to hurt. But at least the lip prints are finally gone. My best friend’s face is pressed firmly against the glass, and Harper smacks the glass and yells at them. I swear I see them smile as they skate away.
“He’s so hot,” Harper says when she sits back in her seat.
“Who? Chance?” I may have to rethink my friendship with the loveable and handsome hockey player.
“No silly, Jack. He’s the king of the hockey thirst traps.” Jack Huston is media gold and I’m not surprised Harper follows him. He’s got a new viral video every week, ranging from his snappy media clips to his shenanigans with his brother.
I roll my eyes and pretend to ignore her. That lasts until she puts her hand on my thigh. Nope. Not ignoring her anymore. I lace my fingers with hers and give her hand a squeeze. She wants thirst traps? I’ll send her some of me. There’s no denying I want all of her attention directed at me.
Lawson is cooling off in the penalty box, and Harper watches him with an eagle eye, not missing a thing. “I was worried Lawson would miss his team in Atlanta, but he’s having a good time.”
“Appears that way.” The clock ticks down, and the game ends in a Renegades victory. Lawson is awarded the number one star of the game.
“Come on, want to see him before they leave?”
“I didn’t get credentials.” She looks sad and I need to turn that frown upside down.
“I got you, gorgeous. Let’s go.”
I give her a tap on the nose. When Frankie told her I was the one to get sports tickets, she didn’t fully understand the implication. I can get her access and tickets to any team, anywhere. Being the number one sports agent in the country isn’t usually that big of a flex, but I’m about to use it.