Page 15 of Stick Side
She flushed with pleasure at his praise. “Thank you.”
Goodness.If he didn’t stop smiling at her with that ridiculously compelling combination of kindness, curiosity, and—dare she hope?—romantic interest, she couldn’t be held responsible for her actions.
“What is it that you do for a living?” Ben inquired. He eyed her scrubs—which, after having been slept in, now felt like they had been on her body far longer than they should have been—curiously. “You never mentioned.”
“Oh!” she said, surprised that he didn’t know. “I’m a physical therapist.”
Ben’s eyes widened.
“I have a doctorate in physical therapy,” she clarified. “I help patients address impairments, functional limitations, and disabilities related to movement, function, and overall health.”
“Oh wow,” Ben said, clearly impressed. “So, it’sDoctorMcGuire.”
“It is, yes.” She smiled brightly. She was darn proud of her education. “I work at The Winchester Retirement Residence. I’m the staff PT.”
Ben let out a low whistle. He was new to Chicago, but it would seem that he’d heard of The Winchester.
“That’s a pretty posh workplace you have there.”
Says the professional hockey player,Melody thought with amusement. Instead, she answered, “It’s definitely a great place to work.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Eric scoffed. “It may be ritzy, but I still think you should come back and work with the team.”
Ben’s eyebrows lifted in surprise. “That explains how you seem to know all of the players so well,” he observed, as though he’d just solved a riddle that had been puzzling him.
Melody wasn’t sure what conclusions he’d drawn with regard to her relationship with his teammates, so she settled for a simple nod of acknowledgment.
“Speaking of work,” Melody continued as she glanced at the clock, “I had better get going.” Her first appointment was in just over an hour.
“Do you have time to get home and get ready before heading in?” Ben inquired.
“Probably,” Melody answered, “but it’s unnecessary. I keep a change of clothes at the office and there are showers I can use to freshen up.”
Thanks to the city’s excellent transit system, she could be at work in fifteen minutes. She could also make it home in under half an hour, leaving her with enough time for a quick shower and a change, but there wasn’t any need.
Chocolate bar finished, Melody lifted herself off the floor. “Thanks for hosting, Eric.” She reinforced her thanks with a friendly hug.
Eric chuckled as he gave her a gentle squeeze back. “Thankyou. You saved me from getting food poisoning from my own cooking.”
She would have laughed, but there was some truth to his assertion. Eric hadmanaged to give himself food poisoning on several occasions. Yet another reason she strove never to eat anything he cooked.
Melody turned to say her goodbyes to Ben. “Thanks for taking care of me last night.” She rolled her eyes over to the still-slumbering Alexei so Ben was clear on who and what she felt he’d protected her from. Her tone was shy, but also a little flirtatious.
His eyes stared meaningfully into hers. “I’ll look forward to seeing you again soon.”
“Me, too,” she affirmed. Thankfully, she didn’t blush in the face of his clear interest. This time.
She gathered her stuff in quick order. A private smile played at her lips as she felt Ben’s eyes track her movements while she prepared to make her exit. Did she just say she was looking forward to seeing him again soon? That time couldn’t come soon enough.
Chapter 7
Ben
Benwhistledcontentedlyashe walked along the streets of the Old Town district. A takeout bag swung gently from his hand.
Once Volkov woke up, Cassidy had taken them to the rink to pick up their cars. Ben had driven his Lexus back to his Lincoln Park home before putting a couple of hours in at his home gym, showering, changing, and heading out again, a plan in mind.
It was technically his day off, but those didn’t really exist. If he wanted to stay competitive, he needed to put in the time. And that meant daily cardio, strength training, and whatever else his trainers deemed important.
