Page 73 of The Puckable Playbook

“I hope that’s not a question because you’ll hurt my feelings.”

“It’s just, I’m so different from you.”

His gaze turns hard. “Lenore, you are fucking perfect, so start realizing it. You’re sexy, beautiful, smart as hell. I’m in awe of you. Is all that clear? Did I break into that stubborn brain of yours? Talk bad about yourself again and see what happens.”

“I—”

Leaning over, he whispers, “I plan on showing how I feel a lot more, so get on board. I know you’ll win against that willful brain of yours eventually.”

He hands me my popcorn and places his arm around me. His grip on my arm tightens, and it’s comforting and possessive and sexy as hell. I bite my lip, sinking into his touch.

This might be the most perfect day.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Zaiah

Leaning forward,I squint through the rain-splattered windshield to see the top of the building in front of me. Lights pour from windows here and there, but the highest level is all lit up. “It’s in this one?”

“That’s what the website says.” She pauses while I search for a parking space. “We can cancel.”

“You’d love that, but no.” My own stomach squeezes. The way she’s laid out her dad’s personality, he sounds like a bit of a bully. Family is important, though. Personalities can change. We grow up, and our parents are forced to recognize that eventually.

However, hearing her stories makes me immensely grateful for my family. They played the perfect wingmen tonight. They might be a little off-center, but they’re the greatest.

“There’s one,” Len says, pointing at an open spot on the street. “No parallel parking either.”

I smile as I put my blinker on and scoot into the space. The rain has stopped. Streetlights reflect off the remnants dotting the windshield but at least we won’t get more wet. Putting thecar in park, I peer over at Len, who has her hand raised in the air, brows lifted.

She frowns. “You left me hanging.”

I slap her hand, making sure to grab it and pull her over the console to place my lips on hers. Kissing her is like an adventure. She takes us through a story. Soft and gentle, then the climax, ending with a caress that has me wanting to do it all over again. I could write my own stories in her lips. In her body. In her.

And I’m not the writer.

“You ready?” I ask.

She bites her lip. “It’ll be good.” Despite her words, she peeks up at the hotel, forehead crinkling.

I get the feeling someone is trying to convince themselves to take the next step, so I do it for her. Opening my door, I start to get out. She follows.

Once we’re on the street, she takes my elbow while we head inside. “Looks swanky,” I mutter as we enter a foyer with the biggest chandelier I’ve ever seen. Everything is highlighted in gold, right down to the flourishes on the columns. “You’re rich, aren’t you, Len?”

She squeezes my arm. “I mean,I’mnot rich, but my dad’s owned the team for a while.”

I’m not a stranger to his name. In fact, when she first told me, I’m pretty sure my mouth unhinged from the rest of my face. What are the odds that his daughter would go to the same college I go to, let alone be dancing on a table when I happened to walk by?

Those are divine odds, if you ask me, and I don’t believe a wink in that stuff.

“We probably should’ve dressed differently,” I say, realizing how we completely clash with the old-money charm of the hotel.

“Look who’s nervous now,” she tells me, hitting the button for the elevator. “Act normal. One thing my dad doesn’t do isthrow his money around, so there won’t be a dress code. He’ll probably show up in khakis. He hates pretentious people, so there’ll be none of that.”

“What does your house look like?” I ask as the elevator lifts, beeping through the floors.

“It’s a…house.”

“Is it a mansion?”

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