“But I didn’t have a good time tonight,” he mutters. It lacks conviction, though.
“I don’t believe you. Not completely.”
He frowns at me. “I do not like being uncomfortable. I do not like feeling like I don’t know what’s going on or what to expect. I like when things go according to a plan. Nothing about tonight went according to any plan.”
“That’s not true. My plan was?—”
“Let me clarify,” Alex interjects. “Yourplan was to put us on the ice and deal with things as they came along, just try things out willy-nilly, and put on an exhibition. So yes, it went according to your plan.”
He’s notwrong. “And like we talked about at movie night, success depends on what your goal is,” I remind him.
“And I didn’t even know how to have a goal because I didn’t know what was going to happen tonight. I mean, I don’t think the point of any of this is actually to win the game, is it?”
“No.”
“I don’t know how to play hockey like that, Nora. I know how to score points and win games. What was the final score anyway?”
I laugh. “We honestly don’t know. We kind of stopped keeping track.” But I say quickly. “I promise that won’t happen again. Tonight was also an experiment. To see what things worked and what things didn’t. Obviously, our score-keeping tonight didn’t work.”
“As far as I’m concerned, none of it worked.”
I shake my head. “But itallworked because everyone had a good time.”
He blows out a breath and rises. “I think this is just where we’re going to agree to disagree.”
I feel my heart drop. I really thought I could bring him around.
I shouldn’t be surprised, but I’m a little disappointed. I’d thought he would have more fun with this tonight. I thought once he was out there, he would see the point and understand it. But I can’t force this on him. I can’t force him to enjoy something. He’s either going to or he’s not.
“Well, at least it’s only ’til April,” I quip, trying to lighten the moment.
Instead, I feel a lead ball settle in my stomach.
My words make him stop. He studies me, frowns slightly, then nods. “I guess that’s true.”
I watch him head for the stairs, but as he brushes aside the curtain that covers the doorway, he looks back. He looks a little regretful. I’m not sure about what, but I’m hoping maybe it’s that he didn’t kiss me goodnight. After all, he’s my pretend boyfriend. I want more of those not-at-all pretend kisses, dammit.
CHAPTER 22
NORA
It’s nearlymidnight when I hear the knocking on my door.
I still have the lamp on my bedside table on. I haven’t been able to fall asleep, and I’ve been reading over the email that Beckett has already sent with new ideas for future games.
I’ve also scrolled social media and seen that it’s not just Alex’s buddies who are talking about the Revelers and the Rascals. Sports media has picked up on it, and while the conversation is hardly viral, there are rumblings of how interesting and fun things in southern Louisiana sound.
I grin. Earthquakes often start with rumblings.
I throw my covers back and head downstairs in my pajamas. Whoever it is is likely a very close friend or relative and has seen me in pajamas before.
But when I open the door, I realize that this person hasn’t.
He’s seen me half-naked in my office, though.
“I realized I don’t like the idea of other men eating your banana pudding.” He holds up the bowl that Teddy took home with him.
“You went over to Teddy’s and got it back?”
