Page 9 of Tangled Up With You

He let loose a chuckle. “Well, I’m glad you survived. It would suck having to get married without a best man.”

“Tell me about it. I almost feel bad for the lady, and her husband was acting like he’d seen a—holy Christ.” My jaw nearly fell to the floor. “Is that Tanner Fine?”

Zach glanced over his shoulder at the man I’d just spotted coming out of lodge’s restaurant, a to-go cup of coffee in his hand.

As if sensing our attention on him, the man in question turned his head and glanced over at us. He offered a friendly wave and grinned before heading in our direction. “Oh, shit. Tanner Fine is coming over here.”

A bark of laughter barreled out of my friend. “Jesus, man. You sound like a fangirl.”

“Shh!” I hissed as the two-time Stanley Cup winner and goalie for the Washington Rebels started toward us. The guy was a fucking legend. “Be cool, man.”

“Fuckin’ hell,” my friend muttered under his breath with a shake of his head just as the hockey legend stopped in front of us.

“Hey, man,” he greeted Zach, the two of them quickly shaking hands.

“Hey. How was that trail ride yesterday?”

“It was great,” the giant of a man offered. “Though I’m sore in places today I’ve never been sore before.”

“Yeah, sittin’ on a horse is an experience if you’ve never done it before, that’s for sure.” Zach cleared his throat and shot me a quick, knowing smirk. “This is my buddy Conner.”

He gave me a small chin tilt. “Nice to meet you. I’m?—”

“Tanner Fine,” I answered for him, like the guy didn’t know his own damn name. I thrust my hand in his direction, acting exactly like the fangirl Zach had accused me of being. “I’m a huge fan.Huge.”

“Christ’s sake,” Zach mumbled under his breath. Okay, so maybe I was the one who needed to play it cool. But this wasactually all his fault if you thought about it. I mean, how could he not tell me Tanner Fine was staying at his lodge? I knew people with more money than sense liked to come to places like this for a taste of a different kind of life, but as far as I knew, this was the first celebrity guest of Second Hope Lodge.

Not counting Rae’s dad, of course. Roan Blackwell was a famous musician, but seeing as he and Rae’s mother, Alma, were technically from here, even though it wasn’t their permanent residence anymore, they were still considered locals.

He chuckled good-naturedly. “Thanks. Always happy to meet a fan.”

“Sorry. I wasn’t expecting to run into a hockey legend when I showed up.” I cast a quick accusatory glance at my so-called best friend. “What brings you down this way?”

“Just needed a bit of a reset after the season ended,” he answered. “Was looking for a bit of quiet and a place where I could recharge my batteries.”

“Then you picked the right place,” I assured him while clapping Zach on the shoulder. I had to give credit where credit was due. He and his family had built something truly spectacular.

“Yeah, I’m quickly discovering that.” His focus shifted to something or someone else halfway through that statement, and a whole different kind of smile pulled at his cheeks.

I twisted my head to see what caught his attention, and just like that, all the air escaped my lungs as though they’d been wrung out like a damp washcloth. Despite knowing this moment was coming, I hadn’t been fully prepared to face Ivy. I was hoping for at least a few more hours to get my head screwed on straight so I could talk to her without making a fool of myself.

But it looked like that wasn’t going to happen.

The woman in question was currently walking down the grand staircase off the reception area. No, that wasn’t right. Shewasn’t just walking—she wasgliding. That was the only way to describe it. She looked like some sort of ethereal being floating gracefully down the stairs.

All her silky rose-gold hair was twisted up into a messy bun on the top of her head and secured in place with what looked like a pencil. She was dressed in a white blouse with a frilly collar that was tucked into a simple black pencil skirt that nipped in at her waist and hugged the lush curve of her hips. I didn’t need her to turn around to know her ass looked impeccable.

Black framed glasses sat perched on her delicate nose, and her rosy bee-stung lips were puckered into a gentle purse as she stared at the iPad in her hands, studying whatever was on the screen. I didn’t need to see her round eyes to know they were the most breathtaking shade of deep sapphire blue. I’d gotten lost while staring into those big blue doe eyes more times than I could count.

The sounds of the busy lodge muffled around me as my focus narrowed on her. My pulse began to race. I felt the adrenaline course through my veins. It was taking everything to keep my feet rooted to the floor when all they wanted to do was charge in her direction. Even my hands were clenched into tight fists as the urge to reach out and touch her became this visceral thing refusing to be ignored.

“Gentlemen,” I vaguely heard Tanner Fine say through the blood rushing in my ears, “if you’ll excuse me.”

I barely registered what was happening as the huge, hulking guy moved faster than a guy his size should, closing in on the staircase as Ivy’s black heels clicked at the base of them.

“What the hell?” I mumbled to myself as Tanner stopped in front of Ivy. She jerked her attention from the iPad with a start, the surprise quickly melting away to recognition a second before her lips curved up into a bright, happy smile.

I stood frozen in place as the guy Iusedto be a fan of reached out and tucked a loose lock of Ivy’s hair behind her ear. “What the hell?” I repeated, my voice growing louder.