Page 36 of Puck Me Twice

“At least tomorrow you can sleep in.”

“I’ve still got a lot of work to do,” she says.

“Well, if you want to rest now, I have a shoulder to lean on,” I offer.

Why? Why did I say that?

But when Vanessa smiles up at me, my heart starts to flutter, and maybe…

“Thanks. That’d be nice,” she says quietly.

After the flight takes off, she moves to the middle seat, drawing her legs up to the empty seat beside her.

Immediately, I thread my arm across her shoulders, my hand on her waist, and she yawns again, squirming closer to me. Her hair smells like coconut, and her light floral perfume does dangerous things to my senses.

And when she sets her hand on my knee?

Everything goes haywire. My blood rushes south very, very quickly, and I swallow thickly, trying to avoid disturbing her.

“I’m just going to sleep for a little bit,” she says. Her eyes can barely stay open. “A power nap. Ten minutes.”

“I’ll wake you when it’s time,” I promise. “Get some rest.”

thirteen

. . .

Sven

The guys stare at me when I enter the team room for breakfast. I ignored them last night, especially after Vanessa exited the plane ahead of me.

Taking my now customary seat at MacGregor’s table, he looks up at me with curiosity scrawled on his face.

“What?” I grunt.

He smiles and shakes his head. “You’re full of surprises, aren’t you?”

I shrug, pulling out my phone for my daily news site perusal.

Even with my back to the door, I’m acutely aware of the exact moment she walks into the room. Her floral perfume precedes her in the best possible way. My heart starts to pound, my blood rushes, and I have to cough to clear my throat because swallowing is impossible.

She fills a plate and approaches my table.

“Good morning,” she says brightly.

“Good morning, Vanessa,” MacGregor says, hiding a smile. “You’re traveling now?”

She nods. “Jacky can’t travel for a bit, so I’m filling in on the road. You mind if I sit here?”

Her eyes aren’t on MacGregor, though. They’re on me.

Nodding, my eyes flick down to the empty three seats between me and the team captain.

She sits directly next to me.

“Good morning,” I say quietly, flipping my phone down on the table.

Vanessa leans toward me, then pauses. I squeeze her shoulder, unsure how to convey how glad I am that she’s here.