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“ W hat is he doing?” Athena leaned across the diner’s red-and-white-checkered tablecloth to look past her date, Glenn, a professor of literature.

She lowered her hands, realizing she’d been waving them about in indignation.

The man at the other table was an adult. He could do what he wanted.

Even if it was a direct attempt to get a rise out of her.

Glenn turned to peer over his shoulder at Chad Mullens, and Athena grabbed his wrist, startling him. “Don’t look.”

But she couldn’t resist doing so. He was wearing a body-hugging black sweater and jeans, and was manspreading at his table for one, his shoulders practically as wide as the table itself, greasy food piled up in front of him.

Then again, Athena figured, a built hockey player such as Chad couldn’t help but manspread.

His quads were so stacked with muscle he probably couldn’t sit with his legs together even if he’d wanted to.

She’d seen him in the gym, seen the girth of those bare thighs shoving weights the size of a small car up a metal incline.

Okay, not quite that big. But big enough.

“I forgot. Karen says you’re a dietician?” Glenn glanced around the small-town diner, then winced at his almost empty plate. The poor man was clearly afraid she was going to lecture him about the saturated fat content of his burger and fries.

“I’m sorry. I promise I won’t rant and rave about your meal. You can eat whatever you want.”

He smiled politely as Chad took an enormous bite of his own cheeseburger, juice dripping off his hand and onto his plate.

“Um. Can you excuse me a moment?” Athena slid from her chair.

She shook her head as she moved past Chad, studiously avoiding looking at him. Just like she had since he’d walked in—right after she’d sat down with her date. What was Chad even doing in town? They were done filming until April.

Athena pushed open the bathroom door and whipped out her phone to text her sister. Chad is here.

She chewed her lip and waited for Meddy to reply. She was across the street shelving new books and listening to music on her phone. Or she had been when Athena had left her there forty-five minutes ago. Why wasn’t she answering?

“Are you okay?” Jenny asked breathlessly, the bathroom door banging shut behind her. Her cheeks were rosy from being out in the early January chill.

“What?” Athena blinked at her.

She pointed toward the front of the diner on the other side of the wall. “I was walking back to the store─” her clothing shop, Blue Tumbleweed, was right next door “─and saw you and your date.”

“Glenn.”

“Glenn. Then you hustled away like you were going to be sick. Are you okay?”

“What? Yes.” Athena leaned forward, her indignation rising again. “Did you see him out there?”

“Glenn?” Her friend tried for a smile. “He’s older than I expected and he seems to have a passion for brown clothing, but he’s nice, right?” Her tone became tentative.

“No, Chad.”

“Who?”

“Chadwick Mullens .”

“Oh, yeah. Mullens. I said hi to him on my way by. Henry’s watching him eat like it’s his favorite game show.”

“What?” Why would Henry Wylder, a man who was grumpy about everything and everyone, be focused on Chad? Whatever the reason was, it couldn’t be a good one.

Jenny shrugged. “He actually seemed entertained. He almost smiled .” She gave Athena a meaningful look.

“It’s all worse than I thought.” Henry didn’t smile about anything. Ever. If even he was succumbing to the Chadwick Mullens charm effect, then what hope did Athena have as a mere mortal woman?

Her phone vibrated with an incoming text. Meddy. I thought you were going out with the teacher guy. Nice score on getting Mullens instead!

Athena let out a frustrated growl and tapped out a quick reply. Not with him!!! Fill you in later. Jenny’s here.

She put her phone away and focused on her friend.

“So, you have a date with both men?”

“No!” She frowned at Jenny. “Ew.”

“Okay, so you’re dating Mullens? But he found out you’re seeing Glenn on the side?”

“What? No! Ugh. Why does everyone think I’d go out with Chad? That man is not getting anywhere near me for a date. And why is he even here? Why’s he in town, sitting at that table thumbing his nose at me?”

“Free country?” Jenny was watching her carefully, as though Athena was becoming unglued.

Maybe she was.

During the last filming she could have sworn Chad was familiar with her cookbook and recipes.

He’d blown off the few comments he’d made about cooking as though he’d been faking culinary knowledge for the cameras.

But it had initiated enough doubt that Athena no longer felt she could believe anything about the man.

She clasped a hand to her forehead, collecting her thoughts. “He ordered onion rings and a milkshake.”

“Oh, I love Mrs. Fisher’s milkshakes.”

“I know. Me, too. But they’re forbidden .”

“Oh, right. The hockey player diet thing.” Jenny lowered her voice. “Do you think he’s trying to ruin your date?”

“What? Why?”

“I don’t know.” Her tone was innocent, but a small, satisfied smile was playing on her lips.

“What? Tell me.”

“He likes you.”

