Page 29 of Puck King
He shook his head and looked like he wanted to leap over the hand carved doors. “Maybe one day,” I added, knowing that all he wanted to do was get out in the fresh air and run with me. “One day.”
Fourteen
Alison
Hollie looked over my shoulder,and in the mirror I could see that her eyes were brimming with tears. “Ali, you look…” She croaked.
“Awkward?” I suggested.
“Beautiful.” Hollie shook her head and stepped beside me to adjust the tuck of my shirt into the jeans.
The outfit was completely on trend. Hollie had assured me of that. It looked good, but I didn’t look like me. I tucked in the rest of the shirt. “How about this?”
Hollie practically lunged at me to untuck the one side of the shirt. “You’ll get it all wrinkly. Don’t touch it.”
“What if I have to pee?” I laughed. “Are you going to hide out in the bathroom so you can fine-tune my tuck all evening?”
She paused a little too long, as though she was actually thinking about it. “Do you know where he’s taking you yet?”
“No.” I wanted to add that the schedule dictated a casual restaurant. To me, casual was a slice of pizza, but I had no idea what it meant to Everleigh or Colton King. “It’s not a date. We’re talking about his shoulder.”
Hollie almost spit out the wine she had been sipping. “Nobody is buying that, Ali. What player meets up with his acupuncturist for dinner to discuss treatment? He’s totally into you.”
I wished that I could tell Hollie the truth. In her world, it was like a childhood fantasy coming to life in front of her – a warped, modern-day fairy tale, where an ordinary townsperson had caught the eye of a Prince – or in this case, a King. She would be crushed to know that it was fiction.
“Don’t believe everything you read.” The photos of us from the coffee date hadn’t made any big waves, but soon enough, people would be talking.
“Fine.” Hollie finished her wine and poured us both another glass. “But say you’re wrong, and the biggest player in the world wants to kiss you. Do you do it?”
“There’s got to be something in the contract about kissing a player, don’t you think?” I tried to play dumb.
“Nope.” Hollie grinned. “I already looked for that. I mean, I think it’s sort of an unspoken rule, but it’s not written in our physio contracts. I looked at yours too.”
“You’re a very thorough assistant.” I’d had a feeling that Everleigh wouldn’t have overlooked that detail. How could Colton propose to one of the staff if they were forbidden to even date?
Hollie shrugged and pumped her eyebrows. “I have to know the rules just in case…”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” I set my glass on the bathroom sink. “Just because it isn’t in your contract doesn’t mean it’s okay.” I felt like the hugest hypocrite, but if Everleigh caught wind of Hollie messing around with one of her players, I knew it wouldn’t go well.
“That Gunnar Lockwood is pretty cute.”
She was right. “He is handsome, but I don’t know how much he’s got going on upstairs.” I tapped my temple. Lockwood was one of the fittest players on the team. They were all in incredible condition, but him and Colton – their physiques were a notch above the rest.
Hollie gave me the same eyebrow raise, but this time there was a devilish glint in her eye. “I don’t care what he’s got going on upstairs. I’ve heard he’s got a lot going on downstairs.”
“Jesus, Hollie.” I blushed. “I’m still your boss.”
“Right.” She tapped my glass with hers. “But, soon-to-be partner.”
“That I can toast to.” I held up my glass. “To my future partner. Who promises to never ever discuss the downstairs parts of any of the players ever again.”
Hollie clinked her glass to mine. “Fine. But…”
“No butts, Hollie. Or dicks.”
Hollie clapped her hand to her mouth and then hugged me. “Nice to see that you’re getting back to your old self, Ali.”
I didn’t feel like my old self. When I looked in the mirror, I saw a sophisticated and well put together woman looking back at me. I wasn’t Mrs. Alison Parson anymore, but I also wasn’t the girl I’d been before marrying Brian either. I was something new. My marriage had stopped me from growing, and the day that I’d walked out on Brian, I’d started coming back to life.
