Chapter 96

TESSA

I’m halfway through my mascara when my phone buzzes.

Lyle: You can find your way to the hotel, right? I can meet you there but I won’t be able to pick you up.

I nearly poke my own eye out.

Of course he can’t pick me up. Of course.

I’m this close to texting Lyle back something that could peel the paint off every wall in Manhattan—but then Theo sends a photo.

And just like that, my priorities realign.

It’s a Hello Kitty charm dangling from his rearview mirror. But not just any Hello Kitty—she’s decked out in a New York Titans jersey and a matching cap.

Theo: Got my niece tickets to their first game of the season. This was her return gift.

Me: That’s adorable. But shouldn’t you have kept those tickets for yourself? Pretty sure that’s the closest you’ll ever get to the ice.

Theo: Well played, considering you’re taking a man you can clearly do better than as your date to