Page 118 of Hard to Handle

“You look pretty.” He fingers the lapel of my blazer. “Very I’m going to bust your balls right after I suck them pretty.”

“Jesus,” I bark out and laugh. “Only with you, Maddox. Only with you.”

“Good to know.” His hand slides down my torso and rests on my hip. “I thought you might want to catch a quick lunch before I head out.”

I shouldn’t feel overwhelmed by the gesture as it’s quite simple, but he came here to ask me, knowing my family would see him, and that means he doesn’t care what anyone thinks.

The panic I expect to ricochet through me like normal, doesn’t flutter to life. No. It’s too busy being soothed by my father’s words and by the touch of the man whose hands are framing my cheeks.

“Lunch?”

“Yes, that meal between breakfast and dinner,” he says as I stare at him, this feeling so very normal for us. “I’m hungry. I’m sure you’re hungry . . . so, lunch.”

“I’d love that. Thank you for asking.” I take the initiative and press another kiss to his lips. “Be prepared for the shit my sisters are going to give you when we walk out of this door.”

His grin is lightning quick and does things to my insides that shouldn’t be legal. “I already got some, but you know as well as I do”—he winks—“I give just as good as I get.”

I laugh as we open the door and Lennox is right there with her phone. “Do you mind taking a selfie with me? I think it’d be awesome to show you here at the offices on Instagram,” she asks with a saccharine-sweet smile.

“Len,” I warn as Hunter looks amused and confused.

“I can see the caption now. Hockey great, Hunter Maddox, touring the KSM offices.” She holds her hands up as if she’s reading it on a marquis.

“C’mon—”

“No, you c’mon, Dekk. You know Fuckface would croak if he saw Hunter here.”

“Fuckface?” Hunter asks and then laughs when he realizes who she means. “You mean Sanderson?”

“Yes. Fuckface,” Lennox reiterates, and I push her playfully away.

“I take it you met Lennox?” I ask as I tug on his hand to pull him toward the door.

“I met them all, yes,” he says, and I’m not sure if I should be scared I wasn’t here when they did.

“I guess that’s our answer,” Chase murmurs as I walk past her. I can only assume she’s referring to their assumption that something more is going on between Hunter and me.

I’m just about to give a smart-ass comeback when I catch my father’s eye in the back corner of the office. He’s sitting with his arms crossed and the softest smile on his lips as his eyes hold mine. He gives the slightest of nods—almost as if it’s approval—and my feet falter for the briefest of seconds as I hear him loud and clear.

Giving half a heart is akin to giving someone a broken heart . . . so give them your whole one instead.

CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE

HUNTER

Dad: Not horrible. Some of the best hockey I’ve seen you play, but there’s still major room for improvement. You’ll fall short if you keep that up. No doubt.

Dekker: Get off that road and come home to me. I’ll show you just how damn proud I am of the way you played tonight. You were on fire.

“NOW THAT’S WHAT I’M TALKING about, Maddox.” I look up from my phone to see Sanderson bearing down on me on the far side of the LumberJacks’ locker room. My gloves are off, my pads still on, and fuck if I haven’t had time to take a seat before I have to talk to him. “You were a fucking lunatic out there. Way to go, man.”

He goes to high-five me and I just stare at his hand and leave him hanging. Funny how the high fives are flying now. Interesting how I can see our relationship more clearly—when I’m good, we’re good. When I’m troubled, he’s with management and filled with threats. I get it’s a business, but I’m finding more and more I need the people around me who care more about me when I’m at the bottom than when I’m at the top.

“Is there a problem?” he asks.

“No problem.” I shake my head. “Just tired and hungry and ready to get home. It’s been a long battle, and I’m ready to win the next two on our turf in front of a home crowd.”

“You keep that shit up, you’re going to have deals pouring in. I already have five messages on my phone.”