Page 46 of Glitz & Goals

Jaime releases my shoulder, but he continues to pin me in place with his glare. “What are your intentions with Viv?”

I give him a lopsided smile. “More like, what are Viv’s intentions with me? I was hoping you could givemesome insight.”

The two of them exchange a glance. “She’s a total heartbreaker,” Jaime admits.

Mia nods her agreement. “No man has ever been able to tie her down. Many have tried, and all have failed.”

“Cool. Because my intentions would be honorable if she had any interest in making things official.” I look her way again.

Jaime pouts and widens his eyes as if I’m a really cute puppy. “Oh, poor thing, you’re smitten.”

“Hardcore smote,” Mia agrees.

Being “hardcore smote” feels like someone reached into my chest, rearranged everything without asking, and then left me to figure out how to function with this new, all-consuming gravitational pull toward Viv. It’s not just attraction—it’s thisbone-deep certainty that we’re headed someplace special if she’ll just give it a chance. And yeah, it’s terrifying, because I’ve never been the guy to lose my head over a woman. But here I am, absolutely wrecked in the best, most frustrating way possible.

I look back and forth between the two of them. “Any words of wisdom?”

Mia purses her lips and taps one finger against her chin. After a painfully long pause, she says, “Release all expectations.”

I grimace. “Anything else?”

Jaime tilts his head to one side. “Live in the moment. Love her as long as she’ll let you.”

“I meant wisdom on how to successfully win her heart,” I explain.

Jaime shrugs. “Sorry, Mr. Elevator. You seem like a nice enough guy, but our Vivi is an independent woman. She’s got commitment issues.”

“And abandonment issues,” Mia adds. “Don’t you dare tell her I said that, but it’s true. After her parents—” She cuts herself off.

“We’ve talked about them,” I hasten to explain. I don’t want her to feel like she’s revealed a secret. “But Viv said that she’s well-adjusted on that front.”

Jaime casts me a pitying glance. “You can’t acknowledge what you don’t understand.”

“She’s pretty self-aware,” Mia adds. “But she’s got this whole complex about leaving people before they leave her, and I promise you, it came from somewhere.”

That makes sense. I nod as I mull this information over. “So your advice is to prove to her that I’m not going anywhere and hope that’s enough?”

“Sure.” Jaime shrugs. “Sounds great. Now, let’s check out the buffet before it’s fully picked over. Dante doesn’t fuck around when it comes to snacks, and I’m starving.”

Chapter Fourteen

Vivian

The guys are finishing up morning skate when Renee, some guy named Attila, and I all march out to the ice. Attila is dressed in the new Venom mascot costume, holding his head under his arm. It took me a few tries to come up with a design that I was happy with since I do want the new team mascot to look more badass than cartoony, but I also needed to design something that a person could safely skate in. There’s the added consideration of the rink’s low temperature, which made it a little different than designing a Cirque costume, plus the fact that the costume might have to fit multiple body types depending on how many people need to use it.

“How are you feeling so far?” I ask.

Attila shrugs. I don’t know if this is because he’s indifferent to the costume’s fit or if he doesn’t speak much English. In Dante’s circles, there seem to be a steady stream of young Italians with limited English vocabulary. I’ve opted not to ask too many questions and adopt the Kermit the Frog adage: but that’s none of my business.

It doesn’t seem like morning skate is officially over yet, but the guys are already circling up to see what’s going on. Attila sits rink side to pull on his skates, then yanks the tall snake head into place. It makes him look about a foot taller, and I think it looks pretty damn good if I do say so myself. Attila sails onto the ice to a round of applause. The players’ response requires no translation, and pretty soon the mascot is hamming it up to their boisterous approval.

“Looks good to me,” Renee says.

Grady leaves the younger guys to dick around on the ice and heads over to us. “Nice costume,” he says.

“It was my idea,” Renee tells him. She gives him a sly smirk. “Funny thing… one day Viv was in here and got stuck in this mermaid costume.”

“Really.” Grady manages to keep a straight face. “Imagine that.”

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