Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 57576 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 288(@200wpm)___ 230(@250wpm)___ 192(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57576 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 288(@200wpm)___ 230(@250wpm)___ 192(@300wpm)
Not anytime soon, though.
“I can’t stop thinking about how great that sushi was,” I say as I take photos of the spectacular view.
“I could eat that for lunch every day for the rest of my life,” Knox says, holding his phone up to take a selfie of the two of us.
Our day of exploring has been the most fun I’ve had since getting here. We got delicious fresh papaya from a produce stand, kayaked around part of the island trying to spot sea life, and had sushi at a local restaurant. Knox ate more sushi than I would’ve thought one person could consume, which I Iiked. Eric was always complaining about not fitting into a size medium shirt anymore. It’s nice to be around a man’s man who works hard to stay in shape but also eats what he wants.
“Should we get dinner at that restaurant the guy at the kayak place recommended?” Knox asks me.
“I’d love to, but…I feel like I’m keeping you from your friends. Won’t they be wondering where you are?”
“Nah. We all kinda do whatever we want when we’re here.”
“Okay. I do love coconut shrimp, and he said that place has the best on the island.”
“Then it’s settled.”
I hesitate before saying, “I’m buying dinner, though, okay?”
He gives me a look. “No, it’s not okay.”
“You bought lunch.”
“And I’ll enjoy buying dinner just as much.”
“This isn’t a date.”
Knox’s gaze darkens slightly. “I never said it was.”
“I’m not sleeping with you tonight.”
He stops halfway down the hill we’re hiking down. “Did I ask you to sleep with me?”
“No, but…” I look away, hoping I haven’t offended him. “Look, I haven’t dated in a long time. Eric and I were together for nine years. And even though this isn’t a date, I just felt like I should be clear. I don’t want to disappoint you.”
“You could never disappoint me.”
I laugh bitterly. “I’m sure I could, Knox. You don’t even know me.”
“I know enough to know you could never disappoint me.”
“If you asked me to iron a shirt for you, you’d be very disappointed.”
He grins. “I get my shit dry cleaned.”
“Well, I don’t like lacy lingerie, and I never wear heels.”
“Me either.”
I laugh in spite of myself. “Look, I think you know Kauai Reese. In real life, I’m much more neurotic and boring.”
“Don’t overthink it, okay? Kauai Knox is taking Kauai Reese out for dinner tonight. We’re gonna have some laughs and a great meal. And at the end of the night, we can high five and go back to our separate rooms.”
“Just friends, then?”
He hesitates a second before nodding. “Yep, just friends.”
“It’s not that I wouldn’t want to be more, if things were different.”
“I understand.”
“I mean, you live in Illinois and I’m in California.”
Knox arches a brow at me as we reach the bottom of the hill. “I thought I was with Kauai Reese today.”
I put my hands up in surrender. “Okay, that’s fair.”
We sit down on a wood bench, both getting a drink from our water bottles.
“When was your last relationship?” I ask.
Knox makes a humming sound as he considers my question. “I dated the same woman for a couple months when I was…twenty-seven, I think. So seven years ago.”
I can’t help my incredulous look. “A couple months? Seven years ago?”
He shrugs. “It takes too much work to make a relationship work when you travel as much as I do.”
“And I’m sure lots of women want to get with hockey players after games.”
“On occasion,” he says wryly.
“You and I are very different.”
Knox nudges his upper arm against my shoulder as we sit side by side on the bench. “But we agree on eating an eye-watering amount of wasabi with our sushi, that’s something.”
“It is,” I say, grinning.
“I’ve talked more to you today than I’ve probably ever talked to multiple people in one day.”
I lower my brows in concern. “Why? Because I talk so much?”
“No. I don’t know why, really. I just usually don’t have much to say.” He glances down at his watch. “Want to break for showers and meet back up for dinner?”
“Sure.”
Knox tells me about the teammates in Kauai with him as we walk the couple miles back to my hotel, and I can tell he’s fiercely protective of them. He also explains his role as the team’s enforcer on the ice, which doesn’t really fit my image of him.
“A broken jaw?” I ask, shocked. “And you went back to fighting after it healed?”
He shrugs. “Yeah. That’s what we do.”
“Well…can’t someone else take a turn as the enforcer?”
“Nope, that’s my job.”
“Do you like it?”
“Mostly. The fighting’s not as prevalent as it used to be. Teams used to have goons on the ice who couldn’t skate worth a shit. They were just there to protect the best players. But these days you have to be a solid player and an enforcer. So fighting’s only a small part of what I do.”