Total pages in book: 14
Estimated words: 13963 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 70(@200wpm)___ 56(@250wpm)___ 47(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 13963 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 70(@200wpm)___ 56(@250wpm)___ 47(@300wpm)
That’s not an exaggeration.
There’s a line of girls waiting patiently for their turn on his lap as if he’s actually Santa Clause.
It’s tempting to shake my head.
Colby has to be one of the biggest flirts on this campus.
And the dimples…
My god the dimples.
My heart has actually melted when they’ve been flashed in my direction, and I’d like to think I’m made of sterner stuff.
My gaze skims over the sea of students before landing on Riggs. He’s a little bit taller at six foot three than most of the people who surround him. A good number of them are girls vying for his attention. The moment our gazes fasten, a wide smile breaks out across his face before he lifts a hand to wave. Something unwanted warms my chest before spreading outward.
His gaze flickers to the guy I’m reluctantly trailing behind before he pops a brow. I roll my eyes and shake my head, silently pleading with him not to ask.
Nick’s mouth falls open as he grounds to a halt. “Holy shit! Is that Riggs Stranton? I love that dude!”
Before I can respond, he practically shoves me out of his way and plows through the thick crowd until he reaches the dark-haired defenseman. I end up knocking into a girl just as she’s about to take a drink from her red cup. Half of the golden liquid gets dumped down the front of the reindeer T-shirt that clings to her like a second skin.
My face heats as I mutter an apology and shimmy past her. When I glance at Riggs for a second time, he’s grinning ear to ear and his broad shoulders are shaking with amusement.
With gritted teeth, I reluctantly trail after my date until I reach my bestie. He’s already being bombarded with a flurry of questions.
Even after I arrive, Nick doesn’t bother to acknowledge my presence.
Or apologize for pushing me out of the way.
What a jerk.
Riggs’ steady gaze stays locked on mine as Nick continues to fangirl. Just in case you’re wondering, second-hand embarrassment is a real thing. At this very moment, I’m being eaten alive by it. I can already tell by Riggs’ smirk that I won’t be hearing the end of this for a while.
When Nick launches into a game from a couple weeks ago where Riggs scored two goals in quick succession, I mutter, “I’m going to grab a drink.” I need to get away from this guy before I totally lose it. With any luck, he’ll be gone when I return.
Although, that’s probably wishful thinking on my part. From the looks of him, he’s in heaven. He might never leave the house.
In a shocking twist I didn’t see coming, Nick finally glances my way. “That would be great. Could you grab one for me, too?”
My death stare has absolutely no effect on him.
With that, he dismisses me before pelting Riggs with more questions about the hockey team.
“Sure, no problem,” I mutter, swinging away and heading for the kitchen where a makeshift bar is set up.
On the way, I pass by Juliette and pull her in for a quick hug. She’s technically my niece, but we’re more like cousins or even sisters since we’re the same age and grew up together. Ryder, her boyfriend, has a brawny arm slung around her shoulders. Now that they’re officially an item, he never lets her stray too far.
Carina, Juliette’s roommate, is also here with her boyfriend, Ford. They’re a newly minted couple who have been together for a handful of weeks. Others might be surprised that the ex-stepsiblings are now dating but not me. I had the sneaking suspicion by the way he’d tease her mercilessly that his feelings for her ran deep.
When Ford leans in to nip at her bottom lip, Carina nearly melts into a puddle of goo.
And who can blame her?
Ford Hamilton is hot with mahogany-colored hair, golden, honey-colored eyes, and muscles for miles.
As good looking as Ford is, he doesn’t hold a candle to Riggs, who also has rich brown hair, although his is a little shaggier. He should have had a trim a couple weeks ago, but I like the length. His face is made up of sharp angles that hint at the Russian heritage on his mother’s side. His body is just as chiseled from working out and skating six days a week.
Over the last decade, I’ve seen him grow from gangly boy into droolworthy man. As much as I don’t want to notice, it would be impossible not to. And I’m certainly not the only one. I’m more than aware of how the girls on this campus clamor for his attention.
I certainly can’t blame them for wanting to get closer to the hunky defenseman.
Even when it feels like I’m being eaten up with jealousy.
As soon as that sly thought pops into my brain, I shove it away before greeting a couple of the guys from the team. Wolf Westerville, Madden Caruso, Hayes Van Doren, and Bridger Sanderson. Bridger’s got a black Western Wildcats hockey ballcap pulled low over his eyes. For the past month or so, unsavory texts have been popping up on the university message system that gets blasted out to both staff and students. Ever since then, he’s been trying to keep a low profile.