Page 16 of Reckless With the Rookie
I consider.Wine might help me relax a little, but I’m careful with alcohol.
“What I really want is a Sprite, but I bet they don’t have that back there.”
“I’ll ask.”
“Water will be fine if they don’t have it.”
I sneak a look at him.I guess, if I had to be forced into a beautiful dress and spend the evening at a glamorous event, at least I get to be on the arm of a tall, hot Swede.His shoulders are broad and he has a face that belongs in magazines.Strong, defined jaw, blue eyes and a smile that makes me remember what it feels like to want a man.
“Lundgren, Harry Gorman.”
A man with a jolly red face and bushy gray hair reaches for Magnus’s hand.
“Nice to meet you, Mr.Gorman,” Magnus says.
“Harry.I’m a friend of McClain’s; taught him everything he knows.”He smiles wryly.“And I’m a big fan.Tell him I’ll be drafting your contract myself if he doesn’t move his ass.”
“I appreciate that.”
“Wish I’d been there for your hat trick.You’ll just have to do it again at home—I’ve got season tickets.”
“I’ll do my best.”
Harry claps him on the shoulder, grins at me, and walks back over to the group he was with.
Jules would know what to say here.She’d have the perfect words, and she’d understand what Harry meant about the contract.I’m just standing here, awkwardly silent, wishing the line would move faster.
“Did Coop tell you he asked for my mom’s phone number?”Magnus asks me, a corner of his mouth tilting up in a grin.
I laugh because that tracks.“He’s not shy.”
“He’s a good kid.He invited me over to play cars.”
“He’s loved cars since he started crawling.”
We reach the front of the line, and when Magnus asks for a Sprite, the woman behind the bar looks at him like he just requested chocolate milk with a straw.
“We have alcohol and water, sir.I think there’s lemonade somewhere, too.”
“Just a water and a Heineken,” he says.
It’s an open bar, but he leaves a twenty as a tip.He offers me his arm again, and we make our way over to the tables of auction items.
There are signed jerseys and pucks in frames, VIP luxury box seats to games, dinner for eight with a local private chef, a bourbon collection ...and the values listed on each item could buy a decent car.
“Remind me what a hat trick is,” I say.
“It’s when one player scores three goals in a single game.A natural hat trick is when one player scores three consecutive goals with no one else scoring between them.”
“And you did that?”
“Yes.”
I arch my brows, impressed.“Did you save anything from that game?”
“I have the puck from the third goal.The team kept my sweater from that night.”
“Maybe it’s up for auction tonight.”
