Page 19 of Pucking Your Best Friend

“I like looking at everything beautiful,” he replied with a grin, looking at her meaningfully.

She snorted, but a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. “And you’re surprised your nickname isCharming.”

He frowned. He had been hoping for months that the name wouldn’t catch on, but it was hopeless. Some sports reporter had given him that name and now it was stuck to him like burrs on felt. “It’s not fair. Dax is calledDevil, Jack is calledSaint, Foxis…well, Fox. But they all sound cool.Charmingsucks. Everyone expects me to go free Cinderella from her tower or something.”

“Cinderella was the one with the shoe. Rapunzel was the one in the tower.”

“See!” he complained. “That proves the name doesn’t fit.”

“No, that just proves you weren’t listening when your mom read you fairy tales. I like the name. It fits because you’re constantly flirting. Witheveryoneandeverything! Whether it’s human, animal, or a puck.” She patted his bicep as if it were his fault. “But that’s okay. You always make people feel good. So, it’s not a bad thing.”

Hm. She always felt good around him? That was…nice to hear. So nice, his stomach did a little, satisfied flip. Maddie shouldalwaysfeel good.

She turned her gaze back outside and asked softly, “Matt, were you serious about what you said earlier? Do you believe that I’m… not looking?”

Surprised, he raised his eyebrows. “What are you looking for?”

“The man of my dreams.”

Oh, him. “Yup,” he said without further ado. “You don’t even make an effort to find him. You keep saying that you want to get married and have kids, but man, you have a dating agency and you haven’t even used it yourself.”

She shrugged, visibly unsure. “I don’t want to take anyone away from my clients.”

He snorted loudly. “Little liar. You’re just scared.”

She glared at him. “What am I supposedly afraid of?”

“I don’t know. You tell me.”

“I’m not scared! I’m just concentrating on work right now.”

“I wasn’t accusing you of anything, Maddie!” he replied, backpedaling. “It’s okay that you’re not looking.” It didn’t bother him at all! “But you can’t expect to get married and have kids anytime soon if you’re not dating. Unless you goto WhoNeedsAGreenCard.com. Then you could probably get married tomorrow. But you’d have to clarify the kid issue first.”

She snorted and playfully bumped his arm with her shoulder. “I’ll remember that, if all else fails. But it’s all taking a back burner for now. Now that Geller has dropped out, work takes precedence for a while longer.”

Shit. Matt had figured that the meeting she’d been anticipating for weeks hadn’t gone well from her little outburst earlier. “Why didn’t she sign?”

“We’re too small and green for her.”

“Fuck.”

“Yep.”

“I’m sorry, Maddie. Is there anything I can do to help?”

She laughed dryly. “Not unless you know someone famous who’d like to…” She stopped abruptly and glanced up.

Oh, damn. He knew that look. “The answer is no,” he said quickly. “Like all the previous times.”

“I haven’t been this desperate the last few times!” she said pleadingly, gripping his forearms tightly. “Come on, Matt, be my client.”

He looked at her seriously. “Let me say this as tactfully and lovingly as I can, Maddie: Not in a million years!”

“But you’re single!”

“So what? I’m also a Capricorn, but I don’t feel obliged to advertise the next petting zoo.”

“But you would be the optimal brand ambassador!”

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