Page 60 of Ice Mechanic

I am personally offended. “No, they’re not. They’re magnificent. Why would you say your freckles are ugly?”

A nurse passes by and gives us a curious look.

The tension returns to April’s body and her smile disappears again. “Stop joking around. I shouldn’t be laughing right now.”

“Why not?”

“Because…” Whatever she was about to say, she decides not to share and instead gives me a polite nod. “Because I’m letting out my ‘only in front of family and friends’ laugh.”

“Oh? And which one am I?” I step forward and she shuffles back. “Family?” Another step. Her back hits the wall and I brace a hand next to her head. Leaning down, I add, “A friend?”

Her eyelashes bounce like a chihuahua on a trampoline. She bites down on her lush bottom lip. “I… you’re not either.”

“What if I want to be?”

“I’m confused. Which one do you want to be?”

“I don’t want to choose.”

“But—”

“A ‘boyfriend’ counts as both, right?”

Her eyes widen slightly. Her nose flares. “That position’s filled.”

“Lucky guy.”

“Stop joking around.”

I sweep my thumb over one of her freckles. “What if I’m serious? What if… I’ve been thinking about you all day and I really want to take you out on a date. Soon.”

“How soon?” she answers sassily despite her very obvious blush. “I’m kind of busy.”

My lips curl up in amusement. “We’re heading out of town for a week—Max has us training with another team, and then I have a photoshoot so I’ll fly out and be back by Saturday night.”

“Isn’t that Saturday your first game?” she asks.

I flash her a disarming smile. “You’ve been keeping up with my schedule.”

“I’m just worried you’ll be too tired to parade around town with me. Wouldn’t the Sunday be better?”

“I won’t be able to wait until Sunday.” I stare into her eyes that are the color of expensive, turquoise gemstones. “Let’s have dinner after the game. That way, whether we win or lose, I’ll end the night happy.”

If she blinks any faster, she’s going to create hurricane-force winds with her eyelashes and then she’ll start levitating off the ground.

“There you are, Chance! I was looking everywhere for you.” Derek’s voice attacks me like a swarm of bees.

I groan and hang my head, slowly removing my hand from the wall and freeing April. The moment my agent sees her, he brightens like she’s his next big paycheck and hurries over to her.

“Nice to finally meet you, er, what was your name again?”

“I’m April,” she says. The red stain still hasn’t left her cheeks.

“Ah yes.” Derek winks. “The pretend girlfriend.”

Instantly, the air between me and April gets tense.

Not that Derek notices.

---