Page 4 of One Good Puck
I keep my expression easy as I look at her, hoping I haven’t misread this whole situation…hoping that she’s not mad at me for stepping in.
But then, a second later, her mouth curves up in a relieved smile.
“It’s okay, baby,” she says. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
Chapter 2
Abby
Ibite back what I’m certain is a giddy smile. I can’t help it, though. Gavin Porter, the ridiculously handsome head coach of the Bashers, has just come to my rescue.
He called mesweetness.
I have to take a slow, quiet breath in, then out, to keep myself from sliding out of my seat. That’s how hard the urge to swoon is hitting me right now.
Because it’s been ages since any guy has called me a cute pet name…
Sweetness.
No one’s ever called me that before. It’s so cute. And different.
I take another breath and manage to hold it together. I flash what I hope is an easy smile—a smile that reads, “You’re definitely my boyfriend, and we’re definitely not faking this”—and scoot over so he can sit next to me.
The corner of his mouth hooks up, and the look in his cobalt blue eyes turns teasing. My breath catches in my throat at his gaze. Deliciously, impossibly blue…
I had no idea he hung out at this bar. He seems way too serious and classy for a place like this. Especially the way he’s currently dressed.
I take in the color of his navy blue suit and crisp white shirt he’s wearing. No tie. I try not to stare too long. He lookssodamn handsome.
And that smile. It’s not a big grin. I’ve never seen him do that. It’s just the corners of his mouth gently curved up. Easy. Relaxed. Very, very hot.
God. He’s dangerously handsome when he smiles like that.
I put aside all thoughts about how sexy and good-looking Gavin is and refocus on the moment. He’s pretending to be my boyfriend to save me from this awkward-as-hell outing with Logan, the bookstore owner who seemed like a good guy, but who actually is kind of a creep.
I watch the way Logan’s gaze on Gavin goes from shocked to confused. A second later, recognition hits.
“Oh, hey. You’re Gavin Porter. Coach of the Bashers.”
Gavin nods once. “That’s me.”
I notice his smile disappears as he looks at Logan.
“It’s so cool to meet you, man. I’m Logan. I’m a big fan.”
“Thanks,” Gavin says curtly. “How do you two know each other?”
“I run a bookstore and do a lot of events with Abby’s school,” Logan says.
“Logan’s putting on a book fair for the students this fall,” I say.
“That’s why we met up,” Logan says quickly to Gavin. “It was harmless, I swear.” He chuckles like he’s nervous.
I’m instantly annoyed at the way he’s trying to spin this. Yeah, he asked me out for a drink to talk about the book fair,but we only spent maybe ten minutes talking about that. The rest of the hour that we’ve been here, Logan’s treated it like a date, asking me about my personal life and trying to convince me to go out with him again.
Gavin is quiet as he holds eye contact with Logan for several seconds. It’s a pretty intimidating move, how he silently stares him down.
“The part I walked in on didn’t sound harmless,” Gavin says. “It sounded like you wanted this to be a date, and you were being pushy about it.”
