Page 17 of Game Changer (Wynn Hockey #5)

That’s it. That’s all I’m getting. Okay. “There’s a skating rink in this mall.”

He grins. “No shit.”

“Really.”

“Do you know how to skate?”

“Of course I do.”

“Let’s go, then.” He takes my arm and starts walking.

“Seriously?”

“Yeah.”

We find the entrance and pay to rent skates.

“What about your feet?” I whisper to him.

“I’ll survive.”

We join the people on the ice, lots of kids, some skating independently, others using big plastic animals to hold on to.

I do know how to skate, but it’s been a while and I’m a little wobbly in my first efforts.

Jax, of course, is a superstar, gliding easily around.

Sunlight streams in through high windows and it makes me smile.

After a few laps around the ice, I feel steadier and I attempt a little spin, which is pretty much the extent of the moves I learned during my figure skating lessons many years ago.

“Ooooh, show off,” Jax says.

“I’m not showing off. You’re showing off.” He’s literally skating circles around me.

He laughs and takes my hands, spinning me around.

I let out a little screech but he’s holding on tight.

“How does it feel to be on ice like this?” I ask.

“It feels good.” He smoothly switches to skating backward in front of me. “It’s fun.”

A little boy whizzes between us and crashes into the boards. “Sorry,” he says. “I don’t know how to stop.”

Jax skates over to him. “Want to learn?”

“Yeah.”

Jax leads the boy into the middle of the ice and patiently shows him how to stop, and the kid does it a few times to show he’s got it.

“Thanks, mister!” he says as Jax skates back to me with a smile on his face.

My heart is warm and soft. “He has no idea he just got a lesson from an NHL star.”

Jax rolls his eyes. “Don’t know about the ‘star’ thing.”

“Your family is hockey royalty.”

“Whatever.”

We spend a little more time fooling around on the ice, then head off.

“My shins hurt,” I complain. “Who knew there are muscles in the shins?”

“Anterior tibialis.”

I purse my lips and look up through my eyelashes as I unlace my skates. “Really? That’s good trivia.”

“Really. You need to stretch. I’ll show you.”

With his shoes on, he demonstrates. “Toe drag stretch.”

I follow what he does, feeling the stretch. “Thanks.”

We walk out. “Where to now?” he asks. “You done shopping?”

“Yeah.”

“Let’s go for a drive.”

We end up at a lighthouse. It’s breathtakingly beautiful, sitting atop the cliffs. The lighthouse isn’t open, but we wander around and explore the views of the ocean from up here. Then we stop at a Starbucks for coffees and head back to the hotel to get ready for our dinner out.

“Where are we going tonight?” I ask. “Will I be okay if I wear jeans?”

“It doesn’t matter what you wear.”

“Yes, it does.” I roll my eyes and teasingly say, “Men.”

He laughs. “Let me check. Everly sent me the name of the place.” He pulls out his phone. “It’s called Coastal Kitchen.” He swipes and taps, then shows me his phone with the website of the restaurant.

“Okay.” I nod, satisfied that it’s not some swanky place in Hollywood, or something.

“JP and Taylor live in Long Beach, so she was trying to find something in between there and Santa Monica.”

In our room, the light is blinking on the phone with a message. I point it out to Jax, who picks up the receiver and listens. He hangs up and looks at me. “The resort has some room openings. We can get you your own room now.”

“Oh.” As weird as it was at first sharing a room with Jax, we’ve kind of settled in. Mostly. The last two nights I’ve been intensely aware of him sleeping only inches away from me in that bed. Yes, it’s a big bed, but he’s a big man and takes up a lot of space.

There’s also the issue of money. I had no idea he was staying a resort this expensive when I impulsively begged to tag along with him. There’s no way I can pay five hundred dollars a night for the next…I mentally count…six nights. Holy shit.

“I’ll call the desk and see what’s available.” Jax picks up the phone again.

I sit at the small round table and wait, nibbling my bottom lip, listening to Jax. Eventually, he ends the conversation and hangs up.

I clear my throat. “So?”

“We’re going to move tonight.”

I blink. “What? We?”

“Yeah.” He rises and stretches. “The rooms are expensive here, but they have a suite that has a separate bedroom and a sofa bed in the living room.”

I swallow. “I’ll pay for half of it.”

“Phhhht. No, you won’t.”

“No, really, Jax. I don’t want to cost you more money.” I jump up and twist my fingers together. “It’s bad enough I made you bring me and we had to share this room the last few nights.”

“It’s not a big deal, Flynn. Pack your things while I go to the front desk and get the keys.”

I sink back down into the chair, my chin dipping.

Shit. My chest tightens. I’m sure the suites are a thousand dollars a night, which doesn’t save me any money at all if I pay half.

And I can’t let him spend that much money.

I lift my head. “Let’s just stay here,” I say firmly. “This is working fine.”

He cocks his head and scrutinizes me. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah! It’s fine, right? And it’s a pain packing up and moving.”

“Yeah,” he says slowly. “It’s fine.”