Page 82 of The Huckleberry Bookshop

“Be careful with him, Athena,” Leo said. “He’s one of our oldest geezers on the team, and sadly, we still need him.”

She smiled at Mullens with such warmth and gratitude that he ducked his head to hide what was surely a goofy expression.

“I’ll keep that in mind, Leo,” she said lightly.

“You might want to put him on a soft food diet to help protect his dentures, too.” He cackled.

“Hey! Most hockey players have some fake teeth,” Mullens protested. As a joke, he lunged at Leo, who laughed and tumbled off his bench.

He wouldn’t give up this team for anything.

Athena straightened up her desk, prepping to head back to Sweetheart Creek. Today, like most weekdays, she’d work the quieter evening shift at the Huckleberry Bookshop before closing up for the night.

She smiled, pressing her palm to her heart as she thought about that earlier moment in the locker room. Her hesitation about forgiving Chad, about possibly dating for real this time, and how he might treat her, had all been laid to rest.

They were both a work in progress, but they were willing to put in the effort.

There was a gentle rapping of knuckles at her open office door, and she turned to see Chadwick Mullens.

Her boyfriend.

He’d changed and showered since she’d last seen him, half an hour ago. He was wearing a crisp, cotton button-up shirt in a deep shade of blue that made his brown eyes seem almost black.

“Got a moment?” he asked, already closing the door behind him.

“What if I don’t?” she asked in a sassy tone. She propped a hand on her hip even though she was suddenly nervous. He was here either to deliver bad news or kiss her.

She really hoped it was a kiss.

“You have to relieve Meddy in about an hour and a half,” he said, checking his watch. “I’ll keep it quick.”

“Are you keeping track of your girlfriend? How possessive of you.”

Before he could speak, she made up the distance between them and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him deeply, leaving no doubt where she wanted them to be, relationship-wise.

After a long moment they broke apart, resting forehead to forehead.

“So you’re officially my girlfriend?” he asked.

She nodded, feeling a sudden shyness.

“No more dodging me? No more being crazy busy?”

“I still have a cookbook to rescue.”

He laughed. “It’s aiming its way straight up to the top of the bestseller lists. What’s to rescue?”

She shrugged.

“You really want three jobs, huh? Hate spending time with me that much?”

“Hey, two of the jobs involve spending a lot of time with you.”

He kissed her again, slowly and meaningfully, as though they had all the time in the world.

“How about this?” he suggested. “We confess on TV?”

“Confess to what?”

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