Page 37 of Going All In

He moved into the seat next to her and put his arm around her shoulder.

She froze. “What are you doing?”

“Couple selfie time,” he said, scooting in closer. “Act like you can’t wait to rip my clothes off.”

She laughed and looked at him, just as he snapped the picture. He showed her the photo.

“Perfect. Now act like you’re seriously smitten.”

She rested her head on his shoulder and stared at the camera, a soft smile on her face. A smile that he wanted to see first thing in the morning.

Where the hell had that come from?

He pushed that disastrous thought aside and smiled at the tiny camera, quickly taking a few snaps.

“Perfect. Posted and tagged. Now we can enjoy the rest of the night.”

She laughed, and he felt it in every nerve ending.

“What did you post?” she asked, and he handed her the phone.

No one else I’d rather spend Valentine’s Day with.

“Cute,” she said.

“So, what do you love the most about watching me play hockey?” he asked, knowing she’d roll her eyes but needing to lighten the mood.

“Oh, you’re just so mesmerizing on the ice. As graceful as a figure skater,” she said, batting her eyes and teasing him right back.

“Smart-ass.”

“What? You don’t want to be compared to a figure skater?” she asked.

“Actually, I took figure skating lessons when I was younger for a couple of years. I swear it helped me perfect my skating for hockey.”

“I would’ve paid to see you in skintight Lycra.”

“Dirty girl. I was a child,” he admonished.

“Anyway.” She rolled her eyes again; he loved the playful side of her.

“So are we all set for dinner with your family this weekend?”

“Oh god, I’m going to apologize in advance.” She groaned before she knocked back the rest of her wine.

“It’ll be fine. I promise.”

“Can we not talk about that now? Honestly, it freaks me out, and I hate that I’m lying to them.”

“But you have a solid reason. Okay, so no family talk tonight,” he said as their meals were delivered.

“I want to hear more about you dressing up and visiting the hospital. How often do you guys do that? It’s super sweet,” she said, cutting into her filet mignon.

“Most major holidays. Westie, one of my teammates, has a program called Westie’s Warriors. He invites kids from the children’s hospital to games and we visit the hospital throughout the year. His girlfriend is a doctor there.”

“That’s nice. I bet your agent loves that,” she said. “I’m sorry. That was really cynical.”

“No. My agent loves it. He’d have me there every week if it’d make a difference. But I like doing it, and that has nothing to do with signing a contract or looking good to management.”

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