Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 65480 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 327(@200wpm)___ 262(@250wpm)___ 218(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65480 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 327(@200wpm)___ 262(@250wpm)___ 218(@300wpm)
He snorts. “I’m not at her throat. She’s just a pain in my ass.”
“Why? Because she calls you out on your shit?”
Will crosses his arms over his thick chest and sighs. “She’s annoying is all.”
“There’s more to it than that,” I spit back. “Look, I’d much rather work on more important stories, so please be nice and don’t waste our time.”
He snorts, moving his hands to the pockets of his track pants. “Making the playoffs is kind of a big deal.”
“Yeah, I know. It’s just not the kind of headlines I want to make as a reporter. Anyways, I’m here to help speed up the process. So behave yourself.”
Will laughs. “I’m sure Clarke can use all the help she can get. These guys are a handful.”
“Speak for yourself, Romeo,” Tyler Kane says, coming up from behind my brother.
In person, Tyler is even more attractive with his surfer tan, piercing blue eyes, and spiky blond hair that sticks out in different directions. He’s tall and lean with muscles bulging in all the right places. The last I’d heard, he married a local sports reporter. Lucky girl.
Tyler extends his hand to me. His skin is rough and calloused from years of playing hockey. “Hey, Mia. It’s been a while. Your brother talks about you all the time.”
“All good things I hope.”
Tyler smiles in response.
He’s the captain of the team, the obvious leader of this band of cocky athletes. When Tyler speaks, people listen. He captivates the entire room when he’s in it, and on the ice, he’s a force to be reckoned with. My brother was a fan of his before he joined the Flyers, and now, I can see from the look in Will’s eyes that he’s keeping his inner fanboy tucked away.
“Nice to see you again. Congrats on the win.” I give his hand a good shake. “So, who wants to go first?” I point my finger at Tyler. “How about you, captain? I want to know all of your secrets.”
He tenses at the mention of secrets, his body rigid from what was my attempt at a joke. Interesting. I wonder if there’s more to Tyler Kane than what meets the eye.
Clarke nudges me in the arm with her elbow. “I’ll take him. You can deal with your brother,” she says under her breath.
For whatever reason, Clarke and Will have never gotten along. They seem to hate each for no apparent reason, which makes me wonder if they both like each other. Guys are dumb. When Will had a crush on a girl in high school, he kept saying stupid shit to catch her attention instead of laying it all out on the table. I’m not sure if that’s what he’s doing with Clarke, but I hate the tension between them whenever they’re in the same room together.
Since this is Clarke’s gig, she takes the lead and begins by interviewing Tyler, leaving me to deal with my brother. Alex Parker strolls up next to Tyler with Carter Donovan on his right. He gives me a quick wave and so does Carter. They’ve been on the team the longest. Most of the players have only been with the Flyers for a few years or less, some of them still new to the league. It was a shock they were able to make it into the playoffs with a young team, which is part of the story we’re supposed to tell for the paper.
Will leads me by the hand to the other side of the conference table. “You already know everything there is to know about me but ask away.”
We sit in two open chairs, and before I can ask Will a question, Ethan rolls his chair from the head of the table and stops in front of us. Fuck my life.
“I like tag teams,” Ethan says with a crooked grin. “Mind if I join?”
I roll my eyes. “I’m sure you do, you dirtball.”
“I was talking about the interview,” he challenges. “Get your mind out of the gutter, Mia.”
I wave my hand dismissively in front of him. “Well, I know how you athletes like to avoid interviews whenever possible. Don’t think because either of you know me that you can sit here and give me a hard time. Let me do my job, the one I’m getting paid to do. Need I remind you this job pays the bills and puts food on my table, so no bullshit, okay?”
“You can start with me,” Ethan offers. “And don’t worry about food or rent. Will and I have that covered for the next month.”
I lose my breath along with my train of thought. “Did you just say a month?”
Ethan nods. “We heard back from the property manager this morning. The insurance company assessed the damage. They’re telling us about three to four weeks until we can move back.”