Love in Surrender (De La Fuente Family 8)

“Mr. Kelly,” someone says, having come up beside me.

I still can’t get used to hearing the students call me Mr. I don’t feel old enough for that, even in my late twenties. Turning, I smile at the three girls I find standing there. “How can I help you?”

“Are you going to the carnival?”

“I am.” I hide a smirk when they get excited at my response, and add, “My girlfriend is really looking forward to it.”

“Oh, umm. I guess you won’t be doing the kissing booth then?”

Hearing a choked sound coming from behind the girls, I recognize the voice. “Violet?”

She giggles, slipping through the girls. “Please sir, I’ve dropped my pencil. Do you think you could help me find it?”

I open my mouth to reply and just catch myself. “I’ll see you girls at the carnival.”

They don’t rush, but I don’t care right now when I have Violet so close to me. I hold my hand out and when she takes it, I tug her down onto my lap. She whispers, “Is it okay for a pupil to sit on her teacher’s lap?” right into my ear, causing more than goose bumps on my skin.

“Yes.”

“Mmm,” she smiles against my neck, “I think Sir has a problem that might need attention before he can move.”

Groaning, I capture her wandering hand and hold it in mine as I meet her gaze. “You are really naughty, Violet. I think you should see my ruler.”

“Is that what it’s called these days?”

Laughing, I shake my head and quickly kiss the tip of her nose. “That will have to hold you for now, otherwise I really won’t be able to move, and neither will you.”

She softly kisses my cheek and looks around. “So, this is where you work?”

“It is.”

“I’ve been watching you for about twenty minutes and you look at home here, Blake. It makes me happy to see that.”

“Twenty minutes?”

“You were talking to the players when I first appeared, so I sat up top and waited. They already respect you.”

I grin. “You got jealous when you saw the girls so you decided to interrupt, huh? I think I like that.”

She smacks me upside the head. “I was on my way down when they appeared. You look so damn sexy. I don’t blame them for wanting you to attend the kissing booth. Although if you did, I’d have to kill you.”

“These lips and this body belong to you, Violet. My sister and niece get the platonic kiss, but you, you get the whole shebang.”

“Hmm, hearing you say that fills me with the warm fuzzes,” she admits, nestling against my body while we finish watching the team.

28

Violet

I stand back and look at our beautiful cottage. It’s small and square, the garden at the back a little larger than the house, but it’s ours. The three steps up to the porch have potted flowers at each side, and the wooden furniture on the porch are a gift from Rich and the rest of the team at the facility.

We have made good friends there, and I know that we’ve made the right decision to stay in this area. But to be able to come home, to our own home every night, and to come home to each other is more than I’d ever hoped for with Blake.

Occasionally I’ll catch a glimpse of something hovering on his face and I’m almost sure it’s a longing to be on the ice. It was his whole life before the accident. That worries me more than I care to admit. Because chances are it would take him away from home. There is nowhere around us, other than high school and college teams. That wouldn’t satis

fy Blake if he got full mobility back.

“Why are you frowning?” Blake slides his arms around my waist and I rest my head on his shoulder.