“Oof,” Hunter groaned, sounding surprised, as I hit him as hard as I could.
But then Hunter lost his footing and toppled over backwards, spilling to the ice—and I went tumbling after him. Hunter landed on his back, and broke my fall as I landed right on top of him.
“HAHAHA!”the players roared. “SHE CRUSHED HIM!”
We laughed, too, lying face-to-face. Hunter's great chest heaved with laughter underneath me. He brushed my hair out of his face. And our eyes locked. Laughter boomed, echoing in the empty rink, but for us, it might as well have not existed. Hunter and I gazedinto each other's eyes, searching deeply, as if we could see inside each other's souls.
Hunter stole a peek at my lips, and his lip quivered with desire. A magnetic attraction drew me towards him. Slowly, surely, I lowered my face to his before—
Oh my God what am I doing!
I sat up in a hurry, a fire rushing to my cheeks, and I'msureit showed. Some of the players were still laughing, but more than a few were now staring at Hunter and I with wide-eyed expressions.
“Whoa, man,” a Blizzard defenseman mumbled. “Is it just me, or was that about to get hot?”
“Definitely not you,” a teammate answered him. “That shit almost got me hard.”
“Jesus,” another player added. “What kinda commercial are we shooting here, anyway?”
The director cleared his throat—he also sounded amused. “Well, it'd be hard to match the intensity of the first take, wouldn't it? I think that'll do today, boys and girls.”
Madison was the first to storm off the ice.
Cora joined me by my side. “Yow, Honor.Yow.”
“I know.”
“You ready to face her wrath?”
I sighed. “Ready as I'll ever be.”
I took a peek over my shoulder. Hunter had climbed to one knee. His teammates slapped at him, pounded his shoulder, messed with his hair—like a bunch of high school guys when they find out their buddy has a crush. But Hunter barely noticed. Serenely, he stared and watched me leave the ice.
We are soooo busted.We couldn't keep this hidden at all.
Back in the dressing room, Madison scowled at me as I entered. “You know what's funny about you two acting all flirty andcutesy-wutesywith each other? I know I said I wanted to hire you because of your skating, but that was a lie, Honor. I hired you because, never in a million years, did I think Hunter would actually go for a girl like you.”
She waved her index finger up and down my body to let me know just what she meant by that.
Stunned gasps fizzed throughout the room. My heart and breathing began to race—but I was the type of person who chose flight, not fight, when adrenaline rushed through my blood. Besides, I knew she was only lashing out and trying to make me feel shitty. So I stayed quiet. I didn't sprint across the room and throw punches or grab her hair like a stronger woman might have.
Madison saw my weakness and twisted the dagger. “Guess I was wrong, though. Hunter reallywillfuck anything that moves.”
“Alright,” Cora interjected. “That's enough, Madison.”
“He'llneverlove you,” Madison continued.
“Madison!” Cora yelled. “Stop already!”
Chapter 16:
Reservations
Honor
Later that evening, my phone chimed with Hunter's text. “I'm on my way.”
And that was my cue to stop the endless wardrobe changes and worrying over how I looked. It wasn't easy to dress for a date with a sharply dressed millionaire and professional athlete who could get any woman he wanted. I had to looklike Ibelongedon his arm.
