Page 71 of Rainbow Kisses

She snorted gently. “Until he finds out about us.”

Yeah, there was that.

“There hasn’t been much of an us to talk about.” I watched her carefully. “I’m sorry about that.”

She shrugged, her lips in a slight smile. “We’ve both been busy and the holiday…”

“I’m not upset that we haven’t been alone much lately.” Or at all. My mood got serious fast. “I don’t just want an occasional hookup, Rain. Eventually, I’d like to take you on an actual date.”

“That’s not what I want either.” She shook her head. “I mean the hookup. I would like to go on a date. But I understand why we can’t right now. We both have a lot going on.”

We did. Not just me. She had the Winter Carnival coming up, in addition to her full-time job with the Devils and her new bookstore venture with Erin.

“I heard you had good games this weekend,” she continued, “even if we didn’t win both games.”

I let her change the subject to the games this past weekend then let her fill me on how Maddy had spent her weekend with Miss Raffi.

“And what’d you do all weekend?”

I asked before I finished the last swallow of my soda, gathered up the plates and threw them in the trash, while Rain put the glasses in the dishwasher. Just as she turned, I made my move, putting my hands on either side of her hips on the counter, trapping her between my arms.

I loved that little hitch in her breathing as I towered over her.

“I spent time at my mom’s. Spent some time with Erin working on a business plan for the bookstore and cleaning out part of the shop. Caught up on my reading.”

I lowered my head to rub my nose along the side of her neck, feeling her shiver in response.

“What are you reading?”

She sucked in a breath and put her hands on my hips, which, I had to admit, were pretty fucking sore. I hadn’t been kidding when I’d said I’d given Reb a run for his money. I just hadn’t won.

“A new romance.” Her voice held a hint of a smile. “About hockey players.”

I pulled back a little so I could look in her eyes.

“Seriously?”

She nodded. “Seriously. They’re really popular these days.”

“And why is that?”

Her lips curved in a smile that made my heart race.

“Well,” she trailed one hand from my waist up my stomach to lay it flat on the center of my chest. “Hockey players are tall.”

“A lot of them, yes.”

“And muscular.” She patted my chest. “But underneath it all, they’re just big teddy bears.”

I huffed out a laugh. “Teddy bears, huh?”

“Romances are fantasies, of course.”

She was being a brat again. And I was here for it.

“So, you don’t think hockey players can be soft and cuddly?”

She shrugged, her gaze dropping before she looked up at me through her lashes. “I don’t know. I guess some of them are. I like my players with a few rough edges.”

---