Page 7 of Pucking Tangled
Their gaze lingered on each other for a beat longer, until Mia cleared her throat. “I should probably get back to studying. Or at least pretending to.”
“Yeah. I’ll go pretend that I care about the next round of beer bong before I make some equally lame excuse to go to bed.”
Mia smiled. “Oh. Pretending to study is lame, huh?”
Luca bashfully shrugged his shoulders, but neither of them rushed to make a move.
“Hey, Mia?’
“Yeah, Luca?”
“If you ever need anything. A good book recommendation, someone to talk to, anything…I’m right across the hall.”
“Thanks.” Mia nodded. “I appreciate it. Good night, Luca.”
This time, Mia turned and went back to her room, abandoning her earlier mission.
Luca
Luca closed his door behind him to drown out the noise from downstairs. He thought about returning and almost did, but it wasn’t worth it.
Instead, he leaned back against the door for a beat before blowing out a breath.
He was used to the house being loud and messy from time to time, especially after being in a frat house for three out of four years in college. But just existing in the hallway with Mia in her oversized hoodie that he knew she stole from Casey…everything felt different.
Quieter.
Calmer.
Like someone pressed pause on all the sounds going on around them.
He walked across the room, pulled a bottle of water from his mini fridge, and took a sip as his gaze drifted toward the bookshelf on the opposite wall. Lined with some of his favorite books:The Let Them Theoryby Mel Robbins,Atomic Habitsby James Clear,Stop Overthinkingby Nick Trenton, and a wide collection of fiction titles across genres. Yes, even including some of his favorite romances by Rebecca Norinne, Mignon Mykel, and Lauren Helms.
He picked up one of Rebecca’s titles and flipped it over in his hand.Scrum and Get Itwas one of the most relatable romances he’d read in a while. Liam didn’t play rugby, but he sure had a whole lot in common with Donel, the hooker.
What are you even doing, man?
Mia was just being friendly.
Nothing more.
She probably wasn’t interested in his book collection, or anything else for that matter.
Still, the sound of her laughter—sharp and unexpected—when he’d made a fool of himself by pinching his arm lingered in his mind, like she hadn’t let herself laugh like that in a while. And the way she looked at him—curious but cautious—like maybe he wasn’t what she expected.
Luca put the book back on the shelf and finished his water before he crawled into bed. He stared up at the ceiling, watching the fan spin around and around while he tried to shift his focus to anything but his new roommate down the hall.
It didn’t matter how hard he tried, though, his thoughts kept drifting back to the sound of her voice. The way she leaned so casually against the wall with her shy smile. Howshe looked at him like she saw him for who he was. Appreciated it even. And the sweet thank you on her lips.
She didn’t belong in the middle of a circus. But she was here now. And maybe, just maybe, she deserved someone in the house who wasn’t trying to impress her or annoy her.
He closed his eyes and exhaled.
How could a woman he barely knew get under his skin the way Mia did? In a way that had him craving things that shouldn’t even be on his radar?
From the moment he met her for the first time, he felt captivated by her. Now that she was living under the same roof? Luca had no idea what to do with himself.
He didn’t come all the way to Lancaster to catch feelings. He came to play professional hockey. For the chance of a lifetime.
