Page 129 of The Offside Rule
CHAPTER 23
Catherine Celia
I went to Taylor’s first because she lived a few doors down from Hunter, which made her the perfect cover and me a terrible liar. I stepped into the elevator and hit Taylor’s floor, my heart already beating too fast. I told myself I was doing nothing wrong. I was a grown woman going to visit a friend. A friend who happened to live three doors down from the man I was secretly sleeping with. The elevator stopped two floors above Taylor’s.
The doors opened, and Nate stepped in because apparently the universe had developed a personal grudge against me. He looked up from his phone, saw me, and his eyebrows lifted. “Dr. Davis.”
I made a face. “Not a doctor yet.”
“Future Dr. Davis?” he grinned.
“Catherine,” I corrected.
The doors slid shut, and the elevator started moving again. For two blessed seconds, he looked at his phone. Then his gaze shifted to the lit-up floor number. Then back to me.
“You visiting someone?” he asked.
“Taylor.”
The answer came fast. Nate’s mouth curved. “Obviously.”
The elevator slowed. My stomach tightened. Taylor’s floor. The doors slid open, and I stepped out. Nate stayed inside, one hand holding the doors with his phone. He glanced down the hall like he knew exactly where Taylor lived. And exactly where Hunter lived.
“Say hi to Taylor?” he said.
“Sure. Have a good night.”
The elevator doors started to close, but right before they did, he smiled wider. “Goodnight, Future Dr. Davis.”
The doors shut, and I stood there for a second, pulse pounding, wondering if he had caught on. I knocked on Taylor’s door, and she opened it a moment later. She stood there holding a mug, brows lifted. “Do I even need to ask?”
“Nope.”
Her gaze moved over my face. “You ran into someone.”
“Nate.”
“Oh.” She winced. “That’s unfortunate.”
“He was acting… I don’t know. Off.”
Taylor’s mouth twitched. “You’re paranoid. Relax.”
I stepped inside long enough for the cover to be technically true. Taylor closed the door behind me, waited ten seconds, then opened it again and peeked down the hallway.
“Clear,” she whispered.
“I hate my life.”
“No, you don’t.” She stepped aside, grinning now. “Go see your hockey captain.”
“Taylor.”
I hugged her quickly, then stepped back into the hallway. Hunter’s condo was only a few doors down. I had barely made it halfway there when his door opened. The second I saw him, everything else disappeared. He wore dark jeans and a black T-shirt, hair damp, jaw rough with stubble. His eyes moved over my face like he had been starving and I was the first real thing he had seen all week.
“Hi,” I whispered.
He stepped back to let me in, shut the door, then pulled me into his arms. His face pressed into my hair, and he breathed me in.
