Page 34 of Not the Puck Bunny

Was that all it was? We were feeling close and shared a kiss? An incredible, electrical kiss that I wanted to do over and over again. But just one kiss.

“Yeah, I got carried away,” he said. “I don't talk about Clio to many people. The guys know, Nate, Blake and Flynn, and Coach Lambton. Zack, unfortunately.” He grimaced. “Otherwise, it's a piece of my past I'd rather stay in my past. I probably shouldn't have told you about it.”

I handed back his phone. “I'm glad you did. Sometimes it's good to talk about things. You know, get them off your chest.” His chest was muscular, but even muscular chests struggled with the weight of things like that.

“What else are friends for, if not to share things so they don't live rent free in your brain?” I asked.

“Friends, right,” he said. He scratched above his eyebrow with his thumb. “You would have found out sooner or later. When you got curious and decided to look me up.”

“You're certain I would have done that,” I said lightly. The moment had gotten a little heavy and needed a sprinkle of levity to bring it back before it got too much.

“You definitely would,” he agreed, teasing lightly now. “You strike me as the curious type. The kind who needs to know everything about everything and everyone around her.”

“Did you just call me a control freak?” I asked, pretending to be offended.

“I think you admitted to being one,” he pointed out. “Something about not wanting to be helpless.”

“There's a difference between being stuck at the top of a rollercoaster and being nosy about people,” I said.

“There's a difference between being nosy about people and wanting to learn about the people who work for you,” he replied.

“There might be,” I said. “But I prefer to get to know people face-to-face. Anyone else who looked atthose photos might have come to a different conclusion than what the actual truth is.”

They might have thought Cam and Clio had a happily ever after with their beautiful child. From the sound of it, that might have been the case. Not the happy ending, but if the child was his, it would definitely have been beautiful.

“I guess so,” he said, his voice soft again. “Like anyone who found out your father gave you a hockey team might perceive you as a spoiled little rich girl.”

“Is that how you see me?” I narrowed my eyes at him.

“I—"

Before he could respond to that, the carriage lurched a few inches back, before grinding forward and sliding down the incline.

All I could do was hang on, and wait for the ride to end.

Chapter Fourteen

Cam

Nate grinned. “You kissed the boss?”The last word came out as a choked laugh. “Bro?—"

I dropped my chin and shook my head. “I know. It was a dumbass thing to do.”

In the moment, it seemed right. One minute, we were having an honest conversation and the next my lips were on hers. She tasted like pure heaven. Soft and sweet, with a hint of herbs.

The only taste in my mouth now was regret. Okay, she hadn't pulled away, or gotten angry, but why would a woman like her want to be kissed by a guy like me? She could have any man she wanted. She was brilliant, beautiful and sexy as hell.

And me, I was a bitter, grumpy asshole on the verge of retirement from the only thing that had anyreal meaning in my life. I didn't want to think about what came after. Endorsement offers were still coming in, but that wasn't something I expected, or even wanted, to keep doing forever.

How many times could a guy have a photoshoot in his underwear anyway?

“It just happened,” I said finally.

“If there's anything we know about you, it's that things don't just happen,” Flynn reasoned. “You wouldn't have kissed her if you weren't thinking about it.”

I tilted my head and looked at him through one eye. “I can be spontaneous.”

He looked back at me for a moment before leaning over to tie up the laces on his skates.

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