Page 17 of Heartless Pucker in Love

As we walked through the lobby of the hotel, he took a moment to glare at his cast. “I’m serious,” he hissed. “It’s coming off today.”

I figured he had to be messing around, or maybe he was just in a bad mood...still. We’d been in LA for two days, and his mood had gotten progressively worse. I gathered that it had to do with being stalked at every turn, as well as being a hot topic in the sports world.

Word had gotten out about his injuries, and everyone wanted the tea straight from the horse’s mouth. People figured out what hotel he was staying in, and we were practically attacked by a reporter as we exited the Ritz-Carlton this morning. The man shouted questions at Julian as we hurried to the chauffeured car.

“Julian, will you be sitting out the entire hockey season?”

“Do you think this is a sign that you should retire?”

“What about your endorsement deals during this time?”

One particular question had gotten Julian really heated. “Hey, who’s the girl? Is that your new lady?” That one pissed me off too. I didn’t want to be a hot topic with Julian, as his

“new lady.” I wanted to defend myself but luckily, I’d swallowed my outrage and my need to vehemently deny that I was Julian’s anything.

“No, the cast is not coming off,” I firmly told him. “You need six to eight weeks to properly heal. You’ve only gone one week in the cast.”

All I got in response was a scowl. We reached the elevator and reached for the button at the same time. The slight brush of his fingers against mine made me gasp and pull away as if it burned. Julian dropped his hand to gaze at me with raised brows, and my face burned with embarrassment. It happened again. We both reached for the button simultaneously, and I pulled away with an annoyed growl.

Julian’s deep chuckle sent irritation shooting through me. I glared at him. At least one of us found our awkward moment amusing. “How about you let me press the button?” he suggested.

“You’re injured.”

His brows drew together. “It’s an elevator button, April, and I’m hardly handicapped.” He held up his right hand. “Besides, I’ve got one good hand left.” A teasing smirk formed on his lips. “So I can still open the elevator door for my new lady.”

“Don’t even joke about that,” I snarled and stomped ahead.

Snickering, he joined me, standing way too close, so I shuffled further away. Of course, that made him laugh harder. I rolled my eyes. He took nothing seriously.

“Good to see you’re back in good spirits,” I murmured, watching the posh hotel lobby disappear behind the elevator doors. We were the only ones on board, and it got super quiet. Uneasily quiet.

Sighing, Julian said, “Relax. I already have my manager on PR duty. By this evening, the world will know that you’re my nurse and that’s it.” He glanced my way. “I’m sorry about that, by the way. I should have warned you that being seen with me would bring you unwanted attention. The masses tend to speculate when they see me with any female.”

I couldn’t blame him for other people’s assumptions, could I? Shrugging, I said, “It’s fine. I was already aware of the risk.”

Julian’s expression went dark. “Being near me is a risk? Ouch.”

I rested a hand on his arm without thinking. “Hey, you know what I mean. No offense.”

We both stared at my hand on his arm. Registering my huge mistake, I snatched it away. His eyes remained locked to the area of contact. “Yeah, I guess I know what you mean,” he muttered, then went quiet.

He didn’t say another word until we reached our floor and the door slid open. We strolled to our rooms...no, our suites. We had two suites on the top floor. Of course, we would. The private jet should have altered me to the fact that we’d be staying someplace lavish. Most girls could get used to the expensive linen, gorgeous marble floors, and luxurious bathrooms but not me. This was Julian’s life. I didn’t fit into it. In a matter of weeks, we’d part ways and I wouldn’t see him again, probably for another decade. Funny thing was, I’d kind of miss Julian. We’d been in each other’s company for just a few days, but he has been growing on me a little. Sure, we bickered about the silliest things, but he wasn’t all that bad. Of course, I still resented him, and a part of me wanted to know if he held on to some resentment too...

“What do you want for lunch?” he asked, taking me by surprise.

“You don’t have to worry about me.”

“Nonsense, I have you galavanting about?according to you?so I have to feed you.”

A smile tugged at my lips. “So you want to have lunch...together?”

He lifted a brow. “Is that a problem?”

Eyes narrowed, I considered. “You brought me to your business meeting.”

“And?”

“It wasn’t necessary. Now you want to share a meal.”

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