Page 5 of My Athlete Neighbor

She tensed, waiting for the inevitable mention of her grandfather.

"The library in my hometown was my favorite place growing up," he said instead. "It's nice to share that with him."

She found herself smiling. "Next week we're doing dinosaurs."

Max's face lit up. Liam grinned. "We'll be there."

The rest of her day passed normally until her phone rang at three p.m. Her assistant, Jenny, was sick. Really sick. Food poisoning sick.

Allison stared at the Winter Reading Kickoff supply boxes waiting to be unpacked. Normally setup took two people several hours. The event was tomorrow. And she was alone.

She was halfway through the first box of decorations when the children's section door opened.

"Need a hand?"

Kane stood in the doorway, holdingThe Hockey Sweaterand trying to look casual. Like he just happened to be returning a book at the exact moment she needed help.

She should say no. She definitely should say no.

"Actually..." She looked at the mountain of boxes, then back at him. "Yes. If you're offering."

His smile could have powered the entire library.

Two hours later, the children's section was transformed. Paper snowflakes dangled from the ceiling. Book displays created winter woodland scenes. Activity stations waited with goodie bags, craft supplies and reading worksheets.

Kane was surprisingly good at following directions. He'd hung decorations exactly where she pointed, sorted craft supplies, and only made one joke about having experience withgoal-oriented activities.

She was trying very hard not to notice how he looked in faded jeans and a soft sweater. Or how his height came in handy for reaching high shelves. Or how his laugh made her stomach flutter when she told him about her worst story time disasters.

"Excuse me?" A new voice interrupted them. "Is this okay?"

A young Asian man stood in the doorway, professional camera in hand. He gestured at the winter wonderland they'd created.

"Oliver." Kane straightened from where he'd been arranging reading logs. "You're early."

"I was in the neighborhood." Oliver turned to Allison. "I'm Oliver Chen. I do the team's YouTube channel. Kane mentioned you might let me film the Winter Reading Kickoff tomorrow? For our community involvement series?"

“I uh actually hadn’t had the chance to mention that yet.” Kane glared daggers at Oliver.

For a moment Allison was going to get her panties in a twist that another hockey player was using her to furnish his owngoals. But then she got a hold of herself and realized that Kane had really helped her out of a jam and that having someone promote the library for free on social media was a good idea.

So it was a win-win. Even if it still stung a little.

"Fine with me," she said. "As long as we get the parent’s permission for any children on camera."

Oliver's face lit up. He immediately began framing shots, talking about lighting and angles. Kane moved to help him, their easy friendship evident in their banter.

She watched them work, something warm unfurling in her chest. This wasn't what she'd expected when she'd moved to New Haven. When she'd learned her neighbor was a hockey player. When he offered to help her yet again.

Speaking of which...

"Kane?" She waited until he looked up. "Thank you. For all your hard work today. I appreciate the assistance.”

“See Cap, you can assist instead of hogging the puck,” Oliver said.

Kane punched him lightly without looking at him. "I wanted to,” Kane said to her, then added, "Just like I want you to come to our game Friday night."

Her instinctive "no" must have shown on her face because he quickly continued.

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