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“Maybe,” he murmurs. “But Nolan was always in the cards for me. They have a great hockey program.”
I smile, loving the way his voice lightens at the mere mention of hockey.
“You gonna go pro?” I grin at him.
“Nah.” He shakes his head. “That’s Ethan’s dream. And Casey’s.”
“What about you?”
He works his jaw to the side. “Actually… I’m wondering about becoming a cop.” His face bunches. “I know there are some really shitty ones out there, but there are also guys like Martin and Darius, who showed up to a domestic call and saved a terrified family from a drunken man.” He sniffs. “They checked in, you know? They’d drive by on their shifts to make sure we were getting on okay. Darius even wrote me a letter of recommendation when I was applying to Nolan U. They’re good people, and I want to be a cop like that. I want to help keep innocent people from getting hurt.”
“Wow,” I whisper, my voice filled with admiration.
He glances at my face, his lips rising with a soft smile. Curling his fingers around my wrist, he caresses the soft skin below my watch strap.
Can he feel my pulse? A thick, steady beat that’s drumming for him… and only him.
“You know, I’ve never told anyone but Ethan that story.”
I smile, my eyes glassing with even more tears. “I’m honored that you told me.”
Gently brushing the tears away, he leans in and kisses my forehead. “Thanks for listening.”
“Always.” Snuggling against his side, I curl into his solid body, and his arm drapes over my back.
When he tugs me a little closer, I’m overwhelmed with such a sense of comfort and warmth that I’m pretty sure I never want to move again.
Which is why Mikayla finds me still snuggled against Liam’s side when she runs downstairs a few hours later to tell me her exciting news.
It’s daylight, but my body feels like it should still be pitch-black outside. The owls should be hooting, and I should still be in dreamland while lying against a wall of muscle that fits against my body perfectly.
I think I’m running on two hours’ sleep—if that—and my brain feels like sludge as Mikayla shakes me awake.
“What time is it?” I croak.
“Nearly seven thirty.”
“Are you insane?” I frown at her. “Who are you, and what have you done with my best friend?”
She laughs. Miss I Hate Mornings is standing there laughing and grinning and?—
“Seriously, Mick,” Liam groans. “We’re running on fumes here. You better have a damn good reason for waking us up so early.”
“What are you talking about?” She sits on the coffee table in front of us. “You’re usually up an hour ago and heading to the gym.”
He jolts, then has to catch me when the sudden movement practically catapults me off the cushions.
Pulling me back to his side, he squints at his watch and groans.
“The guys didn’t want to wake you,” Mikayla murmurs. “Ethan figured it’s only one workout and Coach will understand.” Her grin grows a little wider. “When he came up to kiss me goodbye, he said you two looked so adorable that everyone was tiptoeing around you. They were a bunch of mimes down here because no one wanted to wake you.”
“Except you,” I grumble.
She laughs. “Yes, well, I just got a text from my dad that warrants a wake-up call.”
The joy on her face makes me smile. Having gone years with no contact from her father, Mikayla has been rebuilding what was lost, and it makes my heart warm to see it. Her bitch of a mother lied to them both, saying neither wanted to see the other, hiding correspondence and everything. But the truth is out there now, and all those years she stole from her ex-husband and daughter are being won back.
“You know how he invited Ethan and me to his resort for Christmas?” She grins, and I nod. “Well, he’s just extended the invitation to you as well!”
