He went to move around me, and my hand shot out of its own accord. “Wait, there has to be something I can do to thank you for saving me. I’d be smashed on the marble floor right now if it wasn’t for you.”
“A thank you is fine.” He gestured around the foyer with several people milling about. “I just happened to be the one walking by at the time, but I’m sure anyone else would have saved you too. Don’t worry about it.”
“The least I could do is buy you…” I glanced down at my watch realizing how fast the day had gone. “Linner.”
His head tilted and one of his brows quirked. “Linner?”
Yes, he had heard me right. Linner.
“Yeah, you know, when it’s too late for lunch but too early for dinner—linner,” I explained.
His mouth lifted on one side, the crooked smile causing that butterfly feeling to swoop through my stomach. But only one butterfly, like a really small one, because Ididhave a boyfriend.
“I’ve never heard of linner,” he said with an amused expression. I couldn’t help but feel proud I had put it on his face.
I didn’t know the guy, but he seemed a little gruff or closed off, and I had a feeling that his smiles were few and far between.
“Great. Then you can consider this a thank you and a new experience.” I gave him a smile before tucking my camera back into its bag, which hung across my body. Once I had it safely put away, I looked back up at him.
He stood there staring at me for several beats like I was a riddle he couldn’t solve before he finally said, “Okay.”
Chapter 2
Holden
December 5th
She walkedpast me and started down the stairs. I watched her as her golden-blond ponytail swished side to side with each step. Was I really about to follow this woman I’d just met to go have linner? Which I was pretty sure she had made up. But as I hurried to catch up to her, I couldn’t help the intrigue I felt.
Once I was by her side, she asked, “Are you staying at the hotel, or are you at the Plaza for another reason?”
“I’m staying at the hotel,” I answered as we made our way to the doors that would lead us back outside.
“Is this your first time in New York?” Her brown eyes held so much sincerity and kindness that I was sure I had never met someone so genuinely interested in my answer.
And it seemed like she really didn’t know who I was.Which wasn’t particularly uncommon, but I ran into more people who recognized me when I was back in New York than anywhere else. I had been drafted to the New York Coyotes right out of college and quickly became a fan favorite. There had been a lot of angry fans when I’d been traded to the Minnesota Wolves last season.
I held open the door for her, the cold air meeting me with a blast to the face. If she didn’t know who I was, I wanted to keep it that way. “Uh, no. I used to live here.” I worried my answer would spark a memory in her of seeing me playing hockey or doing interviews on TV, but she continued to look at me as if I was still the nice stranger who had saved her life.
“Really?” she asked, her face turning to look at me in surprise. “What made you leave all this?” She held her hands out to the bustling city around us—the tall buildings, the line of honking cars, the piles of old snow, the sidewalk full of people, and the holiday decorations lining the street.
I hadn’t cared one way or another about staying or leaving New York City. All I cared about was hockey. There was no place that had ever felt more like home to me than being on the ice. So as fun as living in the Big Apple had been, I was just as happy living in Saint Paul.
“A job,” I answered vaguely.
It had been a long time since I had spent time with a woman who didn’t know I was a professional hockey player. It was refreshing to be around someone who did not have any preconceived notions about me. Especiallywhen that person seemed as happy-go-lucky as the woman walking beside me. She exuded a confidence and brightness about her I wasn’t used to seeing in the people around me.
She lifted a hand and hailed a taxi.
“Where are we going?” I asked, curious about where this woman was taking me.
“To Rolf’s, of course. It’s Christmastime.” She said this like it should have been obvious, but when my look showed her I had no idea what she was talking about, she continued. “You seriously have never been to Rolf’s? It’s the most Christmassy Christmas restaurant in the city.”
Ah. That was probably why I had never been there. Although I hadn’t been to many places in the city. Back then—like now—I rarely went out except to hang with my teammates after a game, and that usually involved some random upscale bar. I wasn’t what anyone would call a scrooge, but I also wasn’t a lover of all things Christmas. To me it was just another day. Another day when I was reminded that my life was different from most. There was no loving family to go home to for the holidays. There was no one special to buy a present for. It was just me.
Well, I guessed that wasn’t a hundred percent true. I did have my Aunt Maggie, but I had always felt like the third wheel in her family. Over the years she had tried to be there for me, but I hadn’t always welcomed her attention. I had never been too close to my uncle or my cousin and had never wanted to feel like a charity case.But even when I’d been a punk, Aunt Maggie had still stuck around. I think a part of it was because of the guilt she felt, like somehow she had to make up for talking my mom—her sister—into keeping me.
But enough of that—and any thoughts of my dear mother. I tried to hide my distaste at just thinking about her from appearing on my face since this woman—had we really not exchanged names yet?—was waiting for me to join her in the taxi.
