Page 35 of The Game
“I may be hallucinating, but you almost looked happy to see me, angel.”
Of course, he would catch my expression; nothing slips past this man.
“You must be hallucinating,” I reply with a playful smile, making him snicker.
Being so close to him makes my skin tingle and my heart race. Add his intoxicating scent, which fills my senses, and I feel the effects of Alexander all over.
“Maybe we could just have our meeting now,” I suggest, desperate to distract my mind and body from how he’s making me feel.
If we work, I’ll have something to focus on besides his good looks and attractive personality.
He shakes his head at me before replying.
“Nice try, angel. There will be no work conversation. This is my free time. You’ll have to wait with that until our meeting on Thursday.”
I sink further into my seat, contemplating my options.
Of course, he doesn’t want to spend his time working.
I wouldn’t suggest it in the first place if he didn’t affect me as much as he does.
Maybe I could ask him to change seats.
The bus has a lot of empty rows; I’m sure he could find somewhere else to sit. I could make up an excuse that I have to work, and with his big body and long legs, he’s taking up space I could use for my stuff.
I wasn’t planning on working on this trip, seeing as I’m exhausted from the long day, but he doesn’t know that.
Then, there’s the part of me that truly enjoys having him all close. He seems more relaxed and laid-back after their win, and I decide I can handle this.
“Congratulations on your game, you played marvellously,” I say, and his smile is breathtaking when he looks at me. He really has a beautiful smile.
“A compliment? Now I’m almost 100% sure I’m hallucinating.” He jokes, making me roll my eyes at him.
I’m not above praising him for his good game; he leads the team beautifully.
“Yeah, you probably are,” I tell him, my smile matching his own.
We fall into a comfortable conversation, and I begin to learn more about Alexander McGregor.
Not the hockey captain, but the man beneath that role.
He’s the oldest of three brothers, which makes him the responsible one in his family. According to him, his younger brothers, Braden and Cameron, are always up to no good, so Alexander ended up cleaning up their messes when they grew up.
“Sure, you never did anything wrong, mister perfect?” I ask him.
“Oh, I did plenty, I was just better at hiding it.” He winks at me, sending the butterflies flying in my stomach.
He prefers to keep to himself, and when he’s not on the road or busy with work, he enjoys visiting museums to learn about history. After he made it to the NHL and became a well-known figure, his interest in history took a backseat, as fans often approached him, and he valued some peace away from the NHL spotlight.
I can’t imagine how it must feel to have your life turned around like that—going from having interests and hobbies you value, to having to stop them due to people coming up to you.
Alexander seems content with the changes, grateful to live his dream and make time for his interests in other ways.
Now, he enjoys watching documentaries and reading books.
We share a love of reading, but our preferred genres are quite different.
Whereas he likes to read about new inventions and hidden gems of the world, I want to read romance novels featuring dominant alpha males and swoon-worthy plots.
