He scooted off his side of the booth and slid in next to me, holding his phone up. I was laughing, with my head slightly down and my fingers on the rim of my wineglass. I looked happy, and the tension I’d felt all night wasn’t visible in the image at all.
“You said you were looking for pictures of your dog to show me?”
Get out of your head, Dani.
“You were laughing at that story about my niece trying to braid my hair and you looked stunning. I wanted a picture.”
He turned toward me, so we were facing each other. Had his eyes darkened further?
I sucked in a breath. “Oh.”
“So, can I post that one?”
“Umm. Sure.” Then I immediately dug into the dessert to distract myself. This was fake and I’d do well to remember that.
Not that I really wanted to be dating anyone right now.
“Do I get a taste?” he asked and I almost dropped the fork.
“What?”
He gestured his fork toward my plate. I’d already polished off half of the cake, but to be fair, it wasn’t a large slice.
“Oh, yes. Of course.” I pushed the plate toward him and took a bite of the cannoli. A small moan escaped my lips. So freaking good. Blood orange cream with mini chocolate chips, one of my favorite flavor combos.
“You, uh, have a bit of cream.” He swiped at my nose with his finger, and tingles coursed through my body, my stomach tightening when he popped his finger in his mouth.
“Delicious,” he muttered, before clearing his throat. Then he slid out of the booth and went back to his own side.
The space was welcome and disappointing at the same time, which was completely ridiculous. And now I felt awkward and irritated at myself.
“You’re coming to the game tomorrow, right?” he asked, calm as ever, making me question if I was reading more into this than was really there.
“I probably should, huh?”
His mouth turned up in a half-smile. “You definitely should since you’re my girlfriend.”
“Do I have to wear your jersey?”
“It’s not mandatory, but I wouldn’t mind.”
“Purple really isn’t my color.” Why was I testing him? I looked fantastic in purple.
“You do know our team colors! Are you sure you’re not a fan?” he teased. “I don’t blame you, we’re a fun team. Much better than that other team you probably had to support.”
I grinned at his dig against the Blizzard.
“I don’t watch a lot of sports on TV, but if I did, I guess I’d pick baseball.” I bit back a snort as he smacked his hand on his chest. I actually hated baseball. So boring.
“Baseball cannot hold a candle to the joy of watching hockey.”
That twinkle in his eyes warmed up my entire body, but I just shrugged like I wasn’t affected.
“I’ll show you how much fun hockey is, I promise.”
I couldn’t help but laugh softly. “Fine, fine. I’ll come. But no jersey.”
“Can you at least wear the team colors or a Stampede hoodie? And I’ll have a family pass waiting for you at will call so you can go wherever you want.”
