Garrett (Cold Fury Hockey 2)

Olivia.

Damn, that woman is hot. And funny. And bright. And did I mention hot?

I was seriously bummed she wouldn't go out with me, and even more bummed when Sutton pretty much nixed any further attempts on my part to seduce her. While I really had no more intentions other than seeing if I could fuck her, I had to admit to myself that the chase itself was more fun than any I've ever had. There was something about her smile and her flirty voice, and the challenge she presented.

"So, why don't we hook up with both of them for lunch?" I ask benignly.

Alex shoots me an eye roll. "There will be no 'hooking up' to be had between you and Olivia. I thought Sutton made that clear."

I snort in amusement. "Your woman has no say-so in what I do."

Shrugging, Alex merely says, "It's your scalp she'll have. I'm just trying to protect you, man."

Coach gives three sharp blows on his whistle after the last drill and yells out, "Okay. Great work today, guys, but time's up on this session. You knuckleheads clear out for group B."

Damn...practice is over already? I was so juiced to get back on the ice, and the time just seemed to fly by. Pushing off on my skates, I start heading toward the door that leads under the arena seating and toward the locker room.

As I step onto the concrete flooring, I glance back over my shoulder at Alex. "Seriously...why doesn't Sutton want me to go out with Olivia? Am I not good enough for her?"

Alex pokes me hard in the back with his stick, causing me to stumble forward a foot. "You know Sutton adores you. She's just protective of her cousin, that's all."

"It's not like I'm going to corrupt her innocence," I grumble as I reach the locker room. "It's just a date, for fuck's sake."

Alex snorts as he follows me in. "Seriously? A date? Is that what you're calling it these days?"

"Yes, a date, douchebag. It's not like I haven't ever gone on a date before."

"Yeah, but your idea of the perfect date ends up with you in the sack, busting a nut."

"So what?" I mutter. "Who wouldn't want to end a date like that? In fact, tell me you didn't want your first date with Sutton to end that way."

Alex's face flushes guilty red and I smirk knowingly at him. I don't give him a chance to deny it and hit him hard. "Besides...I've gone out on plenty of dates that don't end up with the chick in my bed, and if Olivia just wants to go out for a nice time, then I'm all for that. I don't have any expectations one way or the other."

I have hopes, but no expectations.

Hanging his head in resignation, Alex grumbles, "All right, I get it."

I grin over my victory and sit down on one of the benches to remove my skates. But the victory is short-lived when Alex brings me back down to earth. "But she already turned you down, dude. So it's kind of moot, right?"

My eyebrows furrow in consternation, because, yeah...Olivia was pretty adamant that she didn't want to go out with me. But I'm also not one to give up so easily. If I was that type of person, I would never have made it as a professional hockey player.

"Do you have Olivia's phone number?" I ask Alex.

"Nope," he says, looking a little relieved not to be tangled up in this.

"Call Sutton...get it for me."

"No fucking way," Alex says forcefully. "Sutton would wring my neck for even asking. You're on your own, man."

Asshole, I think to myself, but then a devious smile comes to my face. No matter. I know where she works. I think I might be in need of a fresh floral arrangement. My brain immediately starts thinking of how I can approach Olivia and get her to reverse her decision not to go out with me.

--

I push open the glass door to Fleurish, immediately hit with wonderful scents. Some floral, but some spicy. My eyes are then treated to a barrage of colors as I'm overwhelmed by the sheer volume of plants and flower arrangements that are perched on tables and various stands. Subtle mood lighting is reflected with small, decorative lamps strategically placed around the store. I've never been in a flower shop before, but it's...nice. Definitely calming.

"Can I help you find something?" I hear a somewhat effeminate voice that I don't recognize as Olivia's.

As I look up, my eyes round with surprise, taking in the man standing before me. He's short, at least a foot shorter than me, and very thin. He's wearing a pair of dark skinny jeans, Doc Martens, and a bright pink wife-beater with the armholes cut down almost to his waist. His hair is almost a white-blond, with a long, pink-tipped Mohawk sticking up at least a good five inches. A floral design of pink crystals starts at his right eye and extends over his cheekbone.

"Um...yeah...I'm looking for Olivia. Is she here?"

The outlandishly flamboyant man's eyes flare wide and his mouth forms in a perfect o. "You're Garrett Samuelson."

I flash him my trademark grin, popping the killer dimples, which I don't mind sharing with him. "Are you a Cold Fury fan?"

Stepping forward, the guy gives me a wicked smile and says, "Not at all. The sport is too violent for my tastes, but Olivia is. I'm her boss, Stevie Magliano."

I reach out to give him a shake, but he stuns the fuck out of me when he grabs my hand and lifts it to his lips. Before I can pull away, he smacks a kiss on my knuckles and says, "Oh, you are a handsome devil. Just like she said."

He releases my hand and it falls limply to my side, so shocked I am that he just kissed me on the hand, but strangely pleased to hear that Olivia clearly told him about me. I'd sacrifice my knuckles just to hear that piece of information any day of the week.

"Yeah...nice to meet you," I say quickly, and resist the urge to start snickering over what just happened. Alex is going to die when I tell him this dude kissed my knuckles. "So...uh...is she here?"

/>

"Olivia," Stevie practically screams over his shoulder, but without removing his eyes from mine. "Get out here."

I hear shuffling in the back and I briefly catch a glimpse of Olivia as she walks by a glass window that separates the front of the store from the back. My heart starts thrumming erratically, just in the brief moment I saw her.

When she walks through the door, her eyebrows raise in surprise to see me standing there, but I'm relieved to see a quick grin on her face. She looks even better in the daylight with her multi-streaked hair lying in two loose, pigtail braids over each shoulder, with little wisps that have come free to frame her face. She's wearing a pair of really faded jeans with a hole in one knee, flip-flops, and a tight white T-shirt that showcases a fantastic set of tits that I didn't really get to appreciate last night because the blouse she had on was a little baggy.

"What are you doing here?" she asks with pleasant surprise.

"I came by to get you to change your mind about going out with me," I say confidently, and she gives me a little smirk.

"Her answer is 'Yes,' " Stevie says quickly, and both my head and Olivia's snap his way.

His gaze flicks back and forth between us, his face all innocent-looking. "What? You want her to say 'yes' and trust me, she wants to say 'yes,' so I'm just speeding the process up a bit."

"Get out of my process," Olivia says with mock offense. "I'm a big girl and I can answer for myself. Now...don't you have some flowers that need your attention or something?"

Stevie snorts and says to me, "It was nice meeting you, Garrett."

Spinning on his heel, he starts to flounce toward the back of the shop, but not before stopping beside Olivia and saying, "And I'm going to fire you if you don't say 'yes.' So take your process and stuff it."

I can't help but laugh and Olivia darts me a glare, and then levels another harsher one at Stevie, so I figure I'd better cut my laugh short.

Still, can't hide the smirk--at least someone wants us to go out with each other.

After Stevie disappears from sight, Olivia looks back at me, her eyes chastising me over our humor at her expense.

"So, I guess it's a 'yes,' " I murmur as I step a foot closer to her.