Lifting a hand, I rake my fingers through my hair. “It’s not really my thing.”
“And you think that qualifies you to help me write a romance story? About the one thing you don’t believe in?”
“I didn’t say that,” I correct her, bringing my own mug to my lips to take a sip now that it’s cooled down some. “I don’t date for love or romance. It’s just something to occupy my time. Something to keep me busy. It’s not that I don’t believe in love, I just know it’s not for me.”
She nods her head, the movement slow and exaggerated. “Let me change your mind.”
My body freezes. “What?”
She chuckles, leaning forward as she folds her arms on the table. I don’t miss the swell of her breasts, the way they lift as they press against her forearms. I tear my gaze from them.
“Oh god,” she breathes, her eyebrows lifting. “No, not me, not like that. I have no interest in athletes.” I can’t read the emotion on her face. “I don’t actually know what I meant by that. I’m drunk.”
I lift a questioning brow. She’s not as drunk as she was.
“What I meant was, I don’t believe that. I think there’s love out there for someone, if you open yourself up to the idea.”
“Yeah, well, I’m not,” I say, forcing out a laugh and shaking my head. “I’m not big on commitments.”
“Yet you want to help me come up with a story line.”
Jesus, she’s relentless. I let out a frustrated breath and the moment is severed as our server reappears with our food. She sets a plate in front of me and one in front of Jade. Each one has two huge waffles with Nutella seeping from them. They’re piled high with strawberries, bananas, and whipped cream.
“Can I get you anything else?”
Jade shakes her head, looking to me for confirmation then back to the woman. “We’re great. Thank you.”
“Enjoy!”
The silence stretches between us as Jade stabs her waffles with her fork and slides her knife through them. She lets out a soft moan as she takes a bite.
“You were right. These are delicious.”
Satisfaction washes over me and I take a bite of mine. “Told you.”
We’re quiet as we both dig back in, but my mind is fixated on both of our problems. There’s a simple solution, she just doesn’t know it yet.
I need to keep her around, at least until the end of the season.
“Helping you helps me.”
Jade swallows a mouthful of food and chases it with a gulp of water. “What?”
“I play better when I have a distraction that’s off the ice. It’s like reverse psychology. If I think I have something to prove or someone to impress, I’m more focused. If I don’t, I overanalyze every move, and it fucks me up.”
“Okay…” She stares at me, locked in, but doesn’t fully understand what I’m getting at.
“I swore off dating as my New Year’s resolution and everything’s gone downhill since. We were on a losing streak and I didn’t score the last few weeks, until I ran into you.”
Her face slowly breaks into a smile. “Are you saying you’ve been thinking about me, Matty?”
The nickname sounds weird coming from her. “Matteo.”
Her smile stretches, her eyes burning brighter. “You didn’t answer my question,Matteo.”
Electricity rolls down my spine. Fuck. “Yes.”
She pushes another forkful of food past her lips, slowly chewing as she studies me for a beat. “How can we help each other?”
