Page 53 of All Your Pucking Secrets

“Hey,” I say in greeting.

“Morning, Echo,” Jin replies, then glances at Tyler. “Hi.”

I hesitate for a couple of seconds before sitting, wondering briefly if I could persuade Elle to swap places with me, but doing so would only make things more awkward. I can handle being beside Tyler for an hour without making a fool of myself by crawling onto his lap.

I pull the chair out and sit, breathing in the mouthwatering aroma of coffee. There’s a thermos in front of Jin, and Elle has her hand wrapped around a takeout cup. Tyler is the only one who hasn’t brought caffeinated support.

“Great game over the weekend,” Elle says to Tyler as he slides into the chair beside me, taking up more space than necessary. He spreads his legs and his knee brushes mine. To my astonishment, he immediately jerks it away.

“Thanks,” he replies, barely glancing at her. “We’re still in pre-season, but it was a good chance to see how we work together on the ice.”

Elle leans forward, her low-cut top slipping further down her chest. “I think you’re going to lead the team to the trophy.”

I meet Jin’s gaze and roll my eyes, refusing to allow myself to look at Tyler. Jin is about as much of a sports enthusiast as I am—which is to say, not at all, unless the right incentive is there. Honestly, I don’t think Elle loves hockey either. She just wants a hockey-playing boyfriend she might be able to latch onto all the way to the NHL.

“I’m not the captain,” Tyler says. “I’m not leading the team anywhere.”

Elle laughs, as if he’s joking, but I know Tyler’s various tones well. He’s completely serious.

Perhaps I’m judging her too harshly. I hardly know her, and it’s not her fault she reminds me of Whitney.

No. Don’t go there.

I adjust my position on the uncomfortably hard seat. “Let’s go over everything we’ve already done.”

We each report back on our work so far. Surprisingly, everyone seems to be on top of their part of the project, even Elle, who seems more interested in making cow eyes at Tyler than completing our assignment.

Don’t be so judgmental, Echo. She doesn’t deserve it.

After we’re all up to speed, we compile a list of reference books we might need. The room is overly warm from all four of us being crammed into it, and the stuffiness is getting to my head, so I volunteer to track them down.

“I’ll help,” Tyler says, pushing his chair back and jumping to his feet.

I barely resist the urge to look up at the ceiling and groan. Of course he can’t let me have a little time and space to clear my thoughts.

“Would you?” Jin asks. “It saves us having to squeeze out around the desk.”

“Yeah, no problem,” Tyler replies.

Jin sends the list of books to us in a group message, and we leave the study room. I know the library well after several years here, so I know where to start looking, but I doubt Tyler does. He follows behind me but keeps a respectful distance.

“I’ll look for the first one,” I tell him.

“Then I’ll take the second.”

I turn into an aisle and begin skimming the titles. They’re not on the first side, so I pivot to check the other and find Tyler much closer than I expect. I jolt in surprise, and he jumps out of the way.

Literally.

The man is beside me one second and three feet away the next.

Strange.

I reach for the book and out of the corner of my eye, I see him lift another down from a shelf and check the front cover. I tuck the reference book under my arm and refer to the list. The next one is back the way we came, so I brush past Tyler, but as I draw level with him, he jerks away, knocking into the shelf beside him.

“What is with you?” I demand, stopping and crossing my arms over my chest. “In our last meeting, you were going out of your way to touch me, and now you can’t seem to get away fast enough.”

“I’m trying to respect your physical boundaries,” he replies, not meeting my eyes.

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