I can’t help myself as I let out a laugh. “Please tell me that line doesn’t actually work for you.”
He doesn’t laugh. My breath catches in my throat as I meet his stare once more. “No, I mean I’ve never seen you here before. I come here almost every single day after I leave the rink and not once have we run into each other.”
The rink. He’s a hockey player. That explains the whole athletic look he’s got going on. I shrug. “I do come here often, just not normally this time of day.”
“Hmm,” he muses, lifting his cup to take another sip. “I guess we both have luck on our sides today.” He falls silent for a moment, his head nodding at my notepad. “What are you working on?”
I slide the notepad from the table, carefully closing it before I set it back down. “Are you always this…invasive?”
Matty smirks. “You have no idea how invasive I can be.”
Jesus Christ. I need to excuse myself from this table before I either clock him in the jaw or go home with him. Either feels like an acceptable response at this point.
“Look, Matty,” I start, my voice dropping lower. “I don’t know who you are or who you might think you are, but you’re more attractive with your mouth closed. You should learn to think before you speak.”
His eyes are on mine. A string of laughter escapes him, his eyes bright and cheeks flushed. “Don’t stop there, Sunny. Keep judging me when you don’t know a single thing about me.”
“What is actually wrong with you?”
“Probably a lot.” He shrugs, still chuckling. “I’ve taken quite a few hard hits during games.”
When he first said rink, that sent off a tiny alarm inside my head, but there’s the confirmation I needed.
“Hockey player is an immediate red flag.”
“Why?” He leans forward, folding his arms on top of one another, focusing on me. “You get hurt by one before?”
I narrow my eyes on him. “Something like that. It was a few years ago.”
“Would I know him?”
“Aiden Scott.”
A muscle in his jaw tightens. He takes a long, slow sip of his drink.
“Wait, you actually know him?”
“I do,” he says, dipping his chin and sucking in a deep breath. “He plays dirty, but acts like a baby whenever he gets a taste of his own medicine. Don’t care for the guy, honestly.”
“Yeah, me neither,” I laugh quietly. Aiden and I dated during his first two years in the league. We met through a mutual friend while I was still in college. I broke things off with him afterpictures surfaced of him out with another girl in a different city. “You play for the Ice Hawks?”
Matty bites back a grin. “You really don’t like hockey, do you?” A soft laugh falls from his lips, sliding against my eardrums like silk. “I do. My real name’s Matteo Ford, but everyone calls me Matty.”
His name is familiar, even though his face isn’t. And trust me, he has a face that would be hard to forget. Aiden complained about him before, although I didn’t pay much attention to the things he said. Like Matty, there wasn’t enough space in the room for his ego.
“I’ve heard of you before.”
His face lights up. “Careful, Sunny. You’re gonna have me talking without thinking again.”
“Learn some self control,” I quip, rolling my eyes.
Amusement fills his eyes, his gaze scanning my face once more before he pushes his seat back and rises to his feet. “I enjoyed this. We should do it again. Same time and place next week?”
I tilt my head back, staring up at him as I narrow my eyes and purse my lips. “You wish.”
“Can I at least get your number?”
“Nope.” I lean back in my seat, looking up at him with the sweetest smile. “Maybe you’ll get lucky and see me here again.”