Page 7 of One Goal in Mind

“Okay,” I say carefully as he sits back in his seat. “I must’ve misread this. Do you have a girlfriend?”

“No, but you have a boyfriend.”

“No, I don’t,” I laugh. “You think I’d kiss you back if I did?”

“Your friend said you have a boyfriend.”

I glance away in thought for a moment, then my eyes widen as a laugh bubbles out of me. “She was talking about you!”

“Me?”

“Yeah, you. After the kiss cam moment, she joked that you were acting like my boyfriend. She even bought me this jersey to drive home the point.” I pluck the fabric away from my chest. “I don’t have a boyfriend, not married. Extremely single… And I’d like to kiss you again.”

He smirks, the little dimple from earlier appearing. “Is that so?

Closing the distance, I cautiously brush my lips to his and whisper, “Yes.”

CHAPTER 4

RUSS

Scarlett is the last woman I should be kissing, but I can’t help myself. She’s beautiful—that’s undeniable—but even if she doesn’t have a boyfriend, she’s Coach North’s sister.

She’s wearing my number—and now I know what her lips taste like. I’m so fucking screwed.

“This is a bad idea,” I mutter, unable to break away from her.

“The worst,” she confirms, and I still can’t stop tempting fate as my tongue sweeps across hers. Maybe we can be friends? Friends kiss. It’s a thing…

No. It’s not.

I’m a willing and able participant, desperate for more of her. Then again, so is she. This siren is only here for a night, asking her to stay with me would be the mistake of a millennium. I’m still sore from the game, and had every intention of going home alone. Why the hell do I suggest, “My place or yours?”

The burger certainly didn't do its job preventing this from happening.

“I don’t have sex with guys on the first date,” she whimpers into my mouth.

“Neither do I,” I tease, making her chuckle against my lips. “Your call, Red.”

“The hotel.” She pulls back, lips swollen and eyes wild. “That way I don’t need a rideshare in the morning.”

My brows pinch. “You think I wouldn’t drive you?”

“I… I don’t know. Athletes have a reputation. Puck bunnies? Isn’t that what you call them in hockey? Don’t you have a new girl every night?”

“Some do.” I shrug. “But if we spend the night together, we’re not having sex. I’m not hooking up with my coach’s sister—it’s too messy—but I also don’t want to say goodnight yet.”

She huffs a small laugh and bites her lip. “Does that line work on all of the girls?”

“I don’t know. Did it work on you?”

“Yes. But you’re serious? You don’t want to sleep with me?”

“I never said I didn’t want to,” I chuckle, unable to hide my smile. “There’s just something about you. I can’t explain it. The moment I saw you, it’s like time stopped. And when that guy tried to touch you, I wanted to rip his arms off.”

“I don’t believe in happenstance. People come into our lives for a reason—either they are going to change your life, or you’re going to change theirs.”

I shift my car into reverse and check the rear window before exiting the parking space. “Are you going to change my life for the better?”

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