“I don’t mind.”
His gaze holds mine for a couple seconds. The silence between us in those moments holds something sexier than any words anyone’s ever spoken to me.
“Tell you what,” he says. “I’d love to have a drink with you, but I’ll buy. I see those two assholes at work every day anyway.”
I give him a coy smile, my heart hammering with excitement. “I can’t let you rescue me and buy me a drink.”
His grin heats my blood. Those perfect white teeth and the dimple set in one of his stubbled cheeks just may incinerate my panties.
“Trust me, you can,” he says in that deep voice that has my nipples rock hard already. “You may even enjoy it.”
“Hmm.” I let my gaze roam down his body, my pulse pounding in a way it never has before. “I think you may even enjoy it, too.”
Even his single, baritone note of laughter is sexy. “I’m quite sure I will.”
“I’m Abby.” I extend my hand toward his.
When he puts his hand in mine for a quick shake, the warmth and strength I feel make me light headed for a second.
“Luca,” he says in return, his eyes never leaving mine.
Luca. It fits him. And I’m sure his last name does, too, though I don’t want or need to know it. I don’t do second dates. Hell, I don’t even do first dates. One night of hot sex, though? I do that from time to time, and I’m really hoping this will end up being one of those nights.
I push my dinner plate aside and we relocate to a cozy corner table. It’s definitely an occasion for a second glass of wine, which I order from our server. Luca orders a Guinness, and once the server leaves, I tell him about my dad’s Guinness beef stew recipe.
“Sounds phenomenal,” he says, grinning. “How about you, do you cook?”
“Not really.”
Two twenty-something men approach our small table, one with an excited expression and the other with an apologetic one.
“Mr. Campbell?” the excited one says. “Could we get a quick photo?”
The other one gives Luca a tentative smile. “Sorry for interrupting you.”
Luca’s grin as he stands tells me he’s done this before. “Hey, no problem, guys. Of course we can do a photo.”
“You guys got robbed Friday night,” the man who looked apologetic says. “I was yelling at the TV that the ref should’ve worn a ski mask and pointed a gun at you. It was bullshit.”
“It was bullshit,” Luca agrees with a nod. “Those games happen, though.”
He asks both men their names—excited guy is Josh and apologetic guy is TJ—and shakes their hands. Then he looks at me.
“Abby, would you mind taking a picture?”
“Sure, no problem.”
Josh passes me his phone and he and TJ get on either side of Luca.
“Everybody say bullshit on three,” Luca says with a grin.
As our server walks by to deliver our drinks, I take several photos so Josh has a few to pick from.
“We’ll get out of here now,” Josh says, shaking Luca’s hand again. “Don’t want to cockblock you.”
“Hey, no worries, guys,” Luca says. “Thanks for coming over to say hi.”
“I’m getting those drinks,” Josh says, gesturing at our table.
“Oh, you don’t need to do that,” Luca says.
“No, seriously. I’m a lifelong Blaze fan. It would be an honor.”
Luca nods. “Thanks, man. We appreciate it.”
“Thanks,” I add.
The two men leave and Luca and I sit down.
“So you’re famous,” I say, arching my brows.
He waves a hand. “Nah. More like the team I play for is famous.”
“You play for the Chicago Blaze? You’re a professional hockey player?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s very cool.”
Luca shrugs. “There’s nothing better than getting paid to play a game you love.”
“I liked the way you handled the request for a photo. Do you get that a lot?”
“I wouldn’t say a lot, but it happens.” He takes a sip of his beer. “Do you like hockey?”
“I don’t know much about it, to be honest.”
“I could teach you a few things.” He winks at me, causing a flutter in my stomach.
“Oh yeah? Is this a setup for a joke about your stick?”
Luca’s eyes twinkle as he gives me a big smile. “Young lady, my stick is no joke. It’s very serious business.”
“Hmm. I may need to find out for myself.”
“I think you should.”
I take a long, fortifying sip of wine, then hold his gaze across the table for a second before saying, “Do you want to take these drinks up to my room?”
“Love to.”
We head across the lobby to the elevator, Luca’s very presence next to me making my blood heat. The night took an unexpected turn, and while I normally like to strictly plan everything, in this case, I’ll make an exception. What’s the worst that could happen?Chapter FourLucaEvery smile from Abby feels seductive to me. That second glass of wine has really loosened her up, and I got lots of smiles on the elevator ride up to her room. Now we’re in her suite, where she slipped out of her heels as soon as she got inside and sat down on the couch in the front room.