Or I could behave like a grown adult and stand my ground. I have nothing to prove to Mr. Sarcasm, right? Now, if I can stop staring at those gorgeous lips…
He stops in front of me, appearing as uncomfortable as I’m feeling right now. “Listen, about earlier…I want to apologize for being a jerk.”
Hmm, that’s unexpected, but I’m uncertain which ‘earlier’ he means. “Are we talking about last night when you intentionally neglected to tell me you’re a hockey player or this morning when you insulted my journalism skills?”
His jaw tightens, making the muscle on one side pulse. “I meant this morning. I don’t feel I need to apologize for last night. Unless I missed something? Did I somehow insult your need to know everyone’s business?”
Wow. Did he actually just add another derogatory comment to his apology? “I don’tneed to knowanyone’s business, Mr. Jameson. Just their stories, which is what I’ve been assigned to tell.”
He smirks and nods. “An assignment you’re not too keen about, as I recall.”
My cheeks feel like I spent too much time in the sun at the moment. Oh, how I wish life had an undo button. I have a bad habit of overheating when I’m nervous. “Had I known you were aplayer, I would have never said that.”
“Which confirms my point. You made an assumption.”
The man is borderline insufferable! No, I take that back. Not borderline. Just completely insufferable.
I pat my bag. “If you don’t mind, I mean, if you’re done insulting me, I have an assignment to do.”
His voice stops me in my tracks. “About that.”
I inhale a deep breath before turning around. “Yes?”
His expression softens some but shifts more to concern. “I’d appreciate it if you’d leave me out of your photos.”
I hold my hands out to my sides. “I’m supposed to do profiles on you guys, which requires photos.”
He nods. “Yes, I get that. But I’m asking you to at least blur me out. Or something.”
I frown. “May I ask why?”
One side of his mouth quirks up. “Didn’t you say you don’t need to know my business?”
Now I’m the one clenching my jaw. I can’t help but admire the way he threw my words back at me so deftly, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. “I won’t make any promises.”
Worry flashes in his eyes, and his shoulders lower, then lift as if he’s about to argue.
“But…I will keep that in mind when I’m taking pictures at practices and games.”
His lips tighten for a moment, then he nods and turns toward the hallway leading to the locker room.
I study Luke as he strides away. Some players look like waddling ducks when they leave the ice for the rubber-matted walkway, but not him. He moves just as confidently as he does in the rink. But that flicker of concern I saw in his eyes lingers with me as I head back to my temporary office.
Luke’s hiding something. And this journalist can’t resist digging a little deeper to find out what.
CHAPTER 5
LUKE
Ichewed on this all night long and came to the conclusion in the wee hours of the morning.
Gabe needs to pick a new captain.
A week of drills and scrimmages has done nothing to make the guys accept me as captain. A few have—such as Ethan McKennen, who plays defense like me. But he’s probably distracted by his upcoming wedding, which I somehow got invited to.
Two of the guys I crossed paths with during my time with the Barracudas. Wade Pierce, aka the Cowboy because he’s from Texas and calls himself a ‘puck wrangler.’ I couldn’t stop the eye roll on that one, but he’s a lot of talk and mostly a marshmallow. And Mathéo Barbier, who’s our center. Sometimes, they call him the Barbie Man because of his last name and his blond hair. He says he hates the nickname, but I’m convinced he secretly likes it. I share a mutual respect with these guys that comes with competition.
Then there are the ones who seem more aloof. Like Elias Brunner, but that could be because he’s Swiss, and they’re known for their neutrality—that’s the running joke, anyway.And Payton… Payton Maxwell, the third, to be correct, which he is—very proper and polite.
