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.

“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.”

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.

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

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 don’t need a rule book with this woman, I need a survival guide.

“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 could write poetry about that kiss. I probably will write poetry about that kiss. Bad poetry that no one will ever read. But poetry, just the same.

I let go of Cassie and pull Blake into a hug, lifting him off the ground. He groans and beats on my shoulder. “Dude. What is wrong with you?” Behind us, Mom starts to laugh. “I think Nathan just decided that he’s in love.”

“Girlfriend, huh?” I lift my head and smile up at him. “A real one this time. I picked the title myself. Do you like it?”

“I’ve had it since June,” he says. “Three months after we started dating for real.” He shakes his head and lets out a little laugh. “The guys said I should wait until we’d been dating a year, but that felt way too long, so I was trying to make myself wait until Christmas.” “You’ve had it since June?” I ask with a trembling voice. Five months. He’s been sitting on an engagement ring for five months.