Saturday Surprise — Sneak Peek of WANT YOU TO WANT ME!

March 28, 2020

Want You To Want Me, book 2 in the Want You series, doesn’t release until August, but here’s a sneak peek at Nolan Lund and Gabi Welk’s love story!

Nolan’s point of view:

The last place I wanted to go at nine p.m. on a Monday night was Lakeside, the ice rink Jax owned. But he’d left the paperwork for renting the bowling alley for my LCCO project on his desk and I needed physical proof to turn in tomorrow morning that I actually had an event lined up.

I timed it so I could briefly pop into Jax’s office, grab the envelope and go, since Margene, the rink manager, usually closed up on Mondays. But Margene’s car wasn’t parked up front. Instead I saw Gabi’s Toyota Tundra..

Gabi—“the” Gabriella Welk, Olympic athlete, superstar women’s pro hockey player—who coached at Lakeside. The woman I’d (mistakenly) accused of having a crush on my brother, which turned out to be totally untrue, which made me look like a complete dick.

Unsurprisingly, I wasn’t Gabi’s favorite person. She called me Mr. Fancy Pants. If there weren’t students around, she’d slip up and call me dickhead.

I, in turn, called her by her full name—Gabriella. I knew it annoyed her, but hey, it was her name.

As I sat in my car, debating on whether to just go home and stop back in the morning, another vehicle zipped past me and parked near the front entrance. A guy jumped out and strode into the building. Although I’d never officially met him, I recognized him as Gabriella’s boyfriend. His appearance would distract her, so while they played grab-ass or whatever, I’d sneak in, grab what I needed and get out.

As soon as I walked in, I knew there’d be no quick grab and go. An angry voice echoed down the hallway, from her office, which I’d have to walk past to reach Jax’s office.

Her tone immediately put me on alert when she yelled, “Jesus. You scared the piss out of me.”

I could see his shadow, just inside the doorway. He said, “I need to talk to you.”

“And you think now is a good time? Dammit, Tyson. You can’t just show up where I work—”

“You’ve left me no choice but to track you down since you’re not returning my calls.”

“Because I’m busy.”

“It’s an excuse. Avoidance. Whatever. This can’t go on any longer.”

Not good. I didn’t want to listen in on what sounded like a serious conversation, but Gabriella was here alone with her pissed-off boyfriend and I wouldn’t let her fend for herself.

“Fine. Spit it out,” she retorted.

“I’m in love with your sister,” he blurted. “We didn’t mean for it to happen, it just did.”

Silence.

“Say something,” Tyson demanded.

“If you and Dani are in love, why isn’t she here with you right now sharing the happy news?”

“Because she’s scared of you, Gabi.”

“She should be. How long have the two of you been sneaking around behind my back?”

“It’s not like that,” Tyson protested.

“Oh, so you two aren’t currently fucking?”

“For your information, no, she and I haven’t been together like that.”

She laughed. “Then how could you possibly know if it’s love?”

Ooh. Good one, Gabriella.

“Because it is love. Just because you don’t understand it—”

“Omigod, spare me! If you say something lame like your love transcends intimacy”— she snorted—“I swear I will brain you with my goddamned hockey stick.”

That one was even better.

“We haven’t been intimate because we knew it would hurt you. This is a screwed- up situation, but the last thing either Dani or I want to do is cause you any pain, Gabi.” A pause. “You introduced us, for god’s sake.”

“This is why I don’t do nice things. They always come back to kick me in the ass,” she retorted.

Another pause.

“Will you knock off the sarcasm for one minute and listen to me?” Tyson asked.

“Fine. Say what you need to.”

“Things haven’t been great between you and me for a while.”

“You aren’t seriously thinking about blaming me for the fact you’re lusting after my little sister, are you?”

“No, but your response to this conversation is proof of why you and I don’t work. After Dani left for Florida to train for the Olympics, you pulled back from her, from me and from your former teammates—teammates who resented the hell out of Dani because she was there instead of you. Dani had no one to talk to but me. So we spent a lot of time together. All of it platonic, all of it that getting- to- know stuff that you and I never bothered to learn about each other.”

“So because I have no clue what your favorite color is—”

“Will you stop interjecting your personal regrets into this conversation? Because we both know you preferred hookups to a relationship for this very reason, Gabi.”

Ouch.

He sighed. “Believe it or not, I didn’t come here to fight with you. I came here to break it off in person and to ask you to not be too hard on Dani about this. She worships you. The fact her feelings changed for me has been eating her alive.”

Silence.

“What happens after you leave here, Ty?”

“We both move on.”

She mumbled something I didn’t hear.

Then Tyson stepped back and Gabriella barreled past him. She’d almost reached me lurking in the corner, when Tyson said, “Wait.”

She whirled back around. “What?”

“I wasn’t done talking to you.”

“Tough shit, because I’m done talking to you. I need to finish closing procedures, so feel free to let the door hit you in the ass on your way out.” She threw open the inner rink door with such force it juddered against the concrete and slammed shut.

Tyson ran his hand through his hair and exhaled. He gave the arena door a long look, almost as if he was stupidly considering going after her, before he turned and spotted me.

I spoke first. “Sorry. I stopped to get some paperwork and I didn’t want to interrupt your conversation.”

“Calling it a conversation is putting a positive spin on it,” he muttered. He studied me. “Who are you that you’re stopping by this late for paperwork?”

“I’m Nolan Lund. Jax’s brother.”

“Did Gabi know you were here?”

“Are you kidding? I’ve been on the receiving end of infuriated Gabriella and my first thought was to flee.” I resisted telling him it’d be wise for him to do the same before she stormed back here.

His gaze sharpened. “I take it you two are friends?”

“We’re acquainted. Why?”

“Could you stick around for a little longer and make sure she’s okay?”

Was this dude for real? I scrutinized him and realized he was truly concerned for Gabi’s well-being. Still, he was an asshole for dumping her for her sister. “Sure.”

With a muttered “Thanks” he shot out of there like his ass was on fire.

Not that I blamed him.

I probably should’ve done the same thing—then it was too late.

She stomped out of the rink, demanding, “What the hell are you doing here?”

*****

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