Page 16 of To Tell the Truth
She looked up to see him leaning on the counter in a delicious way that made him look yummier than any of the treats they actually sold that day at Icing.
"What would you like me to do now?"
Her racing mind stopped with all the questions and worry and wondering what would happen if her friends walked in, replaced with the image of Fletcher doing other things she would like him to do now on this bakery counter.
She needed to shut that down now and stop getting ideas about Fletcher. He was a friend, just a friend, and he was a friend who lived on the other side of the country. There was no way this wasn't going to end badly.
But that was for later. What were they supposed to do now?
"Um, have you had dinner yet?"
Fletcher smiled. "Nope. But can we do something not fancy? I like doing not fancy with you."
"Not fancy with me?"
"You know, like cupcakes on the beach."
She couldn't help but smile at him. He was just making it so hard not to.
"Fried chicken or Chicago dogs?"
"Oh, fried chicken." He leaned over the counter to get closer to her. "I wouldn't mind watching you lick your fingers clean."
A shiver went up her spine and Samantha was doing all she could to not let him see how he was affecting her. But he was definitely affecting her. This man was like a hot stove that she knew she shouldn't touch, but it was so tempting to be close to him.
She needed to get a grip and remember this was going to be two friends who shared a kiss on a beach a few months ago going out as friends. It was not a date.
"Let me just grab my bag in the back and we can walk over to the El."
"The El?"
"Yeah," she said cautiously. "You know, the train."
Fletcher nodded. "I am aware of the train, but I'm also aware that I'm kind of in enemy territory. That's why I have a car service waiting out front."
Right, of course. A car service. Because this was just two friends having dinner together and one of them was a super hot hockey player from another team that was a big rival of the Chicago Otters.
This was going to be a disastrous idea.
And yet, after Samantha finally locked almost everything up and turned off all the lights, something about walking out the door of her bakery with Fletcher Keris next to her just felt right if she was being truthful.
Also, she was hungry and wanted some fried chicken for dinner, and she wanted to eat it with him.
Chapter Seven
Fletcher's season was off to a bad start. He was in a scoring slump for the first two weeks of the season and hadn't even put one in the net yet. He had been on the ice for more goals by his opponents than goals by his own team.
That's why he had been so focused on this game in Chicago and seeing Samantha again. It's why he showed up at her bakery instead of waiting until tomorrow to see her.
Luckily, he still remembered her friend mentioning it after the taping of their game show. He had to admit that Icing was a good name for a bakery partially owned by a hockey player even if he didn't like Riley Rookwood.
So he took a chance and knocked on the door. And yes, he didn't notice that he would be arriving after the place closed and he was damn fortunate that she was still there and opened the door for him.
Samantha seemed a bit shocked to see him though and he was worried he had made a mistake by going there. But then she smiled at him and suggested a dinner spot and got in the car with him.
And now they were walking off some amazing fried chicken on their way back to her place. And no, Fletcher didn't expect her to invite him in, he was just being a gentleman walking her home. But he was really hoping she would let him in. If he could just get another kiss from her or just get inside, he would've scored more with her in the past two weeks than with his own team.
"So are you excited about playing against my boss tomorrow night?" she asked sarcastically.
