Page 47 of Shiver

“I swear.” Arielle giggles, cupping a hand over her mouth. “That just never gets old.”

“He has a littletoomuch fun out there if you ask me,” Rose says in her very blasé way.

“Ale keeps trying to convince me that Luca’s just stretching, but I sincerely hope I don’t seem that freaking naive,” Kat says with a snort.

“He doesn’t think you’re naive,” Charlie says. “He’s fucking praying you don’t find the dumb shit Luca does attractive.”

Kat nearly chokes on the slushie she swapped to about a half hour ago as Aiyana pats her back. “There, there, sweet child, Momma Aiyana’s got you.” That only makes Kat cough even harder.

“You’re a terror.” I chuckle at Aiyana, loving how freely she speaks her mind, even if what she says is entirely unhinged.

She smirks up at me. “Thank you,” she says, and I think she honestly took it as a compliment. Not that I didn’t mean it as one because I absolutely did.

“Kat, not to worry you further, but I have to say, I do find it just a tad concerning that you didn’t deny what Charlie said.”

Kat shakes her head, rubbing her thumb over the pendant of her gold necklace as she clenches her eyes shut. “There isn’t much that Luca does that doesn’tmostlyrepulse me. No offense, I love him with every piece of my soul, but I’m by no means looking to trade De Laurentiis brothers,” she says with a laugh.

Thank god for that.

I finally turn my attention back to the ice, and just as Luca blocks another shot, his attention seems to snag over here. He drops his stick, takes off his helmet, and makes his way over to us as he pulls his gloves off.What the hell is he doing? He’s in the middle of a game!

His coach is shouting at him from the bench, and beside him is Alessandro with his hands on his hips, shaking his head in disbelief, but I can see his wide smile from here.

Luca makes his way over to us, jabbing his finger at the glass and pointing straight at me.

“Looks like Luca wants to help you convince your parents that this is real too.” Charlie laughs.

“My parents don’t even watch hockey!” I tell them. I haven’t even told them his name yet, and I definitely haven’t told them what he does for a living or how we met. There’s not a chance that would make our vacation go by more smoothly.

He pulls out his mouthguard and shouts, “Turn around,princess!”

I pretend I have no idea what he’s saying. “What? I can’t hear you!” I shout back, unable to keep the smile off my face. He shoots his gaze straight at his mom, who’s chuckling beside me along with all the other women flanking me.

“Oh, come on, stand up and show off your new jersey,” Gloria tells me, patting my thigh.

“Don’t make me come over there and do it myself,” he shouts at me.

And I can’t quite tell if the chill that skates up my spine is from how much I actually like the thought of his hands on me or if it’s the realization that everyone’s eyes are on me.

“Fine,” I groan, wanting to get this over with. I stand, turning around and moving my hair off my back to show him his name across my shoulder blades.

The crowd roars around us, clapping loudly and cheering their approval. When I turn to sit back down, his eyes are blazing with heat for just a moment before he brings his fingers to his lips, letting out a loud whistle. He shakes his head at me, and I see his lips move, but he doesn’t speak loud enough for me to hear what he said.

Itlookedlike he said, “Oh, fuck me,” but that couldn’t be right. This is Luca De Laurentiis. Everything he does is to get a rise out of me or someone else.

And when he starts to skate backward toward his goalpost, he puts his hands out in front of his chest, curving his fingers and thumbs into a heart. My heart thumps wildly behind my ribs as he turns, reaching down to grab his discarded gear.

Chapter forty-three

Luca

I’ve had hundreds, if notthousands,of women wear my jersey, but not a single one has looked as good in it as Samara does.

And that thought alone fucking terrifies me.

I’m not sure when I first realized it, but everything about Samara makes me want to ravish every inch of her.

So when I see her heading back to her car after I’m finished cleaning up, I can’t help the fact that my legs literally drag me in her direction.

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