Romancing the Grump (Appies, #4)

by Jenny Proctor

You stole my parking space. I’m face-to-face with a beautiful woman—one I’ve thought about more than once since I first met her a few months ago—and that’s the first thing that comes out of my mouth. You. stole. my. parking. space.

Few things irritate me more than small talk. I don’t like inane questions, and small talk is almost always inane, and I don’t like the pressure to…I don’t know. Impress? Convince someone they want to get to know me more? It’s just easier to…not.

Summer lifts her hand in a wave, banishing my distracting thoughts and making my heart rate spike the slightest bit, but then I realize she’s waving at Felix. Because of course she is. The last conversation she had with me doesn’t exactly warrant a wave.

“Sorry,” she says. “I just wanted to let you know I’m sitting here.” She points at a chair in the front row. A gray folder with the Appies’ blue and black logo stamped on the cover is resting on top of the seat. “Since there aren’t signs or anything, I didn’t want you to inadvertently steal my seat.” Her blue eyes blaze, and her lips lift into a smirk that sends a bolt of heat coursing through me.

Beside me, Felix leans toward me. “What was it you said?” he whispers. “She talks too much?” “Shut up,” I grumble back, and he lifts a hand to cover his grin.

“He totally just looked up here. Also significant: Nathan is a defender. That kind of hotshot scoring move isn’t exactly his M.O.” “Which means what?” She gives me a pointed look. “Which means I think he was trying to impress someone.”

“And just in case it becomes useful information, there is exactly zero policy against dating anyone at work, which means you’re free to date any of the single players. You just have to file something with HR.”

Summer Callahan does not find me the least bit intimidating. Instead, she seems to find joy in sparring with me, even provoking me. I like it way too much. Pretty sure that means I’m in serious trouble.

“I could have handled Dominik,” I say, though I’m anything but disappointed Nathan is here instead. “I don’t doubt it,” he responds. “But just because you can doesn’t mean you should have to.”

Am I a strong, independent woman? Absolutely. Does it feel amazing to know this man has made an effort to protect me? To demand better behavior from his teammate? Hell, yes. “Thank you, Nathan,” I say softly.

“We aren’t done discussing my lack of snoring,” I say. And finally, finally, Nathan smiles. It’s small. Definitely not a real smile, but it’s something, and the sight of it makes my heart flop around in my chest. “I look forward to it,” he says, and the lightness in his tone makes me think he actually means it.

It’s taking all my willpower not to turn around and find Summer. Is she still sitting with Malik? Is she okay? Did she finish her dinner? If I’m not interested, why do I even care?

“That’s my hotel room, and I realized the connecting doors were open, so I went to close mine, but then I…fell.” My explanation sounds lame, and Summer clearly agrees because her eyes narrow. “You fell?” “Your door was unlocked too. I swear it was an accident.” The woman on the phone giggles. “I bet it was.”

But since Nathan already eavesdropped on our conversation, he already knew we were talking about him.” She leans forward the slightest bit. “Didn’t you, Nathan?” “I wasn’t eavesdropping!” I quickly say. “At least…not on purpose.” “And yet, you were leaning against the door enough to fall through it,” Summer says. “Was that also an accident?” It’s suddenly very easy to imagine Summer in a courtroom. This cross-examination hasn’t been going on longer than thirty seconds, and I’m already sweating. “Uh-oh, that’s her attorney voice,” Lucy says. “Better tell the truth, Nathan.”

I guess it’s good one of us isn’t scared—because she scares the hell out of me.

“You did that on purpose.” I lift my eyebrows, standing up right beside him. “Did what?” “You made it seem like you dated him.” “Because you sounded jealous,” I say, propping my hands on my hips. “Which makes zero sense, since we aren’t dating and you said you don’t do relationships.” “I was not jealous,” Nathan grumbles, but the deepening color in his cheeks says something different.

I’m sorry for making things weird.” It was more like he lit my entire body on fire just by looking at me, but sure! Let’s go with weird.

“I’m sorry for even being here. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.” His lips lift in a tiny smirk. “Waking up to you did not make me uncomfortable.” Heat blossoms in my chest, and I press my lips together, fighting a smile. “Do they really just roll you onto the floor?” Nathan shrugs. “If they have to. Did I really spoon you?” “You…did,” I say. “But it’s fine. It was actually kind of nice. I haven’t been spooned in a while.”

