Joanie stepped back from the glass—where she’d been standing for the entire last period—and dropped into her seat with an exhausted sigh. Adrenaline rushes were good things, and this had been an awesome game.She slipped her arm through Nick’s in the seat beside her and grinned up at him, snuggling into his side. “Thank you for my present,” she said.His eyes were warm as he returned her smile. “You’ve had a good birthday then?”“The best.”It had been. GiGi had made her birthday cakes and let her invite her friends over when she’d been young, and then she’d spent her birthdays over the last decade or so either working or hanging out with Lee Ann. To have an honest-to-goodness date with someone as hot as Nick—and to have glass seats at a hockey game!—was priceless.She leaned closer, using the excuse of the roar of the crowd to put her mouth next to Nick’s ear. “I hope my new panties will explain my appreciation later.”He laughed as she’d meant him to do, then reached down and patted her on the thigh, his fingers slipping to the inside curve of her leg.
