Page 94 of The Closed Off Captain

His brows knit together. “Is she okay?”

“Yeah, Aiden says she does that a lot these days with the baby coming soon and all that.”

“What was she crying about?”

“Oh,” I pause. I briefly consider lying, but that’s not me. So, I tell him the truth. “She was asking about the flowers, so I told her they were from you. One thing led to another, and I told her about you paying for Grandma May’s care, and that’s where I lost her.”

“Why would that make her cry?” he asks in total male confusion.

I throw up my hands. “I don’t know; I’m not an expert on pregnant women.”

The corner of his lip turns up. “Okay.” When I don’t make a move to leave, he lifts an eyebrow. “Did you need something else?”

“No.” I turn to walk out. I take a few steps and then whirl around; he’s still standing right there. I walk back to him. “Why do you keep giving me flowers?”

He stares down at me, and I can’t figure out for the life of me what he’s thinking. “Why do you think?”

“No, no, no. We are not going to play this game. You are going to tell me why you’re getting flowers for me.” I cross my arms across my chest.

He steps closer. “You’re a smart woman, Chloe. Tell me why.”

“Gunner Coftman, I am not playing these games with you. You are going to tell me what is going on.”

“Ooo, first and last name. Cap, you’re in trouble,” Sebastian calls out from somewhere behind Gunner.

“You sure you want to do this here and now?” Gunner asks, completely at ease, the very opposite of how I’m feeling.

“Brielle says—” I stop abruptly, unable to finish what I was going to say.

“Brielle says what?” he pushes. I look up and notice he’s a whole lot closer than he was a few seconds ago.

“You know, you’re right. We don’t want to have this discussion right here, right now ...or ever. Okay, I’ll see you later.” I start to turn, but a hand on my elbow stops me.

“You’re not running, are you?” he challenges.

I lift my chin. “No. I’m just trying to be professional. And speaking of professional, would you please put a shirt on?”

His mouth turns up into a full grin. “Why?” His voice lowers. “Is it distracting you?”

My eyes flick down to his chest for just a second and then shrug. “Most of the guys in here look good without a shirt on.” I shrug.

His eyes narrow, and Sebastain calls out, “Wait, who doesn’t look good without a shirt on? It’s Zac, isn’t it?”

I hear shoving and chaos ensuing. “That’s my cue. I’ll see you later.” I turn and stride towards the door. I push the crash bar but stop when Gunner calls my name.

He waits until I meet his gaze. “Whatever Brielle said, it’s probably true. You're the only one too blind to see it.” He gives me a gentle smile. “But that’s okay. I’m a very patient man when it’s something I really want.” He doesn’t look away, and the oxygen is sucked from the room. I open my mouth and then close it when I don’t know what to say. Without a word, I push the door open and make my way back towards my office in adaze. When I get back to my office, I see Stan waiting for me. Just like that, I snap out of my daze. I have a job to do.

I finish a little early, so I can leave before the team finishes for the day. I pack up the work I need to get done at home and spend the rest of the night working from the comfort of my couch. I’m at work early the next morning, and it’s a really profitable day—mostly because nobody is around to bother me. Most of the entire team and staff left early this morning for an away series of two games. It’s weird not to be with them, but Stan agreed to it yesterday. I miss very few games in a season, but it happens when I have too many projects going on, which is exactly where I’m at right now. I have two events this weekend, back to back. Thankfully, once they’re done, everything will calm down. These two are the last from the busy holiday season. And they should be with it being January now.

The week passes in a blur, and Monday morning finds me behind my desk with more work to do than I have time for. There’s a knock on my door a little before ten, and the door opens right after. I know it’s Gunner before I even look up. “Congrats on your games.” He takes a seat in one of my chairs, but I keep my head down and finish my response about an interview for Dylan. I push send and stand up, closing my laptop as I do. I finally meet his eyes, eyes that are settled intently on mine. “How’s your shoulder?” He took a brutal hit on Thursday night, and I was worried it was injured again.

“It’s good.”

I grab the folder I’m looking for and my iPad. “Good. I'm off to a meeting. Have a good practice.”

I start to walk past him, but he stands quickly with that easy grace that makes him such a great athlete. “Are you avoiding me?” My gaze flies to his. “Because of what I said.”

I don’t look away from him. “I’m not avoiding you.”

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