Page 119 of Dating Goals
“Anika?” Ivy prompts again, eyebrows raised.
“Sorry,” I mumble. “Long week.”
Thomas is still droning on about something, but I’m not sure what he’s saying. It’s like his lips are moving, but what comes out are just jumbled words. I feel bad for feeling this way. I really do. But the man is just so…boring.
Ivy catches my eye and winks. She thinks this is going well. She doesn’t realize I’m mentally calculating how many kilometers separate me from Griffin’s cabin right now.
“Ivy, do you need anything?” I ask, noticing her shift positions for the fifth time in as many minutes.
“I’m fine,” she insists, wincing slightly. “The little footballer is practicing penalty kicks on my bladder, but otherwise perfect.”
James places a protective hand on her belly. “Perhaps we should wrap up soon, love. Doctor said to rest.”
Yes! Let’s wrap it up.
“Nonsense! I want to hear more about Thomas and Anika hitting it off!” Ivy beams at us like we’re characters in her favorite romance novel reaching the good part.
Thomas smiles politely. His teeth are nice. His hair is nice. Everything about him is…nice. And therein lies the problem.
I can’t help but to compare him with Griffin. His boundless enthusiasm, his perpetual optimism, the way his eyes light up when he talks about hockey and chocolate and his favorite movies.
The drive back from St. Moritz plays in my mind. Griffin behind the wheel of his insanely posh new Bugatti, explaining as much as he could about his mission, although much of it was classified.
What he really wanted to discuss was what happened between us.
“About that kiss—” he’d started.
I’d cut him off immediately. “We got caught up in the moment. The danger, the excitement. It wasn’t real.”
His eyes never left the road, but his knuckles whitened around the steering wheel. “Felt pretty real to me.”
“You’re going back to Canada when the NHL lockout ends,” I’d reminded him. “And I’ll still be here, running my pub.”
He’d reached over to hold my hand in that moment, not saying another word for a long while. His hand, so large and sturdy, felt right.
“Anika?” Ivy’s voice cuts through my daydream. “Where did you go?”
I blink rapidly. “Sorry, what?”
“I asked if you’d like to show Thomas around Grächen sometime,” Ivy repeats, her eyes narrowing suspiciously. “He mentioned wanting to try snowshoeing.”
“Oh.” I fumble, catching Thomas’s hopeful expression. “I, um…Snowshoeing is nice,” I respond lamely.
Ivy shoots me a death glare across the coffee table. I can practically hear her thoughts.Try harder!
“Thomas is designing a beautiful community garden in Bern,” James offers desperately.
“With excellent drainage,” Thomas adds proudly.
I nod appreciatively, wondering if Griffin made it back to Visp for his regular practice routine. He mentioned something about tomorrow’s game against Davos.
Ivy suddenly gasps, her hand flying to her stomach.
“Contractions?” James asks, already on his feet.
“No, no,” she waves him down. “False alarm. Baby just kicked my bladder. Shall we put on some music?”
James rises from the couch and turns on his Bluetooth speaker system. “I’ve got it, darling. Any preferences, Thomas?”
