“I’ll leave you to finish setting up your gym. Enjoy your treats.” Olivia turned to leave, but Anders grabbed her wrist gently, tugging her back to him.
“I don’t think so.” His grin revealed a perfectly cute set of dimples. “I think you should stay and help me assemble it, and then I’ll make us lunch. It can be our first date.”
Olivia laughed. “Our first date? It’s not the most romantic first date, but it’s definitely original.”
Anders linked his fingers with hers. “I think it’s perfect. First, we’ll be able to tell how well we work together. Second, it’ll just be you and me in the basement with nobody bothering us. Third, you’ll probably have to bend over at least once and I’ll get to check out your ass in those leggings. Fourth, it’ll speed up the process of dating so we can get through the five more quickly. Fifth—”
“Okay. Okay. I get it, oh logical one.” Olivia grinned at the highly methodical way his brain worked. “Fine. I’ll help you set it up.”
They took the stairs to the basement, which was bigger than her entire apartment. Suddenly, the idea of him staying over in her small bedroom started to feel like inviting a bull into a china shop and she laughed.
“Something funny, kämpe?”
She rolled her eyes at the nickname.
“You have all this space, and my bedroom is tiny. I can hardly imagine you fitting in there, let alone my shower.”
Anders turned and put his arms around her, pulling her close, and she pushed him away. “You’re sweaty and gross.”
He laughed and tugged her even closer. “If we were in your bedroom or shower, together, you really wouldn’t be worrying about me being sweaty and gross. And we both know how well I fit.” His lips brushed her neck and behind her ear. The sensation tugged on something deep inside her core.
Olivia bit down on her bottom lip.
He stepped away from her and adjusted his shorts.
“Next time I come up with a rule that involves no sexual touching, you have my full permission to shoot me,” he said. “Now, help me set up my gym.”
“Tell me again why I’m about to do this,” Anders said, tugging on his baseball cap. He straightened his sunglasses and looked at Olivia, who grinned back at him.
“Because you’re too focused on function. Wouldn’t it be more enjoyable to step into your home gym and feel something?”
Anders raised an eyebrow. “I think we’ve already concluded I’m feeling something.”
“Anders,” she cried. “Stop it with the innuendo. This was your idea.”
He looked out over the packed parking lot of cars, toward the giant, red Target sign above the door, wishing they were still tucked away in his home. “Nope, leaving the house was definitely not my idea.”
“Not Target. The non-sex thing. And anyway, to stay on point, your gym should be a super inviting place that you want to spend time in, even if you don’t feel like it.”
He’d never had a problem gearing up for a workout. It was good for his mental health and his career, and he didn’t want to mess with that. But a piece of him was buoyed simply by her enthusiasm for the project.
When she’d started asking him about his concept for the gym, he answered honestly. To get in workouts when he couldn’t get to the Rush training facility. Olivia had shaken her head and spent a half hour asking about themes that he liked while they assembled the multi-functional weight bench. Motorbikes. Hockey. Would he like to hang his jerseys? Album covers?
He’d been indifferent, but he’d liked the way her mind worked. And her constant offering of suggestions had made him think of the bag of Swedish treats she’d bought for him and the colors of his country’s flag.
“Fine. Let’s go find yellow and blue things and get out of there.”
Olivia placed her hand on his, the feel of her fingers sliding between his making him forget the large store they were about to enter. “We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to. I’m sorry if you feel I’ve taken over.”
And goddamn, if her face didn’t look all soft and apologetic, and so kissable. He ran his thumb over her lips. “You haven’t. Let’s go. My credit card is yours.”
Olivia grinned and jumped out of the car. “This is going to be so much fun.”
Not as much fun as unwrapping her out of the clothes she was wearing. Being around her, watching as she pursed those plump lips of hers as she’d weighed design ideas, was driving him nuts. When she’d finally taken off her coat, and he’d seen the black leggings and a black-and-white plaid shirt that was open one button more than his dick could deal with, he’d been struck stupid. Flashes of ivory lace had never been so arousing.
The idea that sex was temporarily off the table made him want it even more. Thoughts of what he was going to do with her after date number five flooded his mind.
So, yeah. The idea of Target was not a winner, but it was probably safer than staying home.
Being the newest member of the Rush gave him the advantage that not everyone in Denver knew what he looked like yet, although hockey fans often recognized him. He’d worn jeans and a black sweater and coat, nothing with a logo that would make him stand out.
For the afternoon, he wanted complete separation between him as a hockey player and him as Liv’s . . . Liv’s what? Boyfriend? Man? Whatever he was, he was hers for a few hours.
Her hand was warm in his as he led her across the parking lot, and he reluctantly let it go when she grabbed a shopping cart. “Right, we already have the paint, so now it’s about accessories.”
They’d already picked up a deep yellow paint for an accent wall. According to Olivia, it symbolized positivity, energy, loyalty. She’d made him grab the flag he’d brought home from the Olympics, the one he’d wrapped himself in during the final parade when they’d settled for a rather mediocre fifth place, but everyone was so fucking glad to be going home they still felt like celebrating. The plan was to frame it and hang it on the yellow wall.
