Total pages in book: 136
Estimated words: 139259 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 696(@200wpm)___ 557(@250wpm)___ 464(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 139259 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 696(@200wpm)___ 557(@250wpm)___ 464(@300wpm)
The second I spot who it is, my cheeks warm despite the cold.
Hudson Wilde skates freely, without a care in the world or if I’m watching. He looks all serious and broody and in an annoyingly typical way, hot as hell.
Of course, it’s him. Who else would show up early, the man who never shows up early? Well, there goes my morning.
It’s about to get more complicated. Maybe I did something wrong in a past life. That’s the only answer to this insanity. My luck is shit. Hudson might be right about my nickname.
Hockey players shouldn’t be as hot as Hudson. It’s truly not fair.
My job and life would be easier if they—he—weren’t.
I need to get out of here before he notices me, but obviously, I’m already too late because the bastard chooses this exact minute to glance up.
Oh, perfect. Eye contact. There go my plans to avoid this exact situation.
“Enjoying the show?” He skates closer to where I’m sitting.
I shake my head. “Not even watching.”
“Me thinks you’re lying, Hex.”
And there it is, just as I thought, my damn nickname. As if I need another reminder.
I close my computer. Knowing me, I’ll probably accidentally break it with how enraged this man makes me, so it’s smarter to just put it away now. I’ll finish my work elsewhere.
“I’m not.”
He smirks. The man enjoys pissing me off way too much.
“Then why haven’t you blinked since you noticed me?”
I blow out my breath. “Wow. Cocky much?”
“You know it.” He winks.
My head shakes. “It’s really not a good character trait.”
“Well, it can be added to my long list of shortcomings you must think I have.”
“If it walks like a duc—”
“Quack.” He smiles.
“You’re a toddler.”
“I might be, but at least I learned a few lessons in pre-k. You, however, didn’t.”
“Will you ever get over it? I said I’m sorry. I don’t even know why you’re so upset. You’re doing amazing.”
“Despite the consequences.”
“What consequences? Oh no. A few years ago, you got benched from one game.”
“My first, Hex. My first game, and Coach has never given me a chance since. Why do you think I’m here so goddamn early every day? Why do you think I practice so much—”
“Because you like hockey.”
“’Cause I want to be taken seriously.”
My mouth opens and shuts. All words have died on my tongue. There is a rawness in his voice I don’t expect.
I feel guilty.
“Well, maybe if you stopped being a man wh—”
“Watch yourself.”
“What? You’re a player. It’s not like it’s up for discussion.”
“Am I, though? Or is it just the role I fell into because of you?”
He skates closer, looking at me in a way that brings a chill down my spine. Almost arctic.
This is a different look for him. It’s not cocky. It’s darker.
All these years, I knew I hurt him, but he always seemed okay, so it never dawned on me that there might be more hiding under his perfect exterior.
“Careful, Hex. Keep staring at me, and your brother might start to wonder.”
“There’s nothing to wonder about.”
“Hey, what’s going on over there?” My brother’s voice booms, and I turn my head to see him stepping out onto the ice. “You good, Moll?”
Relief floods through me. Saved by Dane.
I give my brother a sugary-sweet smile, then I turn it toward Hudson. He absolutely does not deserve it, but maybe . . . No.
He doesn’t deserve it.
Best to stay far away from Hudson Wilde. That man is not good for my health.
20
Molly
“Are you kidding me?” The words were meant to be only for me, but of course, my damn mouth opened and said them out loud, and now everyone on the chartered plane might have heard me. Despite my high-pitched tone, it doesn’t appear that anyone heard me. Well, anyone other than the idiot sitting beside the only empty seat on the plane.
I can’t complain, though, because family is not allowed to travel with the team, but since I work for my brother Dane—and when need be, the team—they make an exception for me, so complaining about my seat most likely won’t be well received.
I continue to peer around the small plane. It’s not exactly spacious in here. It feels more like an oversized minivan than a luxury flight. Sometimes, the chartered planes are nice, but this one is lacking. Especially the passenger sitting next to the seat where I’m supposed to sit.
My life is a cosmic joke.
Of course, this would happen. Of all the open seats on the plane, the universe has chosen this one for me. Well played. I obviously sinned in a past life.
No way am I riding five minutes next to this man, let alone two hours.
“You planning on standing there all day? I’m pretty sure the pilots won’t take off unless you’re strapped in.”
I ignore him as I continue to search for another seat. There must be another option. Maybe someone who doesn’t make my blood boil every time he breathes.