Lucas (Cold Fury Hockey 8)

She gives a small laugh. "Okay. Rotten kid."

Stepping into my closet, I bend over and pick up my gym shoes. "I've got to get going. I've decided to not be a slug and go workout."

"Maybe you'll meet a pretty girl there," she says slyly.

"Goodbye, Etta," I drawl.

"I love you, kiddo," she says with deep affection.

"I love you more," I tell her back truthfully. The only woman I'm sure I'll ever love.

When we disconnect, I put my shoes on and grab my wallet and keys off my dresser. I pocket my cellphone and open my bedroom door. When I step into the hallway, I'm almost mowed over by Simone as she drags her largest suitcase toward Lucas's room which is just past mine on the opposite side.

"Sorry," she mumbles as she comes to a stop and I step back into my doorway to give her room.

I just stare down at her, waiting for her to pass. She doesn't and stares right back at me.

"Lucas said you're grumpy," she says with a curious tilt of her head.

"Yup," I agree.

"Hmmm," she says as if she's appraising my entire personality. "I'm going to go with brooding. It's a better fit for the hotness you exude."

"Hotness?" I ask with a cocked eyebrow.

"Oh, come on," she says dramatically and waves her hand up and down at me. Her eyes roam over my body and if I was an oversensitive prude, I'd be offended. But I'm not. "Just look at all you got going on? Big and muscly. And those deep, sensitive eyes filled with mystery. Total hotness and totally broody."

"Whatever you say," I drawl as I try to step past her. She moves and places herself in my path.

"I'm cooking dinner tonight for you and Lucas," she practically chirps with a bright smile. And fine, I'll admit it...those two dimples that pucker when she does so add a new level of hotness to her own package.

But they don't sway me. "I'll pass. I'll grab something while I'm out."

She stares at me a moment, and I can see the calculation in her eyes. She's absolutely up to something and for the life of me I can't figure out how it could involve me. Maybe she's just fucking crazy, like originally assumed.

Finally, she gives a regal nod of her head and moves to the side. I lower my gaze and move past her, bristling when she murmurs. "Definitely hot and broody. I like it."