Juicy Rebound (IceCats 1)

She flashes me a grin but then covers it with her phone.

I glare at her. “You’re fine. You’re just forcing us to go to lunch.”

She doesn’t answer, and Chandler laughs. “Why don’t you just drive my truck home? We can walk home. It’s only a twenty-minute walk.”

I’m glad I’m wearing shorts and sneakers today.

“If that’s okay with you?”

I look up at him and nod. “That’s fine.”

Shelli puts her phone down. “Fine with me too.”

He digs into his pocket for his keys before holding them out to her. “Can you handle my truck?”

“I can handle bigger,” she says with a wink as she takes the keys. She’s so damn confident. Drives me wild because that used to be me. “Toodle-oo.”

As she walks off like nothing is wrong with her, I glance at Chandler, feeling stupid. Am I so pathetic that my cousin has to make me go on a date with him? “If you don’t want to—”

“I’ve been practically begging you for a date for the last couple weeks. Please don’t say I don’t have to take you out. I want to. Really bad.” He wraps an arm around my neck, pulling me into him. “Want to know what else I want to do really bad?”

I’m breathless as I gaze up into his stunning eyes. “What?”

He doesn’t say anything as my heart crashes into my chest. He is so big, and with one arm, he nearly smothers me. He brings me in close, lifting me up on my toes before his eyes move from mine to my lips. I take in a deep breath, and he smiles one hell of a devilish grin before he drops his lips to mine. My eyes fall shut as I lean into him, my hand coming up and holding his thick jaw. He sweeps his tongue along my lips, and I open up for him, my whole body catching on fire.

A catcall comes out of nowhere. “Get a room!”

I try to pull away, but Chandler just grins against my lips. He lifts only a breath away before he whispers, “How about Shakes and Stuff?”

I gawk at him. He kisses the shit out of me and then acts as if it’s no big deal?

His grin grows before he kisses my nose. “I feel burgers are in our future.”

He loosens his grip on me, and I settle back to my feet as I look up at him. “I like burgers.”

“Good,” he says, running his hand along my arm, my shoulder, and then my back. He leaves a trail of heat with even the simplest touch. He then slips his hand into mine, lacing our fingers together as his eyes burn into mine. “Have I told you how pretty you are?”

“Maybe a few times.”

“But not today, right?”

“Nope,” I say shyly, my eyes diverting to the sidewalk in front of us.

I don’t see him move in. His lips are right at my ear as he whispers, “By far the most gorgeous girl I’ve ever seen.”

I lick my lips as he kisses my ear, and it all feels so intimate. I wasn’t prepared to be okay with it. What happened to resisting him? To trying to heal myself before letting someone in? But then, I am grinning pretty hard.

What does that even mean?

We reach Shakes and Stuff within minutes and are seated right away. We order burgers and shakes, and I do a little dance as the waitress walks away.

“Excited?”

“I haven’t had a shake in a long time. I haven’t really been exploring since I moved here.”

“Well, that needs to change. We should do something new every week.”

“Do you have time for that?”

“I’ll make time,” he says with a shrug. “Except on away-game weeks. You know how that is.”

I do; I watched my uncle play in the NHL almost my whole life. “Okay.”

He leans back in the booth as he watches me. “So, when is Shelli leaving?”

“She has to leave right after Halloween, but I think she might be coming back two weeks later.”

“Nice.”

“Yeah, it’s great. I’ve gotten to see her a lot more this year than I have in the last five. When I was in Philly and New Hampshire, she didn’t come around much, and I couldn’t go see her.”

He pulls his brows in. “Why not?”

Well, didn’t I set him up there? “Drew was just really controlling once we got married. It was hard to do anything or go anywhere.”

A sharp exhale leaves his lips. “Lana was like that. She didn’t want me doing anything without her.”

Hell, Drew didn’t want me doing anything with or without him. He basically just wanted me to sit there and be at his beck and call. Not that I’d ever admit that to Chandler. I probably already seem weak in his eyes. I need to redirect this conversation. “Do you have another road trip coming up?”