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“Less than you paid for Vegas, so let’s just call it even.” She popped open her trunk, and I placed the buckets and her poles inside.
“I think Vegas and even the tequila deal won’t cover what I owe you for taking care of me this past month and the ice fishing.” I rubbed my hands up and down her shivering arms. “I’ve been told I’m not the easiest to take care of.”
“You weren’t that bad.” Her eyes widened. “Austin, your hands are going to freeze. Where are your gloves?”
“In the bucket.”
She pulled my hands to her mouth, blowing and rubbing them to get the heat back in them. She didn’t know that whenever I was in her vicinity, heat was not the problem.
“Do you want my gloves?” she asked, worried and selfless, as always.
“So your hands freeze?” I asked, my voice incredulous. I stepped into her, toe to toe. “Where did you come from? I swear there is no one like you, Sydney Loverly. And your ex-boyfriends must have been certifiably crazy to let you go.”
A shiver ran through me. I was out of my element here, staring into hazel eyes I’d grown so fond of. Usually, it was the woman who was in too deep, going too fast when it came to relationships. And it took me a long time to follow their lead.
But I’d never felt like this.
I pulled her close, wrapped my arms around her lower back, and kissed her temple.
“Did you have fun?” she asked.
I nodded as emotion hit me directly in the chest. Despite having a somewhat-shitty family life, I’d still been privileged. And with my career and making the big bucks, I’d done a shit-ton of cool things. Front row tickets at the Super Bowl. Flying to Dubai. Going on a safari. Who knew ice fishing would get me choked up?
“Austin?”
I held her close, my arm wrapping tighter around her. I didn’t want her to know this was getting to me—how this one thing tugged every heartstring.
There was a long beat of silence.
“Austin?” Her tone was soft, cautious even.
I took a deep breath to steady my voice. “I had fun, Sydney. So much fun.”
She went slack against me. “Then, what’s wrong?”
I swallowed.
“Austin, what’s wrong?”
I guessed I wasn’t hiding anything all that well.
The truth will set you free, they said.
Whoever they were.
“I think I’m falling for you.”
And for the first time, I was scared shitless. Because ultimately, she was the one who had full control of this situation, not me. She could break my heart into a million pieces if she walked away.
CHAPTER34
SYDNEY
After the lake,we grabbed some lunch and headed back to his place.
Throughout the day, his words rang loudly in my ears.“I think I’m falling for you.”
My heartbeat picked up in speed, louder, faster, harder every time I thought of him, his words, the look in his eyes as he’d waited for my response, in which I’d smiled, held his hand, and gotten in the car.
