Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 121764 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 609(@200wpm)___ 487(@250wpm)___ 406(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121764 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 609(@200wpm)___ 487(@250wpm)___ 406(@300wpm)
Two of them began muttering to each other, smiling shyly as they watched Jaxson’s every move. I swore I felt a hush come over the entire lobby, and when I glanced over my shoulder at the bar, there were various crowds of people with their eyes trained on Jaxson, too.
I was used to this with my brother. Vince Tanev was already a household name after just one season in the NHL. Add in the fact that Maven had followed him around all season and posted his every move on social media, and you could say he had a rabid fanbase. We couldn’t even go to the damn grocery store anymore without him getting asked for both photos and autographs.
When I turned back to Jaxson, I realized he likely suffered the same fate. Not that he didn’t enjoy it, from the way he was not-so-subtly flirting with the woman behind the desk. She played with her hair as she listened to him talk, and now I was the jealous one, a sinking feeling in my gut as I watched him turn his charm all the way on for her.
He’s stayed here plenty of times with the team, he’d said.
How many women had he fucked inside these walls?
Jaxson tapped his credit card on the counter before sheathing it in his wallet again, taking the hotel keys and brochures from the woman and turning to face me. He didn’t slip back into the Jaxson I knew, though — he kept that façade going strong as he gave our room number to the bellman with instructions to bring ice to our rooms, too.
“Ready?” he asked, handing me a trifold that had my room number written in Sharpie on the outside. Then, his eyes flicked behind me, and he muttered a curse before his smile grew strained.
“Hey, man, so sorry to bother you,” a voice said, the so giving away that they were from somewhere in the Midwest. I turned to find four guys with their phones clutched in their hands. The boldest of them was the one talking. “We know you’re just trying to get checked in, but we’re huge fans. We both went to Ohio State, too.”
“Go Bucks!” his friend chimed in.
“We were just wondering if we could get a picture?” the guy asked, cringing a little despite the hopeful look on his face.
I felt the way Jaxson schooled himself, how he forced a calm breath before smiling big. “Of course, man.”
“Really? Oh, sick,” he said, and then he looked around for someone to take the picture.
I held my hand out, and the guy thanked me before he and his buddies flanked Jaxson. There was another group watching us and slowly making their way over — this one looked to be three couples. I gave them a warning look that I hoped told them this was not fucking Disney World, and it seemed to work, because they paused their advance.
Once the photos were taken, Jaxson hurriedly pulled his hood overhead and slid his sunglasses into place even though we were inside. That notion also stopped a few other groups in their tracks before they could make their way over to us, and I wondered if he just didn’t enjoy taking photos like he was some sort of zoo animal, or if he was more worried about pictures of us getting put into the world. Not that I wanted that to happen, either — God knew my brother would blow a gasket, and I didn’t want that for either of us — but it still hurt a little.
I didn’t have time to overthink it before Jaxson grabbed my hand and hauled me toward the elevators.
I stared at that point of contact, at where his hand completely enveloped my own, feeling another zap of a memory from the night we spent together in Austin. His skin was warm and calloused, and he kept his gaze locked on the elevators all while subtly looking around as if I was the one who needed protecting from the fans watching us pass by.
I chastised myself for the way my stomach took flight at that, at the thought of him wanting to keep me safe, to protect me like I was his. I had been single for all of ten seconds, and I was already dreaming of another relationship.
You are a stupid, lovesick girl, Grace.
Will you ever learn your lesson?
Add in the fact that he’d made it very clear before we even stepped into that rental car together that we were just friends, and I put an extra emphasis on stupid.
I needed to listen to those words, regardless of what his eyes said when they raked over me.
If I would have done that with Trent, I could have saved myself a whole lot of heartache.
What was it about me that I didn’t take a man’s word for the truth when he said shit like that? Why did I have this ridiculous fantasy about being the one to change their mind, about being special enough that the I’m not looking for a relationship guy would fall at my feet and declare his undying love for me?