Page 13 of One Pucking Chance

His thumb taps the steering wheel, and I find myself oddly fascinated with his hands. “Well, seeing that you’re a Cali girl, I thought you should have the perfect fall experience. In my opinion, autumn is Michigan’s superpower. There’s not much better than it. Not only does it bring the start of the hockey season but it also has some other great perks, which I’m going to show you tonight.”

“The leaves are beautiful.” I look out the window, wishing the sun hadn’t already set. It would be nice to see all the colorful foliage.

“They are.”

“We’re not doing anything pertaining to hockey, right?” I ask.

He quirks a brow. “Not a fan?”

“Not really. I’ve never seen a game.”

“You’ve never seen a game?”

“Nope.”

“So you really have no idea who I am.”

“Zero idea.”

He chuckles. “Well, I’m kind of a big deal.”

“Oh, I’m sure you are.” My words drip in sarcasm.

“In some circles.” He shrugs. “I did help our team win the Stanley Cup this past June, and while you probably don’t know what that is—it’s huge, like the Oscars of hockey.”

“That’s cool.”

He laughs again. “You don’t want to be here, do you?”

“Not really, no.”

“Well, I hope I’ll have changed your mind by the end of the night.”

“I guess we’ll see.”

CHAPTER

SEVEN

ANNALISE

The drive to our destination is uneventful, filled with generic get-to-know-you questions about each of our industries. I’m more informed about hockey, and now know that Jaden is a defender, which is basically exactly how it sounds. He protects his team’s goal against the opponents' advances while trying to get the puck back to his teammates. I have to admit that the passion with which he talks about his profession is infectious and warms my heart. It’s hard to hate on anything that someone else loves so much. I may not have been raised around sports, but I find myself curious to see a game. A little tidbit I keep to myself. This evening with Jaden is a one-night thing.

I didn’t feel a big draw toward him yesterday at the charity event, but the more he talks, the more at ease I am. He has this lightness to him that counteracts my more serious nature, and it’s refreshing.

We’ve been traveling on some backcountry roads for a while, and he starts to slow down. I have to stop myself from gasping as we pull into an orchard. White twinkle lights are wrapped around the trees on two rows, creating a magical path that extends into the center of the orchard.

Jaden parks the car at the edge of the tree line, and we get out. “Have you ever gone apple picking?”

“No, I haven’t.”

He extends his hand, and for some reason, I take it. “Let’s go.”

We stroll between the two lit rows, making our way farther into the orchard. The lights illuminate the picturesque trees with their apples. Yellow apples grow from the row of trees to our right, while the trees to our left carry red ones. Our surroundings are so pretty, it’s hard to believe it’s real. It feels like a movie set, fabricated to look beautiful. Yet it’s different because the grass moves beneath my boots with each step. The leaves of the trees sway with the warm autumn breeze. The air carries a hint of sour-filled sweetness from the apples that have fallen and have started to decompose atop the grass.

“This is so pretty.” I feel my walls—the ones I have built high—start to fall as genuine emotions come to the surface.

Jaden squeezes my hand as we continue to walk through the orchard. “Yeah, despite growing up here, I didn’t go apple picking until I was an adult. I heard all the guys talking about it and wanted to see what it was like for myself. Apples are one of my favorite fruits, but I’m telling you, not a single apple in the store compares to one picked from a tree.”

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