Page 39 of The Puck Stops Here

‘Of course you are,’ he replied. ‘I’m just assuring my overly concerned brother that you’re safe being left in my hands.’

‘Why wouldn’t I be safe?’

Oh, heaven help her… as if she didn’t already know.

The brothers sized each other up, some silent message passing between them.

‘Yes, why wouldn’t she be safe?’ Blake pushed and Aiden shook his head, got to his feet and shrugged on his jacket.

‘It’s been lovely to meet you, Astrid.’

‘It was lovely to meet you too.’ She gave him her trusty dazzles, swallowing the rising flutters and the nerves. ‘I’ll see you at the rink Tuesday, if not before.’

‘Tuesday?’ Blake said.

‘That’s the plan. I’m hoping to catch your training session and then Cheryl has our one-to-ones scheduled in, back to back.’

Cheryl was their publicist, the woman who should have had the situation all in hand long ago. Not that she was about to discredit the woman openly; she could totally see what a challenge Blake would be. And how butting heads over this could have led to her losing her job, too.

Far safer for an outsider, aka Astrid, to come in and threaten the status quo.

‘So soon?’ Blake said.

‘The sooner the better,’ she replied, keeping her focus on Aiden. On the plan and the job and not the distracting man beside her. ‘It will give me a better understanding of you both and from that, I’ll be able to work out where to head next. I promise not to make it too gruelling.’

Blake cursed and Aiden smiled, all charm and cooperation. ‘Makes sense to me.’

‘I guess it does,’ his brother conceded.

‘You know it does. I’ll see you at home later, bro.’

‘Sure.’

They watched him leave, her eyes drifting back to Blake and then she saw it, the mischievous spark in his eye.

‘What did you do?’

‘I don’t know what you mean.’

She dared to lean closer. ‘You have that look in your eye.’

‘You say that like you know my full array of “looks” and I assure you, you don’t…’ He leaned closer too. ‘Though I’m more than happy to run you through a couple more.’

How did he turn everything into a come on?

Perhaps because youwantit to be a come on?

Ignore. Ignore. Ignore.

‘It’s the same look you had in your eye when you were verbally sparring with your brother earlier.’

‘Ah… that look.’

‘So?’

‘So?’

‘What did you do?’

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