Olivia took her coat off and placed it over the edge of the cart. “Let’s start with towels.”
Anders followed behind, partly because it was polite to allow other shoppers to pass and partly because he could shamelessly check out her ass. While setting up the gym, she’d mentioned that she wanted to lose weight. He couldn’t see why, he loved something to hold on to, but if she was unhappy, he could help her with that.
Fuck. The idea of her curves in a sports bra and spandex had him glad he was wearing a coat to hide his semi-hard-on.
“Which ones do you like for working out?” Olivia asked.
He shrugged. “Ones that wipe up sweat. Lots of it.”
Olivia laughed and the sound rippled through him. “Okay. But hand towels, bath towels. Like, what size?”
“Honestly, Liv. I don’t fucking care.”
She squinted her eyes at him. “Are you being obtuse?”
“If I knew what obtuse meant, I’d let you know.”
“Difficult. Pretending not to understand.”
He took her hand in his and kissed it. “No, kämpe. I’m not being difficult. You worry about things I don’t care about. I worry about things you don’t care about. You pick the towels, because it doesn’t matter to me.”
“Fine,” she said, but kept her eyes on his. Heat fizzled between them. He could feel it pass from her fingers to his. His chest felt a little tighter. For a millisecond, it felt as though this were their home they were decorating, not a rental that wasn’t even his. And that their home would be as colorful as it was practical. A real home that was vibrant and safe and filled with meaning. It would have the kind of stability he’d never felt growing up, moving from town to town with his father’s job as a junior league coach in Sweden. Moving around so frequently had forced him and Karl to rely on each other. Making friends had been a futile episode of meeting someone new, only to leave them behind twelve or twenty-four months later. The pain of it had hurt more than the loneliness of not making any friends, so he’d stopped t
rying and found comfort in his own company.
“Make them navy,” he said, offering her an opinion she obviously needed. “Yellow towels look weird.”
Olivia grinned and he leaned against the cart as she opened every towel to check it was perfect before adding it to the basket.
They had similar conversations in many aisles. She decided he needed a wall clock to keep an eye on the time while he was working out, and he didn’t have the heart to tell her he set timers on his phone. He actually liked the wicker baskets she selected for the clean and dirty towels.
“I think we’re done,” Olivia said, looking at the cart as they joined the check out line. “I hope we didn’t spend too much money.”
At a guess, it was about three hundred bucks, less than he earned in an hour. “It’s fine, Liv. But I want to carefully suggest something to you without upsetting you.”
Her smile dropped a little. “You don’t like it, right? As I was shopping, I wondered if I’d pushed you into the Sweden theme. It’s just—”
“Liv. Stop. I said I didn’t care, but I actually like the way you’ve pulled it all together. It’s something else.
“You’ve told me twice that you want to lose weight.” He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer until his hands rested on the curve of her ass. He dropped his lips to her ear. “I don’t think you need to, because I happen to love looking at your ass. But, being an athlete, I also know what it feels like to know you aren’t at your best. I know what it’s like to hit preseason training and feel like I didn’t work hard enough in the off-season. I have this new gym. And I fucking love the idea of you in workout clothes. Will you come over and work out with me when I get back from this road trip? I don’t want to push you. Your call, kämpe.”
Olivia sighed. “I just get stuck. I know what I need to do. I even make some progress, but then I blow it and then I get mad at myself.”
Comments she’d made at Christmas came back to him.
It’s been a long year, Anders. The hardest one I’ve ever had.
There was obviously a lot more to Olivia’s story than he understood. More than how she felt about her weight. And his A-type personality wanted so badly to make it right. He hoped in time she’d trust him with whatever it was.
“So, we take it in steps. Slow and steady. I think you’re perfect exactly the way you are. And you’ll be equally perfect if you lose weight. I’m easy either way. But I’m here to support you in whatever goals you want to set for yourself, alright?”
“Okay,” she said, a smile touching the corner of her eyes. “I’m game to try it.”
“Want me to write some exercises for you to do at home while I’m away?”
The tip of Olivia’s nose scrunched up as she considered it, an obvious sign she wasn’t that keen. He glanced at his watch, he had time before he had to head to the training facility. “What if I recorded them for you before I leave? That way we’d be kind of working out together?”
“Maybe I should wait until you get back.”
“I’ll record them in just my shorts as long as you promise not to share them. Extra motivation.”
Olivia laughed. “There’s no way to say yes without it looking like I was just after pictures of you shirtless.”
“Would you be more likely to do them, though?”
“Fine. Yes. Probably,” Olivia admitted, her cheeks turning pink.
“It’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make. Send me a picture after you’ve done it. In your sports bra, so I get to check out your tuttar.” He ran his finger down the skin exposed by the V of her shirt.
Olivia laughed. “I don’t think I need to translate that.”
Anders bit his bottom lip and glanced down at her breasts, catching that teasing flash of ivory lace. “I’m a pretty simple guy.”
Olivia caught hold of his hand. “I’m going to miss you while you’re away.”
He tugged her hand to his lips and kissed the back of it. “Yeah. I’m going to miss you too.”
7
“My muscles are so tight and it’s all your fault,” Olivia said, squirming in the seat of Anders’s rental car three days later.
