Page 50 of Pucking Flames of Love

“That’s about the only way I can celebrate,” I chuckle, not that I mind. I haven’t missed drinking alcohol one bit. Although I have to admit, Vibes isn’t the most fun place to be sober, we only ever go there when the team wants Alex to hang out with them.

“The best thing about your new job, Riley, is that the office is right across the street from me. I’ll get to see you every single day.”

I love that, too. There aresomany great things about my new job. I can’t wait to really throw myself into it, to see what I can do.

“We’re going to have the best time!”

I clink my tea mug against Sara’s as if we’re drinking cocktails, which makes us both laugh. It really does feel like everything has gotten so much better for me ever since I started living for myself. That’s a life lesson I will take from all of this for sure.

“Ooh, look who it is,” Sara says in a sing-song tone of voice. “Lover boy is here.”

I always find the way that Sara acts around Alex so funny. His fame and power in the sports world don’t mean anything to her at all. She doesn’t know anything about hockey and who he is asa sports star. She just sees him as Alex, which I’m pretty sure he likes. They certainly get along well, which makes everything so much easier for me.

“Hey there.” Alex waves at Sara, but I can see him side-eyeing the cakes. Just like me, he has a big sweet tooth and loves everything that my best friend makes. “Ooh, looks like you have a good selection today.”

“You want to try something?”

There’s something a little… weird going on.

The conversation might sound straightforward enough; there’s nothing too odd happening with the words that Alex and Sara are using, but there’s something inexplicable in the air. I canfeelit.

Another thing I’ve learned is to trust my gut.

Have they planned something? Some sort of celebration party? I wouldn’t put it past them, but I don’t know if I quite have the strength for it today. The interview drained me of energy. I gave so much over to it, and now I just want to chill out with the people closest to me.

Not that I’ll complain, because it’s really sweet of them. I’ll muster up the effort from somewhere.

“Yeah, I think I’d like the chocolate cake.”

Okay, that was weird. Alex was so stoic, like the words were strange to say. I keep darting my eyes between the both of them, but neither of them is giving anything away.

Sara nods once, then heads to the back. While she’s gone, I jump off my seat to hug him. I can’t wait to tell Alex about what happened today.

“So, I had my interview,” I say with a sly smile. “And it was… well, it was difficult.”

“Difficult? Did they give you any idea how you did?”

I want to tease him, to act like there is a chance it all went wrong, but the joy is bursting out of me and I can’t help it. The excitement bubbles over, and I tell him the truth.

“I got it! They want me to work for them, so they immediately offered me the job.”

As Alex scoops me up into his arms to spin me around as best he can. I’m a lot heavier now, but it’s my growing belly that creates the difficulty. The lights start to dim, and music plays over the stereo system. I feel like I recognize it from somewhere, but I can’t put my finger on where.

It certainly isn’t the sort of music Sara usually has flowing through her bakery, which is what makes it strange. Plus, the fairy lights flickering around the room capture my attention. There isdefinitelysomething going on here, and I need to know what now.

“What is this?” I ask Alex in surprise. “Do you know what’s happening?”

“Do you recognize this music?” he asks me with his head cocked to one side. I can tell by the way his eyes are flickering with excitement that I should know what’s happening here. “It’s actually the music that was playing in that elevator when we first met.”

“You remember that?”

He laughs at my shock. “Yes, because it was the same music every single day. But itisspecial to me now, of course, because it reminds me of you.”

I’m touched. I can’t help it. That is really sweet. Even if the music is the same every single day, whateverthisis, it’s adorable. I’m overly emotional already, and I don’t even know where this is going to lead.

“Wow, that’s really nice, Alex. Funny… especially because I thought you hated me then. The first time we met, I got the impression that youreallydidn’t like me.”

He tosses his head back and laughs. “I judged you because of your career.”

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