Free Hip Check (New York Blades) by Deirdre Martin Page B

blondes Marcus said was always on his arm on the gossip pages. Wasn’t like she was going to ask him. That was one of her most important rules: private lives stayed private.
    “Here you go.” He sat down across from her, handing her her glass. “Are you enjoying working in this kitchen?”
    “Yes, very much.”
    “And Nell—is she enjoying what the two of you eat?”
    “You should ask her. Better yet, you should join us sometime.”
    Esa looked away guiltily. “Mmm. I know.” But when he turned his gaze back on Michelle, he sounded annoyed. “I told you I wanted to tuck her in tonight. But she was already in bed when I came home.”
    “Her bedtime is eight thirty, Esa. Not ten thirty. I explained that to you.”
    “Couldn’t you have made an exception?”
    “Maybe, if it were the weekend. But it’s not. I want her to stick to this schedule on school nights.”
    “Of course,” Esa mumbled.
    “You wanted to talk to me?”
    “About my schedule.”
    “Yes?”
    “In case you haven’t figured it out by now, I’m not someone with a normal schedule. Not only is it not nine to five, but it changes every week in terms of what nights I play. In a few weeks the team will start taking road trips.”
    “I know that,” Michelle replied easily.
    Esa looked puzzled. “Did we talk about this already?”
    “Well, I’ve mentioned it to you a few times, but I guess you forgot,” Michelle murmured. “I told you: I need your
actual
schedule.”
    “I’m so sorry,” Esa said, rolling his wineglass between his hands as he avoided her eye.
    “You’re lucky you’ve hired someone who knows the deal when it comes to hockey schedules. My brother and father are fans.”
    Esa looked up with a pleased smile. “Blades fans?”
    “Islander fans.”
    “Your brother didn’t mention that when I met him.”
    “Too starstruck.”
    Esa clucked his tongue. “Islanders fans . . . that’s too bad.”
    “For the Blades, I hear.”
    “I don’t know who your sources are, but take it from me, they’re dead wrong,” Esa insisted with a playful smile.
    “We’ll see.”
    Michelle took a sip of water, buying herself time to return to professional mode. Banter, teasing each other a bit . . . it felt weirdly off course, somehow. They didn’t know each other long enough for that. She’d reached a point of comfort and ease with Mr. and Mrs. Karle, but that was after living with them for two years. And there was two of them, as well as a live-in housekeeper and cook. It wasn’t just her and a bachelor.
    “About your schedule?” she prodded.
    Esa blinked. “Right.” He reached into his blazer pocket and pulled out his iPhone. “We just got it finalized. I’ll e-mail you a copy. Actually, you can look at it now, if you like.”
    A minute later he was leaning over her, one hand on her shoulder, showing her his schedule on the tiny screen. Michelle followed his slim index finger as it ran down the weeks. “See? I need you to be flexible.”
    She took a deep breath. “Esa, I told you, I understand that.” Her eyes scoured the schedule. “This is perfect. It’ll help me pick my days off. I do insist one of those days is Friday or Saturday, remember?”
    “Of course,” he said after a split second. Michelle could tell from his ruminative expression he was thinking about how he was going to juggle dates with various women if he couldn’t go out both Friday
and
Saturday.
    Michelle expected him to immediately return to his side of the table. She held her breath, acutely aware of his body beside her. Instead, his hand lingered for a moment on her shoulder before he removed it and sat back down. “Thank you, Michelle,” he said quietly.
    “Hey, that’s what you pay me for, right?” she replied amiably, more for her own benefit than his. His hand on her shoulder? She liked it. Not enough to really think about it, though.
    “Now I have something I need to talk to you about,” Michelle said.
    “I know, I know. My