Garrett (Cold Fury Hockey 2)

"I didn't say 'yes,' " she points out seriously.

"But you'll get fired if you don't," I counter.

"Stevie's full of hot air. Besides, he can't function without me," she says confidently.

"I heard that," Stevie calls out from the back in a singsong voice. "You are so fired."

"Come on, Olivia. What do you have to lose?" I urge her. "I promise you a fantastic time."

She snorts and walks over to a floral arrangement that's balanced on a tiny round table. It's pretty...all pinks, blues, and purples. No clue what the flowers are but it's actually kind of stunning. I watch as Olivia starts messing with the arrangement, pushing some of the stems down a little farther and fluffing others.

"Your idea of fantastic and mine might be two separate things," she points out, her gaze never leaving the flowers before her.

I step in closer to her, just inches away from her back, and notice the subtle stiffening of her body. Bending down, I whisper in her ear, "But then again...maybe our idea of fantastic is one and the same."

She lets out a little gust of a breath across her lips and her shoulders relax. Turning on me so I have to lean back a bit, she asks, "So, what did you have in mind?"

Well, shit. I didn't have anything in mind yet. I hadn't made it past trying to get a committed "yes" out of her.

"We can do whatever you want," I tell her, thinking that's my safest course of action right now. Because I sure as hell bet she won't appreciate me suggesting we go to her place for some toe-curling orgasms.

"Hmmmm," she muses, and is it my imagination, or did she just lean in a little closer to me? "So...what you're saying is if I told you I wanted to just go get a hotel room, and let's have sex all night, we could do that?"

I take an involuntary step backward, because, holy hell...her words are like a punch in the gut. Surely she's teasing me. Surely she is not even seriously suggesting that. Because if she is, I'm apt to drag her out of here right now and show her exactly how fantastic of a time we'd have together.

Instead, I swallow hard and say in a teasing tone, "That's not really appropriate for a first date. I don't want you to want me just for my body. I want you to want me for my mind as well."

Olivia's face tilts toward the ceiling and she starts laughing. Her full lips pull back and I'm treated to a flash of white teeth and peek of a sweetly wet pink tongue that I bet would look amazing licking my cock. When her head levels back at me, her eyes are lit with amusement. "Hilarious, Garrett. So freakin' hilarious."

"At least you appreciate my humor," I tell her with a chuckle. "But seriously...we can do whatever you want tonight. Just say 'yes.' "

Her lips pull down into a subtle grin and she reaches a hand out to lay it on my chest. I'm sure she can feel the way my heart is pounding right now, because it's juiced up on the intoxicating blend of a sexy female who makes me laugh as much as she makes me mad with lust to have her.

"Okay...it's a 'yes,' " she says, finally putting me out of my misery. "I'll let you surprise me as to what we'll do, and just so you know...I have a very open mind."

Her last few words are warm, husky, and laced with something that I'm quite sure may be innuendo. I immediately step in toward her and she doesn't move her hand from my chest. I like that she's not intimidated by me, so I reach up and curl my fingers around hers, holding her tight against my sternum. "An open mind, huh?"

She nods. "Let's just say that lately...I've decided to live life to the fullest. So I'm looking forward to what you have to show me tonight."

Holy fuck. That right there is complete innuendo in her tone. Is it possible she wants what I want? To fuck ourselves into a coma?

Shaking my head, I immediately deny that's what's going on here. Olivia doesn't come across as a sexually liberated woman. In fact, she seems to me to be the type of woman that would need some romancing and seduction, which is fine by me. She's thrown down a bit of a challenge for me, and while an easy conquest is fun for the most part, it can get boring. I don't mind having to work toward my goals, and getting Olivia Case into my bed has become one of my main priorities at this point.

"Okay," I say as I lift her hand away from my chest so I can kiss her fingertips. "I'll pick you up at seven tonight. Dress casual...unless you're in the mood for something fancy," I add on as an afterthought.

"No, casual is better. I'm not much for fancy."

