Page 121 of Defensive Zone

“Yes. Home. Perfect,” she said.

“You’re perfect,” he said.

Her fork was halfway to her mouth. “Stop slowing me down with your endearing comments.”

He barked out a laugh and then pressed a quick kiss to her cheek.

The conversation while they finished their meals was light, but the tension was simmering, and she’d inched even closer to him.

“Baz. I mean, Mr. Bastian,” a man’s voice said, and Gabi looked up to see two guys at their table.

“Yes. Can I help you?” Max asked.

“Sorry to disturb you, but we’re huge fans. You kick ass on the ice,” the second guy said.

“Thanks. Always nice to meet the fans,” Max said.

“Our wives told us not to come over, but we couldn’t pass up the chance to say hello,” the first guy said.

“It’s fine,” Max said. “Sorry,” he muttered to her.

Gabi wondered how common this was. Yes, he was a big sports star, but hockey wasn’t insanely popular like other sports.

“Any chance we could get a quick picture?”

“Uh, sure. Of course,” Max said, standing up and moving between the two men for a selfie. He grinned for the camera. “Sorry, you get all the teeth tonight.”

The men laughed. “It is date night,” one of them said.

“Again, sorry for disturbing you,” the other guy said as they shook Max’s hand and then went back to their table.

“Mr. Bastian. Can I have a picture, too?” a little boy asked from the other side of the table. He was standing with a woman who was probably his mother.

“He was adamant and you’re here, so I hope you don’t mind,” the woman said.

“Sure,” he said, taking the time to chat with the kid and take a few pictures.

Gabi spotted some people taking out their phones to take pictures of Max, and they were not subtle.

“Max,” she started.

“I’m sorry, Gabi,” he said when two women approached.

“You are such a great hockey player,” one of them said, tucking her hair behind her ear and giving Max a bright smile.

Gabi bit back a snarl as the woman basically shoved her breasts in Max’s face. At least he leaned away from the tart.

“Thank you. I love meeting fans of the game, but I’m having dinner with my girlfriend.”

Point one for Max.

“Oh, right,” the woman said. “We saw a few other people approach you, so we figured it was okay.”

“Just a picture?” the other woman asked.

“It’s fine,” Gabi said. It was annoying, but he had called her his girlfriend and was putting a stop to the stream of fans. She had to give him credit for that.

“Just one picture and then we’ll leave you alone,” the flirty woman said.

---