Page 28 of Hooking Up with the Hockey Player

“This is a lovely room.” My voice comes out hoarse, almost cracking on the last word. I gesture toward the window and clear my throat. “The view’s great.”

He nods, taking a step toward me. “Are you nervous, Anna?”

The question is so gentle, it loosens the knot of nerves in my belly that’s been growing tighter since he texted and asked me to come over.

I give a jerky nod and let out a shaky breath, attempting a smile. “Yeah.”

One corner of his mouth hitches up, and he takes another step closer. He’s close enough that I could reach out and touch him if I wanted to. If I were brave enough.

But just coming here has taken nearly all my courage as it is. I don’t think I can close the distance between us.

“What can I do to help you relax?” he whispers.

I shake my head, holding up my hands in a shrug. “I don’t really know. I just feel very out of my depth here,” I whisper back.

“Wanna know a secret?” He leans fractionally closer, his blue eyes twinkling.

The knot loosens a little more, and a genuine smile tugs at my lips. “Of course. I love secrets.”

He studies me for a beat, his smile blossoming. “I bet you do. Does that mean you’re good at keeping them?”

I nod. “Better than you know.”

His eyebrows tick up at that. “Hmm. That makes me want to know what secrets you’re hiding.”

I grin. “If I told you, they wouldn’t be secrets anymore, would they? And anyway, I thought you were telling me a secret.” I mime zipping my lips. “I promise I won’t tell anyone.”

He chuckles. “My secret is that I’m nervous too.”

My eyebrows jump in surprise. “Really?”

He nods, watching me as I process that bit of information. I blink a few times, turning the words over in my head. I make him nervous. Huh.

He holds out a hand to me. “Let’s go walk down to the dock. Movement and water always help calm me down.”

Placing my hand in his, I give him a smile. “Sounds perfect.”

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Troy

This woman is adorable. From her cute outfit to her glasses to the way she interacts with Shelby and Noah.

I could tell she was a little surprised when she got here, and I can’t blame her. I thought she’d text me when she was on her way. Or when she got here. Or something. My plan had been to be in the house when she arrived, but instead, she didn’t respond after I told her to get here as soon as she could, so I wasn’t entirely sure she was coming at all. Plus, Nick and I were talking, and I lost track of time, then suddenly Tina’s hollering at me about my friend being here.

I couldn’t scramble up the stairs fast enough, and then I found her looking almost stunned, standing just inside the door like she was too scared to come inside.

She reminds me of Mitzy, the cat we adopted when I was in high school. One of Mom’s coworkers was moving into a place that didn’t allow pets, so Mom took in this long-haired white and black cat. As soon as we let her out of her carrier box, she darted away and went into hiding. We didn’t see her for weeks and only knew she was alive and still in the house because she used her litter box and we kept refilling her food and water bowls.

One day, I was home alone doing homework on the couch when Mitzy made her first appearance. She snuck out of the hallway, stopped in the doorway, and stared at me.

When I noticed her, I looked up and said, “Hey, Mitzy!”

And she darted away.

The next time she snuck into the room while I was there, I didn’t acknowledge her at all. Slowly, she crept closer. But when I looked at her, she ran away again.

After about a week of this happening daily, she eventually hopped onto the couch next to me, sat down, and started purring. If I tried to pet her, she’d leave. But if I let her be, she’d sit with me. Eventually, she adapted to our house and family, but we had to take it slow and let her set the terms.

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