Page 41

Chap ter 41

Chloe

“I just got Aiden because Brielle was crying in my office.”

His brows knit together.

“Is she okay?”

“Yeah, Aiden says she does that a lot these days with the baby coming soon and all that.”

“What was she crying about?”

“Oh,” I pause.

I briefly consider lying, but that’s not me.

So, I tell him the truth.

“She was asking about the flowers, so I told her they were from you. One thing led to another, and I told her about you paying for Grandma May’s care, and that’s where I lost her.”

“Why would that make her cry?” he asks in total male confusion.

I throw up my hands.

“I don’t know; I’m not an expert on pregnant women.”

The corner of his lip turns up.

“Okay.” When I don’t make a move to leave, he lifts an eyebrow.

“Did you need something else?”

“No.” I turn to walk out.

I take a few steps and then whirl around; he’s still standing right there.

I walk back to him.

“Why do you keep giving me flowers?”

He stares down at me, and I can’t figure out for the life of me what he’s thinking.

“Why do you think?”

“No, no, no. We are not going to play this game. You are going to tell me why you’re getting flowers for me.” I cross my arms across my chest.

He steps closer.

“You’re a smart woman, Chloe. Tell me why.”

“Gunner Coftman, I am not playing these games with you. You are going to tell me what is going on.”

“Ooo, first and last name. Cap, you’re in trouble,” Sebastian calls out from somewhere behind Gunner.

“You sure you want to do this here and now?” Gunner asks, completely at ease, the very opposite of how I’m feeling.

“Brielle says—” I stop abruptly, unable to finish what I was going to say.

“Brielle says what?” he pushes.

I look up and notice he’s a whole lot closer than he was a few seconds ago.

“You know, you’re right. We don’t want to have this discussion right here, right now ...or ever. Okay, I’ll see you later.” I start to turn, but a hand on my elbow stops me.

“You’re not running, are you?” he challenges.

I lift my chin.

“No. I’m just trying to be professional. And speaking of professional, would you please put a shirt on?”

His mouth turns up into a full grin.

“Why?” His voice lowers.

“Is it distracting you?”

My eyes flick down to his chest for just a second and then shrug.

“Most of the guys in here look good without a shirt on.” I shrug.

His eyes narrow, and Sebastain calls out, “Wait, who doesn’t look good without a shirt on? It’s Zac, isn’t it?”

I hear shoving and chaos ensuing.

“That’s my cue. I’ll see you later.” I turn and stride towards the door.

I push the crash bar but stop when Gunner calls my name.

He waits until I meet his gaze.

“Whatever Brielle said, it’s probably true. You're the only one too blind to see it.” He gives me a gentle smile. “But that’s okay. I’m a very patient man when it’s something I really want.” He doesn’t look away, and the oxygen is sucked from the room. I open my mouth and then close it when I don’t know what to say. Without a word, I push the door open and make my way back towards my office in a daze. When I get back to my office, I see Stan waiting for me. Just like that, I snap out of my daze. I have a job to do.

I finish a little early, so I can leave before the team finishes for the day. I pack up the work I need to get done at home and spend the rest of the night working from the comfort of my couch. I’m at work early the next morning, and it’s a really profitable day—mostly because nobody is around to bother me. Most of the entire team and staff left early this morning for an away series of two games. It’s weird not to be with them, but Stan agreed to it yesterday. I miss very few games in a season, but it happens when I have too many projects going on, which is exactly where I’m at right now. I have two events this weekend, back to back. Thankfully, once they’re done, everything will calm down. These two are the last from the busy holiday season. And they should be with it being January now.

The week passes in a blur, and Monday morning finds me behind my desk with more work to do than I have time for. There’s a knock on my door a little before ten, and the door opens right after. I know it’s Gunner before I even look up. “Congrats on your games.” He takes a seat in one of my chairs, but I keep my head down and finish my response about an interview for Dylan. I push send and stand up, closing my laptop as I do. I finally meet his eyes, eyes that are settled intently on mine. “How’s your shoulder?” He took a brutal hit on Thursday night, and I was worried it was injured again.

“It’s good.”

I grab the folder I’m looking for and my iPad. “Good. I'm off to a meeting. Have a good practice.”

I start to walk past him, but he stands quickly with that easy grace that makes him such a great athlete. “Are you avoiding me?” My gaze flies to his. “Because of what I said.”

I don’t look away from him. “I’m not avoiding you.”

