Page 25 of You Had Me at Hockey

“Good, good.”

“That sounded like a test I just passed.”

She smiles back. “I have more.”

“Really?”

“No. That’s bullshit.” She rolls her eyes. “I have friends who test guys, though—they’ll tell a guy they’re cold just to see if he offers his jacket.”

“Huh.”

“Right? Then they get mad if he fails, but they won’t tell him why because he should know it.” She shakes her head. “I hate those kinds of games. But maybe that’s why I’ve never been super successful in the dating department. Maybe you need to be good at those games.”

“I don’t like games either.”

“Says the hockey player.”

I laugh. “Yeah. But in hockey, everyone knows the rules.”

“Right.” She tilts her head thoughtfully. “That’s exactly the problem with stupid dating games…nobody knows the rules.”

I eye her black dress with tiny sleeves. “Are you warm enough?”

Her laugh is rewarding. “Yeah. If I want to borrow your jacket, I’ll ask.”

I smile back at her. “Okay.”

We finish off the chicken salad cups. The waiter whisks the plates away and refills our wineglasses. Sara slides her glass closer to herself across the table. “I have an idea I want to run past you.”

“Yeah?” I take a sip of my wine, a dark red.

“What would you think about teaching me to skate and having it filmed?”

Not what I was expecting. I consider that. “For you to put on YouTube?”

“Yes.” She holds my gaze steadily. “I think it would be fun.”

I wrinkle my nose, then answer honestly. “I’m not sure.”

Her lips quirk and her eyes soften. “Can I convince you?”

“Maybe.” I rub my jaw. “I’m not into a lot of attention.”

“You’re a hockey star!”

“Nobody knows me here. Not many people knew me in Dallas. Hockey’s, like, the least important sport in this city.”

“True.”

“I have to do some media appearances and talk to the press. It’s part of the job. But I don’t really like it.”

“You did really well for the podcast.”

“I didn’t want to do that either,” I confess.

She pushes out her bottom lip adorably, but her eyes twinkle.

“No offense,” I add. “I’d never heard of you, and well, I’d rather lay low, but…I figured I had to do it since I’m the new guy.”

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