Page 37 of Power Play Pursuit

I give her a nudge. “Come on, you totally did.”

She sighs, walking past me. “Fine, they were kind of cool.”

“I have some trophies too,” Miles says. “But I keep mine in my office. Less braggy thanthisone.” He hits me with a light punch in the stomach.

“Right. Well, I’m going to get my stuff,” Elizabeth says, a smile dancing on her lips.

Once she leaves, Miles turns to me. “So, you finally got her to stay with you,” he says, eyeing me suspiciously. “You’d better be a gentleman.”

I cock my head to the side. “When am I ever not?” In a more serious tone, I add, “You know I like her. I’d never do anything to make her uncomfortable. I’m just goofing around. She needed a place to stay, and you know I don’t like being alone for too long.”

“Yeah, no kidding,” he says, rubbing his buzz cut. “I couldn’t get one weekend alone with my wife this summer.”

“Oh, come on. I went to Europe for an entire week with Hawthorne to see the Grand Prix. You had plenty of time alone with her.”

He bursts out a laugh. “Yeah, one week. You leech. And that wasbeforethe wedding.”

“What can I say? I love you, bro,” I say, bumping his shoulder.

“Careful there,” he teases. “Don’t want to exhaust yourself. Remember, you’re still in recovery.”

“Haha. Very funny. I can still kick your butt if I want to.” I throw him a kick, and he traps my head under his arm. I know he’s going easy on me, but I’m not.

“Hey!” Elizabeth calls out, her tone stern. “What is going on here? I leave you alone for five minutes, and this happens! You have got to be kidding me.”

I press my lips into a thin line, and Miles swallows hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing. The situation is pretty ironic. We might be two burly grown men, but this woman has all the power in the room.

“Sorry,” Miles mutters. “We were just playing around. He’s fine.”

“Yeah, it’s all good.” I nod, smiling. “But thank you for worrying about me.”

She shakes her head, then sighs. “Well, I have everything. Can you help me bring this upstairs?” she asks, and I grab her suitcase.

“What time are you going to the arena?” I ask Miles.

“Actually, I should already be there,” he says, checking his watch, and a pang of disappointment hits me. “But come back later today—around threefor a game of NHL Master.”

I force a smile. “Sounds good.”

“You two had better behave this time,” Elizabeth warns as she hauls her other bags toward the door.

“Don’t worry, we’ll stick to video games. No risk getting injured there,” I reassure her. And as much as I like playing, that’s also why it’ll never be as thrilling as a real hockey game.

“See you later, bro.” Miles waves as we head out.

We take the elevator back up to my place, and I notice a familiar underwear tote bag in her hand.

“Don’t you need help with that?” I ask with a grin. “All those panties must be hard to carry.”

“Haha, you’re hilarious.” She narrows her eyes. “Don’t make me and my panties regret moving in with you.”

I pretend to zip my mouth shut and throw away the key.

Once we bring her stuff to my apartment, I walk her to work. It’s a sunny fall day, and it’s nice to get out and enjoy a breath of fresh air.

“So, I’ve been wondering, where does your love for baking come from?” I ask as we stroll side by side.

“My parents,” she says, turning to me. “They actually ran a restaurant in New Jersey for twenty years. When I was younger, I spent all my free time there, helping them, learning the ropes. It was how we spent most of our time together. If I wasn’t in the kitchen with them, I was at Grandma’s playing cards.”

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