Free OneManAdvantage by Kelly Jamieson

determination in his eyes,
when he looked at her…okay that wasn’t for hockey.
    In the last few days, she’d spent a lot of time with both
Ryan and Logan. Ryan was a good-looking guy, possibly even more handsome than
Logan, but she’d never felt all tingly around him like she did around Logan. It
was really getting annoying.
    But the important thing was, she was resisting temptation.
Difficult as it was being around him, she had managed to keep things
businesslike. She’d scheduled photo shoots, interviews, press conferences, all
the while acting coolly professional and distant. She could totally do this.
    “Okay,” Ryan said, looking down at the screen on his digital
camera. “I think we’re good.”
    Nicole straightened from the counter she’d been leaning
against to watch the shoot. “Great. When can you get me the images?”
    “I’ll work on them for the rest of the day. Should be able
to upload them for you to look at tomorrow.”
    “Perfect. We want to get the billboards done as soon as we
can. Thanks for doing this so quickly, Ryan. And the headshots too, for the programs
and the website.”
    “Not a problem.”
    “We’re off now to look at some lofts,” she said as she
reached for her jacket. “Trying to find a place for Logan.”
    To her surprise, Logan took her jacket and held it for her
to slide her arms into. He gently settled it on her shoulders, then grabbed his
own black leather jacket. “Thanks,” she said, now tingling even more, impressed
with his manners.
    “Good to meet you, Ryan,” Logan said.
    “Yeah. Again, welcome to Minneapolis.”
    They took the elevator down from the third-floor studio and
then walked out the building lobby onto the street. A few snowflakes had
started to drift down from the overcast sky, big fluffy flakes. Nicole turned
her face up to them.
    “Snow,” Logan said. “Great.”
    “I guess you didn’t have much snow in California.”
    “No. But I’m used to snow. And it’s not as if I never left
California.”
    “Yeah, there’s a lot of travel involved in hockey. You grew
up in Winnipeg, right?”
    “Yep.”
    “So you’re pretty close to home here.”
    “Yeah. My parents are thrilled.” The wry smile he sent her
made her heart bump a little in her chest. He flicked a button on a key fob and
the lights blinked on the brand-new Jeep he’d parked at the curb. Again he
surprised her by opening her door for her and offering a hand to climb into the
high vehicle. She didn’t need help, she had long enough legs, but his manners
made her chest go all warm and soft.
    “Where to?” he asked once he was in and had his seat belt
on.
    “I’ll give you directions.” She looked down at the
information she’d printed out. She had three places lined up for them to see.
“The first one’s not far from here.”
    “So yeah, I’m used to snow,” he said, picking up the
conversation again. “Where did you grow up? I guess Montreal mostly?”
    “Yes. We lived there until I was sixteen and Dad got traded
to New York. But I went back to Montreal to go to university.”
    “You speak French?”
    She laughed. “Of course. Have you heard my dad’s English?”
    He grinned. “Yeah. But you don’t have an accent at all, you
speak perfect English too.”
    “Well, I grew up in a bilingual home. My mom speaks English.
My brother and I went to French schools, but we mostly spoke English at home.
Well, my dad tried. And then of course we had to go to an English-speaking high
school in New York.”
    “What did you major in?”
    “Communications. Hence the job in communications,” she
pointed out.
    “Of course. I majored in Economics.”
    Her head whipped around to stare at him. “Economics?
Seriously?”
    He shot her a look, one corner of his mouth lifted in a
crooked smile. “Don’t sound so shocked.”
    “I’m not! Okay, I am.”
    He laughed.
    “Do you have a degree?” she asked.
    “Yep, from Dartmouth College.”
    “Oh! Did you play NCAA