Romancing the Grump (Appies, #4)

by Jenny Proctor

Western North Carolina

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.

“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.”

“Oh, no. That will not be necessary,” I say a little too quickly. “I have zero plans. No dating plans whatsoever. I mean, not that there’s anything wrong with dating. Or dating hockey players. Or hockey players in general. I’m just saying, that’s not why I’m here.”

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 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.”

In the past forty-eight hours, my relationship with Summer has gone from zero to sixty. We were friends before—sort of. Now, the entire world thinks we’re together, we’ve kissed, we’re sharing a bed, and she knows about my brother, something I hadn’t even told my teammates before the reporter brought it up and forced my hand. I don’t need a rule book with this woman, I need a survival guide.

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.”

Nathan is the grump, Van is the flirt, Alec is the ego, Felix is the bookworm, Eli is the golden retriever.

Oh, great. He’s a coffee connoisseur and he volunteers to teach children how to play hockey. Honestly. This isn’t even fair anymore.

“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.”

You can’t know that. Life is all about risk. There are never any guarantees—especially not when it comes to love. You’re refusing because you don’t want to hurt me, but the person you’re really hurting is yourself. You deserve to be loved, Nathan. So your schedule is stupid, and your job is hard. Shouldn’t I be the one who gets to decide if you’re worth it?”