Page 7 of One Pucking Chance

Annalise turns to walk farther into the studio, and Penny waves us forward.

The team follows Annalise, and I hesitate, grabbing Penny’s wrist. I pull her to the side as the rest of the guys pass us. “Why didn’t you warn me she was going to be here?” I whisper under my breath. “I could have made a better first impression.”

“Well”—she gives me a coy smile—“I was going to tell you, but you were so busy talking about the closet incident that it must have just escaped my mind.” The corners of her mouth tilt up further.

“Penny, that is so not cool. You know she is my dream girl!”

“Yes, Jaden, I do know that. And let this be a lesson.” She points her index finger toward me. “Do not talk about me and my husband or any closet blunders we may have had in our past or might have in our future.”

I quirk a brow, grinning. “Future?”

She bobs her shoulder. “Just covering my bases. Have you met my husband?”

I swipe my forearm across my face, my cheeks still moist from the tears that leaked from my eyes during the episode. “Still…this was so not cool, Pen,” I grumble.

“I think you mean to say, ‘thank you, Penny,’ to which I would say, ‘you’re welcome.’”

“So you set this up for me?”

“Of course, I set this up for you.” She pushes my chest lightly. “I heard that this movie was being filmed, and I know that Annalise is very active at charity events during the month of October in honor of her mother. So I made some calls, talked to her rep, and I set this up. The studio agreed to host, seeing that it would bring some positive PR to their movie.”

“I can’t believe you did this for me,” I say, truly touched that she went through all the trouble to arrange this.

“I do what I can.” She squeezes my arm and grins. “And if you promise to never talk about the closet mishap again, I have another surprise for you.”

“Never! I will never say one more word about anything to do with a closet ever again. In fact, I’m going to banish that word from my vocabulary. I promise.”

She chuckles. “Okay, well, I may have just happened to set the pair of you up side by side.”

“No!” I cover my mouth. “Oh my God, Penny. I just want to hug you right now.”

“Well, let’s keep it professional.” She gives me a wink. “But you’re welcome, and have a great night.” With that, she turns and follows the others.

I run my hands down my jeans, suddenly nervous because this may be my one and only chance to make a second impression on the woman of my dreams, whom I never thought I’d actually meet in person. I don’t take many things in life too seriously—well, besides hockey, that is—but everything else? It’s all a game to me. And who knows? Maybe this is too.

The fact remains that I have a couple of hours to charm Annalise Sterling. And if this is a game, it’s a game I have to win.

CHAPTER

FOUR

ANNALISE

I’m not a fan of sports, and I can’t say I’d recognize any of these guys if my life depended on it. I know they’re famous in their own right, but ice hockey is just not an area I’m familiar with.

The group of guys are nice. They seem surprised to see me or to even be here. I’m not sure they were really filled in on what this night would entail. I’m introduced to a lot of them right off the start. One in particular, I think he said his name is Miles, asks me all sorts of set-related questions. I don’t know if he really cares about the process of making a movie or if he’s just looking for a way to connect, but it’s nice.

The head of PR for the Cranes, Ms. Dreven, asks us to take our seats, informing us that our guests are arriving.

The team follows me to the line of long tables set up for the meet and greet. Folded name cards are placed along the edge of the tables, and I see my nameplate in the middle of the group. To my right, there’s a name I don’t recognize, so I can only assume it’s one of the hockey players. Then all the names to my left belong to the cast and crew of the movie.

The name beside me is Jaden Lewis, and I don’t know whether to feel intrigued or terrified when I see who this name belongs to. Out of all the hockey players, he is the one I’m most intimately acquainted with, as I had to wipe his spittle from my face. Obviously, he didn’t choke on purpose and project his saliva all over me for the fun of it. And admittedly, ick factor aside, it was a little amusing.

His big brown eyes dart toward me, and I can't tell what he’s feeling as he closes the distance between us. He’s tall and tan, with the perfect bone structure, a chiseled jaw, full lips, and that dark, disheveled hair that says “I wake up with hair this perfect.”

To his credit, I’m sure most women find him quite handsome. As far as conventional beauty standards go, I suppose he is, but he’s definitely not my type. Not that it matters. This is a charity event, notThe Dating Game.

Jaden sits to my right. “I’m really sorry about earlier,” he says. “That was awful, and I’m quite sure I may have spit on you.” He scrunches up his nose and looks at me expectantly.

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