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She laughed loudly. “Well, at least I didn’t hurt your feelings.”

“At least there’s that,” he confirmed, toasting her and draining his beer. “Anyway, thanks.”

“No problem,” she replied warmly. “Everyone has the right to be normal .”

“You’re contradicting all the other scandal-hungry people in the world.”

“Oh, yes, I’m a true rebel,” she lied.

“Obviously.” His gaze locked with hers, causing her body temperature to shoot up by two degrees.

When he still hadn’t turned away after thirty wild heartbeats, she asked nervously, “What?”

“Nothing. You’re so different from Lucy. I mean, I’ve only known her for a few hours and I’m already a little scared of her. You’re…nicer.”

“ Nicer .” She frowned. “Ouch.”

Unfortunately, she knew what he meant. Lucy was brave.

A rabble-rouser. She hated being treated unfairly and jumped headfirst into every argument.

Maddie was…more modest. Just his morning, she’d given up two parking spaces that were rightfully hers simply because she didn’t feel like dealing with the confrontations.

“Nice isn’t bad,” Matt said, immediately surprised.

“No, of course not.” She waved him off. Nice was just nice. Nothing special. “So, what about you, Matt?” she asked, uncomfortable about revealing too much about herself. “Can you be nice?”

“Oh, yeah.” He waggled his eyebrows. “Very nice. You can ask anyone.”

She chuckled, fairly certain it had to be anyone female. God, he was completely unsuitable for Match Me! Unfortunately. A prominent client like him might help them compete successfully with Tinder.

Her cell phone vibrated and when she glanced at the display, she saw a message from Lucy: I met a cute guy at the bar. Give me fifteen minutes .

She sighed. “Lucy needs time,” she said and showed her phone to Matt.

“Well, what the heck. Let’s use the time…for another drink?” He pointed at her empty glass.

Use the time. Yes, she wanted to use the time. “Tell me, Matt,” she said on impulse, “Are your muscles functional or are they merely for show?”

He gave her a wry look. “They work.”

“Wonderful. So then, you won’t mind carrying a bench I found in the trash to my apartment?”

It was worth a try. Lucy wasn’t that strong, at least not when it came to muscles.

“You want…what? To your apartment?” he asked, somewhat perplexed, his eyebrows raised in surprise.

“Yep, it won’t take long. I promise. I live on the top floor and the bench is too heavy for me.” She shrugged helplessly. “So, are you up for it?”

He blinked. “If I’m up for…the bench,” he repeated tonelessly.

Why was he looking at her so strangely?

“Yes.”

“Okay.” He cleared his throat and rubbed his neck. “Sure.”

She breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you!” she said, squeezing his shoulder. “You’re exactly the man I was looking for today.”

“Ah,” he repeated, raising one corner of his mouth before standing and following her into the bar toward the front door.

It was crowded on the dance floor and Matt reached for her hand, probably so as not to lose her. It irritated her that he was rubbing circles with his thumb over the thin skin of her wrist, but he was probably lost in thought.

She smiled at him over her shoulder and pushed through the door to the street. A fresh breeze blew and the moon reflected off the ocean in front of them. She never got tired of living on the beach.

“So,” Matt said quietly, turning her around and taking a step toward her. “The bench.” He slid his hand up her arm.

“Yep,” she said and nodded toward the piece of furniture in question. Had he noticed that she was a little cold, or why was he putting his other hand on her arm? He’d have to stop because the goosebumps on her back were not due to the wind. “It’s right there.”

Matt’s mouth twitched. “Hm, okay. Then we’d better carry it. But first…” His large, warm hand slid to her neck and Maddie forgot to breathe.

He ran his thumb to her chin and peered into her eyes. His gaze grew…darker. Maddie’s heartbeat increased as he leaned down…

“Oh my God, Matt, what are you doing?” she asked in surprise, jumping back so abruptly that his hands fell from her face. Had he just…had he just tried to...

“What?” he asked, blinking down at her, then rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. “Well, I wanted to kiss you. I thought that was obvious.”

Her mouth suddenly went dry. Probably because it was open. “You…what? Why?”

He furrowed his eyebrows in irritation. “Because I like kissing. I’m not into sex without it.”