“He likes anyone with two X chromosomes.”

Jenny chuckled. “And you don’t want a hockey player, am I right?”

“Heartbreakers.”

“I see.” She glanced down, then up again. “All of them?”

Athena shrugged. “He’s just… I’ve seen him on TV. Always signing something for a chick and they’re always hanging off of him. They wouldn’t do that if he wasn’t welcoming.”

“How does he act in real life?”

Athena rolled her eyes. “Total flirt.”

“Fun though?”

“He’s awful.”

“Why?”

“I like him even though I shouldn’t.” She crossed her arms, baffled as to why she was so into him when she should be giving him a wide berth. “And he doesn’t take me seriously at work.”

“Maybe because you take yourself too seriously?”

“I’m in my thirties. I have a birthday coming up. I’m supposed to be serious.”

Jenny waved her hand again. “But he makes you laugh.”

“Sometimes, yeah.”

“So then, who says you have to give him your heart? Can’t you just crush on the man and let that be it?”

“What do you mean?”

“Has he asked you out?”

“No.”

“There you go.”

Now she felt insulted that he hadn’t asked her on a date. Well, at least in a way that felt real. Like he had stakes in her answer.

“You can find a guy sexy and have fun with him without dating him,” Jenny said. “There’s this new-fangled thing called being friends. It even works between opposite genders.”

“Ha-ha,” Athena replied flatly.

“For real. You’ve been driving yourself so hard lately with all this work. Let the guy make you laugh. Let loose a little and have some fun.”

“So you’re a professor,” Athena said gamely, sliding back into her spot across from Glenn.

Have fun. Let loose. Laugh a little.

And don’t take Chad so darn seriously.

Jenny, who’d waited for Athena to leave the washroom first, moved past Chad’s table, stealing an onion ring from his plate.

“Hey, I’m telling Dylan you’re a thief!” he protested.

“He already knows.” She leaned forward, mocking. “I stole that grumpy bear’s heart, didn’t I?”

“Really?” Chad gave her a reassessing look. “I thought you two hated each other?”

Jenny laughed, waving him off. “Mullens, you can’t steal what doesn’t exist!”

She walked past Athena, surreptitiously giving her two thumbs up.

Athena smiled but kept her focus on Glenn. Not Chadwick Mullens, who was breaking every nutrition rule a smart pro athlete would religiously follow.

The man was like a toddler begging for attention.

“We’ve both published books,” Glenn said, smiling at her. Their plates had been cleared away even though she hadn’t quite finished, and Athena wondered if their date was winding down.

She took a sip of her herbal tea, grateful it hadn’t been taken away as well. “Oh?”

“Karen said you’ve put together a cookbook?”

“Yes. I’m working on a second one right now and we’re donating a lot of the proceeds to charity.” Thanks to Chad.

She hated to admit how much his gesture had warmed her heart. Any thoughts of sabotaging his involvement in her project had gone straight out the window when her agent had mentioned that part.

“You cook?”

“I do.”

“I don’t.” He smiled like he’d struck gold.

Her attention drifted to Chad again, and she thought back to several remarks he’d made while cooking. Despite his image, the man knew his way around a kitchen.

She eyed his sweater and how it stretched over his tight shoulders, his rock-hard abs. That man didn’t eat onion rings. Not regularly.

Or stacks of doughnuts, which had arrived while she’d been in the washroom. Same with the slice of chocolate-coconut pie.

How could one human even eat all that, after his double cheeseburger with bacon, fries and onion rings?

She sighed, wishing she could ban Mrs. Fisher from delivering any more food to the Dragons’ star forward.

“No wonder the team can’t bag a W ,” she muttered.

“A what?”

Athena blinked at Glenn, realizing her attention had drifted again. “Oh! Sorry. Sports speak. It means a win. The Dragons are one of the worst-ranked teams in the league.”

“I don’t follow football.”

“It’s, uh, hockey.”

He laughed good-naturedly, his kind face bright and open.

“Better not admit to the football thing around here,” she said out of the side of her mouth. She gestured to the TV in a back corner, which was playing college ball. Now that one of their own had made it to that level, the town was fully in when it came to the sport.

Glenn laughed again. “Thanks for the tip.”

She smiled complacently. Sure, Glenn wasn’t what you’d traditionally call hot, but he was easy to hang around.

Chad waved to Mrs. Fisher. “Mrs. F., can I get a soda? And make sure it’s none of that diet stuff. I want sugar.”

Athena locked her jaw, steeling herself. If he wanted to skate like his legs weighed eight hundred pounds in tomorrow’s game, then fine. It was his choice. His career.

“I’m sure he can burn it off,” Glenn said politely, noticing that her attention had drifted once again.