Page 32 of Hooking Up with the Hockey Player

This is a new and different sensation for me.

Sure, I mean, I see attractive men and am aware that they’re handsome, but not in any way that I pay close attention to.

I don’t think I’ve ever been this turned on this fast by a man. And to be so suddenly shocked out of our make-out session has me reeling, trying to find my bearings.

Troy pulls his phone out of his pocket, and of course that’s what I felt vibrating. He gives me a rueful smile, his lips pink and swollen from our kisses. I raise one hand to my own lips. Do they look like that too?

“It’s Nick,” he practically growls. “Wondering where we’ve disappeared to.” He glances over my shoulder, his expression regretful. “We should probably head back.” Then he meets my eyes with a cheeky grin. “I promised you roasted marshmallows, after all.”

I return his grin. “That you did. Man, I can’t even remember the last time I roasted marshmallows on a fire.”

His face goes slack with shock. “Seriously? It’s been that long?”

Biting my lip, I nod.

“Well, then, we’ll definitely have to do something about that.” He pulls me in close for one last kiss. I’m pretty sure he meant to make it quick, but once our lips meet, he cradles the back of my head and holds me in place for more.

When my lips curl into a smile despite my best efforts, he lets out a groan and breaks off the kiss, resting his forehead against mine. “You’re right. I know.”

“I didn’t say anything,” I protest.

Pulling back, he squints at me, but his eyes twinkle with mirth. “You didn’t have to.”

Laughing, I climb to my feet and brush the sand off my knees and lower legs.

He makes a quiet sound of dismay, running his fingers over the dimples left by the coarse sand.

“I’ll be fine,” I reassure him quietly. “My skin marks if you look at it funny. They’ll be gone by the time we’re back to the house.”

He grunts, lightly running his thumb over my knee one last time. “I hope so. Or everyone’ll be asking what we were doing that made your knees look like that.” My cheeks turn fiery hot at the implication, and he lets out a wicked chuckle as he climbs to his feet. When my gaze snags on the tent in his shorts, I blush even more. “Don’t worry,” he says. “I’ll defend your honor.” He wraps an arm around me and pulls me in close for a hug and one more kiss, though this one he manages to keep to little more than a peck.

Holding my hand, he leads me back to the canoe, steadying me as I climb in. He pushes it back from the shore, pulling it around sideways and climbing in after me. “Thank you for coming out on the canoe with me.”

I glance back at him as I pick up my oar. “Thank you for inviting me. This is a much better canoeing experience than my last one.”

He chuckles, picking up his oar and beginning to row with strong strokes. I could watch him do that all day, but instead, I face forward and dig my oar in as well.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Anna

Troy’s friends and their kids are gathered around the fire when Troy and I climb up the path to the fire pit. Self-consciously, I run my hand over my hair, hoping I don’t look too red or obviously turned on. Even though we’ve been back for several minutes, after Troy helped me out of the canoe, instead of letting go of my hand, he pulled me in for another kiss, and like at the cove, we didn’t limit ourselves to a quick peck. At least the tent in his shorts isn’t so obvious anymore.

Just thinking about that makes me feel like blushing, so I do my best to think about anything else.

Except the only thing in my brain is the way Troy’s fingers are laced with mine as we approach the fire, and I see his friends noticing that fact. The man—Nick, I’m pretty sure is his name—perches on the edge of one of the Adirondack chairs, his little boy—Noah, right?—stationed between his knees, and they’re both holding Noah’s stick. The little girl who I’m pretty sure they called Shelby stands next to her mom, holding her own stick, and scolding her mom when she reaches out to keep it from dipping into the coals.

“Mo-oom,” Shelby groans. “Stop it! I can do it!”

“Then you need to watch what you’re doing,” Tina responds calmly. “When you looked at Uncle Troy, you almost plonked your hot dog in the ashes. You don’t want to eat an ash covered hot dog, do you?”

Shelby makes a face. “Gross, Mom! Of course not! Why would you even ask that?”

Tina looks at us, her eyes darting between Troy, me, and our joined hands, and gives us a smile. “Hey, Troy. Where’d you guys disappear to?”

“I was showing Anna around, and she mentioned she hadn’t been on a canoe since she was a kid. I decided we needed to rectify that situation, so we paddled around to the cove.”

With one eye still on Shelby, Tina gives an approving nod. “That’s a nice spot.” To me, she says, “Sorry about the awkward welcoming party earlier.”

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