Page 10 of Romancing the Grump
“What? No.” I shove the last bite of my sandwich into my mouth, buying myself a little time.
I like the idea of Nathan trying to impress me way too much, which gives me a terrible sense of whiplash. Why would the same guy who was borderline rude and dismissive in the parking lot at the start of the week be trying to impress me at the end of the week?
I’ve seen Nathan exactly three times since the team meeting on Monday morning.
Once when I dropped by Gracie’s place to return a sweater I borrowed, and he happened to be leaving Felix’s place, which is right next door. Once when we arrived at the Summit at the same time, and yes, Ididpark in his parkingspace, andno,he did not complain. And once when we wereleavingthe Summit.
All three times were completely coincidental and random, and all three times, he barely acknowledged my presence.
I take a long swig of my water, hoping it will do something to tamp down the pleasant warmth spreading through my belly from Parker’s words. My belly has no business feeling warm or fluttery or anything when it comes to that man.
I don’t care what I said before about warm fuzzy feelings of recognition, and I don’t care how good Nathan smelled every single stupid time I ran into him. He’s either interested or he’s not, and he’s clearly not. That’s not rocket science.
“He has no reason to want to impress me,” I say to Parker, satisfied that my words sound balanced and logical and utterly convincing. “I basically asked him out the last time we met, and he didn’t take the bait. He made it clear he’s not interested.”
Parker purses her lips to the side and pulls her wavy brown hair over her shoulder, her fingers deftly weaving it into a loose braid. “That surprises me. But then, with Nathan, I guess you can’t truly know. He’s always been an enigma. Definitely harder to get to know than the other guys.” She secures the end of her braid with a hair tie, then pulls out her phone. “Look at this, though.” She pulls up a video on TikTok and hands it over.
I press play, my eyes widening as the woman on the screen mentions Nathan and launches into all the ways she’d like to “turn his frown upside down.” I look at Parker, my eyes wide. “Oh my gosh.”
“I know, right?” Parker wrinkles her nose. “The comments are even worse.”
I hand back her phone. “What are you going to do?”
“So far, I’m removing official tags on anything that isn’t family-friendly and sending very polite letters to content creators reminding them of the Appies’ values and goals. But I might lay off the broody photos for a while. I like the momentum, and the attention can’t hurt, but I don’t want things to get tough for Nathan.” She stands and slips her phone into her pocket. “Do you want to keep watching? I need to get back to my office to do some editing.”
“I’ll walk with you,” I say. “My lunch break is pretty much over anyway.” I shoot one more glance toward the ice just in time to see two guys collide before they crash into the wall. Or…the boards? Is that what Parker called them?
“They’re feisty today,” Parker says.
“This isn’t typical?” I follow her up the bleachers to the door.
“Not when they’re only playing each other. They usually save the attitudes for opposing teams.”
I get the sense there’s something Parker isn’t saying, and I think again of her earlier insinuation that Nathan’s tussle with Dominik had something to do with the younger player’s comments in our Monday meeting.
My steps slow, then I stop completely. “Parker, it’s not…me, is it?”
She turns to face me and shakes her head. “Definitely not. At least, not entirely. But Logan did tell me last night that Dominik has been mouthy in the locker room.” She shrugs apologetically. “You’re new. And you’re gorgeous. And he’s apparently a very stupid kid with a very large ego.”
I shake my head. “But I talked to Dominik myself. He apologized. Nobody needs to rough him up on my account.”
“You’re being very gracious,” Parker says, “but this is just how the Appies operate. The bar is high, and integrity is really important. My guess is his comment aboutyouwas justone of many stupid things he said, so the other guys are showing him what’s expected of an Appie.”
Some of the tension eases out of my shoulders. After the ordeal I went through with my former boss, I’m definitely a little fragile, so it feels good to hear Parker express such confidence in the quality of the men I’m working with now.
“How long have you known Logan?” I ask as we continue down the hallway.
“Known him? Practically forever. He was my brother’s best friend when we were growing up.” Parker smiles, and I can practically see heart-eye emojis forming over her head. “But the relationship part is still relatively new.”
I think back over the player roster I was studying just before lunch. “He came to the Appies from the NHL, right?”
She nods. “He played for the Hurricanes, then came here after recovering from an injury. But his contract with the NHL means he’ll likely go back, no matter how much I’d like him to stay here forever.”
“Is that how it is for most of the players? They could get called up to the NHL?”
“Less so for the Appies than for most minor league teams,” Parker says. “Most teams function as a sort of developmental team for their NHL affiliate, but the Appies have turned into their own sort of thing.”
“Thanks to your efforts, I hear. I’ve never been a crazy big hockey fan, but I still watched your TikToks even before getting this job. You’ve done some really great stuff.”
