I watched him walk to the elevator, admiring the way his ass filled his jeans so perfectly and wondering what in the world I’d been thinking when I took sex off the table for tonight.
It could still happen, though. Right?
I shook my head. No. It couldn’t. It wasn’t fair to keep giving Ranger mixed signals, especially after saying we were just going to go with the flow and see where this thing took us.
I was still standing in the same place when the elevator opened and he walked in my direction, coats in hand.
“Ready?” he asked, lifting my jacket so I could ease my arms into it. I couldn’t help but think of the first time he’d held my coat and told me how good I smelled. I peeked over my shoulder and caught him with his eyes closed, taking a deep breath, and giggled.
“You smell so damn good,” he whispered, opening his eyes and catching me watching.
“So do you.”
He sighed and took my hand. “Let’s go check out the grounds. They’re important, right?”
“Absolutely. The gardens here are spectacular. That’s another thing the hotel should offer—weddings.”
“Another great idea.”
I laughed. “Maybe it isn’t. My grandmother is a big proponent of eloping.”
“Yeah? Did she have anyone in mind when she made the suggestion?”
Why had I even said that? “I didn’t say she suggested it. She’s just a fan. They ran off and got married a couple of days after Grandpa Al proposed, rather than ‘spend all that money.’ I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard about the ‘astronomical’ amount of money my mother spent when she and my dad got married.”
“Most of the weddings I’ve been to have been fairly simple.” He rolled his eyes. “Except Jimmy’s.”
“I remember hearing about it.”
“Hey, look!” I raised my head and followed Ranger’s gaze to an outdoor ice rink. “Are you up for it?”
“Of course! If you are.”
He bought tickets, and we sat down to put on our rental skates. “We have about an hour before they close.”
“As many years as it’s been since I’ve skated, that’s probably more time than I’ll need.”
He nodded but didn’t comment. Either he’d never been on skates, or he was born on them.
“You’re an expert skater, aren’t you?”
“It’s been a couple of years, but I did play hockey.”
“Figures.”
He stopped lacing his skates and looked over at me. “What makes you say that?”
“Football, baseball, basketball. It only stands to reason you’ve played hockey too.”
“You’re right. I did play all those sports.”
“And I watched.” Another thing I probably shouldn’t have admitted, but it was the truth.
He looked stunned. “You did?”
I laughed. “It’s really disheartening to think of how many games I went to and you had no idea I was there.”
“I wouldn’t have been able to tell you a single person who was. At least back then. I didn’t have surgery for my nearsightedness until after I left for college.”
“I don’t remember you wearing glasses.”
“I didn’t. Contacts. Which is why I couldn’t see during games. Fortunately, I played offensive line in football, so I didn’t have to see the ball thrown at me.”
“And shortstop in baseball.”
“That’s right.”
“I told you. Every game.”
“Wait. You said games. It was every game?”
I wasn’t the only one either. The stands were filled with Ranger Messick fans. “All the home ones anyway. Some of the away games.” Thinking back on it, the girls from my class should have carpooled. Or rented a bus to save on gas.
He held out his hand and helped me onto the ice. Thankfully, I picked up on it as if I’d skated yesterday.
“Look at you. You’re a pro,” Ranger said, skating backwards but in front of me. “I love seeing your smile.” He pulled out his phone, swiped the screen, and held it up. I smiled, then stuck my tongue out.
“How many photos are you taking?” I asked when he continued to hold it trained on me.
“I’m not. It’s a video.”
“Stop,” I said, putting my hands in front of my face. He slowed and put his hand on my wrist.
“Please let me see you, Maisie. You take my breath away.”
I lowered my hands, skated toward him, and wrapped one arm around his neck. He stuck his phone in his pocket and kissed me.
We skated the full hour, laughing, kissing, showing off the entire time. My cheeks hurt from smiling so much. “Thank you for that,” I said as we were taking our skates off to turn them back in. “It was a lot of fun.”
“I’m thinking the Canada Lake Hotel definitely needs an ice rink. Better yet, let’s get one built in town. It could host all kinds of hockey tournaments—club teams, high school, even college teams.”
I watched his face grow more animated the longer he talked about it. His enthusiasm was infectious, and it made me want to pick up the pace of my plans. I had to admit I lost faith that I’d even get Sherman’s back in business plenty of times.
We held hands as we walked back to the hotel. When we passed an empty alcove seating area with a roaring fire in the pit, I led him to it.
“Mmm, I like this,” he said when I pushed him down on the outdoor sofa and sat on his lap.
Kissing him was the same as it had been the first night in his truck—heady and full of the desire I felt almost every moment I was with him. Until tonight’s dinner, when I felt like we’d transitioned into business associates.
I moaned when I felt his hand on my waist move up so his index finger brushed my nipple.
“Is this okay?” he asked, moving the other hand up as well.
“More than okay.”
He turned our bodies so I was shielded from anyone walking past and put his whole hand over my breast, kneading my flesh. He kissed his way from my lips down my neck.
“Ranger…”
“Yeah, beautiful?”
“Take me to our room.”
“Are you sure?”
“Either that, or I’ll start removing clothes right here. I’m thinking we should start with yours.”
9
RANGER
I stood with Maisie in my arms and carried her toward the hotel’s lobby, my lips on hers the entire way. Inside, she’d have to walk directly in front of me to hide the steel-hard erection I had no chance of taming. I could still feel her nipple pressing into my palm even though I’d taken my hand off her breast minutes ago.
When we reached the lobby entrance, I set her on her feet, turned her so her back was to me, and put my hands on her shoulders. “Stay in front of me until we get to the elevator.”
She giggled but did as I asked. Once inside with the door closed, I pressed her up against the back wall. She lifted her legs and wrapped them around my waist at the same time her arms went around my neck.
“Do you have any idea how much I want you?”