Page 49 of The Final Draft

Yeah.

Did I scare you?

A little.

Listen to your heart, gorgeous.

It’s time for you to be the main character in this story.

CHAPTER

THIRTY-TWO

JULIAN

My last call of the day went longer than it needed to, and now I’m late for my date with Harper. Running on Julian time is nothing new, but I want to be punctual tonight. It’s important. She’s important.

As I walk out of my office, Violet hands me a black bag from the NHL store. “Thanks Violet. I appreciate your help in making this happen. You’re doing great. Enjoy your weekend.” I appreciate the extra tissue paper and bow she added to make the gift more special. Maybe Violet will work out after all.

When we pull up to Harper’s building, she’s waiting outside. She looks amazing in figure-fitting jeans and a simple button-down shirt and sweater. There seem to be two camps when it comes to female hockey fashion. They either dress to impress or they dress to cheer. Harper is the fan type, and I like that about her. What I don’t like is her waiting on the New York sidewalk.

“What are you doing out here?” When she narrows her eyes at me, I realize I sound harsher than I intended. I do my bestto recover from my mistake. “I don’t want you getting cold.” Holding her by her shoulders, I press my lips against her forehead. It's a greeting, far too tame for my liking, but we're short on time.

“You said you were running late, and I didn’t want you to have to wait on me.” She offers a slight shrug, her eyes kind, and I feel the warmth of her forgiveness wash over me.

I pinch her chin between my fingers and make her look at me. It takes everything I have not to get lost in her dark eyes. “Gorgeous, I’d wait a lifetime for you.”

She rolls her eyes at me and groans. “Save the words for the page.”

“But did they make you swoon?”

She shoves at my shoulder. “Absolutely not.”

Forget being late. That needs to be fixed immediately. I lean down to give her a simple, sweet kiss, but one taste of her lips, and my mouth has a different idea. She tastes like peppermint and happiness. I lose myself in her for a moment when a short honk gets my attention. I glance at Kat, and she taps her watch. Shit. Right. We’re late.

“Not even a little?” I tease.

“Maybe a little.”

I laugh as the lie leaves her lips. A little, my ass. I lead her to the car, and we settle in for the short ride to Penn Station.

“How was your day? Any good drama?” She's always hungry for the latest celebrity news.

“Not really. Mostly boring contract negotiations. Nothing as exciting as seeing you tonight.” I tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. “My god, you’re amazing.”

“Please, stop.” She’s not convincing me.

My warm breath ghosts over her skin as I lean in, whispering secrets into her ear, the scent of her perfume filling my senses. “I will never stop telling you how incredible you are, Harper.” Ablush creeps onto her cheeks, a rosy hue spreading as she reacts to my words, her eyes lowering with shyness. I fucking love it.

I reach behind us and grab the bag. “I got you a little something for tonight.”

Her eyes light with excitement, and I’m gifted with one of her surprised looks. “Is this?”

I shrug. “Open it.”

She pulls out the Lawson Cartwright Renegades jersey, and her high-pitched squeal frightens Kat. I laugh at both their reactions. Harper lovingly runs her fingers over the name on the back and then tightly hugs the jersey to her chest. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.” She kisses my cheek several times. “You have no idea how much this means to me.”

“I’m getting an idea.” She bounces with joy at my quiet chuckle.

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