Romancing the Grump (Appies, #4)

by Jenny Proctor

“Had you met Nathan before you started working here?” Parker asks. “It seems like there might be some history there.” “No history,” I say. “I have met him, but only once. We talked for maybe twenty minutes? That was it.” Parker’s eyes go wide. “Really? Twenty minutes?” “Mostly I talked for twenty minutes.” She chuckles. “That sounds more like the Nathan I know. He’s a great guy. Much more of a gentle giant than hockey fans like to think. He’s tough on the ice, an enforcer, but I’ve never seen him throw a punch off the ice.” “An enforcer. Is that a position?” “Sort of?” Parker says. “It’s not an official thing. But when the opposing team plays dirty, he’s usually the guy who steps in and…handles it. The guys on the team call him Bruiser.” “So basically, he fights a lot?” “That’s just it,” Parker says. “Only if he has to. He doesn’t instigate, he responds. And he’s more level-headed than a lot of guys who fill the same role.” My eyes follow Nathan—now that Parker pointed him out, it’s easier to recognize him under the bulky pads and helmet—as he breaks away from another player and races across the ice. Parker grabs her phone, starting a video just as he deflects around another player, circles the goal, then sends the puck over Felix’s shoulder and into the net. “Dang,” Parker says under her breath. I lean forward, shifting to the edge of my seat. Down on the ice, the player I’m ninety-nine percent sure is Nathan slows the tiniest bit and…looks at me. But that’s dumb. Why wou...