Page 27 of Puck You Not

I pressed my mouth to hers, stopping her words.“Don’t thank me.I like having you here.”

Avalon smiled shyly, tucking a long strand of her hair behind her ear.“I like being here.”

“Good.Now, tell me about your day.Hopefully, our schedules will mesh up.”Watching her, I took a sip of my coffee.We’dmesh upalright, even if I had to adjust my own day to make it happen.

Eight

Avalon

“Holy crap, that’s Parrish Locksby,” my coworker, Denny, breathed.He’d just arrived to relieve me from my shift at the library’s circulation desk.

I looked up from placing my notebook in my backpack.“You know him?”

“Pfft…” he scoffed.“Of course.Captain of the hockey team, second year running, headed to the pros?Just about everyone knows him.Never seen him in here, though.”

“I’m sure he reads and studies,” I laughed, amused by Denny’s obvious hero worship.He was usually someone obsessed with Dungeons & Dragons and a good twenty-sided die.I’d never seen him star-struck over a jock.

“He’s heading over here,” my coworker hissed.“Let me help him when he gets here.”

I waved a hand.“I just finished my shift, but I don’t think he’s here for help.”

Denny rolled his eyes at me.“Well, then why is he here?”

He cut off as Parrish reached us.Parrish grinned at me, his avid gaze eating me up, making me kinda wish I wasn’t wearing my gray cardigan and tweed pants.He didn’t seem to mind, though.

“Hey, sexy librarian.You about done here?”

“Yeah,” I answered.

“This isn’t a hook-up place.Don’t talk to her like that,” Denny butted in, sounding annoyed.

“Denny, it’s okay,” I said.“He’s—”

“No, it’s not.”He glared at Parrish.“I thought you were cooler than that.”

Parrish’s brows rose, but his amusement was clear.“I think you got the wrong idea.I’m picking her up from work, not trying to have a hookup.She’s my girlfriend.”

Girlfriend?A warm flush flooded through my body, and I couldn’t stop my wide smile.If I was his girlfriend, then Parrish was my boyfriend.Right?

He reached over the desk to snag my backpack.

“Girlfriend?”Denny echoed.

“Yeah.Is there a problem here?”Parrish asked.His arm slung around my waist, tugging me close to his side.

“No problem,” I cut in.“Parrish, this is my coworker, Denny.We’ve worked together for a couple years now.He’s kind of protective…apparently.Denny, this is my…um…” I swallowed, feeling like I’d dropped into one of my manuscripts.“Boyfriend.This is my boyfriend, Parrish.”

Parrish thrust his hand out to the other man.“Nice to meet you.”

“Yeah!Wow!”Denny said, pumping Parrish’s hand and forgetting his momentary animosity.It seemed as if he deemed everything well in the world again.“Nice to meet you!I didn’t know Avalon was dating anyone.I don’t like it when guys pick on her.”

“Pick on her?”Parrish echoed, his voice darkening.

“Yeah…some assholes like to play jokes—”

“It’s only happened a couple times,” I cut in.“It’s nothing.”

But Parrish looked pissed.He suddenly looked like he’d fight all my dragons and I wondered if this was what his competitors saw before he and his hockey stick kicked their ass.

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