Page 50 of Holiday Hostilities

“Definitely.” His eyes meet mine. “I’ve always wondered if you’re a lacy camisole or flannel pjs type of girl.”

His tone is almost gravelly, that lowkey flirty voice of his that normally wouldn’t affect me. But nothing about today is normal apparently, and for some stupid reason, my stomach flips, even as I roll my eyes at him. “And you’ll keep right on wondering forever, perv.”

He smirks, like he somehow knows that he’s getting to me. Must be my lack of caffeine intake so far this morning.

“In all seriousness,” I continue as I take a large glug of coffee. “Why don’t you ask someone you’re actuallydatingto come to the auction with you? I’m sure there are many women who’d want to bid on a night with Aaron Marino.”

“I said ‘date with,’ not ‘night with.’” He raises a brow cockily. “I know it’s difficult, but you gotta get your mind out of that sex gutter, Lil Griz.”

“Hey, you want my help or not?” I demand, my face heating. The sex gutter is the last place my errant mind needs to gallop off to. No matter how hot Aaron looks right now, standing in my hallway and smirking at me knowingly.

“I do,” he relents. “And it needs to be you. You’re the only woman I know who dislikes me.”

“Wow. Ego much?”

He shrugs a shoulder. “Just stating the truth.”

“I’d say your stalker doesn’t like you much either, what with Cockroachgate and all that.”

Aaron sighs, his smirky facade dropping.

“It does look that way. The thing is I’ve had… issues with this woman for a while, and now, she’s pulling stupid stunts to try and get my attention. I cannot, in any circumstance, give her what she wants.” His jaw is clenched tight, his fingers absentmindedly toying with the leather bracelet on his wrist. “It needs to be you, because whoever bids on me cannot want to date me for real. I’m not interested in dating at the moment and I can’t have any more blurred lines. Can’t have any more drama in my life.”

From the way he’s looking at me, it’s clear that he’s dead serious about everything he’s saying.

Meanwhile, I’m rather shocked to hear that the infamous Aaron Marino has sworn off dating for the time being. But that’s beside the point.

“Being a good captain to the Cyclones is my top priority,” Aaron goes on. “And this Brandi stuff is taking away from that. Taking away from all the hard work I’ve put in to get to this point.” His brows draw together darkly. “I can’t give her—or anyone else—a chance to get close to me and risk sharing more nonsense story fodder with the media.”

I get it. It makes… sense.

For a man as clearly committed to his career, I can understand why Aaron would be doing everything he possibly can to keep his name clean. It’s a lot of pressure to be under, especially given his new position as captain.

And to be honest, it’s not the craziest proposal in the world. He’s obviously correct in that I don’t—and will never—want to date him.

Sadly, I think he’s also correct in saying I might be theonlywoman who doesn’t want to.

“So?” he asks, his tone imploring. “What do you say?”

“I don’t know,” I say slowly, chewing on my bottom lip.

“You’re looking for a place by new year’s, right? So it would just be a few weeks. And I have a bunch of away games coming up, so I won’t be there half the time. We’ll be like ships in the night, other than for the gala. It’s a win-win for both of us.”

I do like that it’s a two-way street—that he needs something from me, too. And the prospect of staying in his gorgeous, welcoming house is tempting.

But living with Aaron Marino? I don’t know if I could do that.

Because while he’s right that I definitelydo notwant to date him, I do find him dangerously attractive. Still. After all these years.

Living in close quarters with him would be just that: dangerous.

And then, he plays his ace.

“Plus, I’m going home to New Jersey over the Christmas break. You’ll have the place all to yourself.” He smiles charmingly, like he knows he’s about to win. “No Christmas rave.”

Dammit. This is evenmoretempting. A game changer, perhaps. The NHL always breaks for Christmas, and this year, the Cyclones play on the 23rd of December and don’t play again until the 27th.

The exact dates I have off of work.

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