The Dating Plan(57)

“After Sanjay moved away to do his residency, I couldn’t let my dad watch the games alone.” She sighed. “I can’t imagine they’ll be able to turn it around. Maybe I shouldn’t come. Mia asked me to stay late tonight to help her prepare the pitch for Brad and she wants a second opinion. I also have a program to debug that could use a few extra hours. And Tyler offered me a project manager job but I turned it down and now Josh wants my help after work to transition into the role.”

His good mood popped like a birthday balloon. “You aren’t coming?”

She laughed and hope swelled in his chest again. “Of course I’m coming. I said I’d come and I love hockey, so I’ll be there. I didn’t realize it was so easy to wind you up.”

“You didn’t wind me up,” he grumbled. “I knew you were kidding.”

“Sure you did.”

His heart jumped at her teasing tone. “I’ll ask James if I can borrow his SUV. I wasn’t going to bring my fan gear but now that I know you’re into the game . . .”

“What do you mean by ‘fan gear’?” she asked carefully.

He felt a warning prickle on his neck and quickly changed the subject. “Why did you turn down the promotion?”

“I’m not ready for that type of commitment. I don’t like to get too involved in the companies I work for so I can keep my options open.”

Liam wondered what she considered being “too involved.” She had clearly made friends at Organicare—people who trusted and relied on her, and who had inconveniently asked for her help when she had a hockey game to attend. She’d also put her neck on the line to save the company—matchmaking hadn’t been enough to convince her to be his fake fiancée, but saving the company had. How much more committed could a person be?

“So you were saying you can’t come because you’re helping the friends you don’t have at the company you don’t want to stay at because you don’t care?” Was she doing that with him, too? Helping him and pretending she didn’t care? When really she did?

Silence. And then, “What time is the game? Your details were incomplete.”

“I’ll pick you up at six,” he said. “And feel free to give me a kiss when I get there because I got such great seats, but do be gentle. I still haven’t recovered from falling off your roof.”

“I won’t,” she said firmly.

“You won’t kiss me?” He leaned back in his chair, thoroughly enjoying the conversation. “Or you won’t be gentle? I’m okay with rough if that’s your thing.”

Daisy snorted into the phone. “I’m not talking about sex.”

“We should talk about sex after what happened the other day.” He hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it. Alone in his bed at night, he’d imagined the soft press of her body against him, the warmth of her skin, the softness of her hair, her moan when he’d touched her breasts . . . God, she had beautiful breasts.

“It would have been a mistake,” she said, without hesitation. “We can’t get intimate and have a fake relationship. It doesn’t make sense. That’s why I made the rules.”

“So why do I want to kiss you right now?” He knew just how to throw her off her game, and her sharp intake of breath told him his words had hit their mark. He liked how his strong, intelligent fake fiancée got all flustered when he mentioned anything to do with sex. Daisy’s rules made her feel safe and secure. But sometimes you could have the most fun when the rules were broken.

“Because you want to practice for the kiss cam and win free stuff at the game?” she responded after some hesitation.

“Because I like kissing you, Daisy.”

Silence. He could almost see her fingers drumming on her desk.

“Liam?”

His pulse kicked up a notch and he held his breath, hoping she would tell him she liked kissing him, too. “Yes?”

“What did you mean by ‘fan gear’?”





? 21 ?


LIAM was expecting Daisy to be surprised when he arrived at her office building to pick her up after work. After all, not everyone owned virtually every piece of Sharks fan gear ever made, and he’d put a lot of thought and care into which pieces he wore tonight. He was not, however, expecting her to turn and run away.

“Where are you going?”

“No. Stay back.” She reached behind her for the building door. “You’re one of them.”

“One of whom?”

“A crazy fan.”

“You don’t like my Sharks jersey?” He smoothed a hand over his blue fan jersey, one of dozens he’d collected over the years. “Or is it the hat?” He’d put the foam rubber shark head hat on before he met her so she’d get a good look at its teeth. “I brought a hat for you, too.”

Plastered against the glass door, she shook her head. “I’m not wearing a two-foot rubber shark on my head.”

Liam felt a sharp stab of disappointment. “What’s the point in going if you aren’t going to support the team?”

“I can support the team without humiliating myself.”

Worried that she might make a run for it across the busy street, Liam approached her slowly and carefully, holding out the gear he’d brought for her to wear in his outstretched hand.