“You seemed pretty fine on the ice tonight.”
There was a beat, and he said, “That’s not what I mean. I’m talking about everything else.”
“Well, everything else isn’t your job. It’s mine.” The statement was simple and final.
He muttered something under his breath I didn’t catch. I knew enough. Enough to smirk, enough to let the silence stretch while tension curled in the car.
The conversation hopped seamlessly from post-game pressers to the guys teasing him, to his outrage at my “overbearing ways.” Every topic escalated. Every topic fed the friction between us, the spark of irritation layered over respect neither would admit.
By the time we pulled up to the hotel, the argument was a confused jumble of taut wire between us, both of us unwilling to yield, both of us strangely energized by the tension. The lobby lights glinted off polished marble, the elevator doors dinged into the silence neither of us broke.
We moved inside, the tight space amplifying every movement, every sound. I pressed the button, steeling myself against the way his shoulder brushed mine when he shifted. It was just us, and the remnants of sweat, ice, and effort to fill the gaps.
“Hungry for a fight still?” I asked right before we reached my floor. “Or are you ready to work with me?”
“I wouldn’t have to fight if you just listened to me once in a while.” His damp hair stuck lightly to his forehead, making him look much younger than his twenty-six years.
The elevator stopped, and he stepped forward instinctively, freezing only once he was standing in the hallway.
“This isn’t my floor.”
“It’s mine,” I said, moving toward my hotel room. “We have to prep for your TV appearance back home.”
8
Hunter
The door closed behind me, and for the first time since I’d met Holly, I realized she wasn’t just a professional forcefield in a perfectly pressed blazer. Her hotel room was lived-in, already with touches of her personality even though we’d only been in Colorado for a couple of days.
She kicked off her shoes and padded around in socks, jacket tossed over a chair, sleeves rolled up to her elbows. I caught the faint line of her bra beneath the button-down she’d left untucked in a way that made her look less formal, less… inaccessible. She ran her fingers through her hair, letting it fall loose over her shoulders.
I cleared my throat, trying to remind myself this woman was actively ruining every chance at fun I had. But the longer I stood there, the more she seemed normal and nothing like the PR gauntlet I’d come to know.
“Thanks for handling the club thing.” My voice came out rough from the day’s energy, but I meant it. “Could’ve gotten ugly in that locker room.”
She popped the cap on a bottle of still water, and sank onto the couch with a tired sigh. “You know what I’m about to say to that, so I won’t.”
“You were just doing your job,” I smirked, amused at the faint tug at the corner of her mouth. She was trying to be professional, but the smugness was impossible to fully erase. That little flash made me grin despite myself.
“You know, a ‘you’re welcome’ wouldn’t hurt you.”
She pulled her legs up under her as she relaxed deeper into the soft cushions. “I’d rather not risk it, thanks.”
I chuckled, letting the tension between us dissolve just a little. It was like being up here, in her space, left all the rest of it out there where it couldn’t pick and scratch at me. All that noise that had me totally annoyed with her half the time.
She gestured toward the open seat beside her. “Sit. We’re going over those interview notes one at a time.”
I dropped into the cushions, stretching my legs out and letting my shoulders sag. “Why not just corner me on the plane like you did when we flew up here?”
“Thought I’d cut you a break,” she replied. “Lay off humiliating you in front of your team.”
I couldn’t hide my surprise. Not only had she heard me out on that, but she was changing her schedule to acknowledge it.
“Close your mouth and sit up straight,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Start at the beginning. They’ll introduce you with the bio I provided, then you’ll say ‘Thanks, it’s great to be here.’”
I cleared my throat dramatically, earning a glance that clearly said,seriously?
“What morning show is it? You never said.”
