The Scoring Secret (Off the Ice, #2)

by Ainsley Booth

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me three times in a row, and it’s time to burn this bridge and leave town.

Kieran points at me. “Don’t.” Oh, I definitely will.

I’ll probably spend the afternoon writing horny Reylo fairy smut instead. But either way, it’ll be a well earned secret indulgence.

If this were fan fic, we’d all end up together in bed. As this is real life, I’m going home alone to investigate hockey player-shaped voodoo dolls.

How does one top an enthusiastic emoji reply to a poisoning threat? One does not. One puts the phone away before one goes any further down the path of weirdness.

“What are you doing?” “Looking for a wrench.” “To kill a bird with?” “What?”

From my bookshelf, the bird decides this is a good time to re-insert itself into the group chat. It coos, then ruffles its feathers. We turn to look at it, and it flies straight at us. “Jesus,” Ty gasps, pushing me down and bringing his arm up over his face. “Now’s your chance, killer,” I say. “That’s my bad date. Tear him wing from wing.”

“You want to know the truth?” “Always.” “I haven’t had a good date since you joined the team. You ruined my entire slutty year, halfway through it, just by moving to this city.” That’s the best fucking news, and I cannot grin. I cannot⁠— “Don’t look so pleased with yourself.” “Sorry.” Not. Sorry. I’m beaming.

“Hello, beautiful. I’ve missed you.” Well that’s not fair. If he’s going to directly sweet-talk my sex, she’ll probably purr for him pretty fast.

He twists around, holding up the condom. “Is this mine?” “Umm…” He laughs. “You kept it.” “And look what a good idea that was.” “You. Little. Brat.”

This time when she looks down at her meal, it feels final. Like I’ve pushed enough for a first date. Grandma, what did Grandpa do on our first date? Well, kids, he made me cry and reminded me that my parents are fucking monsters in matching khaki shorts.

“You should kiss me again.” “Right here?” “Right here.” “People will see.” “I hope they do.” “People will know I love you.” Her breath hitches and she nods. “And they’ll know I love you, too.”