Parker’s proposed solution makes sense. A decoy girlfriend to help control the narrative—a love story to replace the conquest narrative that’s trending right now. I get it. I just can’t believe Summer agreed to help. And I shouldn’t be so happy that she did.

“Are you trying to make a habit of coming to my rescue?” Her lips curve into a smile. “I could ask you the same thing.”

You want me to explain how to look like you have a girlfriend?” “I just mean, how should we do it?” “I mean, you did a pretty good job in your bed this morning,” she says with a coy smile. “Maybe try something like that?” My shoulders drop. “Very funny.”

“Kiss me,” she repeats. “If you want them to know you’re spoken for, then show them you belong to me.”

“Fine,” I say as I lift a hand to her face, cupping her cheek. “But just remember, you asked me to do this.” Then I drop my head and press my lips to hers. I don’t expect to forget the crowd of people watching me kiss Summer for the first time, but the second her lips touch mine, everything else falls away.

“I don’t care if you say you have a reliable source,” Summer says, her tone dripping with venom. “The law indicates that juvenile arrest records are confidential, protected by federal statutes, and you will respect that law. You will not print Blake’s name. You will not print record of his arrest. If I find out that you do, so help me, I will have your press credentials revoked and a lawsuit filed so fast, your head will spin. Have I made myself clear?”

“Geez,” a whiny voice says. “What kind of a crazy girlfriend are you?” Summer’s eyes widen, then she leans forward, looking even more menacing than before. “A girlfriend who happens to be chief legal counsel for the Appies and who clearly knows the law better than you do. Do I need to remind you a second time?”

We make eye contact, and I smile, lifting my hand to the glass. He stops directly opposite and lifts his glove to the same spot. And then he smiles. Not the little half-grin I’ve seen whenever I tease him, or the annoying smirk he gives his teammates when he thinks they’re being ridiculous. This smile is wide and real and it makes his eyes crinkle at the corners and it’s possibly the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen.

“What just happened?” I say to Parker. “You were on the jumbotron,” she says. “That’s what happened. And you made the grumpiest grump of all smile like a kid on Christmas morning.” “I’ve never seen him smile like that,” I say. “Um, no one has ever seen him smile like that. If we wanted to sell the fact that you’ve tamed the brooding beast, that just did it.” She chuckles as she scrolls through her phone, then shows me a twenty-second video of Nathan and I staring at each other through the glass.

“Nathan, you have no idea how heavenly this is. I would sleep so good if I got to do this every night.” “And I would wake up a lot easier,” I say before I can think better of it. “Mmm,” she says sleepily. “A match made in heaven.”

“Did you just throw a pillow at me? Is that your thing now?” “You deserved it,” Summer says, laughter in her voice. “Oh, you’re getting it now.” I reach for her, my hand skimming over her arm as she shrieks and scrambles to the other side of the bed. I’m a lot bigger than she is, so it only takes a moment to catch her and tug her into the center of the mattress. She laughs and laughs, her fists raining futile blows against my chest until I capture her wrists and loosely pin them above her head.

I lean forward and see Nathan, who has poked his head through Flex’s front door. When he finally spots me sitting inside the egg, he presses his lips together like he’s fighting a smile. Do it, I think. Smile. But he only clears his throat.

Sure, I think. No hold-up at all. Just give me a minute to put my heart back inside my chest.

“I’m going to miss you,” I say, meaning every word. He holds my gaze, and I get the sense that he knows I’m not faking about that part. He lifts a hand to my cheek, cupping my face as he tilts it upward, then presses a lingering kiss to my lips. “Please be safe,” he says. The urging in his tone makes my heart squeeze, and I lean back in, stealing another kiss before he pulls away. “I will. You too.”

If this is what it feels like to have a fake relationship with Nathan, it’s maybe better if this is all that ever happens. I’m not sure I could survive a real one.

“Physically, I’ll recover as long as I get a warm bath and a few ibuprofen. Emotionally? Pretty sure I’m about forty percent in love with him already.” “Only forty? That doesn’t sound too bad.” “Maybe not, but I’m worried the growth might be exponential.”

