Page 79 of Risky Play

“I do.”

I picked up another book, read the back, and then put it back on the shelf. I peered at the stack Matt was holding and put a finger to my lips. Did I really need all those books? Maybe I could get the ebooks instead?

“Whatever you want,” Matt said.

“Huh?”

“I’m buying.”

Oh, no. He wasn’t supposed to do that. I was content with him being my human cart, but I didn’t need him to buy all these books, too.

“That’s not necessary,” I told him.

“Let me.”

“But you paid for brunch.”

He grinned. “Then you can pay for dinner.”

I grinned back at him. “Deal!”

I browsed for a little while longer, placing one more book in my pile. I preferred my e-reader because it was more portable, but sometimes having paperbacks was great.

Matt graciously purchased all my books for me, even though I felt bad. He made a lot of money as a hockey player, but after he told me he was going to pay for his sister’s school, I didn’t want him to spend money on me or think I was taking advantage of his kindness.

“Oh, I loved this one,” the clerk at the bookstore said as she scanned our purchases.

I beamed. “I love that author. So good.”

“Do you want a bag?” she asked.

“I can carry it,” Matt said.

“A bag would be great, thank you.”

Matt pulled out his credit card and handed it over. He didn’t even flinch at the cost. The clerk gave us a smile when she handed over the bag to Matt. He took it and slid his hand into mine as we walked out of the store.

I loved to hold his hand and walk beside him. If we weren’t in West Philly, I’m not sure I’d be that brazen. We couldn’t do that if we were out and about near my brother’s.

I was still so afraid of what Noah would think. He made it clear last night he didn’t think I had good judgment. He called me this morning and texted an apology, but I sent his call to voicemail and left him on read. I was still mad at him for being an overprotective brother. He obviously already liked Matt, but he’d be furious when he found out. Matt felt guilty, and he already pushed me on it, but I needed time to figure this out. Noah didn’t like any guy I dated. How much would he freak out when he found out I was dating one of his teammates?

“You travel tomorrow, right?” I asked as we walked back to my building.

This upcoming weekend was the Halloween party at Kiira’s. I was bummed he couldn’t come, but I was still gonna go.

Matt nodded. “In Buffalo tomorrow, game’s on Tuesday, then home for practice, then back out to take on New York.”

“The traveling’s a lot, huh?” I asked.

He shrugged. “You get used to it.”

I wasn’t sure I would. Rox played in one of the fledgling pro women’s leagues, and I couldn’t imagine how she dealt with her schedule, Benny traveling, and having a full-time job. Granted, her league only had a handful of teams, so it wasn’t as intense. Everyone thought since I was so good at hockey, I wanted that too, but that wasn’t my goal in life.

We made it back to my dorm, and as soon as we got inside my room, I kicked off my shoes and took my books out of the bag. I arranged them on the desk and grabbed my camera from underneath my bed.

Matt cocked his head at me with interest. “What are you doing?”

“I’m behind on my reviews, and I need to take pictures for my account. Book haul is the perfect thing to post.”