He walked past the bathroom door between the two bedrooms to stand in front of her. “Need any help?”
She laughed. He was so cocky and she liked it. Really liked it. Almost as much as the other sides of him she had a feeling he didn’t let others see all that often. “Really? Mr. Cheats at Scavenger Hunts? That’s your cheesy line?”
Amusement settled in his often-guarded gaze. It was one of the first things she’d ever noticed about him. “I’m really glad you weren’t in charge of nicknames when I got mine. And we didn’t cheat. You just lost.”
Before she could respond, he leaned a shoulder on the wall like they had all the time in the world. Like standing this close didn’t impact his pulse or breathing in the slightest.
She focused on his words, or tried to, rather than the scent of his soap or deodorant or whatever addictive chemical he rubbed on his skin to make him smell so freaking good. “So, is King your nickname? That’s what it says on your jersey. How come it doesn’t say Kingston?”
Just the right corner of his mouth tipped up. “You watch my games, Maze?”
The use of her nickname, that very few people used, that he’d used that night, stunned her into quiet. Her mouth dropped open and her breath got caught. So much for playing it cool. “No. I mean, I saw your jersey. I don’t watch hockey.”
He pushed off the wall and somehow, moved closer. “Ever, or because of me?”
She rolled her eyes, opened the bedroom door. “Your nickname could be King Ego.”
His lips twitched. “That’s not an answer.”
She stepped into the room and to his credit, he just leaned in the doorway instead of following her all the way inside.
She picked up the reindeer pajamas and faced him, hoping her voice came out steadier than her legs currently felt. “I don’t watch hockey. After that night, I googled you. There’s a lot of pictures of you in your jersey.” A lot of pictures of him in suits and a few of him in a tuxedo, several of him in shorts and T-shirts, a couple shirtless. But she wasn’t admitting to staring at those.
The humor in his expression fled. “You shouldn’t have had to look me up on the internet. I’m sorry. Everything about that night was real but I’m not going to say leaving shit out about who I am isn’t just like lying. But I liked the way you looked at me, knowing nothing about my career. I was just some guy you kept running into.”
Maisie took a deep breath that came out shuddery. “Hardly just some guy,” she said, remembering the way she’d kept trying to useher key card on the hotel room door. “You were pretty grumpy the first time I saw you.”
Did he move closer? His chin dipped down. “You were trying to break into my hotel room.”
Maisie’s head snapped up so quick that Nick reared back. “I thought it was my room.”
She’d swiped the card half a dozen times when the door swung open, an angry and extremely good-looking face greeting her. She’d actually lost her words. She’d made a few mumbled sounds but couldn’t form any coherent sentences.
“I know. I apologized.”
That night, after the first time they’d had sex, she’d confided in him something very few people knew; sometimes numbers got mixed up when she looked at them. It was better now than when she was younger and usually happened when she wasn’t paying attention or was doing something too quickly. It made her feel stupid but telling Nick, seeing the way his gaze softened as he stroked her hair back from her face, had made her feel seen. He’d told her he was grateful for that since it brought her to his door.
Maisie’s throat went dry and she realized he was still looking at her while she got lost in the memory of meeting him.
“I know.”
She wasn’t supposed to fall for her one-night stand. She definitely shouldn’t have felt like she knew him better than people who’d been in her life for longer. But when she’d woken the next morning and he was gone, it had felt out of character. And the way he was looking at her right now, like it was taking all of his strength not to pull her close, felt like the Nick she thought she’d known.
Argh. You’re falling for it again. And this time, you know he’s leaving. Going back to a life on the road.A life far from Seattle that had nothing to do with Maisie or how she felt.
Nick leaned in, so close she felt his breath on her cheek. “Do you also know that you’re the only person, other than my sister andAsher, who, had I not won completely fairly without cheating, I would have actually followed through and put on a set of reindeer pajamas for?”
Oh boy.Her heart liked that if its racing was any indication. “You still might, so don’t rule it out.”
Nick leaned back, making her miss the kiss he didn’t give with a lighthearted laugh. “Don’t worry, Maze. I’m not ruling anything out.”
ALL THEY NEEDED TOmake this moment more comedically ridiculous was one of the walking ropes she’d seen on the school kids. Her sister took the lead, their mom behind her, followed by Maisie, then Ellie. She really hadn’t thought this all the way through.
“Should we be prancing?” Ellie asked.
“Putting this on is about the height of my good sportsmanship,” her mom replied.
“Mine is too tight,” Nat said, pulling the fabric of the onesie away from her rounded belly.