"Me either," I tell her, and then bring my other hand up to tug on the end of one long braid. "And do me a favor...wear your hair just like it is now."

Something flickers in her eyes...something a bit hot and knowing. She sucks her bottom lip between her teeth briefly and then it pops free as she considers my request. That simple movement right there has my cock starting to swell with curiosity.

"I'll consider it," she says, then tugs her hand free of mine as she takes a small step back.

We stare at each other for a moment more, and I can see it's easy to get lost in her eyes. She looks so young...so innocent...yet I see something in there that's also laced with a bit of wisdom that maybe she knows something that I don't.

Whatever the reason Olivia decided to change her mind and give me a chance, I'm not going to worry about it. I'm just glad she did.

Chapter 4

Olivia

Pulling my ponytail high and tight on top of my head, I give myself a critical stare in the mirror. I worked late at Fleurish and had time to get only a quick shower before my date, but I didn't have time to wash my hair. So I unbraided the pigtails I had, satisfied with the gentle wave they had left in my hair, and opted for a quick ponytail so I'd have time to put on a little makeup. I know Garrett requested I wear my hair the same way, but I decide against it. I have no clue what the evening holds, but I want to keep the upper hand. So much is out of control in my life right now that I feel the need to make sure that whatever I do, I do it because I want it for myself. Besides, I don't want him thinking I'm a sure bet, in any manner.

Garrett said casual tonight, so I put on a pair of white shorts that I know make my tanned legs look good--damned good--and throw on a kelly-green T-shirt that says KISS ME, I'M IRISH on it. I'm not sure what it says about me that I carefully chose a matching set of sexy lingerie to go under said casual clothes...pale pink silk, the prettiest underwear-and-bra set that I own. But I know that it's within my control whether to keep them on or take them off, and we'll just have to see how the evening goes.

Yes, my mind has gone there more than once since I said "yes" to Garrett's invitation. After he left the shop this afternoon, Stevie was relentless with me, peppering our conversations throughout the afternoon with random opinions on how my date should go.

You should totally hook up with him tonight.

Girl...I'm telling you...that man is going to turn your bones into jelly...with his tongue, no doubt.

YOLO! Did you hear me? YOLO!

I ignored each comment, knowing that if I responded in any way, it would fuel him on. But just because I held my tongue didn't mean that my mind wasn't on overdrive thinking about what it was I was really hoping to accomplish by going out with Garrett tonight.

Every other first date I've ever been on in my life has been with the sole purpose of hoping to get to know someone and make a bit of a connection. Hoping that it would lead to something more, because as a woman, I wanted the romance and secure warmth of a solid relationship. I've never gone out with anyone with the idea in mind of having sex with him. Never thought about it once.

But God help me...it's all I've been thinking about this afternoon.

All thanks to Stevie yammering at me to seize life by the horns, all while the cancer hammers at my body, maybe setting me on a collision course with a destiny that may make it impossible for me to do anything but clutch weakly and in vain at my life.

I don't want to feel weak and powerless. I want to make this life my bitch and wring every bit of juicy goodness from it before it's possibly taken away from me. Am I wrong to view Garrett Samuelson as "ju

icy goodness"? Am I a complete slut to even consider this?

There is one good thing about being obsessed with my date tonight with Garrett. It helped me keep my mind off everything I learned at my oncology appointment early this morning. I went in scared to death, almost sick to my stomach, and came out with at least a little bit more knowledge that helped me put things into better perspective. My head is swimming with information.

Dr. Yoffman was very kind and very cool. I'd guess he is in his late fifties, with longish dark salt-and-pepper hair and a goatee. He wore jeans, tennis shoes, and a Hawaiian-print shirt, and rather than put me off, his casual look and demeanor actually made me feel more calm. He gave me a full physical examination, prodding gently on the swollen lymph node on the right side of my neck. It had been there for weeks, my primary-care doctor thinking first it was some type of infection because I was also having fevers and general fatigue. He tried to treat it with various antibiotics, but when the symptoms wouldn't subside, he ordered a biopsy on the lymph node.