Page 83 of Slapshot Bride

“It doesn't have to mean anything,” he says quietly. “You know that, right?”

I don't know how to answer.

Because I want it to mean... something. But I don't know if it does for him. And I'm not ready for anything more, either. I just walked away from a six-year relationship. A toxic one. How am I supposed to know what I want? How can I trust myself to make the right choice when I've spent years making the wrong ones?

He doesn't push.

He just looks at me, patient as ever.

I push myself upright until I'm straddling his lap.

“Easton...” I shake my head. “I'm a mess. I ran away from my own wedding. You don't need this chaos in your life. I'm all kinds of fucked up.”

“Hey.” His hands settle on my waist, gently pulling me closer until my palms rest against his chest. “You're not fucked up.”

His eyes never leave mine.

“You've been through something hard. That doesn't make you broken.”

His thumbs brush slow circles against my hips.

“And I'm not asking anything from you, Riley. We don't have to put a label on this. We don't have to be anything you're not ready for.”

His smile is small but genuine.

“I just want you to feel safe. To put yourself first for once.”

He pauses.

“But if, someday, you decide you don't want to carry all this by yourself anymore...” His smile grows. “I don't mind a little messy.”

A laugh escapes me before I can stop it.

“Why did you tell Preston I'm your girlfriend?”

“I told him whatever I could to get him out of your hair.”

“And…” I watch his face carefully before I say the next words. “The sex?”

He leans forward until our foreheads touch. “If you still want me,” he murmurs, “I'm all yours, baby.”

A shiver races down my spine.

“And honestly?” His smile turns lazy. “That arrangement works just fine for me.”

I smile back. “Okay. I think I can live with that.”

I hesitate. “But... one last request?”

“Yeah?”

“What if we keep selling the lie a little longer?”

His brows lift.

“You'd publicly be my fake boyfriend. Just until everything dies down. No one has to know it's fake except us.”

I bite my lip. “It'd give me a chance to step back into my life without everyone asking questions. To reclaim it on my own terms.”