Total pages in book: 25
Estimated words: 23971 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 120(@200wpm)___ 96(@250wpm)___ 80(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 23971 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 120(@200wpm)___ 96(@250wpm)___ 80(@300wpm)
“Are you here with your wife?” I ask, fishing for details.
“She wasn’t feeling well,” he says. “I brought my daughter instead.”
“Your… daughter?” I say with a crack in my voice.
His stern eyes narrow on me.
“Don’t even think about it,” he hisses in a low voice like he can read my mind. “She is off-limits.”
I glance at her. I can’t help it. I know it’s a bad move, but my eyes just keep going to her like they have a mind of their own.
He turns and practically growls when he sees where I’m looking.
“That’s my little girl,” he says, glaring at me with murderous eyes. “Try anything and you’ll be swimming home, you got that?”
I force out a nod.
She’s not his little girl anymore.
She’s mine.
And it’s time to let her know it.
CHAPTER FOUR
Grace
“So, what are you studying?” Jane asks in a friendly tone. I’m hanging out at the bar with the wives and girlfriends of the team as the yacht slowly pulls away from the pier. Jane is Tucker’s girlfriend, which is a little funny to see. She’s so sweet and smiley, and he looks like he’s been cursed with a bad case of resting scowl face. I guess opposites do attract.
“Graphic design,” I tell her. “I’d like to work in marketing.”
“That’s fun,” she says. “Any ideas where you’d like to work?”
“Umm… Not really.”
I’m trying to decide what to do. If I should apply for jobs or start my own boutique graphic design agency with my friend Lindsay who I met at school.
My dad wants me to come work for the Hyenas when I graduate. I’m not sure about it.
We argued about it yesterday.
“Come work for me,” he said. “I’ll get you a job easily.”
“That’s nepotism, Dad!”
“Yes, exactly! See? Now you’re getting it. The team will hire you because you’re my daughter. Isn’t that great?”
“No! I want to earn it.”
He had a mix of frustration and pride on his face as he looked at me.
“I’ve seen your work,” he said after a deep breath. “You’re so talented. That’s why I want to hire you. Not because you’re my little girl.”
He leaned in and kissed my forehead.
“Yeah, right,” I muttered under my breath.
I don’t want to ride his coattails. I want to carve my own path in the world.
“I guess I’ll figure it out after graduation,” I tell her.
We chat a bit more, but I’m having trouble focusing on what she’s saying.
My eyes keep wandering through the crowd, looking for the Hyenas’ hot goalie.
I shiver as I think back to the heated way he was looking at me. He was standing on the deck with his intense brown eyes locked on me. I desperately wanted to know what he was thinking.
Whatever it was, it was not PG-13. Those eyes were X-rated.
“Do you like hockey?” Jane asks as she takes a sip of her drink.
“Do you?” I ask with a laugh.
She shrugs her bare shoulders. “Not before I met Tucker,” she says as she gives him a shy smile. “But I’m starting to come around. I just close my eyes during the fights. I don’t like that part.”
She must close her eyes a lot. Her boyfriend is the biggest, baddest fighter in the league.
“I like it,” I say. I used to only watch it because my mom forced me to watch Dad’s games when he became a coach, but it’s grown on me over the years.
Especially when Nolan is playing. I can’t take my eyes off the TV when he’s on the ice.
He suddenly appears in the crowd and my chest tightens. I suck in a breath as I stare at him in awe.
He’s stunning. Such a gorgeous man.
His black suit looks molded to his broad shoulders and muscular chest. I just want to run my hands along his lapel. I want to be the one to fix his tie in the morning. I want to be the one who undresses him at night.
I feel a fluttering rippling through my body as he comes this way. He hasn’t seen me yet.
I’m not sure if he’s going to say hi or not. I saw my father lecturing him and I bet it was about me. My father is good at intimidating all sorts of strong powerful men—you don’t get to be a professional sports coach without that trait. I wonder what he said.
My father isn’t around now…
I’m going to talk to him.
“It was nice talking to you,” I say, smiling at Jane. “I’ll see you on the dance floor later?”
She smiles back. “Definitely. And good luck with Nolan.”
“What?” I say, snapping my head back to her. I feel my cheeks getting red.
She laughs. “Oh, don’t get all sunburnt on me. It was obvious with the way you were gawking at him with those big Pixar eyes.” She grins. “I’m rooting for you. Let me know if you need some backup. I can run interference with your dad.”