“You… sex? ” Her eyes nearly popped out of her head. Heat flooded her face as her thoughts raced. Oh God, had he thought… seriously? Had he just hit on her ? Gosh, was she so rusty that she misinterpreted when someone wanted to sleep with her? “What are you talking about?” she blurted out.

Suddenly, Matt seemed confused. “Well, you invited me to your apartment and…”

“No!” She pressed a hand to her forehead. “I wanted you to help me with the bench.” She gestured to the furniture next to them.

“The…” Matt slowly turned — and paused. “Wow. There really is a bench.”

“Of course!”

“But you said you wanted to take me to your apartment.”

“Yes, to my apartment. Not my bed!”

“You said you are exactly the man I was looking for today! ”

Her cheeks became inflamed. “Because you have muscles and you’re nice!”

For a few endless seconds, he just stared at her, speechless. Then he burst out laughing and rubbed his face feverishly. “Shit. Okay, sorry. I’m really sorry. But you made it all sound so…sexy.”

“No, I didn’t!” Her voice went up an octave. “I’m not, I mean…” This was ridiculous! She had never sounded sexy on purpose in her life, how could she possibly do it subconsciously?

“Yeah, yeah, it’s okay,” he said, grinning broadly.

“My mistake. I’m sorry. Honestly. I certainly didn’t mean to make you feel bad.

Quite the opposite.” The corners of his mouth twitched and new heat filled Maddie’s body.

This time, however, in the opposite direction of her head. “I simply assumed…well, normally…”

She looked at him in disbelief. “Normally what?”

He lowered his voice. “Normally, women who look at me like you did want to sleep with me.”

Her jaw dropped. “Excuse me?”

“Well, yeah. We have a vibe, don’t we?” He looked at her, suddenly uncertain.

She swallowed. Yes, she found him attractive and funny, and actually nice, but she…didn’t vibe with men who were only searching for the next fuck as he so eloquently put it. But, Matt was a real temptation! If things had been different, she’d be open to something casual…but that wasn’t her.

“I just wanted help with the bench,” she insisted, her cheeks blushing. “So, for real, no woman has ever invited you to her place without immediately jumping you?”

“Nope,” he replied impassively. “Never.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“Never, Maddie,” he repeated, smiling broadly. “You’d be the first. Unless…” He raised his eyebrows — but she could see in his eyes that he wasn’t serious.

She snorted in amusement. “Matt, I want to get married and have kids.”

The smile vanished abruptly from his face and he stumbled backward.

“Not with you!” she said, laughing. “That’s my plan for the next few years, to find the love of my life.”

“Oh shit,” he exclaimed.

Her laughter grew louder. “Yeah, I thought so. Still, I’m truly flattered that you wanted to get me into bed.” Really, really flattered! Never had such a hot guy even tried with her. “But I guess it’s better if we just stay friends.”

“Friends?” he echoed, uncomprehending.

He looked at her as if he hadn’t realized until now that it was possible to spend time with women outside the bedroom.

She snorted in amusement. “Yeah. Hey, I could be your wing-woman for tonight! Find someone who’s just looking for a one-night stand. I wasn’t lying; I have an eye for that sort of thing.”

He blinked at her, still overwhelmed.

She laughed again and shook her head. “One thing at a time. First, help me carry the bench. And hey, you can tell me where in my apartment it looks the best. I don’t have much of a sense for interior decorating.”

“Okay,” he said, bewildered, probably because he still didn’t quite comprehend what was happening.

“Great,” she replied happily, linking her arm with his to lead him to the bench. “Let’s just forget that you tried to kiss me. I won’t hold it against you.” On the contrary – her confidence had just soared considerably. She still felt butterflies deep in her stomach.

Matt chuckled softly. “You won’t hold it against me. Please, don’t ever tell my teammates! If word gets around that pretty women ‘won’t hold it against me’ when I flirt with them, my reputation will suffer.”

She grinned up at him. “Okay, I won’t say another word about it. So, now…”

“The bench, yeah,” he said, snorting. His sparkling gaze met hers…and warmth filled her chest.

Yes, she had gotten the wrong impression of Matt. He was not a typical hockey player. He was smart, nice, and easy to laugh with – and to make up with. Those were good qualities.

He was probably not as big of a womanizer as the media or his reputation made him out to be. Maybe he wasn’t marriage material yet, but in a few years, he would definitely be a good candidate for Match Me!