She shakes her head. “Nope. I told my dad everything.” Then she hesitates, eyes flicking up to mine. “There’s something else.”
I tilt my head. “Yeah?”
She chews on her lip for a second before exhaling. “Okay, I didn’t want to tell you because I was afraid that you’d think I was meddling or trying to interfere and I swear I didn’t, but… my dad was considering trading you. He was worried about your hamstring, and theBoston Teahad come asking about you. But now, after tonight, after the incredible game you just played, that doesn’t matter anymore. You were… you were breathtaking on the ice, Seth, and he agreed. You did it. You have a place on the team permanently because of you.”
I don’t even think. My hand slides around the back of her neck, and I kiss her hard. No hesitation. No apologies.
“I get why you didn’t tell me, but don’t keep shit from me again, alright?” I murmur against her lips.
She nods quickly. “I won’t. I promise.”
I pull back to look in her eyes. “And thank you. For believing in me. Not just because of who you are or what you could’ve done to sway things. For letting me prove that I deserve a spot on this team.”
Her smile blooms. “I’ll always believe in you.”
“You might be the first person who ever has.” I smooth my hands down her back to the top of her ass where I squeeze.
Her eyes glisten just a little. “Can we go home now?”
“Home?” I raise a brow.
She flushes, eyes dropping. “Your house. I meant your house.”
“No, it’s our house now,” I murmur, brushing a hand over her cheek. “Just the first time I’ve heard you call it that. And I like it.”
Her cheeks go even pinker. “Where’s Sawyer?”
“She’s spending the night at Boone and Rosie’s with the puppy.”
“Oh.” Her eyes light up a little.
“You better not be thinking about us watching TheGrey’sor theWellington’stonight,” I warn, tugging her closer. “Tonight’s the real deal. You. Me. We can make our own movie if you’d like.”
She squeals as I scoop her into my arms, her laughter filling the air as we step out into the dark, evening air. My jersey on her, her arms wrapped around me, and the scent of her shampoo tingling my senses.
She plays with the hairs on my neck until she’s whispering in my ear. “Do you have a camcorder?”
I laugh. “No, baby, but we can stop and get one on the way.”
We head toward the train station, bound for Brookhaven, and for the first time in years, I know exactly where I belong is with her. There’s no hesitation in my mind on whether this is going to last; whether she’s going to leave me, get bored, or realize that the family we’ve built together is too much.
She’s my home.
I grip Brianna’s thigh on the seat next to mine, trying and failing to concentrate on the magazine that’s open in my lap.? Something about farm-to-table recipes or Vermont’s best maple syrup, I don’t even know. Because she’s next to me, curled up with one of her fantasy books—something about bat boys and wings and apparently very little clothing—and I can never think straight when she’s close. Not with her scent in the air. Not with the way she absentmindedly licks her thumb to turn a page, or the faint crease between her brows when she’s lost in a scene.
I’m distracted. By all of her. Her red hair, sweet spirit, kind heart and most of all, her tender, unselfish, love for me. By the way she sees me.Reallysees me. Knew me well enough to realize I wouldn’t want her pulling strings behind the scenes to keep me on theMayhemroster. Through grit and discipline and pure fucking perseverance. And the way she cared for me over these past two months, tending to my injury and being sure I was at the top of my game.
Now I see all those late-night massages and stretches a little differently. It was her way of showing she loved me and wants me to stay. Which also means, she wants to stay too.
Sawyer’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I didn’t think I could be lucky enough to have two miracles in my life, but I’m starting to believe I was wrong.
I lean in, nudging her knee gently with mine. “So, what are we?”
She glances up, eyes curious behind those dark-framed glasses she slipped on. The ones that make me want to push them up higher on her nose just so I can yank them off and bend her over something sturdy while someoneshushesus like we’re in a library.
“What do you mean?”
I tilt my head. “Are we boyfriend and girlfriend?”
