Page 126 of Slapshot Bride

“I’ll come with you.”

She shakes her head.

My heart breaks a little.

“No. I need to do this alone…”

“I’ll stay in the car. But I’ll feel better being there with you, and knowing I’ll just be a few steps away, if you need me.”

She studies my face for a minute and finally nods.

“We still up for dinner and movie night?”

That brings a smile to her face. “And maybe some of this…” My hands slide lower, cupping her soft ass and squeezing. She melts against me and hides her face in my chest.

“Stop…” she drawls, and I laugh.

“I need to properly wash off the rink and Preston. Shower with me?”

She nods. I throw her over my shoulder and head for the bedroom.

26

RILEY

Chosen

Easton stops at the gate, and I lean across him to key in the code.

It still works. That makes me smile because it’s been a year since I’ve been home.

No, it’s worse than that. All the time I was with Preston, I never spent more than twenty-four hours at my parents’ place. He made it a ritual to drop me off and pick me up, only when we had important family functions… and he did it so well, too.

Everyone thought it was charming. My mom doted on it. On us. My dad… he saw Preston as the ideal man for his daughter. He thought I was pampered, treated like an egg. In his words ‘this is the only man that’ll treat you better than me, honey.’

If only he knew.

The gates draw back, slow and silent, and Easton takes us up the drive between the row of Italian cypress my mother had trucked in from somewhere the year I turned fifteen.

He pulls into the turnaround and cuts the engine.

My eyes immediately dart to his, and my heart rate spikes. I’d been so sure I wanted this. But now, I’m having cold feet.

“Sweetheart…” Easton leans across, tucking a stray strand behind my ear. His fingers caress my cheek, and then drop to where my hands are squeezing the hem of my dress.

He separates them and slides his fingers against mine, lacing them. “I’ll be here all the time. And if you need me to come in with you, I can do that…”

He’s so soft-spoken, and it’s all the reassurance I need to do this.

“Ready?”

I nod.

He leans in and presses his lips to mine for a minute. We stay that way until he pulls away.

“Go.”

I don’t wait to hear it again. I open the door and get out of the passenger seat. My mom is at the door when I look up.