Victor (Chicago Blaze 3)

“Nah, I got it. I’ll take one to your place and then go to mine.”

“I live with my dad,” I blurt awkwardly.

He grins. “That’s cool.”

“I mean, not that you’re coming in or anything, I just…yeah.”

Oh God. I want to fall through the floor and disappear.

“Well, sometime when it’s not 1:00 a.m., I’d like to meet him,” Victor says, standing up and retrieving his jacket from the back of his chair.

“Um, yeah.”

Our Uber driver is a retired waiter who talks the entire way to my house. When we pull up outside my modest little white house, I’m reminded that Victor and I live in two different worlds. My four-horse carriage is officially turning back into a pumpkin.

Victor walks me up to the front porch, maintaining a friendly amount of distance between us.

“So you want to hang out again sometime?” he asks. “Maybe catch a baseball playoff game at a sports bar or something?”

My pulse instantly goes into overdrive. “Yeah, sure.”

“You like baseball, right?”

“I love it.”

“Okay, cool.” An awkward silence falls between us.

“So thanks for tonight,” I say, grabbing the screen-door handle. “Last time I’ll say it, I promise.”

Victor grins. “Yeah, I had fun.”

“Good luck in Seattle.”

“Thanks. I’ll text you.”

He gives me a wave and heads down the stairs, the bottom one creaking loudly as it always does.

I keep it cool as I walk inside, but once I close the door, I lean my back against it, smiling like a giddy girl into the dark, empty living room. I take out my phone to text Ari, as promised.

Me: So much fun!

Ari: Aghhhh I knew it! And it’s 1:30 am!!!! Did you guys do the dirty?

Me: OMG no. It’s not like that, I told you.

Ari: Hmm…did he ask you to go out again?

Me: Not go out, per se, but we are hanging out.

Ari: SAME THING. And wth is per se?

Me: I’ll tell you tomorrow. I’m going to bed.

Ari: I want ALLLLL the details tomorrow.

Me: You got it.

I’ll tell her everything about tonight when we have downtime at work tomorrow. For now, I just want to replay every amazing moment in my head.Chapter TwelveVictorLuca’s snoring, his head on my shoulder and his mouth wide open. Before he had kids, he never slept during the day. But now he sacks out on every flight. And nothing wakes him up. Kids crying, people arguing, turbulence—he sleeps through it all. A woman went into labor on one of our commercial flights last year and he snored like a chainsaw the entire time.

I’ve never been able to sleep on planes, though. And the flight to Seattle is one of our longer ones. I’ve got Wi-Fi, so I cruise through every sports site I follow, glad to see I’m no longer making headlines. Some of those sports writers are smug as shit, relishing the opportunity to kick players when they’re down.

I try listening to an audiobook after checking sports sites, but I can’t get into it. I’m restless.

Wonder what Lindy’s doing? It’s not the first time I’ve thought about it today. Lately, I’ve been thinking about her every day, actually. She’s warm and funny. It feels good to be around her.

Not just good, but…effortless. Usually when there’s a woman I want to be around, I have one goal—getting her into bed. Not that I don’t enjoy the chase—I do—but it’s work sometimes. With Lindy, though, I’m just me and she’s just her.

I think maybe we need to be friends. Good friends, who hang out and do shit for each other, like water your plants when you’re out of town or come bail you out of jail.

Not that I have plants or have ever been arrested, but still—it’s good to have a friend like that. And while I have my teammates, there’s something different about Lindy. She’s soft and sweet. With her, I don’t think it matters how much money I make or how cut my abs are.

I’ve never had a female friend. Never even wanted one, until now.

I shift my shoulder, trying to get Luca to stop snoring six inches from my inner ear canal, and then text Lindy.

Me: Hey, what are you up to?

Lindy: Nothing much, just cleaning the kitchen. Is everything okay?

Me: Yeah, why?

Lindy: I figured you were texting me for a reason.

Me: Just wanted to see what’s up with my puck whisperer.

Lindy: Oh. Well, I wish I had something exciting to report. The sink has been scoured and the floor’s about to get mopped. That’s all I’ve got.

Me: Hey, nothing wrong with a clean kitchen.

Lindy: Are you on the way to Seattle?

Me: I am, we’re in the air now.

Lindy: Are you supposed to be on your phone??

Me: Yeah, plane’s got wifi.

Lindy: Phew. Can you tell I’ve never been on an airplane? LOL

Me: Never?

Lindy: No.

Me: Will you be watching the game tonight?

Lindy: I wish! I have to work.