Page 11 of Scores Of The Heart

A slow smile creeps over his face. I quickly see that it didn’t bother him at all. “I think I hurt you more than you hurt me,” he says.

I can’t help but smile too, shyly. All the while, it creeps into my mind about what Andrea was saying earlier about him hanging around. That’s hardly what he’s been doing, though. In fact, I’ve rarely seen him.

“What brings you down to this neck of the woods?” I find myself asking. Then I want to slap myself. Since he works for the Seattle Hawks, he has every right to be wherever he wants. The question is moot. He’s the star defenseman after all.

His eyebrows shoot up like he’s surprised by the question. “I had some tactical things to discuss with your da— er, Coach,” he amends. “Before the meeting.”

I hide my smile by pressing my lips together. “I hope you got all that sorted out. He’s a hard man to catch.”

“No truer words spoken.”

I giggle girlishly, something I rarely do. I’m just about to check in with myself when Andrea almost crashes into the back of me, racing out the door to catch me and Simon. She stops in her tracks when she sees me talking to Tyler, holding onto me so she doesn’t fall on her face.

“Oh, umm.” She looks from me to Tyler, then back to me again. “Hi, um, Tyler,” she says, pushing her huge thick-rimmed glasses up. She’s like a turtle going back into her shell the minute something unexpected happens.

“Hey, Andrea,” he says, looking up from her name badge. “I’ll see you ladies later in the team meeting?”

I swallow and nod. Is it only now I’m just noticing he’s even cuter than I thought he was? And he towers above me, taking up the whole space in the hallway.

He’s larger than life. I thought I was on the tallish side, but next to him I don’t feel tall.

I lower my glasses from my head and briefly chew on the arm. “See you there.” I manage, as Andrea still hasn’t formed any more words. “And sorry about spilling the coffee.” I glance back down at his shirt.

“Any time.” I think I hear him say, but I can’t be sure. He smiles, the corner of his mouth turning up. He has a small amount of stubble and a strong jawline. But it’s the dark, penetrating eyes that get me. His smile is pretty cute too. It lights up his whole delectable face.

I have to tear myself away. Well, Andrea does. I feel her pulling on my arm as we edge toward the break room, though my feet feel like lead. Tyler and I keep looking at each other until I reluctantly break eye contact as we walk away.

It’s not like I’ve forgotten he’ll be at the meeting, he always is. It’s usual that we have our own admin meeting first up, then we join the team meeting after that. Every Monday morning it’s the same during pre-season and season training.

Only today, I think it’s going to be a whole lot more interesting, if that hallway mishap is anything to go by. I could feel the intensity coming off him, and maybe a little cockiness, too.

“OHMYGOD,” Andrea is whisper-shouting next to me as we hurry down the long hall. I don’t even look back, scared of what I might find.

“Now that I can agree with,” I say, aware of how my heart is racing and the way he just got me all unglued. “Weird how we were just talking about him and then he appears!”

“Talking about who?” Simon butts in as we walk into the break room. Thankfully, he’s the only one in there.

“You just missed Tyler Peterson,” Andrea informs him. “I think he likes Cindy.”

Simon’s eyes bug wide as Andrea steps in to make the coffees since, technically, she walked in last. “Do tell!” He grins.

I wave it off. “It’s just a theory Andrea has conjured up from nowhere.”

“Ha! Tell that to Mr. Dark penetrating stare! He couldn’t keep his eyes in his head, Simon. You should have seen it.”

“I wish I would have,” he grumbles. “Nothing that exciting ever happens around here.”

“Could be an interesting team meeting,” Andrea giggles.

“Only if Ulrich is there,” Simon sighs. Ulrich, the Hawks goalie, is a big solid-set guy with not too much to say for himself.

“Well, we know Tyler Peterson is going to be there.” Andrea waggles her eyebrows at me, and I find myself blushing. And that’s ridiculous.

Why am I blushing? And why does she keep using his full name like that?

I crashed into Tyler. So what? He has a cute smile, a gorgeous face, and a very nice body from what I felt with our collision, anyway.

I tell myself that’s all it is, just aesthetics. He’s a pretty boy and the bad boy of the ice.

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