“Why not?”

“Because I don’t have it together, so I can’t very well help anyone else if I don’t even have my own life sorted out.”

“How can you say that? You have a job that you’re good at.”

“I’m working for my dad. I don’t think it really counts.” She waves her fork around in the air. “Anyway, this was supposed to be like a fun twenty questions, and you’re making it all serious. What’s your favorite dessert?”

“Vanilla anything.”

She chuckles and shakes her head.

“What’s wrong with vanilla?”

“Nothing.”

“Then why are you laughing at me?”

“It’s just ironic, that’s all.”

“What’s your favorite dessert?”

“It depends on the day.”

We end up ordering the chocolate lava cake with ice cream for dessert so I get my vanilla ice cream and Queenie gets her chocolate fix. And as much as I remind myself that this is a platonic thing, my body and my brain aren’t synced up. At all. Because all I can think of is how good Queenie’s mouth would taste if I kissed her right now.“I had a lot of fun tonight. Thanks for dinner,” Queenie says when I pull into her driveway.

“It was my pleasure, and me, too, about having fun. Maybe we can do it again soon?”

“Sure. I’d like that.”

“Next time it could be a real date.”

Her smile turns rueful and my stomach sinks. “I really like you, Kingston—”

“It sounds like there’s a but coming.” I try to make it sound like a joke, but it falls flat.

“You’re a great guy, and a lot of fun, but I can’t date you.” Now she looks apologetic. “Not because I don’t want to, but my dad only laid down one rule when I took the job as his assistant, and that was not to date any of the players.”

“But maybe if we talked to him—”

“He did me a huge favor by giving me this job. I lost my apartment because I couldn’t afford it, and between the night I met you and him giving me the job, I got canned at two other restaurants, which, honestly, isn’t a surprise, because I really, really suck at waiting tables. I don’t want to put him in a weird spot or disappoint him. I just . . . can’t. I’m sorry, Kingston, but we can still hang out if you want, as friends?” She chews her bottom lip, looking hopeful.

“Sure, yeah. We can hang out as friends.” It’s honorable that she wants to abide by the rule Jake laid down, even if it’s inconvenient for me.

“Thanks for understanding.” She leans over the center console and presses her lips to my cheek. I fight with myself not to turn my head. Thankfully my restraint wins out over my hormones.

“Oops.” She makes a cringey face and rubs at my cheek, presumably because she left lipstick behind. “See you tomorrow, King. Drive safe.” She winks and then she’s out the door.

I guess being friends is better than nothing. For now.CHAPTER 9

TERRITORIAL

Queenie

I expect Kingston to lose interest when I tell him dating is off the table. So I’m surprised when the exact opposite happens.

For the third day in a row he pops his head into my office. “You waiting for your dad?”

I glance at his closed door. “He got a call and he said it might be a while. You offering to be my Uber driver?”

“I’d be happy to drive you home, but I need to make a stop on the way, if that’s okay with you.”

“Sure, I don’t mind.” I send a message to my dad to let him know I’m leaving for the day, pack up my stuff, and fall into step beside Kingston. “How was practice today?”

“Really good. You know Alex has been testing Rook and Bishop on the same line, like you suggested, and they actually play really well together.” He holds the door open for me, and we cross the parking lot to his car. He parks in the same spot every day, at the far end of the lot.

“That’s great. I’ll have to make a point of coming to practice later this week.”

“You should. It’s interesting to watch, and it means some of the guys on the third line are getting more play, which is only going to help our game as a team.”

“That makes me so happy!” I mean it too. I’m glad I was able to point out something of value to my dad, and that it’s helping the team.

As usual, Kingston opens the passenger door and holds out his hand to help me up. I could easily manage without the assistance, but I like the contact—probably more than I should. I enjoy spending time with Kingston, even though it’s supposed to be just as friends and most of the time my thoughts are well beyond the platonic zone.

Once I’m seated, he rounds the hood and takes his spot behind the wheel. Kingston checks the rearview mirror, makes a minor adjustment to the right-side mirror, and tests the blinkers to make sure they’re working.