Page 9 of The Puck Stops Here
‘Enough with the boobs!’ both girls chorused with a laugh.
‘I’m talking about your way in,’ Bella said. ‘Your job and your skills and your angle!’
Her angle…
She opened up Research Exhibit B. The man who had given the Titans Media and PR team enough cause to bite her hand off when she’d pitched her idea of a profile piece to them.
And no, it wasn’t Aiden Carder filling her screen. It was his brother, Blake. The other half of the Titan Twins. Identical in the basics – blue eyes, dark hair, a sensual mouth and jaw of steel. Infamous swoon-worthy dimples too.
But there the similarity ended.
Where Aiden was golden – bronzed skin, clean shaven, carefully groomed, affable Prince Charming in every way – Blake was the total opposite. Dark and brooding, zero tan, all the stubble, and as guarded as Fort Knox… so freaking intriguing that she was salivating, her creative juices overflowing with a need to pick apart what made him tick, what drove that dangerous glint in his eye…
And her brain wasn’t the only thing enjoying an extra juicy charge.
Why did she have to dig the bad boy every time?
Hadn’t Chase taught her anything?
‘He’s something,’ Bella murmured, leaning in.
From Blake’s official headshot for the team, to an action shot mid-play, to an action shot mid-brawl taken outside a New York bar just last week, he was ‘something’ all over.
It was the brawl that had given her a way in, inspiring an article her heart, soul, and career were now invested in. A feature piece that would deliver the truth on the twins. The past, the present and the glory of these men. Two of the greatest hockey players the world had ever seen.
The aim as the Titans saw it: to turn the tide on Blake’s rapidly deteriorating reputation and save his position on the team.
The aim as Astrid saw it: to save one brother’s career if he so deserved, while dishing up just desserts on the other.
It had been perfect. Itwasperfect. And it was going to be another great step in her career too.Vanity Fairgreat if she got it right. Which she would. Her professional ability wasn’t up for debate. The karma however…
‘He’s a bit…’ Words failed Bella.
‘Fierce?’ Astrid suggested.
‘Uh-huh.’
‘Huge?’ she added.
‘Uh-huh.’
Astrid sipped on her wine as she lost herself in Blake’s brooding gaze. ‘Hot.’
Bella’s head snapped around. ‘I was going to say rakish.’
‘This is almost as bad as talking about your anatomy,’ Sienna said, sipping her own drink and grimacing. ‘Next time we do this, can you sneak one of your uncle’s bottles my way? This stuff is…’ She pulled another face. ‘Insufficient.’
‘Sorry, babe,’ Astrid said, making a mental note to do just that.
‘What for? My cheap plonk or having the hots for my ex?’
‘That’s just it, Aiden’s too clean cut for me, but Blake…’ Her tummy gave a flutter. ‘I don’t know.’ Only she did know. He was right up her street.
‘He terrifies me,’ Bella said. ‘Are you sure about this?’
‘You’re meant to be encouraging me, not putting me off.’
‘But… look at him.’
