“I haven’t had my heart broken before,” I admit. “Not by a romantic interest anyway. But I do understand loss. I guess what I don’t understand is how a smart girl like you can’t tell the difference between me and your former fiancé. Because surely you are a good judge of character. If I wanted someone else, I’d just flat out tell you that I didn’t want to be exclusive or I was ready to move on. You have to know me well enough by now to believe I wouldn’t cheat on you, right?”
She nods slowly. We’d laid out our expectations early on in a clear-cut way, and we’re capable of communicating what we want and where our boundaries are.
“Look…” I rub my thumb over the back of her hand in what I hope is a reassuring way. “Maybe you and I need to have a really clear talk. Let’s reevaluate what we want out of this.”
“What do you mean?” she asks, curiosity sparkling in her eyes.
“Well, for instance, I really like you. I’m wildly attracted to you and certainly love fucking you, but I like just hanging out with you, too. Talking. Laughing. I like a lot more than just the sex. I genuinely enjoy getting to know you. I’ll just lay it all out there. I’d like to keep seeing you in an exclusive way, and I don’t really want there to be an end to this. I’d like to keep pushing forward to see where this goes.”
To my dismay, a tinge of panic seeps into her gaze. Thankfully, she doesn’t look away.
“Would that be so bad?” I ask.
To my relief, she shakes her head. “Not at all. It’s just… this is a big step for me.”
“We’ll take it slow,” I assure her. “We’ve got nothing but time and over the next few weeks, we’ll have the opportunity to spend a lot of time together. We can see where it goes.”
“But maybe we hold off on the whole family dinner thing for right now,” she says, and I have to laugh. If that’s what it takes, then that’s what we’ll do.
“Of course,” I say before leaning over to brush my lips against hers. “Although I don’t see your parents as being anything but pretty sharp people. My guess is they’ve already figured it out.”
“Perhaps,” she quips with a laugh. “But I’d still like to keep this to ourselves for a bit. Let me wade into these waters cautiously.”
“Agreed,” I reply. Ever the businessman, though, I need something in return. “But you have to agree to sit in the box with me for every game. Your family can sit there, too.”
“Then they’ll really figure it out,” she exclaims.
“I’ll keep my hands to myself. I promise.”
“Fine,” she pouts, then lets out another exaggerated sigh. “Oh, who am I kidding? They know. Just like everyone else does since you’ve hounded Dax mercilessly and people have seen us together. I don’t know why I’m suddenly so freaked out.”
“Not like I’m asking you to get married, Will,” I tease, gathering her in my arms and pulling her close. “And if it makes you feel better, when anyone asks, I’ll just tell them you’re a great lay.”
I get an elbow in the ribs for that, but then she settles into me. Her body goes all soft, her arms wrap around my waist, and she once again presses her cheek to my chest.
We lay in silence for several moments, and I feel like we’ve made progress.
And then, Willow softly clears her throat to get my attention. I go still, but when she doesn’t speak, I think she might not say anything at all when she finally blurts out, “And I know I didn’t come out and say it, but I really like you, too.”
And yes… that feeling right there. Like I just climbed Mount Fuji or won the Cup.
Total victory.
She likes me too.CHAPTER 18WillowI’m not sure how I got roped into a girls’ night out, but I’m going with it. We’re congregating at Brooke’s house that she and Bishop recently purchased together. They’re not slated to get married until the end of June, but for all intents and purposes, they are pretty much like a married couple.
As one might expect, the house seems typical for most professional athletes. It’s in a gated community with over five-thousand-square-feet of room and the finest appointments. Brooke took us on a fabulous tour once we arrived and Regan, who has had no luck in finding something for her and Dax, asked a million questions as she’s a frustrated potential home buyer. It’s not like there aren’t homes available to choose from, but she can’t seem to pick one out without Dax’s approval and he simply doesn’t have the time to look at anything while the playoffs are going on. He has repetitively told Regan, “Just go buy something you love and I will be happy with it,” but my brother is a relative moron to think she wouldn’t have a problem with doing that. Of course, she wants to make sure he loves their home, too, so she decided to hold off on house-hunting until after the playoffs.