He frowns. “You didn’t come to the last set of away games.”

I wave a hand. “I have so much going on; Stan agreed to let me sit them out. I had the a brunch on Saturday and another event I have to be at Friday night.”

“Do you have to work late tonight?”

Grateful for the change of subject, I eagerly say, “No. I should be able to get home at a good time.”

“Good. Go on a date with me.”

I stare at him as my mind scrambles. I narrow my eyes at him. “You backed me into a corner.”

He smirks. “I did. Now, you have no excuse to not go out with me, unless you really are trying to avoid me.” He quirks an eyebrow.

“I’m not trying to...” I take a deep breath. “I’m not avoiding you, Coftman; but I don’t know that going on a date is a good idea.”

“It is.”

I can’t the help the laugh that bubbles up. “Oh, it is, is it?”

He smirks again. “Yeah. It’s a really good idea. I’ll even let you pick where we eat.”

I stare up at the big man. “Why?”

“Why do I want you to go on a date with me?”

I nod. “Yes.”

He studies my face a moment. “You remember when you asked me out when you first started?”

My face instantly heats, and my back goes ramrod straight. “Never mind.” I start to walk past him, but he steps in front of me again, blocking my path to the door. “Move, Coftman.”

“No, not until you listen to what I have to say.”

“What?” My voice is snippier than I intend for it to be.

“When you asked me out,” he starts, and I feel my face heat. “I had just become captain. I had told Coach that I would give it my everything. I meant it too. I was serious about my career, about my new position. I wanted to lead this team the right way, so I swore off women, outside activities, pretty much anything that would distract me. Literally the first day, you showed up, tempting me in the worst way possible.” I shake my head, but he continues. “I turned you down,” he continues gently. “Not because I wanted to, but I had literally just made a commitment to Coach that I would put hockey first. And I did. That season and the next and the next. Along the way, my teammates—my brothers started falling in love and starting families. I realized at some point that hockey isn’t everything to me; it should never have been. I wanted what my brothers had found. Only,” he pauses and makes sure my eyes are still on his. “...the only woman I wanted all of it with no longer saw me that way. She only saw me as one of the athletes on her team.” He sighs, and I feel it all the way to my toes. “I pushed away the one woman I’ve ever really wanted, and I didn’t know how to get her back. So, I’ve spent the last, I don’t know, year or so...maybe longer...just trying to do things to show you I was interested.” He gives a wry chuckle. “But I’ve finally realized, I’m going to have to just come out and tell you how I feel about you because otherwise, you’re not going to see it.”

I stare at him, unable to take all this in. “See what?” I ask in a voice that’s not stronger than a whisper.

“That I’m head over heels for you, Chloe, and have been for quite some time. I’m sorry I turned you down; I should have never done that to you. I was an idiot. I’d give anything to go back and change that day. But I can’t, so the best thing I can do is go forward. So, this is me, telling you exactly how I feel so that there is no confusion.” At some point, I realize my mouth is hanging open. I close it with a snap as I scramble to think of what to say, but I have nothing. He cocks an eyebrow. “Speechless? Come on, this can’t come as that much of a surprise...right?” He looks a little uncertain. “I mean I asked you to be my fiancé.”

“Your fake fiancé,” I point out.

“Well, yeah, but I told you I didn’t want it to be anyone else.” I stare at him, and he stares right back. Then he palms the back of his neck. “I’m making a mess of this, aren’t I?”

“I...I...” I literally don’t know what to say. “Gunner,” I finally say. “I really have to get to this meeting.” His face betrays nothing, but he takes a step backwards. I put a hand on his arm. “I’m not rejecting you; I just...I need time to think.”

He gives me a small smile. “I’ll give it to you. I’ll take it as a win that you called me by my first name. Come on, I’ll walk with you. I have to get to practice anyway.”

And just like that, we’re back to normal. He opens the door for me, and I step out into the hallway. We walk quickly down the hall, because I really do need to get to my meeting. I stop right outside the door. “Make sure you get that shoulder checked out before practice,” I tell him.

His smile starts small and then grows. “Will do. I’ll see you later.” He turns and strides down the hallway, the confident captain, ready to take on his teammates for practice. I shake my head and knock on the door before stepping inside. I have no idea where in the world all that came from, but I need to focus on my meeting right now. Later, much later, I’ll try to figure out what in the world just happened. Even so, I can’t keep the smile off my face as I open the door and step inside.