Until the two who definitely knew my name came walking in.
This time they were alone. Just Nico and Wes. They were talking about something and Weston was getting animated with his hands, half skipping along. He reminded me of a little kid with how his face lit up when he talked. And the fact that his entire outfit was wrinkled again.
My mouth went dry as Nico looked directly at the camera and winked at me. He looked just as good as he always did and I wanted to slap myself out of the trance I found myself in.
“Hey, Harper,” he said as the two of them stopped to the right of me. No one else was behind them so there was no excuse for me still holding my camera up. I swallowed roughly and lowered it to my lap as I looked up at the two of them.
“Hey, Nico,” I replied and looked to his friend and nodded. “Wes.”
“We really missed you while we were away,” Wes said with a sad smile and puppy dog eyes. “You should come on the road with us next time.”
I practically choked on my own saliva. “Yeah, I don’t know. I’d have to talk to Phillip. I’m pretty sure they usually send the more seasoned photographers on the road.”
“I stalked your social media. They’d be stupid not to send you.”
Nico whipped his head to look at him. “You did what?”
“Wait, you did?” I asked at the same time.
Wes glanced sheepishly between the two of us. “I mean, I was curious. You take really good pictures. Just try a little harder to get my better side when you see me on the ice.” He smirked as he swept his hand along the right side of his jaw. “See ya later, Harp.” He nodded at me before he continued to walk, purposely leaving Nico and I alone.
Silence encapsulated us as Nico watched Wes until he was out of sight. My heart pounded and I could see the sound of the blood rushing through my veins. My stomach did a flip and a twinge of excitement slid down my spine.
No one was around. It was just the two of us and Nico Cirone was staring down at me as waves crashed against the shores of his ocean eyes. I hated the way he was looking at me. The visceral effect that it had on me.
How the hell was I ever going to be able to ignore this man if he looked at me like this every time we were near each other?
“You never answered my text.”
My breath caught in my throat. I nervously shifted my weight as I went over what I wanted to say in my mind. I was not prepared to have this conversation right now. “I figured it would be better to talk about it in person.”
Nico lifted an eyebrow. “Color me curious. Go ahead, love. Don’t be shy.”
I cleared my throat. “I think we need to just let all of this go.” Nico stared at me, but he remained silent. I had no idea where I was going with this, but it was my chance to get out of this situation. “We had our moment that one night and I think it’s best if we just leave it at that. That time has passed and you know, given our circumstances, things are a little different now.”
His gaze lingered. Nothing about his expression changed. It was quite blank, void of any emotion, although his eyes painted a picture I couldn’t quite decipher. “I see.”
“I know what you said about being a good luck charm and you know, I’m still here, so there’s always that.”
“Hmm,” he mused and nodded. He shoved his hands in the front pockets of his dress pants, but he didn’t move from where he was standing. Even though he was above me, he was too close. Yet a part of me wanted him closer. “I suppose you’re right.”
His reaction threw me off-balance and I cocked my head as I continued to look up at him. “That’s it? You’re okay with that?” I didn’t expect him to just agree like that, not after everything he had already said to me. There was a part of me that couldn’t help but be annoyed with him in this moment.
Nico scowled. “What were you expecting? Me to beg you to reconsider? Believe it or not, love, I’m a rather agreeable person.”
“I thought you get what you want.”
A low chuckle rumbled in his chest. “Oh, I do. Just because I’m agreeing with you doesn’t mean I won’t get what I want in the end.” He let out a sigh and his eyes softened a bit. “I play the long game, love. I might move quickly on the ice, but I treat life like a marathon.”
“So, you’re verbally agreeing with me, but in your mind, you don’t agree at all?” I blinked twice as he stood there in silence.
I didn’t believe him at all in this moment. He could appear as agreeable as he wanted, but his words just told a different story. They showed a different angle. He wasn’t just agreeing and moving on from the arrangement he proposed. He was simply lying in wait, while planning his next move.
Nico Cirone was calculated. Forward and a tad abrasive, but he didn’t strike without a plan in place.
The door from the entrance opened and closed and Nico glanced over his shoulder before looking back at me. His lips slowly crept upward and he winked. “Better get back to work, Harper. Don’t want you breaking any rules and missing out on any shots.”
Heat crept up my neck and quickly spread across my cheeks as I directed my gaze away from him. As I lifted my camera back in front of my face and began to press the shutter button, Nico disappeared in the direction of the locker rooms.
He wasn’t going to make this easy at all.
And I wasn’t sure just how long I would be able to keep resisting him.
CHAPTER SIX
NICO
We were deep into the second period with only three minutes left and I felt like I was on fire. I already had four points for the game—two goals and two assists. It was looking to be a complete shutout. Wolfe brought his A game. Literally everyone on our team was playing the best version of themselves.
It had to be because of Harper.
There was no other explanation.
The ref called an icing after Lincoln tossed the puck back into our zone. We headed down to the defensive zone for a face-off and I caught sight of Harper with her face hidden behind her camera. A smile pulled on my lips and I got into my position with my stick ready to fight.
“Sup Cirone?” The player next to me nodded his head as I met his gaze. Alexander Stone. We played college hockey together and it had been a minute since I last saw him.
“Stone,” I replied with a clipped tone as I grew impatient waiting for the ref to drop the puck. Stone was known for chirping and he was a dickhead. I kept my distance from him, even though we played on the same team.
“You look just as pretty as you always have.”
I side-eyed him. “Fuck off, Stone.”
“What?” He laughed. “You’ve always been known for being the pretty boy who stays wheelin’ chicks. Speaking of—you think you can hook me up with one while I’m in town? My dick could use a good sucking, unless you’d rather wrap those pretty lips around it instead.”
This was Alexander Stone. A fucking pig with no respect for anyone. This was also the exact reason why he ended up in fights during most games he played. He didn’t know how to stay in his own lane.
It was one thing to chirp and talk shit during a game, but he always took it too far.
Just as the ref dropped the puck, Stone threw his shoulder into mine instead of even bothering to battle for the black piece of rubber. I managed to get it anyway and tossed it to Lincoln before getting in Stone’s face.