Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 69919 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 350(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69919 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 350(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
I cringed. “No. Only pepperoni.”
“I’m not sure how to break this to you, but you are kind of high maintenance.”
“Ha.” I set the boxes on the kitchen island as she pulled three plates out of a kitchen cabinet. “There’s nothing more high maintenance than your Starbucks orders.”
“Hey, for eight bucks, I’m getting it exactly the way I want it.”
“Oh yeah?” I held her gaze from the other side of the island. “And how, exactly, do you want it?”
Joey was oblivious to us, flipping every box open in search of his thin crust with extra cheese.
“I like it with extra pumps,” Jolie said, her expression loaded with meaning. “That’s the best part for me.”
“Uh-huh. Maybe some cream on top?”
She moaned and nodded. “Extra cream, please.”
Fuck. Now I was hard, and it was several hours too early for sex. Joey layered three pieces of pizza onto his plate and went into the living room, yelling, “Can we watch a movie now?”
I spoke to Jolie in a low tone, saying, “You’re in trouble, young lady.”
“Oh, am I?” She gave me a playful grin. “Because I might like that.”
I went around the corner of the island, planning to grab her, but she reacted quickly and went around the island, too, keeping herself across from me as I tried to get to her.
Her gaze was filled with challenge. Chase me, I’m worth it, she said without even opening her mouth.
She was quick and it took me a little while to catch her, but when I did, I grabbed her around the waist and swept her off her feet against my chest. Both of us were slightly out of breath as we looked at each other in silence for a few seconds.
She was worth chasing and more. Jolie and I clicked in a way I’d never felt with any other woman. Not only did she drive me crazy in the best way, but she was quickly becoming my best friend. She was the one I wanted to talk to when I woke up in the morning and before I went to bed at night. There was no disconnect, which I’d felt with every other woman I’d dated recently. They always wanted more than I wanted to give.
Jolie and I both wanted the same things. Time together. Laughter. Crazy good sex. Friendship. Support. She didn’t care about being seen with me because she had a place in the hockey world already from her dad.
“Why did we have to meet now?” I whispered.
Her shoulders dropped. “I know. Right after I ended a big relationship.”
“Right before I move to another state.”
Neither of us had been looking for love, but it found us anyway. I didn’t want Jolie to be any different than she was; I was proud of her hard work and the successful career that awaited her. But it would’ve been easier if she’d been a puck bunny hoping to follow a man wherever he led.
“I’d still do it,” she said, holding my gaze. “Even knowing it can’t last, I wouldn’t change a thing.”
“Me either.”
I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her flush against my chest and kissing her. She was even a perfect physical fit—she belonged in my arms.
“You guys, stop kissing!” Joey called from the other room. “Let’s watch The Mighty Ducks.”
I groaned. “Pick something else. We’ve watched that one three times already.”
Joey ran into the kitchen, a half-eaten slice of pizza in hand. “But I love that movie. So does Jolie.”
Jolie nodded, a smile playing on her lips. “Why don’t we take a vote?”
“Don’t bother. I already know I’ll lose,” I grumbled.
“Yay!” Joey cheered. “Let’s go.”
I kissed Jolie on the forehead, part of me wishing we could have finished our conversation and part of me glad we were leaving some things unsaid. It wouldn’t make things any easier if I told her I was crazy about her. That I thought about what an amazing mother she’d be one day when I saw her with Joey. That I hated when she had to leave, and I’d never felt that for any other woman before.
“Can I get some pizza first?” Jolie asked Joey.
“If you go fast.”
I playfully scoffed at him. “How nice of you to let us eat, kid.”
“You didn’t get the cinnamon bread,” he countered.
This kid. He never let anything get by him.
“I forgot about it, dude.”
He was standing in front of the fridge, filling the water bottle I’d bought him. That was the only battle I’d won—he mostly drank water now. I’d convinced him that if he kept drinking orange soda, it would turn his teeth orange.
“Okay, I’m ready to watch the greatest hockey movie ever made,” Jolie said, her plate piled high with pizza.
I grabbed the box with the supreme in it and carried it to the coffee table, and when I went to sit down, I saw that Jolie was on one end of the couch and Joey was snuggled up to her.