“You followed the video?” Anders indicated to turn into the parking lot of her favorite Red Rocks hiking trail.
“I did. Twice. Your squats look a whole lot better than mine. I can only get low if I lift my heels up.”
Anders grinned. “Practice. And lots of stretching. But you started. That’s awesome.”
“My thighs don’t agree with your assessment, but it was good to work out. How was the road trip?” Liv asked.
“Losing to Chicago sucked. It was a scrappy game. Too much icing, not enough tactical play near the net. Practiced plays didn’t come off. Nashville was better. It was a win, at least.”
The tone in Anders’s voice suggested a bone-deep frustration, and she was glad they’d decided to do something physical, a hike, for their second date.
“You were born out here?” Anders asked, changing the subject.
“Yeah. I was born here in Morrison. Emerson and Jake both have houses out here. I only moved in with Natalie in Denver just after Christmas.”
“It’s beautiful. How could you leave?”
It was difficult to explain. “I left before for school and lived in the city for a while. I only came back last year when . . .” Shit. She didn’t want to tell him. Didn’t want him to look at her differently. “Well, things got a bit bumpy. What’s it like where your parents live?”
Anders parked the car and glanced in her direction, and she knew he hadn’t missed that she’d pulled back from what she’d been about to say. “I was born in Luleå and lived there until I was five. It’s on the coast of northeast Sweden, a couple of hours south of the Arctic Circle. Huge national parks, northern lights, and a whole heap of Christmas tourism.”
“Sounds amazing.”
“Yeah, well. My parents ended up back there after all the moving around we did. My father was a hockey coach. It’s this funny mix of old and new. It’s a big shipping harbor on the Gulf of Bothnia with a big steel industry, but also has this UNESCO World Heritage site, Gammelstad Church Town, that is something like six hundred years old. It rarely gets above minus five Celsius in winter.”
Olivia shivered. “I don’t even know what that is in Fahrenheit.”
“Like twenty or something.”
“Jesus. That sounds awful.”
Anders reached for her knee and squeezed it gently. “Don’t worry. If we ever get to go, I’ll keep you warm.”
Olivia laughed and reached for his hand. He looked so good in his thick jacket and black beanie. Used to the outdoors, he was fully dressed for the weather.
“I’d like that. You could keep me warm tonight.”
“Liv,” Anders growled. “There’s no point in setting goals if you aren’t going to keep them.”
She reached over the gearshift and pressed her lips to the corner of his mouth. “And there’s no point sticking to them if they make you miserable.”
He brushed his lips over hers.
“Or horny,” she added, feeling his lips shift into a grin.
“Tease all you want, Liv. I’m a man of my word. I want to get to know you. I know what your body feels like when it’s pressed up against mine. I know what it takes to make you come, and I know how it feels to be deep inside you when you do. And I know all of that feels like pure fucking heaven. But now I want to know the rest. I want to know why last year was so awful for you. I want to know what you want to do in the future.”
The future.
She was trying to not think about it too hard, given it likely included Anders leaving Denver. Who knew where that would leave the two of them.
There was sincerity in his words and hope in his eyes. It should be easy enough to open up and tell him, right? Hadn’t she worked hard with her therapist to overcome the embarrassment she felt? “I need a minute,” she said, and stepped out of the intimacy of Anders
’s car.
The cold air bit her cheeks and she zipped up her coat against the frigid breeze, only to realize the chill she felt was more than just the weather.
She heard Anders’s door open and close, heard the crunch of his footsteps on the frozen snowy ground. “What made you freeze, Liv? Issues in the past? The idea of a future? Talking about sex?” He leaned back against the car, and she knew he was giving her space, a thoughtfulness she appreciated.
“All of the above. But it’s linked to last year.”
“How bad was it?”
“The worst.”
Anders looked in the direction of the trail. “Let’s walk, Liv.” He reached for her hand. “You can show me what you wanted to show me. Trust is the hardest thing to earn. But I’ll earn yours, Liv. I promise.”
There was a peacefulness that settled over both of them as they left the lot and headed toward the ridge that climbed steeply from the Hogback. It was the trickiest part of their route, but the snow-covered Red Rocks and peaks of Mount Morrison and Green Mountain were worth it.
The air was fresh and clear, and the exertion began to shift the heaviness and fog from her mind. Anders kept his promise. They walked and talked about nothing more than the evergreen spruce that lined the trail for over an hour.
“In June last year, a storm came through Denver. Not a hurricane, but a strong one,” she began. “It destroyed one of the distillery buildings. It did extensive damage to the roof. And from the volume of water that poured in, everything inside was destroyed.”
“Fuck, Liv. Were you hurt? Was anybody inside?”
Were you hurt? Wasn’t that the million-dollar question?
“No. No one was physically injured, but it was the venue we used to host weddings. It happened the night before a large wedding. The room had been completely set up with all the bride and groom’s table settings and flowers. My job includes event management, social media, and marketing for the distillery. I have a degree in public relations and communications.”
“Clever as well as pretty,” Anders said, without breaking stride.
Love In Moments: An opposites attract hockey romance (Love Distilled Book 2) Page 9