AllFreeNovel
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“The plan would’ve worked, but it wasn’t just one night. It was more kissing. More hooking up. Everything started to feel less fake and more real. There was a night at my parents’ house when we were sitting out on the roof. I looked at her, and I knew,” Shawn says, and his voice turns soft. A story only for me. “I knew I was in love with her. Getting to have her asmine—even if it was just pretend—showed me I never wanted to give her up.”
“So you’re telling me you two have been sleeping together for amonth, and we had no idea?” Maggie asks. “How did—when—I can’t believe we missed the signs.”
“Looking back, we were so obvious. Remember the night of the gala when you asked me about the mark on my neck, Mags?” My cheeks turn pink and I bury my face in Shawn’s shoulder so my words come out muffled. “It was a hickey. He helped me get dressed, and one thing led to another.”
“Had to do it, Lace. We were going to an event where you looked hot as sin. I needed the other men there to know you were spoken for,” Shawn says. He lifts me up and settles me in his lap as his arms fold around me. “I’m very protective over what’s mine, and even then, I wanted you for myself.”
“We weren’t hiding our relationship,” I explain. “To us there wasn’t a relationship to hide. We both truly thought this was physical. The first time we slept together wasn’t because we were emotionally invested in each other. We both had a goal, and we figured we could have a little fun along the way. Over time, it turned real. I look at Shawn and—” I stop to take a breath. To control my heart that’s racing a mile a minute in my chest. “I feel this immense joy, deep in my soul, when I see him. I’ve never experienced that with anyone else.”
“When did you know?” Shawn asks. “What was the moment for you?”
“The first night we were at your parents’ house, I thought about being with you when you had gray hair. It was the first time I actively realized I didn’t want this to have an end date. I saw a future, and I saw it with you. I held onto that pull I experienced toward you because I was afraid. You’re safe. You’ve always been safe. Taking the leap and letting you in as someone more than the guy who stops by my office and brings me coffee… it was scary. But I’m so glad I jumped.”
“I am, too. You know I’ll always be there to catch you when you fall, Lacey girl,” he says.
I do know that.
He’d go to the ends of the world for me, and I’d do the same for him.
Shawn bends down and kisses me, and I smile against his lips while our friends cheer. I forgot they were in the room for a minute, too pulled into his orbit to remember anyone else.
“I’m happy for you two,” Aiden says, and I look his way.
He wipes his eyes, and I frown. “Aiden, why are you crying? This is a good thing.”
“I know it is. I just love love so much, and you two are fucking happy. Fucking finally,” he adds, and Shawn shimmies me out of his lap so he can stand and give his best friend a hug.
“I am happy,” I hear Shawn say. “I’ve never been happier.”
I haven’t either.
* * *
“That went well.”I watch Shawn in the bathroom mirror as he moves around his bedroom. “I’m glad everyone’s okay with us being together.”
“I also feel really dumb for not realizing everyone else clearly noticed that we liked each other before we did.” He pulls his sleep shirt over his head and runs his fingers through his hair. “Guess you really have been flirting with me for almost two years, Daniels.”
“Maybe you were the one flirting with me.” I put my toothbrush in the holder next to his on the vanity. He handed it to me the night we got back from Denver, just before he showed me the space he made in his closet and dressers for my things. “Mavendidsay you were always looking at me.”
“That’s funny, because every time I was looking at you, I saw you looking at me, too,” he tosses back, and I think he might have a point.
I shut off the bathroom light and shuffle toward the bed. Shawn pats the spot next to him, and I smile as I crawl under the sheets. I turn on my side and reach for his hand. “Back to work for me tomorrow. I’ve kind of forgotten that the rest of the world exists.”
“I’ll bring you lunch. Or coffee. Anything, really, so I can find an excuse to stop by and see you.” His phone buzzes on the nightstand, and he frowns as he checks his text messages. “Huh.”
“What?” I rest my chin on his shoulder and read the screen. “Why is your publicist reaching out to you so late at night?”
“We’re playing the Cincinnati Renegades this weekend. Theo Asher, their quarterback, is the guy dating Ella Wright, that big pop star everyone loves. Haley said Ella’s agent reached out to her and asked if you’d be interested in sharing a suite with her.”
“I’m sorry—what?” I sit up and gape at him. “You’re telling me the woman who sells out every stadium in the country wants to sit withmeand watch a football game?”
Shawn chuckles and rubs little circles on my back. “I guess so. Haley says Ella loves our love story and wants to meet you.”
“What if she writes a song about us? She could call it… hang on.” I push up onto my knees and stretch my arms out to my sides. “Love through a lens. Come on. How good is that?”
“I love it. You’re a creative genius,” he says, and I know he’s giving me shit. “What do you want me to tell her?”
“You tell her yes, Shawn Holmes. A hundred percent hell fucking yes. Oh, my god. Wait. Her boyfriend plays for the other team. Isn’t that like, a conflict of interest?”
