“I’m off-limits, yet here you are.”
Aiden’s eyes meet mine, but this time, his gaze is intense. It makes me shiver.
“I’m here,” Aiden says, his voice low, “because I saw a girl at Casino Night. As soon as I saw her, I said to myself, ‘I have to get to know her.’ That’s never happened to me before.”
My throat goes dry as my heart thunders against my ribs. “I wanted you to talk to me,” I confess. “Badly. And that’s never happened to me before.”
Aiden’s eyes darken. I’m practically holding my breath, waiting for what he’s going to say next.
“It’s getting late,” he finally says. “We should probably go.”
Disappointment crushes me. This is where everything ends. I’ve enjoyed my evening of flirting, of conversation, of getting to know this amazing man, and now it’s all going to slip right though my fingers like sand, no matter how hard I try to hold on to it.
“Right,” I say.
Aiden flags down our server and hands over his credit card.
“Thank you,” I tell him.
“You’re welcome,” he says.
Dread fills me as we wait for the server to come back with his receipt and card. I’m moments away from saying goodbye to Aiden, when it’s the last thing I want to do.
As I see her approaching with the black bill holder in her hand, my stomach grows nauseous. How am I supposed to say goodbye to Aiden like this? Knowing I’ll only see him on the iceas a spectator after learning what an incredible man he is outside of that uniform?
And how can I say goodbye after realizing I want to continue to get to know him? Aiden is what I’ve been looking for. He’s different. My gut tells me if we could just have one date, it would be the beginning of something incredible between us.
“Thank you, Mr. Wentworth,” the server says. “Enjoy the rest of your evening.”
“Thank you,” Aiden says. After she leaves, he flips open the card holder and scrawls his name across the receipt. Then he retrieves his credit card and slips it into his wallet. “Are you ready?”
No. I’m not ready. Not when I feel like we could be beginning.
“Yes,” I lie.
I rise from my seat, and Aiden does, too. He motions for me to walk first. As I pass him, his hand goes to the small of my back. Goose bumps sweep over my skin from the sensation of his touch. Through the thin fabric of my top, I feel that slight pressure of his fingertips.
His thumb lands on the bare sliver of skin that’s showing, his warm, calloused skin pressing into mine. It sends my pulse soaring.
Over the feel ofhim.
We’re greeted by the sounds of Christmas music in the festive hotel lobby. I’m headed in the direction of the exit when Aiden suddenly says, “Scarlett, wait.”
I stop next to the magnificent Christmas tree and turn around. Aiden is staring down at me, his eyes very intense and serious. My heart leaps with hope inside my chest.
“I—I take my role as alternate captain very seriously,” he blurts out. “I think you already know that.”
“I do.”
“Your dad put a lot of trust in me to give me that A. Especially as a new player to the team. I’m young. I’ve never worn the A before. But he told me he saw a maturity in me beyond my years. I promised him I wouldn’t let him down.”
Could Aiden be willing to start something with me? See where it goes? Then deal with my dad later if we got serious? Could that really work?
I don’t say anything. Aiden continues. “But I never expected you would be who you are,” he says, his voice rough. He pauses and rakes a hand through his hair, almost as if he’s frustrated. “I saw you tonight and I had to talk to you. And I knew within seconds you were different.”
“I knew it about you, too,” I confess.
“If you were any other person, or if I were with another team …” Aiden trails off for a moment and looks away, focusing on a branch of the ornately decorated tree next to us. My heart roars inside my ears as I wait for him to continue. Finally, he turns back to me, his gaze determined. “If the situation were different, I’d be asking you right now to go out on a date with me. But I can’t. I can’t do it.”
