He seems a bit distracted when he says, “Are you suggesting I pick someone for you?”
“This is your town, isn’t it? You know the women better than I do, and maybe Nikki has a friend. Just point the way.” I offer him my best smile. “I’ll take care of the rest.”
“Let me get this straight. You’re saying whoever I pick, you can charm to the table?”
“Is that a challenge?”
He stares at his phone for a second, shoves it into his pocket and looks at me. “Maybe.”
I toss him a cocky grin. Being a star in the NHL comes with its perks—Declan knows that firsthand. You know what being a star in the NHL doesn’t come with? Long term relationships. At least not for me. Lots of my buddies have fallen in love and are now married with kids. But the only thing I know about love is how to mess it up, which is why I no longer try.
“Try me, bro. Pick a girl and I’ll get her to the table.” I flick on the windshield washer, but no fluid comes out. “I can’t see a thing.”
“Wait, pull over.”
“What?”
“Right here,” he practically shouts. “Stop the car.”
I jerk the car to the right, and my suspension squeals as my front right tire plunges into a slush covered pothole near the curb. The god-awful screeching sound is followed by a gasp so loud it drowns out the song on the radio. My heart jumps into my throat. “What the hell?”
“Oh, shit.” Declan jerks his thumb to the right. “You just soaked someone.”
Worry races through me as I kill the ignition and jump from the car. Circling the front, my eyes go wide when my gaze lands on a girl around my age—late twenties. It’s a bit hard to tell exactly how old she is as she stands there gasping for air, cold, wet slushy snow dripping from her—compliments of my erratic driving.
“I’m so sorry,” I blurt out, thankful that I hadn’t done more damage, like actually hit her. “Declan, grab me something.” As Declan goes to the trunk, I take in the woman trying to catch her breath as she swipes wet, dirty snow from her face. I scan the length of her. Christ, I don’t think there’s an inch of her that I missed. “I’m so sorry,” I say again. “Let me help you.”
“No thanks. I think you’ve done enough already,” she shoots back, a cold shiver wracking her body. Okay, she’s upset because I soaked her. I can understand that, and maybe she was headed somewhere important, and needed to be, well…dry. Despite her protest, I take my coat off and hold it out to her as Declan comes back with one of our team towels. He spreads it open, and she takes the towel and wipes her face. “Thank you,” she says quietly to Declan.
“Here, take my coat,” I say.
She hands the towel back to Declan, shaking her head at me. “I’m fine.”
Clearly, she’s not fine, but I’m not about to call her on that as she averts my gaze and scans the snowbank. “Let me make it up to you.” I reach for my wallet. “I’ll pay for the dry cleaning.”
She holds her hand out, palm facing me. “I don’t want your money.”
“Please, let me do something to make this up to you. Dinner? New clothes?” She toys with the zipper on her winter jacket. “Axe throwing?” I glance up and down the streets. Maybe they don’t have that here.
Her head lifts and she glares at me like I might have just escaped an institution. Maybe under the circumstances, with her soaked and freezing, I can understand how axe throwing was a little bit out there.
“Keep the money.” She wrings out her ponytail, and that’s when I notice the pretty green flecks in her dark brown eyes. “Maybe you could use it for driving lessons.”
I bite back a wince as Declan stifles a chuckle. She looks down again, searches the snowbank. A thunderous noise rumbles down the street and I jump back, pulling my new friend—or rather enemy—with me, before the snowplow soaks us both. The plow drops its blade at the front of my car and scrapes up the snow.
“Great,” she says under her breath, and I examine the layer of packed snow with her, even though I have no idea what it is I’m looking for.
“Did you lose something?”
She briefly closes her eyes, like she’s trying to convince herself murder is wrong, and then says, “No, I just like to search snowbanks for fun. It’s a pasttime here in Holiday Peak, something you out of towners wouldn’t know anything about.”
“How do you know I’m from out of town?”
She arches a brow glancing at my sports car, which isn’t ideal for this mountainous town. Alrighty then. People on the street slow as they see us, a few pointing at Declan and me with recognition. “Can I drop you somewhere?” I gesture toward my car.
“No.”
“Maybe you could call someone to pick you up. Do you have a boyfriend or husband I could call?”