Page 37 of Hate to Love You

“Working out.”

I smirk. “If you do it the right way, sex can be a great workout.”

She throws another fry at me, and I chuckle. “I don’t want to talk about sex anymore.”

“If you insist.”

“I do,” she sighs. “I totally insist.”

Instead of talking, we dig into our food. It only takes five minutes for me to polish off the meatloaf and potatoes. Lou really nailed it today.

“Have you ever cheated on a girlfriend?” Natalie asks.

The question seems to come out of left field, but I take it in stride. “No.”

She looks both surprised and mildly impressed. Can’t say I’ve ever seen that look on her face before. “How many girlfriends have you had?’

“Including you?” I ask.

She rolls her eyes. “Sure, why not.”

“One.”

She blinks and drops her chin before asking, “You’ve never had a girlfriend?”

“Never wanted one. I’ve always been too busy to get involved. After high school, I played juniors for two years. We traveled a lot. There was no time for relationships.” I cock a brow. “The same goes for Whitmore. My focus has been the NHL. The last thing I need is to get distracted.” It doesn’t escape me that I’m parroting my father’s words back to her.

“Yeah, I guess that makes sense,” she says thoughtfully.

After a few moments, I squirm beneath the intensity of her gaze. The way she pins me in place almost feels physical in nature. No one has ever taken the time to really look at me. They don’t see past the hockey prowess and the pretty package. And up until this point, I’ve been fine with that. For the first time, I can’t help but wonder what Natalie sees when she looks at me.

Breaking the heavy silence, I repeat, “I think this relationship can be a mutually beneficial arrangement for both of us. Just think about it.”

She shocks the hell out of me when she says, “Okay.”

I wasn’t expecting such an easy capitulation. In all honesty, I wasn’t expecting a capitulation at all. It wouldn’t have surprised me if she threw her drink in my face. “Okay, you’ll do it?”

Her shoulders sag, and she says begrudgingly, “Yeah, I guess.”

This was the outcome I’d been hoping for but didn’t think would actually come to fruition. To say that I’m relieved is a vast understatement. I want to pump my fist in the air but contain myself. Barely.

Looking dead serious, she says, “Don’t make me regret this, McKinnon.”

I grin and settle back against my seat. “Would I do that to you?”

“In a heartbeat.”

I chuckle. “I’m going to be the best fake boyfriend you could ever ask for. You just wait and see.”

Natalie groans and lays her forehead on the table. “You realize that this situation has disaster written all over it, right?”

“Have a little faith, Davies. This is going to be epic.”

I wink and laugh when she groans again.

Chapter Thirteen

Natalie

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