Page 35 of Yule Know It When You See It
“Hey, man.”
My gaze snaps in Charlie Malone’s direction—the hockey player I’ve been interviewing, and seemingly zoned out for the past thirty seconds. At least, I sure as hell hope it’s been only thirty seconds.
“You, uh, alright?” Charlie points at my hand crumpling the top page of my notepad. He’s missing a front tooth, and it stands out when he laughs.
Coughing into my fist, I smooth the page as best I can, wincing at the notes I managed to distort further from my usual chicken scratch. “Yeah. Sorry. Got a lot on my mind, you know? Holidays and all.”
Charlie nods, a single wavy piece of dark hair falling over his gaze, still wet with sweat. “I get it, man.” He scratches the days-worth collected stubble under his chin. “Can’t wait for the last game of the season so I can surprise my family. Going all out this year.”
“Oh, yeah?” I ready my pen. “Mind if I ask what your plan is?”
Charlie licks his lips and glances around us like his family is about to pop up out of nowhere in the locker room. He goes so far as to drape an arm over my shoulders and lead me to a corner away from the rest of his team. “Disney World.”
Two little words, and no one ever has to elaborate.
“Wow, dude. Your kids are going to flip. How old are they?” I scribble “Disney vacation.”
After jostling me, Charlie slaps his palms together. “Perfect ages. Six and nine. Plus? My wife is the biggest Disney freak you’d ever meet. She may even enjoy it more than our kids.” Charlie chuckles, his face lighting up like a hearth’s warm glow.
“That’s awesome. Enjoy it.”
The idea of being a husband to someone and, even more crazily, afatherrattles my brain every few months. It’s become more frequent once I hit the sweet age of thirty-five. Did men have one of those internal biological clock deals, too? Because it’s like someone flipped a switch. And because seeing Charlie’s proud expression and sheer selfless plan to make his family happy gave me a twinge of jealousy tells me my days of bar hopping have long been over.
I thank Charlie for answering all my questions, pause for a few photos, and head for the hallway to wait for Theo to finish. That is if she hasn’t high-tailed it out of the building already from fear of having to face the aftermath of our life-changing kiss.
I’m expecting an empty hallway to greet me but couldn’t have predicted the sight of Theo leaning against a wall with her fingers delicately tracing over her collarbones—one to the other, back and forth. Her eyes are closed, and if I didn’t know any better, she was biting her lower lip. I should’ve cleared my throat, coughed, pretended to sneeze to alert her to my presence but I’m far too entranced to give a damn. Is she having the most vivid daydream I’ve ever witnessed? And if she is, please make the dream aboutmefor the love of all the known cosmos.
When she lets out a sensual gasp, I cross the space between us. Despite no one being around, I don’t want to riskanyoneshowing up out of the blue and witnessing her likethis—so sultry and vulnerable.
After breathing in her fragrance, I lower my lips near her ear and whisper, “What are you daydreaming about?”
I don’t expect her to admit it, and she doesn’t disappoint by immediately derailing, contemplating no doubt how much of this I’ve seen. Her gaze keeps falling to my lips, especially when I speak, and it takes everything in me not to reenact our moment from Lake Shore Drive. My body eclipses hers. It’d be easy to cover her if someone walks by.
The nerves bubbling from her chest when I ask if she’s ready to go home make a chuckle escape. And the fact she has to confirm by asking versus declaring she’sdefinitelygoing to her own home sends a surge down my spine. She curls her arm with mine, and we head outside.
“I may have come up with a concept we could use for the story after talking with one of the players’ wives,” Theo chirps, bouncing on her heels in delight.
Damn, she’s adorableandhot. How did she manage it?
“Well, let’s hear it.” I pull her closer to my side when I catch her shivering.
She leans the back of her head against my arm and uses the other hand to gesture at the sky. “Imagine this. A second chance romance. Former college lovers. She goes off to get her doctorate in another state. He gets drafted in the NHL and moves to Canada.” With child-like wonder playing in her eyes, she nods gingerly at me. “With me so far?”
“You’re on a roll, Romance.”
“Good. Because this is the best part.” Her gloved hand playfully swats my chest and she walks backward in front of me. “They never think they’ll see each other again, go on with their lives, and a decade later? Whamm-o.” She slaps her hands together.
I crack a smile and purposely slow my stride so as not to lap her tiny steps. “Serendipitous events?”
“Serendipitous? Wow. But yes. She goes to a game with a date, and guess who’s on the enemy team?” Theo rubs her hands together and uses one palm to warm her nose afterward.
I comb my beard with two fingers, contemplating her unraveling plotline. “You may be onto something here. I know we said we were each heading home, but did you want to pop into the office? Maybe write some of this out while it’s fresh in our minds?”
And give me an excuse disguised as work to spend as many waking moments with you as you’ll give me?
She shrieks and hoists both fists in the air. “That’s a brilliant idea, Axel. Let’s hurry before I lose my mojo.” Theo scurries past me.
Laughing and lightly hooking her arm, I stay put and coax her back to me. “You planning on taking the scenic route there?”
