Page 12 of Puck to the Heart
“I’m not sure...” My mind saidhell no, but I needed to be polite. Although if Polly kept trying to set me up, this friendship wouldn’t last.
“Would you like to meet him? We rode in his car.”
If I’d been less flustered, I would’ve caught that, but my mind was too absorbed by figuring out how to let her down gently.
Polly picked up her handbag and gathered up the remains of her food. The buzzer sounded, announcing the end of the game, and she looked at me expectantly.
Well, it wouldn’t hurt to meet the guy. He wouldn’t be interested in me, either, and we could put this dream of Polly’s to rest together. “Oh, all right.”
Polly’s grin was alarming and all-knowing.
What did I just agree to?
Slow-moving lines of hockey fans waded their way out the doors, but this time, the earmuffs I remembered to stick in my bag helped muffle the intensity of the noise. The bright lights still assaulted my eyes, but with the worst of the sensory invaders removed, I managed the game alright. I even enjoyed it a little, though I wouldnevertell Ash that. Not that I’d see him again. Our dinner date ended abysmally, and besides, I thought he’d agree with me and decide it was best if we never saw each other again. I ate my fancy dinner, and he got the PR team off his back. We both got what we needed, with no reason to see each other ever again.
Thinking of Ash made me wonder about Polly’s grandson. What would he be like? The opposite of Ash Wilder, surely. I had a hard time picturing him, imagining a sweater-vest wearing guy, maybe my age, with light hair and eyes. Maybe a lawyer. But I hoped he was at least anicelawyer.
Ugh, look at me getting ahead of myself. And I didn’t want to take him to the concert I planned to attend with my father, either. My limit on strange men was zero, and we already surpassed that with Ash. I’d let Polly and her grandson down easy, then get the hell out of Dodge. And maybe grab a pint of Ben & Jerry’s on the way home. Allow myself to wallow, just a bit.
Still wrapped up in my tangled thoughts, I was too preoccupied to realize I wasn’t following Polly to the regular parking garage but to a…gated lot? With a lot of flashy cars.
Did Polly’s grandson… work… here?
Butterflies took wing in my stomach, my body reacting before my brain caught up, and soon those butterflies turned to fireworks, their sparks fizzing along my veins in… anticipation?
What the hell?
A tall man in the shadows thrown by an open door waited, lounging against the wall in a familiar pose.
Scientists create new molecules by smashing particles together, exciting protons and neutrons of two separate entities until they clash, intertwining and creating something new. I felt like an atom, hurtling toward another at light speed until we collided.
Because that was AshFuckingWilder walking toward Polly with his hand raised in a wave—until he stopped short at the sight of me.
“Asher, this is my friend Olivia.” With one hand, she pulled me forward, closer to Ash.
“We’ve met,” I said weakly.
“Oh?” Polly didn’t seem surprised in the least.
I knew the ticket she gave me was for a raffle not an auction, but did she somehow know she was going to win? This all seemed like a setup, and Ash clearly felt the same, given the suspicious brow furrowing coming from his direction.
Also,damn. The man cleaned up well.
For our dinner, he wore clothes I assumed he wanted to be comfortable in, but what he wore now was out of that range entirely. Not so dissimilar in style, but…nicer. Neater, at least. He looked less like he wanted to rip off someone’s arm and more…
Edible.
No, nope. Nuh uh.Do not eventhinkabout the man like that.
“—something you wanted to ask Asher, Olivia?”
“Sorry, what?”
“The concert?” she pressed.
Shit, I was between a rock and a hard place. On the one hand, at least I knew Ash, sort of, and we’d already been in forced proximity once before. On the other, he probably hated the sight of me after the night we had together.
“What concert?” Ash didn’t sound annoyed. In fact, he sounded… interested?
