Page 58 of Some Like It Hot

“Does your grandmother know how you feel?”

“She does.”

The waiter delivers our salads, and our conversation pauses again. But when he leaves and we start eating, Blake picks the conversation back up.

“It’s my sense of family and home that’s hurting me with her, actually,” he says, scooting the cucumbers and onions to the side and mixing dressing over the rest of his salad. “She knows that home and family are important and she’s worried I’m letting my chance pass me by. She’s afraid I’m going to end up just being the fun uncle.”

I snort. “Fun? Does she have you mixed up with someone else in the family? Are there a lot of cousins or something? Is she easily confused?”

He just grins. I like that I can poke at him and he takes it in stride.

I take another drink, then ask, “Why won’t she just let you have the cabin because you love it? She doesn’t think a woman would ever go up there with you?”

“I wasn’t exaggerating when I said that I want to go up there and live alone. Away from the world. Unplugged. My least favorite part of being a professional athlete is all of the PR that goes with it. I hate social media. I don’t love fan meet and greets. Really hate talking to the media after games. I just wanna play hockey. And when I’m done playing hockey, I just want to hike and fish and enjoy nature.”

“But really all by yourself?”

“I’m really good at being alone.”

“You don’t think you’ll get lonely?”

He gives me a little smile. “If I want human connection, I know how to get into the cities. And I expect I’ll be back in Chicago to visit from time to time.”

I feel my stomach flip and tell myself that’s stupid. He’s teasing. Yes, he’s insinuating that when he misses sex, he knows how to find it. But the comment about visiting Chicago isn’t necessarily about me.

And I remind myself again that I have two other guys who also seem to want to spend time with me.

Of course, one of them, the one who, after only one night, I am already feeling some pretty strong feelings for, is going back to London at the end of March. Blake and I aren’t the only ones who have a deadline.

My stomach dips at that reminder, but not in a good way.

“So you and Simon? And Aidan?” Blake asked, as if reading my mind.

I pick up my martini and take a sip. Then shrug. “Yeah.”

“But this is new. The three of you haven’t been together before. Or yet.”

“I see you and Aidan were chatty in the kitchen.”

Blake grins. “I was curious, I’ll admit.”

“I guess if I showed up at your apartment first thing in the morning and two other women were there, I might be a little curious.”

He laughs. “Would you be ready to talk about making it into a foursome right away?”

I laugh. “No. That doesn’t sound nearly as much fun as what we talked about.”

I feel his hand on my thigh, heavy and hot. He strokes his thumb up and down my inner thigh just above my knee.

“Why did you say yes to this? To helping me, I mean?” he asks.

Dammit. I can ignore answering that question for myself, but how can I avoid answering him?

“Seemed like it could be fun,” I tell him. That’s not a lie. There is something that sparks in the air between Blake and me that does always make me enjoy myself. “And I guess I didn’t have a good reason to say no.”

“I’m glad. I do think it could be fun. Maybe we should go over some rules. Talk about what we’re gonna tell people.”

He seems to have abandoned his salad, his hand still on my leg.

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