“Want to hear something crazy?” “Okay.” “Until you looked at me through the glass, right before the Chicago game, I’d never seen you smile.” Once again, she’s completely taken me by surprise. “That can’t be true,” I say. “We’ve spent a lot of time together.” “Apparently not enough.”

I’ve been hunting for jokes all week just to see if I can get you to crack.” “Jokes, huh? You found any good ones?” “Several,” she says. “But not the right one.” “The right one? How are you going to know it’s the right one?” It’s a shame we’re standing in the dark because I’m smiling right now. Somehow, the darkness is making it easier. Giving us permission to do and say things we otherwise wouldn’t.

What I don’t do is smile. Not because I don’t feel like it or because I’m not having fun. But because I know Summer’s watching for it. It’s a game between us now, and I have no intention of making it easy on her. Maybe because I don’t want her to stop watching for it. I don’t want her to stop trying to earn it.

So what if Nathan loves fancy coffee and plays Settlers of Catan with unusual skill. So what if he loves teaching kids how to play hockey and is endlessly patient with his fans. So what if deep in my bones, I feel some kind of kismet, a recognition that this thing happening between us is bigger than anything I’ve ever experienced before. If he doesn’t feel the same way, none of it matters.

“I’m not, because I don’t have a family. I’m not in a relationship. Dad told me once that you can’t have both. You can’t love hockey like he loved hockey and be good at anything else. I knew it was true, because I was living it. I was the collateral damage. I won’t make the same mistake.” “So don’t make them,” I say. “Just make different choices. Have a different kind of relationship.” Nathan is quiet for too long before he finally says, “It’s not that easy.”

“Give me a percentage,” Parker says, and I immediately know what she’s asking. I told her I was forty percent in love with Nathan after ice skating, so where am I now? “A solid sixty-five,” I say, and she lifts a hand to her chest. “Oh, Summer,” she says. “Sixty-five is big.” Gracie looks at me, then back to Parker. “Trying to piece it together here. She’s sixty-five percent…?” “In love with Nathan.”

Sixty-five percent isn’t all the way in love, but that’s flimsy reassurance when I’ve already fallen so far, so fast. The last thirty-five percent seems inevitable. And where will that leave me but on my way to heartbreak?

Nathan Are you at work yet? Summer Just walking in. Why? Nathan Check your desk. Friends DO share fancy expensive coffee. Summer You are the best fake boyfriend I’ve ever had. And not a bad FRIEND either.

Nathan Will you be there? Summer Of course I’ll be there. I can’t leave you to fight off your adoring female fans ALONE. Not at a game this big. Nathan What would I do without you? Summer Probably play terrible hockey. Nathan Probably. Summer And never smile. Nathan Definitely not.

Nathan You’re staring, Callahan. I look up and meet his gaze across the crowded space, and his lips lift into a knowing smirk. I scowl and type out a reply. Summer Don’t let it go to your head. It’s all part of the act. *winking emoji*

Summer You think? I’ve got this (fake) boyfriend who plays on the team. I’m wearing his jersey. Nathan Turn around and let me see. Summer If this is just an excuse to check out my butt, I’m fake breaking up with you. Nathan Summer. Let me see my name.

“Eighty percent?” I breathe out a sigh. “Maybe even eighty-five.”

“I don’t…want you to go,” he says, and my hand stills. “I just…think you should go because of how much I want you to stay.”

I said I didn’t want a relationship, and I don’t. Yes, there’s been attraction—I’m not stupid enough to deny it—but I’ve worked hard to keep myself from imagining what it would feel like to let Summer in. I haven’t let myself imagine what it might feel like to love her.

I should say more. Tell her what I’m feeling. Admit that maybe I’m not so opposed to the idea of relationships after all. But in my current state, I’m not sure I trust my words. My mind is too foggy, my exhaustion too heavy to fight. So I just hold on to her. I hold on and hope that eventually, I can figure out how to be enough. How to be what Summer deserves.

I just want to see Summer again. Mulligan’s is a public place, after all, and we’re technically still faking a relationship. Which means I get to do all the things I want without questioning them. I can touch her, hold her hand, even kiss her if the moment requires it. That’s how it goes with a fake relationship. So yeah. I’m a little eager to get inside this very public bar and very publicly greet her.