Page 45 of Heartfelt Goals

Laurel just sat there on the couch, looking at him as he moved about in the kitchen and sighed. Her secret was safe, but what would that even get her? Dustin had shown little interest at all in her, and the one time she picked up that he might be looking at her differently, he flat out said ‘no’ and insinuated that they should be friends… with a possibility of a ‘somedaymaybe’ in the far-off future. All she had was her dreams, her imagination, and her fantasies – which he couldn’t know were based on him.

She was doing what she was told in order to keep her publisher happy. When they ordered ‘Add more spice,’ and Laurel’s sales took off… she followed their direction without question. If they said ‘write a contemporary romance’ – that was her next book. If they wanted a historical romance, then there would be soooo many ripped bodices in her next project. Yeah, it was incredibly embarrassing to find out Kendall was reading all of her books because they were not intended for her age group – nor did she realize that her sister was looking at her vision board.

Her vision board was currently in the bottom of a box, wrapped in tissue paper, and hidden from Dustin. She would burn it before she ever showed it to him or admitted that she created her characters from aspects of his personality. Yeah, her stupid crush was all-encompassing and unrequited… and she probably should have given up long ago.

“Laurel?”

She blinked, snapping out of her daze as the sound of Dustin’s voice pulled her back to the present. Turning her head, she found him settling onto the couch beside her, his broad frame sinking into the cushions with an easy familiarity. In his hands, he balanced two steaming mugs, the tea tags dangling over the edges, swaying slightly with each movement.

“Your tea?”

“Oh.” She hesitated before reaching for the warm ceramic, the heat seeping into her fingers as she wrapped them around the mug. “Thank you. Sorry, I guess I got distracted… or maybe I’m just tired.”

“Or both?” he offered, his voice soft, laced with something that felt suspiciously like concern.

She huffed a small laugh, nodding. “Yeah, maybe both.”

For a moment, they simply sat there, the quiet between them settling like a comfortable blanket.

“It was nice meeting your team,” she admitted, glancing his way. “Everyone was so friendly, and it was great seeing all the families there.”

“Thatwasnice tonight, wasn’t it?”

She nodded. “I thought it was sweet how they were handing out shirts, beads, and so many goodies. The whole team seems really invested in making a difference for the fans.”

Dustin turned to her with an easy smile, the kind that made her stomach feel oddly light. “I’m glad you went.”

“Me too,” she whispered, then hesitated. A thread of doubt wove through her words as she admitted, “I didn’t want it to be weird for you.”

“Why would it be?”

She bit her lip. “Because we’re just friends… and they’re all married. I mean, just look at Coeur—that man has no shame.” She leaned in conspiratorially, her voice dropping into a whisper.

Dustin let out a low chuckle, his whole body shaking with amusement. “Can you believe they’re going to mic up Coeur and Boucher for the first game?”

Her eyes widened. “Oh boy…”

“Yep.” His grin deepened as he shot her a sideways look. “The Coyotes have this whole reputation for being one of the cleanest-talking teams in the league. They figured those two would be a good test run.”

She arched a brow. “Why not you?”

Dustin gave her a lopsided smirk, his expression turning almost sheepish. “I’ve been known to slip once or twice.”

Her jaw dropped in mock horror. “You?” she gasped. “Are you telling me that Mr. Nice Guy has a potty mouth on the ice?”

His smirk turned rueful. “Well, if you’re hurting and someone knocks you down, you don’t exactly yell ‘ouch’ or ‘darn it.’”

She was about to tease him when, suddenly, he… twitched. His facetwitchedat her.

At least, she thought he did.

No,wait.

He winked at her.

…Or did he?

Her brows furrowed, suspicion flickering across her face. “Do you have something in your eye?”

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