Page 14 of Lucky Shot
I grunt and fire another puck into the net. I have a hunch the burn of my muscles would be more satisfying if Trav wasn’t getting so much enjoyment out of my misery.
“What’d he say when you told him you weren’t going to let her interview you?” he asks when he gets himself under control.
“I didn’t get a chance. He conveniently had Bingo last night and was gone before I got back from the cabin.” He left a note on the counter:Bingo. Don’t wait up.Like it was any other day, and he hadn’t moved in some strange woman and offered up my time to help her, then left me to deal with it. And if there’d been any doubt that I was the contact she’d mentioned, he’d alsoscribbled,Ruby is swinging by the rink at ten to ask you a few hockey questions.
I left a note in response. One word.No.
“Ha!” He lets out one more bark of laughter. “Bingo. Mike kills me.”
“He’s killing me too,” I mutter.
Travis trails off into quiet chuckles. “Is she at least our age?”
“We are not the same age,” I say, firing another puck. Trav is five years younger, though admittedly, his life experiences make him feel like an old soul. A wild, old soul.
“You know what I mean.”
“Yeah. Best I can tell. Mid to late twenties. Thirty, maybe.”
“Married?”
I glower at him. “How the hell would I know that?”
“Nah. Mike wouldn’t have moved her in if she were married.”
My jaw drops and my throat goes dry. “That’s not what this is.”
Trav lifts one brow.
Fuck. Is that what this is? My dad has made it his mission to play matchmaker in the past, but would he really go this far? It started about five years ago when Aidan was getting old enough that things felt more stable. Before then, I honestly could barely keep my head above water, so dating was the furthest thing from my mind. Slowly, my son started becoming more independent, we got into a routine, and about that time my dad started meddling. He turned every woman he met into a potential wife candidate for me.
“You sure?”
“No,” I admit as my mind reels.
“Okay. Well, what does she look like?”
My skin pricks and I shrug one shoulder. “I don’t know.”
He sighs. “Short? Tall? Cute? Nerdy?”
“She doesn’t look like what you’d expect.”
His gaze narrows. “Meaning?”
I know I’ve said too much when his lips part and he flashes a big, wolfish grin at me. I look away and line up another shot.
“She’s hot,” he says in a tone that mirrors Aidan’s when he’s really, truly, unabashedly excited about something. “Your dad moved in a hottie next door.”
My grip on the stick tightens.
“Wooooweee. Well, this changes everything.” Travis circles around me.
“It changes nothing, and I didn’t say she was hot. I only meant that she doesn’t look like the stereotypical bookish nerdy type.” Even as I say the words I know they aren’t the complete truth. Ruby is gorgeous. Chaotic? Sure. Quirky? Absolutely. But she’s also undoubtedly beautiful. The kind that takes your breath and makes you feel unsteady on your feet.
Which now that I think about it is exactly why Dad invited her here. The man is relentless.
“D-Low doesn’t either, but he’s the single nerdiest person I know,” Travis says, pulling me from visions of Ruby and her long red hair and pouty lips.
