Page 73 of Risking the Pucking Defense

I spot Hailee’s red dress instantly, and my teeth grind when I find Jude with his hand against the small of her back, guiding her to her seat.

Jealousy rips through me and my fists clench at my sides.

“Ah, there you are,” says Bea, stepping up beside me. “Come on. Everett has moved the name settings. You’re sitting with us now.”

“Of course he did,” I mutter under my breath as we approach the man in question.

Thanks to Rett tampering with the seating arrangement, I’m now sitting with Hailee in my direct line of sight.

It’s the most incredibly torturous experience.

I get to see every smile and every laugh. But knowing that none of them are directed at me, that others are making her happy, is like a knife through my chest.

“Why were you even in the elevator together in the first place?” Bea asks.

My breath catches and I drop my eyes to the table, but I fear it might already be too late.

I don’t think it’s a secret that I have a crush on Hailee—the guys have ribbed me over it before. But that doesn’t mean I want everyone to know what’s happened. The moments we’ve shared recently are between us.

“Oh, she found me looking sad and was trying to distract me.”

“By going up to the hotel rooms?” she asks with a raised eyebrow.

“Harlow,” I blurt. “She…she’d lost her iPad and Hailee—” My words are cut off as an appetizer appears before Bea.

She smiles at me. “I’m sure you know what you’re doing. I just…” She leans closer to ensure no one else around the table can hear. “I don’t want to see you hurting any more than you are already.”

Pain sits heavily on my shoulder. “Me either,” I admit.

She squeezes my forearm before turning her attention to her food. “I’m so hungry,” she murmurs as one by one, we each get our appetizers and dive in.

The meal drags painfully slowly, even with the conversation flowing around me. I’m sitting with some of my favorite people, but all I can think about is the woman in red opposite me.

Sometime before the servers arrived to take our plates away, Hailee glanced over at me. It might have been a coincidence, but there’s a part of me that wants to believe that she could feel me watching. Especially when she looked over a few more times during the main course and dessert.

Each time her eyes met mine, my temperature spiked, and my heart rate picked up. All I wanted to do was march over there, take her hand, and drag her out of the room to continue where we left off earlier.

It was the perfect tease of what could be between us. Well, assuming she isn’t regretting every single second of it, of course.

She was only being friendly and helping me get out of my own head.

But she grabbed your hand and led you to the elevators. She knew what she was doing, a little voice says.

By the time we’ve eaten dessert, all I can think about is getting her alone again, and that means leaving.

I may have asked her to save me a dance, but something tells me that after being discovered stuck in an elevator together, she’s not going to be up for a dance.

Once we’ve all moved away from the tables, I pull my cell from my pocket and prebook myself an Uber. I figure that’s long enough to be present. Then, with butterflies rioting in my stomach, I shoot off a message that I hope will change the direction of my evening.

Hayden: I have a car coming in fifteen minutes. I’ll make it wait for five minutes for you to join me. No pressure, no expectations, I’m just not ready for our evening to be over yet.

The nerves only get worse after I’ve hit send.

I glance over to where she’s talking to Brooke and Reese, and my stomach knots.

What if she doesn’t see the message?

“Shit,” I mutter before ducking out of the main room and heading toward the exit.