Page 71 of He Has Charm (Boston Brawlers Hockey)
“You could put it that way.” Charlie sounds skeptical. Maddox laughs.
“If you want to be an elite hockey player, you need to pay attention to every aspect of your body, conditioningandhealth and that includes eating healthy food, the right kinds for in season and off season.” Charlie eats up his words like he’s listening at a holy altar.
The food arrives and Maddox helps me set the table and put the food out in the formal dining room. We sit and eat and Maddox is so easygoing it’s like he’s part of the family.
“The great thing about eating healthy food in the off season is you can eat as much as you want guilt free,” he says to my mother after she complains about constantly dieting.
“I made the mistake of ordering you pasta your first day here,” I say with more fondness than regret at the memory.
“You didn’t see me turning it away. You were a bad influence, tempting me with delicious, dangerous food.” His eyes crinkle up with his smile and I feel the rush of familiar desire zip through me, way more intense and dangerous than the mild belly flips.
“You’re dangerous because you’re so easy to please.” I stop, a blush of epic proportions threatening to overtake me as I realize how inappropriate my flirting is in front of my mother and my brother.God. But Charlie is too busy eating to notice and Mom is too wise to say a word.
“No need to worry, su—Harper. I’m harmless.” The smile he gives me this time is an unmistakable invitation. “Besides, you’re pretty easy to please yourself. All it takes is a box of shoes.” He turns to Mom.
“Did you know your daughter has an expensive shoe habit?” Mom laughs and nods, wiping her mouth. She has no idea what he’s talking about, but she’s not about to interrupt and looks to me to answer for her.
“It was just the one pair,” I protest. “And your gift was so not easy. I still don’t know how you found those shoes. They haven’t been made for two years.”
“I’m a resourceful guy when I put my mind to it.” He winks and I stare, mesmerized as always by his eyes, by him and everything about him. His kindness, his gorgeousness, his hard work, his easygoing charm, and the way he loves his sisters. Shit. I need to stop dwelling or I’ll drool on my plate.
Charlie finishes his food and turns the conversation to hockey while we all finish eating. That sense of familiar longing doesn’t leave me as we clean up and it’s time to drive Mom and Charlie back to their hotel.
“I’ll drive them,” he says without a thought.
“No, I’d like to drive them. It’ll give me a little extra time to spend,” I say and it’s true. He immediately relents, giving me a look that would have melted my heart a couple of weeks ago, but now I don’t allow myself to believe it.
I got them two rooms and I go up with them and sit with Mom for a minute to gather myself before returning to face the blue-eyed temptation named Maddox.
“I really like him, Harper. He’s everything a girl could want. You’re so lucky to—”
“It’s nothing, Mom. I’m not lucky.” She waves a hand at me.
“Oh, who are you kidding? The attraction between you sizzled so hot I thought of opening the windows. I wish I had a man looking at me that way.”
I sigh. “Fine, have it your way. But we’re not a couple and if people think we are, I could lose my job. So don’t go around saying things like that. Could you do me that favor, Mom?”
She stares at me a moment, then two. I hold my breath and I want her to tell me no, that I’m all wrong and that we really do have that special couple connection, the kind that goes beyond physical attraction.
“Fine. I’ll do as you ask.” I let out my breath in disappointment. “But, let me just say this, Harper. You can always find another job. But men like that charming hunk don’t grow on trees. And I can see your feelings for him a mile away. You make sure you have your priorities right.”
“Aren’t you forgetting about the family’s debt?”
“No, but I think it’s time you forgot about it. I can handle it. I had a conversation with the bank and we worked out a new payment. Plus I got some extra hours at work while I look for a better paying job. We’ll be fine.”
“What about Charlie going to college?”
“You heard Maddox. Charlie stands to get a scholarship for hockey.”
“But that’s…” I was going to say a long shot, but maybe it’s not.
I laugh but it sounds more deranged than happy. Because Mom came through, validating me and my mission to go for the brass ring and try to win over the love of my life. But does it matter?
Because I’m not sure I know what the problem is between me and Maddox, let alone how to solve it. Is the problem that he thinks of himself as damaged goods? Or is the problem that he’s using that as an excuse and isn’t interested enough in me for more than a fling?
I don’t know. Though I’m sure as hell going to try to figure it out.
